The Primary election is upon us with early voting and the election on August 20th. Primary elections are where you the voter have the opportunity to elect "your" best candidate to proceed on to the General Election.
However, the "Machine" believes "they" get to select candidates in the Primary election not you. The Machine wants power, control and influence. They use lots of circular money to do it.
The "Machine" recruits "their" candidates and then opens their network of deep pocketed PAC money to fund them. The Machine will recruit candidates unknown to the vast majority of the voting public so they can control all the candidate messaging and attacks on their candidates opponents.
Follow the money!
There are at least two Machine recruited and funded county commission candidates in Hillsborough County - Christine Miller and Chris Boles.
The Machine has circulated them both to run against Dr. Jim Davison, a well known Republican conservative. Davison, who has been actively engaged in local issues for over 25 years, filed to run for the county commission District 6 open seat last June of 2023.
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| Dr. Jim Davison Republican County Commission Candidate District 6 |
This is what happened.
The "Machine" first recruited an unknown to the voting public Republican Rico Smith. Smith filed to challenge Davison last July, a month after Davison filed to run.
Machine money initially started flowing to Smith. But when the Machine powers decided Smith could not win a Primary against Dr. Davison, Smith's money dried up.
With Rico gone, in came the Machine's second recruit to challenge Dr. Davison. Another unknown to the voting public Christine Miller filed in January to challenge Dr. Jim Davison in District 6.
Miller lives in Plant City. She is President and CEO of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. The Plant City Chamber allowed Miller to remain active in her Executive position while she's running for a commission seat.
Chambers are known for their advocacy and lobbying of local elected officials.....Miller's Plant City Chamber supported the corrupt and crony Go Hillsborough transit tax hike in 2016 that caused a law enforcement investigation, and thankfully never got on the ballot.
Miller's PAC account was setup 3/12/2024. Almost immediately $400K flowed to it all on the same day. Lawrence McClure's PAC Conservative Florida dumped $200K and SimWins Twin Tom Piccolo's PAC Building A Brighter Future for Florida dumped $200K into Miller's PAC.
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| McClure & the SimWin Twins dump $400K into Miller's PAC |
Obviously Miller is McClure's candidate choice and the Machine coordinates thru their network of PACs.
Local candidate campaign donor information is found at Hillsborough SOE website.
Miller's donors include Ron Pierce (ASG and RSA consulting), a lobbyist who lobbies the County and the State, including on issues that are not in the best interests of taxpayers.
There are 20 organizations with the same address of "111 S Armenia Ave Ste 201" who donated to Millers's campaign. They are associated with land developers Jeffry S Hill and Nicholas J Dister. The donors at the PO Box address are associated with Henderson Family Office, Inc. who also appear to be in the property investment business.
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Miller's "Machine" money |
The Machine goes around campaign finance laws by having numerous associated legal entities donate the $1000 campaign limit. But they are all the same people, not different donors.
SimWins Twin Tom Piccolo's PAC funds Christine Miller's PAC. Then Christine Miller's campaign account hands thousands of dollars to SimWins LLC, the Pedicini and Piccolo for profit corporation.
It's a circle of money like what a money laundering Machine does.
But then right before qualifying in June, State Rep Michael Beltran decided not to run for re-election. The Machine had to begin moving their candidate chess board.
The Machine moved County Commissioner Michael Owen out of his District 4 commission re-election race to run for Beltran's open State Rep seat. The cards were already in for Owen to do that as he was planning to make such move anyway, his timeline just got moved up.
Owen resigned from the Hillsborough County commission to run for the State seat.
So the Machine moved Christine Miller over to run in the District 4 commission race that is now an open seat.
It appears this maneuver enabled Miller, who was McClure's chosen candidate, to be appointed as the District 4 commissioner for the rest of Owen's term that expires in November. The Machine candidate Miller then became the incumbent in the District 4 race in November.
According to the Plant City Chamber's website, it appears Miller, now an appointed sitting commissioner, has not resigned or taken a leave from her Executive position.
After Miller was told to move to District 4, the Machine recruited their third candidate to challenge Dr. Jim Davison in the District 6 Republican Primary.
All their chess maneuvers is proof the Machine believes "they" get to select your Primary candidates.
