Daytona campaign contributions show who power structure supports

Aug. 25--DAYTONA BEACH -- A total of $57,657 in campaign contributions has been given to the 12 Daytona Beach City Commission candidates. Nearly half of that total has gone to one candidate: Zone 3 contender Quanita May.

May, a downtown business owner making her first run for office, has amassed $26,250 from supporters. That far outpaces the next biggest campaign dollar collector, Zone 1 City Commissioner Ruth Trager, who has taken in $12,680. Zone 5 City Commissioner Dannette Henry has tallied $6,150, and both Zone 1 candidate Anne Ruby and Zone 3 challenger Amy Pyle have raised more than $4,000.

While some locals are trying to figure out how May was able to pull in so much money, and how she managed to get so much of it from some of the area's most powerful people, May says there's no mystery or controversy. She said the checks came from people she's known for years, or those who heard about her accomplishments.

"The business people will support people who've proven they can survive in business," said May, owner of Quanita's Executive Wellness Coaching, Fitness, and Premier Ballroom Studio. "These are people who have gotten to know me for 18 years."

Some candidates say the size of a campaign war chest is less important in a Daytona Beach City Commission race than it would be for a County Council seat or state Legislature post. But every Daytona Commission candidate except Henry has made ends meet by throwing some of their own money into the mix, and Ruby has saved thousands of dollars printing up her own campaign literature and fashioning campaign signs out of white dish towels.

Warren Trager, husband and campaign manager of the Zone 1 incumbent, said it takes a good $15,000-$20,000 to pay for signs, banners and all the other trappings of a robust campaign.

Eight of the 12 Daytona competitors have poured more of their own money into their campaigns than May, who has chipped in $1,000. Some $18,000 of May's funds came in either $500 or $1,000 contributions. And her big-dollar donations came from people such as hotelier Blaine Lansberry and companies such as Daytona Beverages.

Phil Maroney, a past chairman of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, only made one contribution in the Daytona Beach City Commission races: the $150 he gave to May. Maroney liked what May had to say when he had a conversation with her about Daytona Beach.

"I thought she handled herself well, and she had some pretty good ideas that would be beneficial to residents," Maroney said.

Maroney is president of The Root Company, founded by the inventor of the Coca-Cola bottle, which owns a number of commercial properties throughout east Volusia County including Publix-anchored shopping centers and the Ridgewood Avenue office building where insurance giant Brown & Brown Inc. has its headquarters.

Brown & Brown Chairman of the Board J. Hyatt Brown and his wife, Cici, also sent some financial support to May. They gave her a total of $2,000.

Brown said he didn't know May when she requested to meet with him and asked for a donation.

"She was recommended by somebody," he said. "I was impressed. She's a woman who brought herself up by her bootstraps, and she's very energetic. She keeps a lot of balls in the air. To start your own business and not know anybody from Adam's house cat, that takes a lot of guts and blood, sweat and tears. She also seemed knowledgeable about city issues."

The Browns' only other financial contribution in the Daytona Beach City Commission races was the $1,000 they gave to Trager.

"She's been in there, and she's sort of an individualist," Brown said. "She does her own thing. I see her at a lot of things. She called me and I said I'd support her."

A total of 24 individuals and corporations gave $1,000 or more to Daytona Beach candidates. Main Street business and property owner Theresa Doan was the biggest contributor, sending $4,500 to Daytona Beach candidates. Doan gave $1,000 to May, $500 to Trager and $500 to Henry.

ICI Homes Chairman and CEO Mori Hosseini and his affiliates gave $4,000 to Daytona candidates; George Anderson, his wife and his affiliates sent $3,750; and Harold Goodemote and his affiliates chipped in $3,000.

Who is Quanita May?

May was born and raised in South Africa, and she came to the United States in the 1990s. The 47-year-old settled in Volusia County 18 years ago, and has lived in Daytona Beach for 13 years.

Over those 13 years, she has built a business with a diverse list of services, ranging from dance lessons to executive wellness coaching to business growth guidance. Her business is located on Magnolia Avenue in a rental space owned by developer and investor Jack White and his wife, current Zone 3 City Commissioner Kelly White, who after eight years in the position has decided not to seek re-election.

That commercial rental space just west of Beach Street is located on the first floor of the Whites' Wall Street Lofts building, which has condos on its upper floors where they live and May used to live. May said she now lives in a beachside condo on the Halifax River.

