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Dean Cannon charged $175,000 to RPOF AmEx card

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More tales of lavish spending by the so-called party of fiscal responsibility.  The Orlando Sentinel reports:

As Winter Park Rep. Dean Cannon‘s power and prestige grew, so did his travel and spending on the state Republican Party dime.

During a two-year period ending in late 2008, the lawyer slated to become House speaker charged $175,000 to his Republican Party of Florida-issued American Express card, according to credit-card statements obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

Expenses ranged from a $19,151 charter flight to New York so fellow House GOP leaders could raise cash and see the lights at Rockefeller Center, to $24.94 for a baby toy for a major donor. Cannon’s AmEx card paid $4,291 for a professional photographer to shoot photos for his campaign Web site, for Disney World fundraisers and for dinner checks that sometimes reached $1,000 or more to woo big donors and entertain fellow GOP leaders.

Cannon also reimbursed the party for $2,994.95 for meals that he says were accidentally charged to the party card instead of a personal one — including $2,530 for a 2008 birthday party at Hot Olives restaurant in Winter Park.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.

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