Yeah, but he sure knows how to recognize talent! LOL!
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Bridgette Gregory attends a news conference by House Speaker Tom Feeney.
Posted on 04/15/2002 8:57:06 PM PDT by ConservativeLawyer
Power donors support Feeney with dollars
By John Kennedy
Tallahassee Bureau Chief
April 16, 2002
TALLAHASSEE -- House Speaker Tom Feeney raised $100,000 for his congressional campaign, mostly from powerful industries with issues before the Legislature, just days before suspending fund-raising for the two-month session.
Nursing-home operators, the insurance industry and associated law firms and lobbyists accounted for more than $100,000 of the total the Oviedo Republican raised this year for his exploratory campaign committee, according to new reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission. Feeney is looking to run in a freshly drawn congressional district centered around Oviedo.
"A lot of it was timing," Feeney said Monday. "We had several fund-raisers cancelled in the fall following Sept. 11 because of the special sessions" on budget-cutting.
Even one of Feeney's toughest Senate adversaries, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Palm Harbor, gave $500 in January.
Latvala, chairman of the Senate's congressional redistricting subcommittee, was pivotal in the design of the new District 24.
Feeney, long a political ally of Gov. Jeb Bush, also received $1,000 from Miami developer Armando Codina, Bush's former business partner.
All told, Feeney raised $110,573 in the first three weeks of January. He suspended fund raising when the Legislature convened on Jan. 22. The new money boosted his total to $512,859.
Feeney's likely Democratic rival is keeping pace. Harry Jacobs, a Longwood lawyer, reported he raised $404,550 since jumping into the race in mid-March -- although $300,000 was a loan to himself.
"Unfortunately, this will probably be a big money race," Jacobs said. "I got a late start. But I'm prepared to dig deeper if I have to."
Among Feeney's leading contributors, the nursing-home industry had sought new insurance liability caps from the Legislature this spring. While the movement won some support in the Feeney-led House, it never went anywhere in the Senate.
Insurers and their allies are watching how a job description is crafted for the new Cabinet post of chief financial officer. The position, which combines the duties of Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher and Comptroller Bob Milligan, still must be decided, likely in a yet-to-be-called special session.
Throughout the legislative session, the House was backing a job description opposed by Gallagher and the insurance industry. In the session's closing days, the House agreed to accept the Senate's version of the legislation, which Gallagher supported.
John Kennedy can be reached at
jkennedy@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel
BTW, Clemenza, Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
I wish Feeney the best of luck. Did they fix Rick Keller's district? He only won by a few hundred votes. I suspected that they would take Osceola county away from him.
I don't know, to be honest with you.
Yeah, but he sure knows how to recognize talent! LOL!
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Bridgette Gregory attends a news conference by House Speaker Tom Feeney.
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