In his final days, Charlie Crist seized on a question in Florida’s Democratic primary for governor: Which big industries are supporting Democratic campaigns this year?
Last week, the congressman’s campaign released a statement accusing Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in money from political committees closely aligned with Florida’s influential sugar industry. The statement cited a report by VoteWater, an environmental group that has supported Crist.
Then the Palm Beach Post published an investigation which found that Fried had failed to follow through on a promise to create new rules on sugarcane burning in the Glades area.
Crist’s campaign promoted the story to reporters across the state.
In response, Fried’s campaign responded that the criticism was a sign that Christ was becoming increasingly concerned about the polls. she discussed the research findingscalling the Post story a “he did work on the eve of an election” and saying he had heard a rumor that Post reporters had been paid by the environmental group Sierra Club to write the story.
It’s something I’ve heard, I hope it’s not true. But honestly, it’s hard to tell when your editor is RTing my opponent’s staff and editing my black and white campaign videos to support Charlie. It was a successful job on the eve of the election. We have published the facts. Let’s link below.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) August 15, 2022
A reporter who worked on the Post’s series on sugarcane burning called the accusation “demonstrably false“. Fried has yet to provide any evidence to support his allegations against the Post.
Campaigning aside, the episode is an opportunity to examine who is funding Florida’s Democratic governor’s race. This look provides a window into who special interests believe will enact their priorities in Tallahassee.
The governor selects the members of the Public Service Commission, which regulates public services in the state.
The governor also appoints board members to water management districts, which play a role in regulating water resources, including environmental policy around Lake Okeechobee, a constant source of tension between the sugar industry and the ecologists
For millions of Floridians and their livelihoods, the stakes are high.
Fried has ties to sugar and a mysterious group
Fried’s sugar bows are not direct donations from companies in the industry. Still, since Fried launched his bid for governor in June 2021, he has raised at least $98,500 combined from the groups Floridians for Economic Advancement, Floridians for a Stronger Democracy, Florida Alliance for Better Government and Fighting for Florida Jobs, all which have been linked to the money of the sugar industry.
According to records obtained by the Times/Herald, Floridians for Economic Advancement is a committee controlled by political consultants who work for both Florida Power & Light and Florida Crystals. The group received funds from nonprofit political committees that do not have to disclose their donors and directed those funds to candidates as well as Florida political parties and their affiliated legislative political committees.
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The group Education for All also contributed $25,000 to Fried’s campaign. Records show the committee has gotten more than half of its nearly $375,000 from sugar companies and parent company Florida Power & Light.
Vote Water outstanding hundreds of thousands more in sugar-adjacent donations to his political committee since before he announced his campaign for governor.
Meanwhile, the third-largest donor to Fried’s political committee since she began running for governor is a group called “Embrace Equality.” The Washington, D.C.-based group has given Fried $125,000, $25,000 directly and $100,000 through the political committee arm of Her Bold Move, a group dedicated to getting women who support abortion rights to elected throughout the country.
Embrace Equality does not appear to disclose its donors. A call to the number listed on the Her Bold Move website was not returned. The organization did not respond to emails seeking comment about the people behind Embrace Equality.
Fried’s campaign declined to comment.
Christ boasts of not getting sugar or money from public services. But…
Crist likes to tout his adversarial relationship with Florida’s utilities and sugar corporations, dating back to his time as governor, as proof that he’s willing to stand up to big business in in favor of consumers and the environment.
This cycle, Crist did not receive donations from Florida Power & Light or other utilities, such as Duke Energy and TECO Energy Inc.
Nor has he received any donations from US Sugar or Florida Crystals, either directly or through the handful of political action committees the sugar corporations have used in the past to direct their money.
Crist rejected donations from Florida Power & Light in his 2006 gubernatorial bid after the utility giant spent hundreds of thousands on his Republican primary opponent.
As governor, Crist opposed Florida Power & Light’s rate hikes and refused to reappoint two commissioners to the board that oversees Florida’s utilities, making the board less utility-friendly .
“Charlie Crist has always been a champion of the people, taking on the special interests,” said campaign spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez. “Meanwhile, Nikki Fried has close ties to Big Sugar, who has donated hundreds of thousands to her campaign.”
… Politics is murky.
Crist’s campaign reports, and Fried’s for that matter, may not be as straightforward as they seem.
Although he has not received direct donations from these industries, Crist has received money from political committees which in turn have received donations from other committees related to sugar and public service money.
Take, for example, the group Winning Florida, which gave $28,500 to Crist’s campaign and at least $35,500 to Fried’s. This committee has received $50,000 from Floridaians for Economic Advancement, which received $200,000 from Florida Crystals, along with a large number of donations from other political committees.
This is hardly new in Florida politics. It is common for political committee donations to be arranged like Russian dolls. Because fundraising groups often get money from multiple sources, it’s often impossible to tell whether the money comes from a particular special interest once it reaches its final destination.
In the Winning Florida example, we know that the sugar industry gave money to a political committee that in turn gave money to a committee that in turn gave money to Crist and Fried. Does this make the sugar money of the final donation? It’s impossible to say without internal documentation.
Some individuals and groups have made a big difference
Crist recently accepted his largest donation this election cycle: a last-minute $500,000 boost from the American Federation of Teachers, a union that represents 1.7 million members.
South Florida-based philanthropist Barbara Stiefel gave the second most to Christ’s campaign: $300,000 over a year. Palm Harbor personal injury attorney Francoise Haasch-Jones gave Crist just over $200,000.
Christ also got a big boost from the money he had raised earlier. In May 2021, shortly after announcing for governor, Crist’s state action committee received $185,000 from his federal committee, Charlie Crist for Congress.
Donations from individuals and groups who gave at least $100,000 or more to Christ make up about 25 percent of his political committee’s total fundraising, according to the latest available report.
Meanwhile, Fried has gotten at least $425,000 from Mike Fernandez, the South Florida billionaire private equity investor who was a major donor to Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign. June Piscitelli, a Fort Lauderdale educator, has contributed at least $174,000 more.
Combined, those two donors account for about 1 in 5 dollars raised by Florida Consumers First, Fried’s political committee, since he declared himself governor.
Times/Herald Tallahassee reporter Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.
