Bob Abbott walked away from a mortgage. But he can lend his campaign $600, and he can line up developers to do the rest. One developer in particular: Daytona Beach’s Mori Hosseini, who’s bankrolling $2 of every $5 in Abbott’s campaign under a variety of corporate names. A vice president in Hosseini’s principal company, ICI Homes, is David Haas, the former Flagler County administrator who oversees development for Hosseini in northeast Florida, including Flagler County, where Hosseini’s development holdings own properties.
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There isn’t much of a money race in the campaign for the District 4 seat of the Flagler County Commission. First-term incumbent Bob Abbott has raised $4,940 so far. His challenger, Nate McLaughlin, has raised $5,275.
Both candidates are Republicans running on a platform of fiscal responsibility and job creation, though both are in foreclosure and hold no jobs, other than Abbott’s part-time efforts on the county commission. That job pays some $50,000 a year. (Since no Democrat is running in the race, the Aug. 24 primary vote in this race is open to all registered voters regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be county commissioner for the next four years.)
Similarities end there.
McLaughlin’s campaign is clearly more grass-roots driven. He has a total of 86 contributors. Overwhelmingly, the contributions are small, with many in the $15 to $75 range. His three biggest contributors: The Florida County Association of Realtors ($500), Jean Taylor, a real estate agent in Palm Coast ($500), and Gus Ajram, the automotive business owner now in Bunnell ($375). McLaughlin has donations from across the spectrum, including a $25 check from the local tea party organization and a $30 donation from Jim Manfre, a Democrat (and a former sheriff). The Clerk of Court’s duo, Gail Wadsworth and Tom Bexley, also donated $75 and $45, respectively.
Almost all of McLaughlin’s donors are local. His own contributions aside, Just $440 of Abbott’s donations, or 10 percent, are from Flagler County.
Out-of-area donors are nothing unusual in political campaigns. The difference in Abbott’s case is the disproportion of his out-of-county donors (it is, after all, a Flagler County commission seat), and the nature of his donors.
When his 11 local donors (himself among them) are excluded, Abbott is left with just eight donors. All eight are corporate donors, each giving $500. They are Hunter’s Ridge Residential Co. of Ormond Beach, England-Thims & Miller, a development project management firm based in Jacksonville, Bayard Consulting of St. Augustine, a company whose directors are almost identical to England-Thims & Miller’s, and then the four Hosseini companies.
Those companies are listed under four different names on Abbott’s campaign-finance reports (MHK of Volusia, Multilink Communications, Breakaway Trails, Venture Development Realty). But they’re all owned by Hosseini, according to filings with the Florida Department of State’s division of corporations.
When first contacted Monday afternoon about the developer-dominated donors’ list, Abbott said he had “no idea” why it was so. “That’s the absolute truth. There’s nothing that they’re ding that I know of in front of us, and even if there was, it wouldn’t affect me because anybody that donates to me, I have told them that that means absolutely nothing other than a thank you, which I’m in the process of sending.” But when asked about the dearth of local donors, he explained that during his campaign he placed calls to raise money from a few donors–developers–and got their help. “I’m not somebody that likes to go out there and ask people for money. I’m really not. But I did ask a couple of people if there was some possibility, he said.” “Developers need representation also. They’re not all bad people. I said this four years ago. I said everybody deserves the right to be represented.”
The incumbent commissioner said he would disclose the fact that he’s received money from developers who would appear before the commission–or abstain from voting.
Don't You Just Know It says
As the saying goes…..just follow the money!!
PC Dad says
Hey, Hosseini already bought a school, why not a county commish???
SAW says
Just one more reason we the people need to VOTE YES ON # 4 in November, big bucks from these same (developers ) & environmental abusers, is pouring in to defeat # 4 , as that amendmant is every developers nightmare.
You can be sure they will soon saturate the media, telling all the OLD FOLKS, to vote NO on # 4 or their taxes will go up. (***the standard SCARE tactic)
Don’t fall for that BS again, just do your homework, and checkout the most populated areas of our state or our country, then you will see what they pay in taxes.
More people do not equate to lower taxes , in FACT it is just the opposite MORE people HIGHER taxes..
Be sure to tell your friends to VOTE YES ON # 4, that gives you control , and takes it from developers. HELP SAVE FLORIDA !
Boris says
Is Bob Abbot secretly creating a Muslim terrorist training camp by way of Mori Hosseini’s funding? Those evil Muslims are infiltrating our local government. This is a travesty! *rolls eyes* *sighs* *impish smile*
Kevin says
Boris,
I want this comment to be pointed directly at you and your clown-like comments which show you are a very ignorant person.
I suppose you mock those adamantly against the Cordoba House because you ignorantly believe they are bigots and racists, something that a simpleton clown would surmise. The fact of the matter is people are profoundly offended because the understandably see it as a monument to what the Islamic extremists did on 9/11. Yet you spit in their faces, and mine as well being I am adamantly against it for other reasons. Ask why is it called the Cordoba House for starters and do some research from there.
Every day The Council of Islamic Affairs scolds us Americans for being bigoted and for not being sensitive to them, while millions of Muslims lie quit as mice knowing infidels get their heads sawed off with bowie knives for being alive. I mean just think how insensitive Daniel Pearl’s dad is for daring to say something about his being offended by thoughts of a Mosque being built there considering how lovingly his son’s head was removed on film by guess who…followers of Islam doing it in the NAME OF ISLAM.
