Did Paula Stark get the best of her political committee?

Is Rep. Paula Stark live a grand life thanks to a political committee instead of using it to defend a seat on the battlefield?

Reports on government expenditure for Friends of Paula show her how to pay rent and travel expenses. The committee is chaired by Stark’s friend, Joel Daviswho also serves as the committee’s treasurer. Reports show significant expenditures on “entertainment advocating candidate,” usually involving large restaurant bills.

The committee spent more than it ever received on July 12 and has not received an outside donation since early June.

The unusual expenditures may have come to light earlier, but the reports were often late. The political committee has repeatedly received notices from the Division of Elections scolding treasurers for filing reports late.

Recently, the committee failed to file a report by July 1 that was due nine days earlier, resulting in a $500 fine. But in November, the committee was fined $11,000 after failing to file a report that was due in early April by Halloween.

It is notable that Stark came under fire earlier this year when the Orlando Sentinel reported that $7,000 had gone unreported in official expense reports to the state for six months. That was taxpayer money, which the political committee handles with donor contributions.

But beyond the general sluggishness, the committee’s reported spending concerns a number of issues that have little impact on Stark’s re-election chances.

For example, the committee paid $1,650 in monthly office rent for space in Tallahassee. The money went to Leon Corbettwhose wife, Laura Lee-Corbettis a Tallahassee-based historic preservation consultant, LinkedIn page shows she served as the Department of State’s Florida Main Street Coordinator from 2000 to 2004. Stark serves as executive director from St. Cloud Main Street.

The address listed for payments is a single-family home owned by the Corbetts for which a real estate tax exemption was claimed in 2023 and 2024, according to Leon County Property InformationIndeed, a Google Earth image of the house shows a white Corvette resembling Stark’s parked in the driveway.

Of course, that “office” would be in addition to Stark’s office in the Capitol as the House District 47 Representative. She has a separate office in Kissimmee in her home district.

However, the reports also show that the committee received four installments from Stark’s official office for rented space in Kissimmee and St. Cloud, totaling more than $8,400.

It is striking that the committee appears to be largely dependent on loans.

The committee was founded in November 2022, shortly after Stark’s surprise victory in HD 47 the same month. In an election cycle where Republicans exceeded expectations, she won 51% of the vote over Democrats Anthony Nieves is a district where nearly 56% of the vote went to Democrats in 2020 Joe Biden as president.

The race is expected to be a battleground again in November. A Democratic primary in August will determine whether Nieves, Andrew Jeng or Maria Revelles will face Stark in November. Stark has less than $44,000 in her candidate account as she prepares for that race.

But the political committee has even less.

Since its inception, the committee has reported approximately $75,000 in donations, as well as nearly $10,000 in loans from 20/20 Media Holdings in Kissimmeewho shares a phone number with Davis’ Davis Land CompanyWithout the loans, the committee would have a deficit of more than $3,200.

The committee covered $10 magazine subscriptions from November through July. In May 2023, the committee covered a $175 stay at the Doubletree in Tallahassee by Stark, but it’s not uncommon for committees to cover travel expenses.

The most surprising items involve some form of entertainment, a description listed as the purpose on 25 itemized items of expenditure for the committee. Reasoning ranges from “entertainment advocates issue,” “entertainment advocates candidate,” or no further explanation at all.

A significant number of these payments are to restaurants in Tallahassee or St. Cloud. That includes nine different meals at To enjoy; the most expensive of which cost more than $267 last November. The restaurant’s main courses range in price from $28 to $54.

But the committee also covered an $874 expense at 2 Brothers Steak House in Kissimmee.

And there’s a $780 item for the “entertainment advocate for issue,” paid directly to St. Cloud Main Street, the organization Stark leads in her day job.

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