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Crist coordinates fundraising schedule with official duties

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By WILLIAM MARCH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2009

TAMPA - Gov. Charlie Crist is in the midst of a furious fundraising schedule to kick off his U.S. Senate campaign, apparently aiming at building a large cash horde – the kind that scares off competition – for the campaign's first financial reporting period.

That presents a problem for a sitting governor: coordinating his government work with political events, while avoiding having taxpayers pay for political travel.

Most of Crist's travel to and from the campaign fundraising events is by commercial flights paid for by his campaign, or by car, according to governor's office spokeswoman Erin Isaac.

But Crist's campaign coordinates fundraising events with his schedule as governor, said campaign fundraising chief Dane Eagle.

Eagle said that's to avoid impinging on Crist's performance of official business, but it also means taxpayers occasionally share the cost of his attendance at campaign events.

Big fundraising early in the race can scare off potential competitors in primaries, or convince wavering party activists to get behind the candidate with the biggest war chest.

June 30 will be the last day of the quarterly financial reporting period, the first of Crist's campaign. The report will come out next month.

Crist faces a primary challenge from former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, who expects to be a financial underdog.

Last week, Crist had fundraisers in Clearwater, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. In each case, he had state business in the same city or nearby either immediately before or immediately after the fundraiser.

Isaac said the governor's schedule is set only according to the needs of state business, not to match his political fundraising schedule.

A look at that schedule:

On Tuesday afternoon, June 9, Crist travelled by state plane to Sarasota for two meetings on economic development. That night, he went by car to a fundraiser at the Clearwater home of Manuel and Susan Rose.

Crist returned to Tallahassee by commercial flight for a schedule of governor's office events June 10. That night, he attended a fundraiser in Tallahassee at the home of auto dealer Craig Hornsby.

On June 11, Crist travelled to Miami via commercial flight and worked in his Miami office. That night, he went by car to a fundraiser at the Fort Lauderdale home of billionaire Wayne Huizenga.

The next morning, June 12, Crist held a bill signing ceremony at a Fort Lauderdale school, and then travelled by commercial air to Orlando. That night, a group of trial lawyers held a fundraiser for Crist at an Orlando hotel.

The Orlando event was a minimum $2,400 per person; the others were $1,000 minimum. Attendees were encouraged to donate up to the legal maximum of $4,800 per person -- $2,400 each for the primary and general elections.

He has another fundraiser Wednesday in Jacksonville, and one next week in Washington hosted by Sen. John McCain and Republican Senate leaders.

By law, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents accompany Crist as bodyguards wherever he goes, and when he travels by car, it's an FDLE vehicle.

When Crist travels by commercial flight, Eagle said, he pays for it personally and is reimbursed by the campaign. The state pays the cost of FDLE agents' commercial air travel.

Crist set fundraising records in his 2006 race for governor.

In the same time period in that race – the three months ending in June 2005 – Crist shocked his primary opponent Tom Gallagher by raising almost $3.9 million. He ended up raising nearly $25 million for that race.

Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos said his candidate won't be fazed.

"We fully expect to be outraised, but certainly not underfunded," he said. "We'll have the resources to communicate our message, and we won't lack for ideas and energy."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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