One might assume the $7 million stimulus contract that Deerfield Beach businessman J. David Eller recently won for his family's manufacturing company, MWI Corp., was the result of some successful schmoozing or campaign donations to his congressman, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein.
But Eller's no Klein fan. When contacted last week, Klein spokesperson Melissa Silverman was not familiar with the deal and was certain it didn't come out of a meeting with her boss.
Instead, Eller is a former Jeb Bush business partner and longtime GOP donor. Members of his family have contributed a hefty $9,400 to Republican Allen West's campaign, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.
West, as my colleague Tom Francis has reported at length, is an extremely sane, nonviolent guy who supports oil drilling off South Florida's coast and will surely be a good watchdog for the big business interests in his district.