A Wildwood Commission candidate paid a quick visit Tuesday morning to the office of the Developer of The Villages.
Marcos Flores arrived in his distinctively decorated pickup truck at 10:30 a.m. at the Morse family’s new headquarters at 3619 Kiessel Road at Brownwood Paddock Square. He walked into the office, re-emerged within five minutes, got back into his pickup and drove away.
Flores, who is employed at T&D Concrete, is running for the Group 4 seat against Jimmy Derrel Strickland, lead pastor at Oxford Assembly of God.
Flores did not return a call from Villages-News.com, seeking comment about Tuesday’s visit to the Developer’s office.
Flores collected $5,000 from The Villages on July 13, in increments of $1,000 from The Villages Land Company, The Villages Equipment Company, The Villages Operating Company, Holding Company of The Villages and The Villages of Lake Sumter. That same day, Flores also collected a $100 contribution from Ryan McCabe, operations manager of The Villages, and spouse of Villages Polo’s Paige Boone McCabe, daughter of Villages Vice President of Sales Jennifer Parr.
The first-time candidate picked up $25 contributions in July from Sumter Landing Community Development District Supervisor Brad Brown, Director of Property Management Sam Wartinbee, Villages Charter School Director Randy McDaniel, Palmer Legends Country Club golf pro Mark Verkey, ASG Solutions and Cane Garden Country Club.
Flores has raked in an eyebrow-raising $23,395 in campaign contributions, towering over the $2,300 raised by his opponent. Campaign contributions collected in September are not yet available. October campaign finance records likely will not be available prior to the November election, but would show whether Flores picked up a check Tuesday at the Developer’s Brownwood office.
Campaign cash from The Villages isn’t necessarily a magic bullet. The Developer invested heavily in the gubernatorial campaign of Adam Putnam, who failed to win a precinct in The Villages in the August primary against the victorious Ron DeSantis.
Flores also got a strong boost for his campaign from his employer. He collected $1,000 from T&D Concrete, $1,000 from Terry Yoder and $1,000 from Glendora Yoder. The Yoders are the owners of T&D Concrete.
T&D has a growing political roster with Flores running in Wildwood, T&D Distribution President Brett Hage running for the Florida House and longtime employee Doug Gilpin seeking re-election to the Sumter County Commission.
