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Lawyer files fundraising complaints

He says the Democratic Party and two committees collected more than $500 from individual donors.

By JONI JAMES
Published May 16, 2006

The complaint, filed by South Miami lawyer Eric Buermann, contends the two committees, called Florida House Victory and Florida Senate Victory, violated the state's fundraising limits when they collected more than $500 from individual donors. The two committees were formed to help Democrats win legislative seats.

"I felt this activity was really over the line and somebody needed to put it before the commission," Buermann said Monday in a phone interview. "This was not grass roots people sitting around the kitchen table trying to help their neighbor run for office. These are the sophisticated officials in the business. They need to be held accountable."

Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said Monday the party had not received notice of the complaints. Democratic officials have denied that they violated state laws, saying contributions were disclosed under state requirements.

"As far as I can tell, from the lawyers we've had look at it, we did everything legal," said state Senate Minority Leader Les Miller, D-Tampa, who was involved with raising money for the Senate fund and is among four Democratic state senators currently seeking higher office. Miller is a candidate for Congress.

Buermann said he initiated the complaint after the Miami Herald reported last month that a review of state records showed the two democratic committees "raised more than $1 million in apparently illegal campaign donations during the past two years."

The newspaper said the committees "were shuttered or changed to try to bring them in compliance with state laws" after a Democratic attorney warned about the possible violations.

Under state law, committees that raise money on behalf of candidates are limited to the same $500-per-donor limit as political candidates are. In one case in 2004, the House committee accepted a $50,000 check from the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, state records show.

Buermann said he then did his own review of public records before filing his complaint. While he said he notified state Republican Party officials of his plans, he didn't coordinate with them.

Buermann served on the state elections commission from 1992 to 1997, under the appointment of Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. From 1998 to 2003, he served as general counsel for the Republican Party of Florida, a post that gave him a prominent role as part of the presidential recount team for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign.

[Last modified May 16, 2006, 09:25:17]