Scrutinizing Carolyn Brakey’s Campaign Finance Reports

From Jonathan Broadbent’s Substack:

Geauga County Commissioner candidate Carolyn Brakey and I are (or at least were) friends. However, I’ve been talking for years about undue far-Left influence in the Republican Party and it would be disingenuous of me to give Ms. Brakey a free pass. Based upon what I’m finding in her endorsements and Campaign Finance Reports, fundamental questions need to be asked…

Candidly, the only way her funding and endorsements could be any worse is if the Democrat Party was a direct supporter.

The “Better with Brakey” campaign finance reports came out on March 7th – the day everyone’s worst fears were realized (scroll down to read the donations yourself). Note: in the world of politics, who funds you is FUNDAMENTALLY important. This is the issue that sunk Presidential hopeful Ron DiSantis’s campaign, in my opinion, and is what that lies behind suspicions of people like Nikki Haley and others like her.

Onto Carolyn Brakey and the people/money backing her:

Having raised roughly $63,000 for a rural County Commissioner’s seat stands out as remarkable. That’s no small task, and, in a reasonable and sane political environment, would be over-kill. In today’s political environment, it looks like “buying a seat”, which prompts people like me to want to know were all the money is coming from. Relatedly, I used to own a printing company (little known fact: that’s how I met my wife), and as I see the flood of postcards, multi-page letters, yard signs, and giant printed signs for this race – and as I hear growing grumblings about alleged alignment with far-Left deep pockets – it was with growing dread that I awaited Ms. Brakey’s Campaign Finance Reports. “Perhaps she’s independently wealthy” I kept telling myself, hoping that the “swamp” “RINO” “establishment” narrative wouldn’t resurface. Unfortunately…

It’s the breakdown of donors that is really catching the attention of Geauga residents. A quick review of the numbers shows nearly half of the money coming from outside of Geauga, which begs the question of influence. (Constituents get inspired to donate to political campaigns because they like a candidate; people unaffected are generally unlikely to donate money unless they’re either family or have something to gain.) Note: In the coming days I hope to have time to dig deeper into these reports and refine my assessment, but for now, rough numbers will have to do.

First to catch my attention is the money from law firm Baker & Hostetler. I am intimately familiar with this law firm and, while I mean no disrespect, firms like this don’t send money places without a hope for return on investment. My expectation… especially as Geauga County Health Department ventures into “woke” far-Left “racial equity” garbage like:

What in the heck is “health equity”? Nobody knows, because it’s a blanket term for big-spending by big-government, opening the door to race-baiting narratives in order to force people into compliance. We’ve seen this playbook before and I’m no longer at all bashful about calling it out. 

Click here to read the rest of this article, including screenshots of the campaign finance reports referenced above.

Useful links:
Download the reports yourself from the Secretary of State’s website