Reports on file with the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections Office detail how candidates are spending campaign cash from the Developer of The Villages.
Wildwood Commission candidate Marcos Flores has thus far raised $28,095 in campaign contributions, the bulk of which have come from The Villages and Flores’ employer, T&D Concrete.
Last month, Flores spent $2,009.40 with Data Targeting Research in Gainesville. The company bills itself as “one of the top political operatives throughout Florida.”
On Oct. 9, Flores purchased $100 in stamps and spent $507.18 at Oxford Ink. He previously has spent thousands of dollars decorating two pickup trucks and purchasing signs.
Flores’ fundraising success dwarfs the $3,450 raised by his opponent, the Rev. Jimmy Derrel Strickland. He has spent about $1,200 on campaign signs and about $100 with Facebook.
Community Development District 6 candidate Patricia Francis, of the Village of Bridgeport at Miona Shores, has received $2,000 in contributions from the Developer. She is spending her campaign cash in a much more traditional manner. She went Oct. 15 to The Villages Daily Sun and spent $1,588.20, according to campaign finance reports.
Her opponent, Andrew Curtis, has raised $300 and has spent the money on postage and post cards.