Jacksonville City Council President Nick Howland said he paid $961 to the Tampa Bay Rays for providing his political committee a round-trip flight he took on a private jet to watch a Rays baseball game and said it fully complied with Florida campaign finance laws.
State law allows political committees to pay for the cost of transportation when it is tied to a fund-raising event for the committee. Howland said he flew to the Rays game to raise money in the Tampa area for the Florida Freedom PAC as he gears up for a re-election campaign.
While Howland said the trip was aimed at boosting his campaign, City Council member Jimmy Peluso seized on it as a way to attract contributions for his own campaign with a Sept. 12 email that called Howland's trip "Another
scandal by City Council leadership."
Peluso said Howland took advantage of state election law to gain "VIP access" to a Gulfstream jet that average residents don't get.
"While everyday Jaxons are working hard to pay their utility bills, balance their family budgets and play by the rules, City Council leadership is operating in the stratosphere, literally," Peluso wrote in the email asking for donations to his campaign.
Howland joinedPatrick Zalupski, who founded Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes and is the lead owner of the Rays, on a jet owned by Zalupski for the Aug. 30 flight that was first reported by the Florida Trib.
"It was entirely legal," Howland said. "I checked with my compliance team prior to the event and I double-checked with the ethics team after the event. It's all been fully disclosed and transparent."
Florida campaign finance law allows a political committee to pick up the cost of a fund-raising event, including air travel, in connection with fund-raising by the committee.
Howland said the Tampa Bay Rays organization provided the air travel along with food and beverages. Florida Freedom PAC's latest filing with the state shows Howland contributed $961 for the "in-kind value" of the transportation, food and beverages. Howland said in an interview he made the personal payment to the Rays.
The value of the transportation is not what it costs to fly on a private jet. State law says travel on private aircraft that is provided as an-kind contribution to a political committee "shall be valued" at what the cost would be for a person to travel by commercial flight for that route.
Peluso said in the fundraising email for his campaign that Howland's trip to the Rays game "should never feel normal in Jacksonville."
Peluso represents District 7 on City Council and is among the candidates running citywide in the 2027 election for the at-large group 4 seat held by Matt Carlucci, who cannot run again because of term limits. Howland is seeking re-election to the at-large group 3 seat and is currently unopposed.
Florida Freedom PAC has raised $618,250 since September 2021 and has about $330,000 cash in hand, according campaign finance reports filed with the state. Dream Finders Homes has contributed a total of $32,500 to the committee.
The latest report for the period when Howland took the trip to the Rays game does not show any cash contributions to the political committee. Howland said a $2,500 check from the fundraiser connected to the trip will show up on the next report and he looks forward to receiving more contributions in the coming months to Florida Freedom as a result of making the trip.
Dream Finders Homes is active in political contributions at the state and local level, mainly to Republican candidates and causes. The company supported Duval for All, the political committee for the re-election of Mayor Donna Deegan, who is a Democrat, by contributing $65,000 in 2024 and 2025.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Council president Howland's jet trip to Rays game draws political fire