At the 11th hour of qualifying in June, the Machine recruited Chris Boles, a Hillsborough County firefighter and long time County insider, to run against Davison, the outsider.
It was Boles, as a leader with the firefighter's union, who made the public statement in 2022 that the union was endorsing Democrat Harry Cohen for county commission.
Also under Bole's union leadership, the firefighter's union endorsed the $23B All for Transportation transit tax. That egregious tax was ruled illegal and thankfully defeated in 2022. It is simply poor judgment to endorse an illegal tax hike.
So Boles publicly encourages the citizens of Hillsborough County to support Democrat Harry Cohen in 2022. Now in 2024 he is running for county commission in a Republican Primary.
Hmm...we are left wondering if Boles will govern like Democrat Harry Cohen. Democrat Cohen supported both 2018 and 2022 illegal All for Transportation Transit tax hikes, has stated he wants people out of their cars, voted to stop the expansion of I-275 and brought the absurd concept of tearing down I-275 north of downtown to the Hillsborough County MPO.
But suddenly Boles, as a Republican candidate, raises the issues of "traffic congestion" and low taxes". These are poll tested messaging from the SimWins Twins.
The reality is Boles, a County insider for almost 30 years, has been MIA on these issues for decades.
The reality is the Hillsborough County Firefighter's union receives inflated raises and more tax dollars every time their new 2 year contract, always negotiated during an election, is approved by the County.
The Machine money and union money started flowing in to Boles campaign. And Voila! Boles starts handing thousands of dollars back to the SimWin Twins Pedicini and Piccolo.
The same 20 donors at the same address who handed thousands to Christine Miller sent thousands to Boles.
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| Boles "Machine" money |
The legal entities below who donated to Boles campaign are all associated with Henderson Family Office, Inc. who also sent thousands to Christine Miller.
The firefighter's unions and the infamous Go Hillsborough scandal crony lobbyist Beth Leytham are donors to Boles PAC.
The Machine has an entire circular network of PACs. The Machine deep pocket donors fund the SimWins Twins PACs. The Machine PACs fund the Machine candidates. The Machine PACs and candidates then send hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to SimWins Twins Pedicini and Piccolo who profit.
Wash, rinse, profit, repeat.
We will note that the Machine's donor West Coast Tomato LLC, seen throughout the SimWins Twins connected PACs, is associated with the McClure family.
This is just a tip of the iceberg related to the SimWins Twins Pedicini and Piccolo Money Machine. Lots of the Machine's PAC money is tied to Developers and political insiders.
It is a circle "Pay to Play" money.
Tom Piccolo will serve as the General Consultant, overseeing all campaigns and leading coordination between House Campaigns and its team of consultants. Perez listed Piccolo as an integral part of the 2020 House Campaigns team.
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| Tom Piccolo |
See how Miller was appointed to Owen's seat courtesy of the Machine. That was not the first time this shenanigans occurred - we saw it happen when former Rep Jamie Grant's replacement was appointed after he resigned from running for re-election after the qualifying date.
Piccolo's Building a Better Future for Florida PAC that dumped $200K into Miller's PAC, has received over $2.2M from donors since 2018. Hundreds of thousands of those dollars circled back to Piccolo, his SimWins Twin Pedicini and their other PACs.
The SimWins Twins are known for playing dirty politics. Pedicini was sued for defamation when he ran attack ads full of lies against conservative Republicans former State Rep Michael Beltran in 2018 and current State Rep Berny Jacques in 2022.
This Bradenton Times article describes the SimWins Twins modus operandi:
In the 2024 primary, it appears Pedicini is investing a lot of time and money in labeling his clients’ opponents—who are also Republicans—as not “real Republicans.”
Pedicini is known statewide for helping his candidates win elections by utilizing a strategy that includes targeting uninformed voters with an aggressive campaign of highly negative opposition attacks. Many argue that these attacks are often based on half-truths or outright lies. Over the years, some of his clients' opponents have brought lawsuits alleging defamation.
In keeping with the same strategy, the attack ads put out by his Committee to Expose Fake Republicans include “spin” on factual information, misleading by the intentional omission of details, false information, and even personal attacks.
The two big donors to SimWins Twin Pedicini's Committee to Expose Fake Republicans are SwimWins Twin Piccolo's PAC and McClure's West Tomato LLC.
