A year ago, it was a belief that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be the nominee for the party. ...more

September 13, 2008

AVON PARK — If the size of a candidate's bank account is a clue in who's going to win the election, then Mayor Sharon Schuler is way ahead in the mayoral race, while James Rahenkamp has a comfortable lead in the race for Doug Eason's open council seat. According to campaign treasurer's reports submitted Oct. 19 to the city, Schuler didn't need to use a dime of her own money to raise $1,335 in her campaign. Rahenkamp, meanwhile, plunked $200 of his own money and collected more than $820 from a handful of big-dollar donators in his council bid. On the expenses, Schuler spent $1,119, almost double the amount spent by Gonzalo Lezama, the next-biggest spender for the mayoral race. Rahenkamp has held on to most of his contributions, spending a mere $428.81 as of Oct. 12. Notably, Schuler was the only candidate to use campaign mailers. Even though Paul Miller bought business cards, none of the other six candidates spent money on any other form of advertising, using their funds only for filing fees and campaign signs. Several of the other candidates bankrolled their campaigns using mostly their own money. Mayoral contestants Ed Dickerson and Gordon Marshall relied only on their own wallets to raise $641.87 and $300, respectively. ...more

October 30, 2007