The commissioner who controls zoning and development in Wesley Chapel has roughly 1,000 times more campaign cash than her challenger with 12 days until the Tuesday, Aug. 18 primary.
District 4 Commissioner Lisa Yeager's political action committee, Yeager for Florida, has raised $499,000 since September 2022, according to a campaign finance analysis published by the Hernando Sun on Thursday, Aug. 6. The PAC spent $61,000 between July 4 and July 24 and still holds $128,000. Yeager also chairs a second PAC, Friends of Lisa Yeager, which has raised $48,000 and spent just $1,200. Her campaign account holds more than $66,000 in cash on hand. Combined, Yeager's remaining funds across the two PACs and campaign account top $194,000, per the Hernando Sun's analysis.
Her Republican primary opponent, Jonathan Deckard, has $500 left. The majority of his $15,000 in total spending came from $10,240 he loaned himself.
The District 4 seat directly governs unincorporated Wesley Chapel. Tuesday's contest is a closed Republican primary. A write-in candidate, Louie Rodriguez, appears on the November ballot, but Rodriguez dropped out of a similar write-in role in 2022.
Who's funding Yeager
Developers and real estate investment companies make up the bulk of Yeager's donor base. Her campaign received $5,000 from companies affiliated with Deeb Construction and $5,000 from Tampa-based Harborlight Capital Group. Political committee backers include the Florida Courage PAC, chaired by Republican operative William Stafford Jones, which has raised $6.5 million since 2023. Committees affiliated with term-limited state Sen. Ed Hooper and Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco have also contributed.
District 2: Weightman vs. Vazquez
The other Wesley Chapel commission seat shows a similar dynamic. Incumbent Seth Weightman has raised $124,600, primarily from businesses, developers and 15 political action committees totaling $14,000. He has spent only $11,150.
Democratic challenger Stephanie Vazquez, an Air Force veteran, has raised $56,200 through July 31, predominantly from small individual donors. She has already spent $47,450, more than 80% of her total. Pasco County voted for Donald Trump at 61.9% in 2024.
School Board District 1: committee money vs. small donors
In the open School Board District 1 race covering Wesley Chapel, Gino Collura has raised $30,700. Nearly half, $14,500, came from political committees including Yeager for Florida, state Rep. Danny Alvarez's committee and Florida Courage PAC. Collura has spent $21,600.
Kim Coward has raised $20,450, mostly from roughly 200 small individual donors, though a significant share live in South Florida. Coward is a former policy attorney at Broward County Schools and now a partner at Coward & Coward, P.A. Two other candidates, Christopher King and Brian Perras, have each raised less than $4,000.
School Board District 3: self-funded frontrunner
Air Force veteran Kirk Phillips has raised $50,600 in District 3, but he loaned himself all but $500 of that total. He has spent $38,200. Realtor Mollyana Ward has received more outside contributions than any District 3 candidate, including $3,000 from the Realtors Political Advocacy Committee and $450 from former Pasco County Commissioner-turned-lobbyist Mike Moore. Pasco Superintendent Dr. John Legg has endorsed Ward.
How to vote
Early voting runs Saturday, Aug. 8 through Aug. 15. Election Day polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Pasco's primary turnout has been historically low: 24.88% in 2022 and 15.88% in 2024, according to Neighborhood News. Voter information is available at PascoVotes.gov.
