Campaign reports indicate that donations made to the 2016 Rocky Hanna for Superintendent campaign included sixty-five $1,000 donations from businesses and individuals with addresses in Nevada and the Atlanta, Georgia area.
Of the sixty-five $1,000 donations, fifty-one were from corporate entities and fourteen were from individuals. Ten of these individuals appear to be employed by the corporate entities that donated to the Hanna campaign.
In addition, Tallahassee Reports discovered that one address -Five Concourse Pkwy, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30328 – was listed for twenty-six of the $1,000 donations tied to eighteen different companies that donated during the primary and general election cycles. Listed below are the eighteen LLC’s.
During the campaign, Hanna raised approximately $300,000. This means approximately 20% of the money raised came from Las Vegas and the Atlanta area.
Why is this finding newsworthy now?
First, there was very little media coverage of these donations during the 2016 campaign.
A report by the Tallahassee Democrat in 2015, which was focused on donations by vendors in the 2016 superintendent race, downplayed the Hanna donations as “primarily Georgia-based relatives and corporate entities. Little if any of the money came from vendors.”
However, the majority of the donations appear to be tied to one relative, Hanna’s brother, Darrell Hanna, who resides in Atlanta. TR is still investigating the owners of the corporate entities and the relationship between the individual donors and Rocky Hanna.
Second, several media outlets have reported that the use of LLC’s for campaign donations is a legal way to avoid limits on contributions. Campaign laws limit the amount individuals can donate to the superintendent race to $1,000.
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Tallahassee Reports first wrote about local campaign donations coming from a web of LLC’s in 2014 in an article looking at top local campaign donors. The analysis revealed that the 311 E. Jennings Street address was listed for 75 separate donations by over 20 different businesses and one individual. The donations totaled $24,250. The principals listed for the businesses were J.T. Burnette and Kim Rivers.
Three years later, in 2017, after the federal investigation into local government corruption was revealed, the Tallahassee Democrat did a report on the donations coming from 311 E. Jennings Street.
The Democrat article stated that “while the activity raises eyebrows among election officials, it appears to be legal under Florida law. But campaign finance experts say it’s an example of individuals taking advantage of what they call ‘the LLC loophole.’ “
Ben Wilcox of Integrity Florida says the LLC loophole is a “form of bundling” which shows a “determined effort to evade” contribution limits.
And third, Tallahassee Reports has recently reported that some of the same Las Vegas and Atlanta area companies were involved in the Andrew Gillum campaign for governor.
TR has reached out to specific donors in the Atlanta area seeking comment about the donations, but have yet to receive any responses.
TR is also investigating donations from the Las Vegas and Atlanta area companies to other local campaigns.
Check back for updates.
Have to agree with Snidely Whiplash on this one. Why in the world does this town continue to put Democrats in control at the ballot box? I have heard lame excuses such as "well, I thought she would be different," "he seemed like such a nice guy", "so-and-so goes to my church, I can't believe what people are saying" and on and on. Tallahassee certainly lives up to the name of the good ole boys club. It won't be long until the money just dries up and all these Democrats who bought their way in with other people's money will take taxpayer money and retire handsomely. All the FBI investigations in the world won't change a thing unless people stop voting Democrat every election!
As a party, local Democrats don't really give a rats a_ _ about anything except money and power and more money and more power and they have the approval of the black community, the academia community and the well connected good ole boys. Hard to believe, right. At least the black community should wake up to being hoodwinked in this day and age. Young, local, black families are not better off - in fact it is becoming more perilous for them and they have no one to blame but themselves for either voting a straight Democrat ballot or not voting at all. Want to see positive changes in the community? Try putting some Republicans in to fight for you....what do you have to lose?
I am not to far from leaving the community I have called home since 1970 and I will not be looking back. You can have it and all the ills that are just around the corner.
Rocky Hanna you and your brother went to great lengths to "sell" the public on your image while feverishly working all angles to tarnish the former Superintendent. Rocky you committed willful child neglect with your own child, you violated the educator code of professional ethics, you bullied a teacher you dated into a transfer, you hired your political allies to jobs paying them over $100,000 each with NO interviews, you are way over budget on the Rickards project, worse our teachers are the 46 lowest paid in Florida.
Rocky you hid your track record during the first election, now thanks to Tallahassee Reports we all see who you are, what you did, and what you will do to anyone that stands up to you. I know a bully when I see one, hopefully everyone in our community sees you for who you are, a vindictive self centered person with limited educational skills who only cares about himself.
Do not put Gillum on such a pedistal! He is the most corrupt. The FBI has a plan and he is the one they will nail in the coming months.
