Jeb Bush's nonprofit foundation has paid pollster, former campaign finance

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush has used his recently revived nonprofit foundation to pay a former campaign finance director and two former campaign aides.
Although Bush has said his Foundation for Florida's Future is not a way of keeping his political machine intact after he leaves office early next year, recent disclosures on the foundation's Web site show that it paid:


• Nearly $99,000 to Ann Herberger, Bush's campaign finance director during two campaign and a longtime political fund-raiser for his family.

• Nearly $70,000 to Neil Newhouse of Washington-based GOP Public Opinion Strategies group for polling last October.

• $48,000 for "management services" to a lobbying and public-affairs firm whose staff includes Mandy Clark and Mandy Fletcher. Both worked on Bush's reelection campaign and on his brother's presidential reelection campaign.

• $23,500 for "legal services" from the Washington law and lobbying firm Patton Boggs.

• $20,000 in February to GOP political strategist Adam Goodman's The Victory Group Inc.

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In Washington on Wednesday, Bush said the foundation's expenditures are within the law and that Herberger's salary comes from donations.
"It's all pretty transparent, complying with the new law," Bush said. "Ann Herberger gets money when she raises money. It's kind of how she makes a living."

But when asked about the subject of the $70,000 poll, Bush said, "I'm not going to tell you."

Bush had said he resurrected the foundation to campaign for a constitutional amendment to allow the state to pay for private- and religious-school tuition for children in failing schools, but lawmakers failed to pass a joint resolution that would have put such a question on the ballot in November.

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"We've known Governor Bush for many, many, many years, and his programs, once he gets his teeth in them, usually come out working 100 percent," said Jupiter philanthropist Lawrence DeGeorge, who has donated $55,000 since August. "So it didn't take a great deal of pushing and cajoling to get us to contribute to the fund."

A prospectus the foundation sent out mentioned plans supportive of children's activities, especially grants for disabled or disadvantaged children, DeGeorge said.

The foundation's registered agent, Nancy Watkins, said she was unaware of any such prospectus.

Jacksonville engineer Richard Blankenship, who served Bush's brother, President George W. Bush, as ambassador to the Bahamas for two years, said he has given the foundation at least $185,000 over its lifetime.

Bush started the foundation, a think tank that he calls a "do tank," after his 1994 gubernatorial loss to Lawton Chiles. He used the foundation as a platform to spread the message about his proposed reforms, including school vouchers, and to remain in the public spotlight until he revived his gubernatorial campaign and was elected governor in 1998. After becoming governor, Bush let the foundation blend into the conservative James Madison Institute, but he brought it back to life last year.

The donations, ranging from $1 to $500,000, have come from around the state and country and include gifts from some of the Bush family's biggest sponsors. The top donation, $500,000, was given by Tampa-based Cast-Crete Corp., which makes building materials and is headed by conservative activist Ralph Hughes.

The Geo Group, a Boca Raton-based company that runs private prisons, donated $100,000. Its major shareholder is George Zoley, a Florida Atlantic University graduate Bush appointed to the university's board of trustees.

Those close to Bush and intimate with Florida politics say the foundation also offers the self-described micromanager a host of other pluses, including keeping an eye on his successor of whatever party, maintaining his political machine and ensuring that he won't be forgotten on a national level.

"It keeps the old gang together and functioning," GOP strategist Mac Stipanovich said. "For what purpose? You don't have to have a purpose. All you need to know is, they're a useful tool. You don't have to have a goal. This is a handy tool to have in my box."

Bush can use the nonprofit, a 501(c)(4) under the federal income tax code, to lobby for ballot issues, educate the public about nearly anything or endorse federal candidates. But he can't use it to make cash or in-kind contributions to federal candidates, including himself, should he choose to run for president or the Senate.

GOP campaign strategist Rick Wilson agreed that "the foundation is a very useful vehicle."

"Jeb has a giant political footprint in this state," said Wilson, adding that the foundation likely will generate papers and scholarships, thereby having a long-term policy impact on the future of education in Florida.

"No matter what he does in the future, even if he never runs for public office again, there's just no way he's going to stay out of public policy," he said. "He likes it too much. He enjoys it."