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Politics

Unsettled: Who donated to whom?

By ASJYLYN LODER
Published December 23, 2006

The legal battle between ex-Commissioner Nancy Robinson and now-Commissioner Rose Rocco over the District 2 County Commission seat has made a lot of noise.

But one thing has remained quiet: who is paying legal fees for the two women.

Rocco says she'll fully disclose the donors to her legal fund - eventually.

Robinson's attorney, Robert Morris Jr., wouldn't say how much he planned to charge the former commissioner, but he did say this: "No one else is paying her legal fees."

Rocco retained Ron Meyer, a high-powered Tallahassee lawyer. Meyer beat Gov. Jeb Bush's school voucher plan. He wears shirts with monogrammed French cuffs. He brought a smart and sartorially snappy associate with him to a Dec. 11 hearing in Brooksville.

In short, he's probably pricey. Plus, he won.

Robinson sued Nov. 14 to keep Rocco from taking office. Rocco won the election by 1,444 votes, but Robinson said Rocco wasn't qualified to take office because she didn't live in the Spring Hill district on Election Day.

Robinson said the court should give her back the seat she held for 14 years.

Rocco moved to the district before the vote was official. That's all the law requires, her attorneys say.

On Thursday, Judge John Booth ruled in Rocco's favor, and the three-time candidate was quickly sworn in. Rocco - newly encumbered by the cost of her in-district mortgage - has the help of a legal fund set up by her supporters.

Rocco said she's received $20 checks, $100 checks, and $500 checks. Support is coming from throughout the community.

Jennifer Blohm, Meyer's associate, said that if Rocco is sworn in, she'll have to report the donations as gifts. She has until July 1 to do that.

Meyer said Thursday that he has no problem with Rocco reporting the donations sooner, now that she's won her case.

The law applies only to public officials, Blohm said. That means the losing candidate can take all the gifts she wants without telling the public.

Morris, Robinson's lawyer, said the same goes for the former four-term commissioner. Robinson doesn't have a legal fund that he knows of, he said.

He's not sure if any time he donates - and he's not saying that's what he's doing - will have to be accounted for as an in-kind gift.

"At this point in time, I don't believe she has any obligation to disclose, because she's not a candidate and she's not elected," Morris added.

[Last modified December 23, 2006, 06:50:24]

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