Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie raised and spent $78,134.57 to get re-elected in 2012. He was unopposed as a candidate in both the primary and the general election.
Despite having a walkover, Chappie paid tens of thousands of dollars in “winning bonuses” to various political operatives. In an order of probable cause issued by the Florida Elections Commission June 15, the FEC found cause that, in doing so, Chappie broke the rules.
Florida statutes detail how candidates can dispose of leftover money in their campaign accounts after an election, which Chappie would seemingly have had a lot of after raising so much money only to receive a walkover in both races. Candidates must pay unpaid invoices and then can donate to not-for-profits of their choice and fund their office account.
Chappie’s report detailed expenses paid to several political operatives, including the accounting firm of Eric Robinson, husband of Sarasota County Commissioner Christine Robinson. He recently announced his candidacy for Sarasota County’s school board.
County Commissioner Betsy Benac and Chappie both used political operative Linda Cinque for their campaigns that year. Chappie paid Cinque a $15,000 winning bonus, in addition to the $4,678.94 he had already paid for her services, bringing the total to $19,675.94 — more than twice what Benac paid Cinque.
Political Insights is a political consulting firm used by Benac, Chappie and County Commissioner Larry Bustle in 2012. They were paid $27,000 by Chappie, including a $15,000 winning bonus. Benac lists what appears to be a bonus paid of $13,000 to Political Insights, while Bustle, who had both a primary and general election opponent, paid Political Insights $3,000 for his winning bonus.
The FEC found probable cause that Chappie on four counts violated state statutes, twice on $5,000 winning bonuses paid to Cinque and twice more on $5,000 winning bonuses paid to Political Insights.
In the same 2012 election, Eric Robinson was Chappie’s and Benac’s campaign treasurer. For Chappie, a monthly fee of $250 was paid to Robinson’s firm by Chappie’s district campaign, same as Benac. However, unlike Benac, Chappie’s supplemented his payment to Robinson with a $14,520.53 payment, bringing the total paid to $19,020.53, far more than the $2,805.44 Benac paid Robinson for what should have been more work, as her campaign involved much more fiscal activity.
The probable cause order does not give explanations as to why the other $5,000 paid to Political Insights and Cinque as bonuses was not included, nor why they apparently did not find probable cause on the money paid to Robinson’s accounting firm. In that instance, the payment wasn’t called a “winning bonus,” though the fact that the monthly fee covered accounting services similar to other candidates seems to indicate that it was a bonus of some sort, as even at $100 an hour, Robinson would have to perform more than 140 hours of additional work on Chappie’s campaign to generate that fee. That seems impossible for a race that saw no opposition and had almost no expenditures beyond the payouts. Robinson would not discuss client billing with the Bradenton Times.
Chappie has 30 days to respond to the order. He can either come to an agreement with commission staff through a consent order detailing the fine to be paid for the violations, request an informal hearing if he does not contest the material facts found in the order, or request a formal hearing to present evidence and/or testimony to refute the findings of the order. Chappie declined to discuss the case with the Times.
Chappie has filed to run for re-election in 2016. Thus far, he’s reported raising more than $35,000 in contributions. He yet has no opponent in the race. Robinson is again his campaign treasurer.
Islander note: Chappie’s administrative assistant took a message June 18 from The Islander, but he did not respond.
Chappie, a Republican, represents District 3, which includes Anna Maria Island. He resides in Bradenton Beach.
At-large Commissioner Carol Whitmore, also a Republican and a resident of Holmes Beach, has reported paying similar bonuses in past election cycles. She declined comment June 20, saying she had not read the Times story, which also was reported in the Bradenton Herald.
Former County Commissioner Joe McClash filed the FEC complaint. He is owner/publisher of The Bradenton Times online newspaper.
Go to www.islander.org to view the complaint, expenditure reports and the FEC order.