Well, you just woke Lil Jackie up now to start spewing. Pons is so lucky he isn't in prison and Rocky may soon well be. Tally is rotting from corruption and has been for years. We can only hope that Gillum finishes ratting all of them out after Maddox, Smith and JT stop yammering. The FBI has a huge hit list now.
I wonder why a Home Owner's Association from out of state donated money to his campaign. Something seems off about that. Why would they donate to this cause?
It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to once again bring this up.
But everybody's outrage and anger is misplaced. I'm glad you guys are angry but you are mad at the wrong people.
Here's why:
1. Democrats are crooks you already know that. The most honest one we ever had, Gill Ziffer, scammed us out of $100,000.00 for a stubbed toe.
2. Given the above #1 it's kind of disingenuous for you to be mad at elected Democrats.
So once again who should you be angry at?
Your neighbors and quite likely yourselves for voting Democrat candidates into office.
Thats who you should be whizzed off at.
Than you Tallahassee Reports & Steve Stewart for providing the true investigative reporting in Tallahassee.
As we read about the hundreds of LLC's that were put in place we can determine that this was a well thought out plan by Rocky and his brother, months in the making, to buy the election. For a minute turn your attention to Rocky Hanna and his disproven "notebook", also months in the making. Rocky knew to win he had to discredit the former Superintendent to provide what he knew to false allegations. Almost 12 month into the investigation Rocky ADMITTED to the school board attorney that he had no knowledge of any wrong doing, further Rocky ADMITTED he authored that false and by his own design, misleading summary in each section of the notebook.
As soon as he took office Rocky began a series of demotions and promotions not based on performance, rather based on rewarding those that fed him information during the election, quickly enacting his "hit list."
As a community we can now all see the corruption, unethical, vendetta driven behavior that is Rocky Hanna. We can also see that our school board refuses to admonish a man that has VIOLATED the professional code of educator professional ethics by dating teachers under his direct supervision, bullying a teacher he dated into a transfer with a monetary settlement, openly broke the sunshine law, enacted an employee "hit list" and has openly made off color remarks about students with special needs and students of poverty.
Though the greater abuse in the Hanna case is his documented child neglect, I must ask this question regarding the campaign finance irregularities, a question that applies to the Gillum political machine, as well as so many others in Tallahassee:
WHY IS IT LEGAL FOR ANY LOCAL FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVANT OR SERVANT WANT-TO-BE TO ACCEPT MONEY FROM OUT OF STATE????????????
I don't care whose relative lives where, if a Florida local candidate takes funds from individuals or corporate entities whose legal addresses are outside Florida, Floridians suffer unjustified influence. And yes, this principle should apply to all local races in all states for all political activity of any leaning, conservative, liberal, or independent. Following a policy of local/state money for local/state elections would SIGNIFICANTLY reduce corruption.
WHY is it allowed for Candidates running for a LOCAL Office to accept Money from outside Leon County? WHY do they need more than $10 to $15 Thousand Dollars to run their Campaign? WHY do people Vote just for a Candidate that raises the most Money? WHY is it that you must only live in the District that you are running for "only" at the time of Qualifying (5 Days) and NOT for the whole time you are in Office?
One is a homeowners association. I wonder who the members are and why they would care about a school board election in Tallahassee.
This has been going on for years and the problem is so vast that it infects so many areas of our government locally.
Yes, this is appalling but this is business as usual and Rocky is not the sole perpetrator and it gets a lot worse than this going beyond Rocky.
More disturbing than this is that not too long ago Scott Maddox was a candidate for the school superintendent position.
It is exemplary that you are providing us with this information, keep up the good work!
The 2020 Supt. race is 9 months away. Has Hanna file to seek re-election? What does his war chest look like now? The bigger question, is anyone going to step up and run against him? Our school system cannot take four more years of him.
I am very shocked that there was no mention of Gillum being tied to 311E. Jennings Street?
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/10/30/andrew_gillum_and_the_mystery_of_311_east_jennings_street.html
Rocky Hanna and his brother have something in common both wanted hidden... “determined effort to evade”
First, Rocky Hanna was determined for 10 years to evade child support, although an affidavit proves he knew for 10 years that he fathered a child. PURELY DUSGUSTING.
As for Rocky's brother, from paying a private investigator to follow LCS employees to campaign loopholes, he wanted to evade the fact he financed his brothers dirty deeds which included voter intimidation, falsifying information to state and federal authorities and enacting a "hit list" vendetta.
Parents, teachers, students with each passing day you get to see the unethical person that is Rocky Hanna.