She has served on the city's Downtown Redevelopment Board since 2014, and is currently co-chair of that board made up of members appointed by city commissioners. She said she's been very involved in the community, working with organizations such as the United Way, taking part in fundraising efforts and volunteering at nursing homes on holidays.

"I have been engaged in my activities for years, just quietly," she said.

While she has a healthy campaign account, and has only spent about one-third of what she's collected, over the past two months she's also been walking the neighborhoods of Zone 3 for three or four hours a day. As she realized some of the people she was meeting were home because they're unemployed, she said she put together a job fair Aug. 19 at a church on Derbyshire Road.

She said she's gone to neighborhood meetings, but concedes she has skipped some.

"You reach a point where you hear the same things at meetings over and over," she said. "After that, my goal was to speak to the people who did not attend the neighborhood meetings and listen to their concerns and see what I could do about those concerns."

May's meeting attendance is a point of contrast with one of her Zone 3 rivals, Pyle, a regular for years at neighborhood meetings and various city board meetings. Pyle's grassroots campaign grew out of her neighborhood involvement and efforts to improve the beachside, where she lives and owns other properties she's working to improve.

Pyle is a member of the Beachside Redevelopment Board, and she started a newsletter to help her neighbors stay informed about city happenings. She and Ruby also started the group Citizens For Responsible Development.

If elected, Ruby will pursue her ideas to allow residents citywide to be more directly involved in their government. Pyle and Ruby have immersed themselves in neighborhood interests, and neither has sought a large campaign fund. Both have raised a little over $4,000, and Pyle has supplemented her campaign account with $6,000 of her money while Ruby has given herself in-kind donations to make her campaign run.

"I'm counting on my grassroots supporters," Pyle said. "It's about being at neighborhood meetings and having your finger on the pulse. People want a commissioner they can talk to, and someone speaking about what they want to hear."

She's also been knocking on doors and trying to amass votes, not campaign contributions.

"It's listening to constituents, not just my idea of what I think is great," Pyle said.

Ruby's campaign literature says she's "a truly independent candidate accepting no money from large developers and donors." It also says, "I'll represent you, not the wealthy few."

"I can self-fund pretty much," Ruby said.

She handed out her campaign literature and had long talks with voters as she and her volunteers walked to the roughly 4,100 homes in Zone 1. She has met people who went to City Island for early voting over the past week. She mailed out her flyers to residents in 1,600 Zone 1 households that typically haven't voted in primary elections. And she created her own website and outlined her platform there.

'Can't buy my vote'

While Trager has raised the second-largest amount of money, she has also given herself the largest cash infusion: $30,000. It was added to her campaign account to send a message that she had her own money for her campaign if she needed it, and she wasn't beholden to any contributors.

Trager, who's in her fourth year on the Commission, did attract some heavyweight backers: Glenn Storch, Pat Northey, George Anderson, Daniel Francati, Richard Jaffe, Dino Paspalakis, ICI Homes, International Speedway Corp., Indigo Development, DME and Daytona Beverages.

While she's grateful for the financial backing, she said her supporters know "I vote honestly" and they "can't buy my vote." She's also not counting on the financial and power structure backing to win her a second four-year term.

"I think the most important thing is to meet the people," Trager said.

She's been doing just that, knocking on doors and spending the past week at the City Island early voting site mixing with voters.

Perhaps as valuable as monetary support, Trager also was endorsed by the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association, former Daytona Beach Mayor Richard Kane and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

"I cannot think of anyone more honest, hardworking or passionate about the city of Daytona Beach and its residents," Chitwood, Daytona Beach's former police chief, wrote in a letter endorsing Trager. "She has the experience, knowledge and work ethic to continue making a difference in Daytona Beach."

Zone 3 candidate James Newman has put $2,300 into his $3,900 campaign tally. Money hasn't been a big worry for Newman, a member of the city's Planning Board.

"I really don't think much about it," he said. "I've only gotten a few small contributions from people who believe in me."

He doesn't buy into the idea that thousands of dollars are needed to spread campaign signs and stickers around. He said that's unnecessary "bling."

"I hope people vote for me on my own merit," said Newman, who has knocked on a lot of doors and gone to debates as well as neighborhood meetings. "I chose to keep it simple. I've gotten out there and shared my stands on the issues."

He said he hasn't reached out to big contributors.

"There's the idea you owe them when you get into office," Newman said. "That's a concern from voters. I just believe people should look at your campaign and contribute if they want."

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