When it comes to parties, Karen Thurman is no Jim Greer. But spending by the Florida Democratic Party has rebounded solidly after the FDP's near-death experience in 2004.
Under FDP Chairman Thurman, the party spent $46.3 million from 2007-2009, according to internal financial reports.
That's short of the $51.6 million Greer & Co. reportedly spent at the Republican Party of Florida. Then again, the Democrats didn't raise as much money, and Greer, before resigning his chairmanship, blew the RPOF into the red.
A Sunshine State News examination of Florida Democratic Party expenditures found that --
- Thurman received relatively modest compensation during the three-year period: averaging $77,385 annually in salaries and expenses.
- The FDP rewarded a few consultants with lucrative six-digit compensation packages, though their work yielded negligible electoral results.
- At times, Democrats wined and dined in Republican style -- racking up four-figure tabs at five-star restaurants from Tallahassee to New York City. They even rented out part of Yankee Stadium.
Deciphering party spending reports can be a convoluted exercise. For example, $200,000 of the FDP's expenditures in 2009 was actually a refund to Scott Rothstein. The party returned the Fort Lauderdale Ponzi king's donation after he was indicted on five counts of fraud and racketeering.
Also, in some cases, direct expenditures are listed as taking place on the same date as many of the reimbursements.Those appear to be costs for an event or meeting. It raises the question: Why did an individual get reimbursed for travel if the party paid for travel as well?
Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff did not return phone calls from Sunshine State News seeking explanation and comment.
Thurman, who replaced Scott Maddox as chairman, has, by most accounts, put the FDP's financial house in order. The state party was virtually broke after the 2004 election, when it was stuck with a mountain of legal bills stemming from the Bush-Gore court battle.
"If a party could declare bankruptcy, it would have," said a former FDP official speaking on condition on anonymity.
Since then, the party has sold off properties in Tallahassee and elsewhere, while tightening its accounting procedures, this source said.
Thurman, who earns a fraction of what Greer and RPOF executive director Delmar Johnson pulled down (not counting their side-deal consulting arrangements), was not available for comment.
Lagging Republicans in fund-raising, Democrats may not have the luxury of padding their payroll with a phalanx of shadowy "consultants" like Jay Burmer, a Charlie Crist crony whom the RPOF paid $316,000 for unspecified work over 2 1/2 years.
Nevertheless, the FDP did have a few gold-plated operatives on its payroll.
Nancy Texeira, whom the Miami Herald once dubbed a "finance whiz," earned $476,717 in salary and expenses from 2007-2009.
Texeira headed the party's "Senate Victory" operation for state Senate races. Yet, despite her hefty compensation, the FDP didn't gain a single seat in the 2008 elections; the Republicans hold the same 26-14 advantage today that they had in 2007.
Jeff Ryan received $469,517 in salary and expenses during the same three-year period.
Though FDP officials did not respond to questions about Ryan's duties, a party source who declined to be identified said Ryan, a Democratic fund-raiser dating back to the Lawton Chiles era, is worth the money.
"He's a guy you want to have as your friend. He knows people who have money," the source said.
Practicing the adage that you have to spend money to make money, the FDP also shelled out large amounts for catered, fund-raising events -- not all of them in Florida.
In 2007, the party spent $5,775 during two nights at Tallahassee's Chez Pierre. The bills for eight other evenings at the restaurant totaled another $1,022.
Five other dates at the Silver Slipper cost $5,692 more.
Later that year, in September and December, the FDP paid for meals at Le Cirque in New York City. Price: $1,683 and $5,210 respectively.
And this was during a non-election year.
Back in New York in 2009, the party spent $11,200 for "site rental and catering" at Yankee Stadium during two dates in August and September.
"The thing to remember about Florida Democrats -- especially South Florida Democrats -- is that most of the big contributions come from the Northeast Corridor," said the party source.
Daniel Smith, a University of Florida political science professor and director of the graduate political campaigning program, said high-end food and beverage bills are part of big-dollar fund-raising.
"When people are giving up to six- and even seven-figure donations, it's par for the course. The question is, when does it become lavish or exorbitant," Smith said.
Like Republicans, the FDP also went out of state for some of its biggest expenditures: consultants.
During the 2008 election year, the party paid $8.3 million to the 4900 Group, an Alexandria, Va.-based campaign mail and research firm.
Large expenses also were incurred for polling, signs and campaign calls. The party rang up $261,943 in AT&T cell charges in 2008.
And, yes, Democrats wield American Express cards, too. A total of $8,915 in "merchant fees" were paid by the party in 2008.
Smith said that when big dollars are involved, there's always a "possibility of unethical or illegal activity." Any time reimbursements for personal expenses or business services are involved, "there could be tax implications," he added.
But in the absence of a full-scale forensic audit, suggestions of personal enrichment at the party's expense remain "more a question of perception," Smith concluded.
In 2007, the State Elections Commission fined fund-raiser Ryan $209,000 for accepting contributions above the legal limits. The FDP at the time blamed the violations on technical mistakes in filing.
Tallahassee reporter Gary Fineout later discovered that $209,000 was paid to a trust account maintained by local attorney Mark Herron "to pay off the fine." Herron was quoted as saying, "since Ryan was not a candidate, the arrangement was legal."
And since the fine was handled off the books, it did not appear on the party's financial spreadsheets, even though the matter occurred during the period covered by those reports.
The FDP's spending has been duly noted by Republicans.
"They have American Express cards and spend just like we do -- though they do spend less," said Carole Jean Jordan, former RPOF chairman.
"They certainly did not party on the scale of Jim Greer," added Carol Carter, a GOP committeewoman from Hillsborough County.
Calling for fiscal transparency by both parties, Jordan went easy on Thurman -- "Karen is not an evil person" -- and blasted the excesses of Greer's disgraced GOP regime.
"The abuse of donor funds in the last three years was absolutely disgusting. Limos, spas, $1,000 meals, charter jets ... it made me ill," Jordan said.
Still, unlike federal law, Florida sets no limits on what state parties can spend. So, while Jordan decries "the high cost of fund-raising," donors can be certain that the parties will continue to spend as much as they're able to raise.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
