Darden Rice receives $500 in green from red light camera company -- despite being opposed to RLCs

Candidates for Tuesday’s St. Petersburg citywide primary elections are starting to see green from red light cameras.

With only days away form voters going to the polls, the campaign financing numbers for District 4 show a tightening money race for the two candidates most likely face each other Nov. 5 general ballot — civic leader Darden rice and Tea Party activist Dr. David McKalip.

Again, cash on hand may be what tells the final tale in the race between, Rice, McKalip, Carolyn Fries and Richard Eldridge.

Frontrunner Rice, in the 18-day financial period between Aug. 3-22, added $8,000, making total campaign contributions of $75,080, of which she has spent $56,750. That leaves her cash-on-hand at just over $18,000.

McKalip received $3,050 in the 18 days of August; with another $1,500 in loans, his total collected becomes $44,683, or a little less than two-thirds his opponent.  After spending just over $40,000, the neurosurgeon has left about $4,500 in the bank as he rolls into Election Day.

It is clear that Rice is an effective fundraiser. So much so, in fact, she received donations from causes she disagrees with.  

In this latest round of Rice’s campaign, red light cameras are taking a place as one of her long list of supporters.

Rice received a $500 donation from American Traffic Solutions, Inc., the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company contracted to install the controversial devices in St. Petersburg last year. More than 75 Florida cities have ATS-installed cameras, including Orlando and Tampa. As the nation’s largest manufacturers of red light cameras and as of 2010, ATS was responsible for about 41 percent of the nation’s traffic photo business.

On her website, however, Rice’s stance on red light cameras is clear:

I am not in favor of red light cameras.  They erode trust and make the city feel less friendly. They were clearly introduced to increase revenue and have fallen short on their stated objective to improve public safety.  They are regressive in structure, hurting lower income, working people the most. 

Other Rice donors in the August period include a variety of union, business and progressive support:

• St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce
• Ruth’s List Florida
• IBEW Electricians Union Voluntary Fund
• International Union of Operating Engineers
• Political consultant Ron Pierce, who has clients such as the Tampa Bay Lightning/Tampa Bay Times Forum

Carolyn Fries received $325 in mid-August and added another $2,100 in loans to her campaign. She brings an overall $10,702 to the race, and after spending $9,910, she is left a little less than $800 cash on hand.

Richard Eldridge loaned himself $9 and received $35 in in-kind contributions in the same period, spending nothing on his campaign. His total contributions raised are $207, with the on-hand money at about $25.

Jim Kennedy, also campaigning to keep his District 2 seat, is getting a lift from the red light camera lobby. He has defended the “imperfect” red light camera system as recently as July candidate debates. Kennedy received the maximum $500 business entity donation allowed by law from Mulhill ICS, who is a co-registered PAC with ATS, as well as another $500 from Platepass LLC.