Yes, your ignorant comparisons of Christians and Muslims proved a certain dopishness to your thinking. You and others sharing your dishonest and false comparisons between modern day Islam and its litany of human rights violations and killings to something Christians do is insane to be succinct. Islamic extremists are clearly on record for doing what they do in the name of Islam. We simply don’t see Christians blowing themselves up regularly in pizza parlors, launching rockets into crowded areas of people, cutting off heads of non-believers, etc. in the name of God and Jesus Christ. Maybe you see this but maybe you should see a shrink or neurosurgeon to find out why.
Nowadays Christians do bad things like stand up for the rights of what people of medicine and science believe is life, especially after 20wks let alone conception. Unfortunately for those fetuses that are an inconvenience to millions of mothers and foolhardy liberal sucker men who look at them as a morula and nothing more, without the help of these horrible people the numbers of abortions would only be far greater. Another bad thing about them Christians is they revere things like the Ten Commandments, something filled with its hateful, bigoted laws.
I suppose it is better to someone like as yourself with liberal ideals, that the mosque-building owner was one day a waiter and then magically transforms into a major developer and owner of multi-million dollar properties, able to resell them in one of history’s worst markets for more than it was listed for prior to its listed price when it was a better market with a material gain. Now who could or would afford to buy property under those poor business practices? Maybe you giggle to yourself as well when you consider that it is only logical that the project will be produced from dollars coming from foreign interests having terrorist connections and to organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Based on your twisted way of seeing things through your optic chiasm, you probably think selling blood diamonds to pay for it would be ok as well, right? Right!
You would see the wart on your nose even if it was black and hairy would you?
Kevin says
We don’t hate Muslims but millions globally are tired of the detrimental effects unbridled Islamic extremism in the name of Mohammed, Allah, and Islam!
over it says
Kevin: Boris was being sarcastic…………spit the bait out and wind up the 18 miles of line you ran with………….then maybe up the dosage, yer a bit tense……………… :) laugh a little………..
Kevin says
His, and some of yours for that matter, needed to be addressed. This is not funny to me, especially when twisted people side with Islam and then deningrate Christianity by trying to compare the two and make them equal. You’ll see Chritians at worst preaching and trying to convert, but not blowing themselves up or sawing off heads of Muslims, all in the name of God and Jesus. That is the big difference. The mosque is and will be funded by terroist dollars and I will bet it will sponsor and hold clandestine meetings in the furture where plans of further terrorism acts are planned as some are reported to have been such as that of the first 9/11 “mastermind” in the Brooklyn Mosque. That is why it shouldn’t be built.
Our country is being ripped apart and people are being divided by the politicians, to mask their crimes in government while we quibble over things that we should stand shoulder to shoulder on. The Cordoba House is not a monument to our ability to maintain our ideals and constitution, it is a monument to the moral weakness, lack of ingenuity (to come up with legal reasoning for preventing the mosque), and gullibility of Americans.
Dorothea says
Kevin, the people I see ripping the country apart are the people, such as yourself, who are gullible enough to believe anyone who has an opinion that fits into their misguided and judgemental thinking.
Kevin says
I know you hate to deal with obvious facts that support my logical and common sense reasoning Dorothea. I can see it upsets your liberal sensibilities. Sometimes one must make judgments and decisions that don’t involve acquiescing to every tiny minority’s tyrannical commands and whims as you would like to.
So go add that to your fruit salad while acting pretty on your back lanai.
Dorothea says
From my back lanai:
This is a delicious fruit salad, Thank you for the suggestions, Kevin.
However, even from this delightful place, I find your reasoning neither logical or sensible. The Muslim community in New York City could hardly be called a “tiny minority”, not that it matters. Even a tiny minority has the right to build a place of worship in this country.
Kevin, you are not upsetting my liberal sensibilities or my conservative ones, for that matter. Don’t flatter yourself. :)
over it says
Kevin, you may not find this funny, but you sure are. I am thoroughly entertained by your diatribe. You remind of me of the “experts” they have as guests on Fox news. The ones that they line up across the screen in the little windows. You just drone on and on about whatever side you are needed…………
BTW, Christians don’t need someone like me on the internet to denigrate them. They do a good enough job themselves with all their non-christian like activities. Yeah go ahead and play the mortal human being , forgiveness, died for your sins, blah, blah blah card. You happy young christians always have an out, never have to pay for you sins because the big dude pre-paid for you. I Guess that the beauty of believing in that fairy tale.
Finally, do i have to go over the “money behind the mosque” AGAIN?? The Kingdom foundation is funding the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf who is building the “mosque”. The same Kingdom foundation that is run by ALWALEED BIN TALAL which is the same Alwaleed Bin Talal that is in business with Rupert Murdoch. And what business might that be? News Corp is the name. hmmmmmmmmmm and what does News Corp own? Fox News!! I must say that they didn’t mention Talal by name, they stopped at Kingdom foundation. it was easy to figure out the rest…………
And NO, i didn’t see this on Jon Stewart. He’s “pretend news” in your mind i’m sure. I saw it on Fox and Friends in the morning, the juggernaut of news from Gretchen, Steve, and Brian. Fair and balanced and incredibly believable.
I love the internet, any idiot with a keyboard can participate. even me!!! Thanks again for the laughs Kevin. I await your response and dammit, it better be just as funny as your last.
To tell the truth says
Hosseini’s contributions to county commission candidates didn’t start with Abbott. Look at the Supervisor of Elections site for the last election and you will see $2,000 contributed by the same companies to County Commission Chairman George Hanns. Seems he wants to try to own more than one commish.
Boris says
OMG! You see those crazy militant Islamic fundamentalists are infiltrating at the lowest level of our government. And again I *roll eyes* * bigger sigh* * slightly more impish smile* and hopes to piss Kevin off in the hopes he writes another thirty page thesis! HA! LOL!