Perry Thurston Has A Lot Of Cash…For A Demo
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Perry Thurston Jr.
State Rep. Perry Thurston Jr. is the richest man in the poor house.
The poor house being the fund raising abilities of a Democratic statewide candidate.
Thurston of Plantation had much more money at the end of April than his Democratic primary opponent George Sheldon in the race for Florida Attorney General.
The Democrats’ campaign cash is insignificant compared to what Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi has amassed — $1.2 million in her campaign after expenses.
Thurston had roughly $76,300 in cash on April 30. Sheldon, who raised twice as much as Thurston but spent almost all of it, had just under $5,400 left in his bank account.
What strikes me is that Sheldon, a former state House member from the Tampa Bay area, had fund raising to himself for 60 days. Thurston was prohibited by Florida House rules from accepting donations during the two-month legislative session which ended May 2.
Yet instead of banking the almost 70k he raised during those two months, Sheldon spent it.
One thing is clear to any rational political observer. The contribution reports are a vivid example of why Democrats have a hard time winning statewide. They are also a powerful picture of why Thurston’s (and Sheldon’s) quest for the Attorney General makes Don Quixote look like a realist in comparison.
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:10 am
Dear Lord.
For a statewide race, $76,000 might as well be $0.
It never ceases to amaze me the low amount of $$$ people used to Broward politics think is a “large” amount. I mean, you couldn’t get elected mayor of Miami Shores with that kind of money, much less A-G.
May 23rd, 2014 at 1:39 pm
If we peel back the onion, all the money in the world may not help Pam Bondi in November, Pam Bondi’s approval rating is below 27 percent, Bondi is a outspoken about her opposition to Medical Marijuana. With the hearing on Marriage Equality being held in Miami on July 2nd, and with Judge Judge Zabel, there may be a ruling shooting down the Denial Of Equality of Amendment 2, it is almost certain, Pam Bondi will rush out to get a stay, and to overturn, the ruling for equality. With the likelihood of November having a much higher, youth turn out. it won’t matter, how much cash Bondi has she will be toast.
FROM BUDDY:
Ron Mills is right about Pam Bondi’s positions, many of which are outside of the main stream of even Florida. The problem is that her Democratic opponents don’t have enough money to tell voters about those opinions.
May 23rd, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Perry could have as much as bondi but maybe his record will not compel voters to vote for him
not that Pam’s may be better but those that can vote don’t always vote and many that do vote do not have a clue
so between the minority dem voters compared to the independents and repubs, well bondi will get another term and scott will as well.
not that scott is doing such a great job but the incitement caused by crist’s flip flop flapping just doesn’t sit well
But I digress – what exactly qualifies Perry Thurston to be FL AG? His FL bar page shows no additional courts he can work in, but neither does bondi’s.
You would think the AG of any state would have a few credentials to post on their page.
May 24th, 2014 at 8:58 am
Perry is running in a failed veiled attempt to bring put black voters in the primary for local races such as Gibbons, Alexandra Davis, Carmen Jones and others around he State. Perry isn’t putting up his own money so he can use donor money to travel the state and have a good time. Most likely he will get a good bit of Republican money as he would be the preferred choice to run against Bondi.
Bondi will have an easy time showing Thurston played games with the residency laws. If Perry can’t follow the spirit if the law is this who we want as AG?
May 26th, 2014 at 11:34 am
“Not in it to win it says”
Where do you get your Mis-Information, The Bugle?
here is the rule https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2014/0954/BillText/__/HTML
Frankly, if you did not get it from that rag, The Bugle, you must of just pulled it out of your A$$
May 26th, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Perry Thurston will be defeated by george sheldon he will not win sheldon vs Bondi
May 26th, 2014 at 7:15 pm
If Perry chooses to live in a little run down house with another man who is a convicted felon instead of his beautiful home where his wife and kids live that is his business. If his family has no issues with this choice who is anyone to judge.
May 30th, 2014 at 3:41 pm
The attorney general of Florida says in court documents that recognizing same sex marriages performed in other states would disrupt existing marriage laws and “impose significant public harm.”
Eight gay couples and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state in federal court in March. The lawsuit argues Florida is discriminating against the couples by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican who was named in the lawsuit along with fellow GOP Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials, earlier this month filed a lengthy response that asks a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit for several reasons, saying a federal court shouldn’t rule on a state’s marriage laws.
Bondi’s office also argues that the state has a legitimate interest in defining marriage as between a man and woman. Florida first banned same-sex marriages nearly two decades ago and voters reinforced that ban when they passed a constitutional amendment in 2008.
“Florida’s marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units,” Bondi’s office said in court documents.
The state’s legal position also notes that there would be significant financial and logistical problems for the state’s pension and health insurance programs if same-sex marriages were recognized.
The lead attorney for the ACLU of Florida disagreed.
“Florida’s discriminatory laws cause serious harm to real families across the state,” attorney Daniel Tilley said in a statement. “Despite the state’s assertion that the harms to same-sex married couples aren’t significant enough to warrant relief, the families living every day being treated like legal strangers by their home state know better.”
Scott earlier this year said he supports Florida’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but added that he “does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason.”
The lawsuit in Florida is part of a groundswell of challenges in the gay marriage debate.
May 30th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Ron, even if that view is out of the mainstream, very few care enough to base their vote on it.
May 30th, 2014 at 11:15 pm
It is sad due to the uber Christian and archaic views of the black community about gays thatperry could not support gay marriage and live life with his convicted felon male friend at the house in his district while his wife lives in the McMansion in plantation.
May 31st, 2014 at 6:06 am
Frank, most voters other than the far right, do not vote on 1 issue, but a accumulation of things, the young voters being targeted by the medical marijuana campaign will not take too kindly to Ms Bondi’s opposition to Equal Marriage or Medical Mariquana
June 2nd, 2014 at 11:46 am
A bipartisan majority of Floridians now support marriage equality. Pam Bondi has it backwards – the only “significant harm” being done here is to the hundreds of thousands of Floridians who are having their civil rights denied by the Scott administration. Even worse, Florida taxpayers are footing the bill for Bondi’s rigid ideological crusade.
June 12th, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Sheldon can spend virtually all of what he raises because he can always raise more. So the fact that Perry has more cash in the bank isn’t really relevant. Sheldon is the only viable challenger in the general.