FMA POURS $300K INTO 'BETTER FLORIDA' COMMITTEE

By News Service Florida

The Florida Medical Association, a powerful doctors' lobby, funneled $300,000 this month into a political committee that has run attack ads in at least one closely contested legislative race, according to campaign-finance reports. The Florida Medical Association Political Action Committee contributed the money July 14 to another committee known as the "Better Florida Fund Corp." In February, the FMA also put $1.25 million into the Better Florida Fund Corp. That committee began running ads this month criticizing Sarasota County Republican Richard DeNapoli, who is in a tight race in House District 74 against fellow Republican Julio Gonzalez, who is a doctor. They are competing to replace term-limited Rep. Doug Holder, R-Venice. The Better Florida Fund Corp. sent a memo to reporters July 18 about its ad criticizing DeNapoli as a "Charlie Crist Republican." DeNapoli told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune he contributed money to Crist in 2009 when Crist was a Republican running for the U.S. Senate. He told the newspaper he stopped supporting Crist after the former governor left the GOP in 2010. DeNapoli said he then backed Republican Marco Rubio, who ultimately won the Senate race. The Better Florida Fund Corp. reported paying $81,075 on July 17 to the Virginia-based Smart Media Group LLC, the reports show.