There are big problems down at Hillsborough County Center that have been percolating for years. Davison is the most qualified Republican county commission candidate who has the leadership, knowledge, and experience to start fixing what is wrong, especially the county budget.
So why is the Machine so intent on opposing Davison? They are trying to force Boles, a leader of a public sector union who endorses Democrats and illegal tax hikes, on Hillsborough County Republican voters.
Hillsborough County Republican voters should be disturbed and disgusted with the Machine, their "Pay to Play" money laundering and their dirty politics.
Machine candidates use Machine campaign messaging to make "feel good" claims. However, these candidates have no clue or actual solution for how to actually implement their words.
All information provided here is publicly available so voters can vet their candidates.
Primary early voting is now.
Primary election day is August 20th.
The Primary is where Republican voters can choose who they consider the best qualified Republican candidate to run in the General Election... and they can reject the Machine!
GOTV now!
Boles endorsed Cohen over Republican Scott Levinson in 2022. In 2023 Commissioner Cohen went on to propose a 1 mill property tax increase in unincorporated Hillsborough County "for Public safety". The firefighters union contract runs out this year. Thank God the BOCC voted not to do it.
ReplyDeleteDr. Jim Davison PLEASE save us from THE MACHINE
ReplyDeleteIs there any news channel that will read this, verify it and broadcast this to all the citizen of Hillsborough County for the sake of our political integrity.
ReplyDeleteDon't know but you can help and get others to help Jim Davison's campaign: https://www.votejimdavison.com/home
DeletePlease share the article with those within your circle of influence who are voting in the Primary and ask them to share. Thank you.
DeleteYears ago a local resident that was active in the community (possibly an HOA Pres, a clergy person, a homemaker etc) could decide to run with local support and not much money. It's almost impossible these days for a local person with an independent mind to get any traction without the machine behind them. And the "machine" is not going to back them if they're independent. As an example, look at Dr Davison. He's conservative, he's smarter than all of them, and he knows where all the county skeletons are. And he's independent and can't be bought.
ReplyDeleteHe's really a dream candidate for voters ! That's why the "machine" will spend millions to hinder his campaign with shill candidates. If the "machine" is that afraid, then Davison deserves everyone's vote. It's common sense.
I am running for Hillsborough county District 2 county commission against the establishment incumbent Ken Hagan. He has been in a term limit seat for 22 years. I am all for institutional knowledge, however at some point that turns into connections. I started this journey because I had to sue the county to hold them accountable and to force them to be transparent about a development in my area. What I have learned in the meantime is how the sausage is made, and it made me so angry that I decided to run against someone who has run unopposed for the last two election cycles. Everyone told me it was impossible because of the machine, but I still believe there are more of us than there are of them. Everyone I speak to tells me he needs to go and they are glad to finally have an option. I have worked hard the last two years getting involved in the county process even when all
ReplyDeletedoors have been closed to me. I have been preparing for this moment. Please vote for the candidate that has a purpose, that has a message not generalized talking points. Character is power.
Rico Smith NEVER has been involved with SIMWINS, Pedicini, or Piccolo, let alone "recruited" by them. If you look at Rico Smith's campaign His campaign consultant is Thomas Partner Strategies and has been from Day One. Bread somewhere back in January that a PAC associated with Tampa General was somehow distantly related to Pedicini, but Rico Smith works for an.organization that includes Tampa General as a client, so any "Six Degrees Removed from.Kevin Bacon" analogy is bogus. Please recheck your facts and delete the insinuation that Rico Smith is even remotely associated with "The Machine," because it is blatantly false
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a shame that sometimes the BEST candidates can't fight the money machine! Hopefully, may the most and truly conservative America First candidates win! People, do your research! Don't rely on TV and print to tell you the truth!
ReplyDeleteWhole thing reminds me of Nixon, Watergate and the Committee to Re-elect the President. Those guys have as many PACs as Hunter Biden's dummy corporations. Looks like a swamp smells like a swamp, must be a swamp and all those elected officials involved. I'm going to vote anyway and help take this county back.
ReplyDeleteThank You Sharon for doing what the other media outlets in the county won't touch. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteStill haven't retracted the false information on Rico Smith, I see. Why let the truth get in the way of a good narrative that otherwise has a solid paper trail.
ReplyDelete