Campaign Money · 2026 Cycle
Two candidates. One donor list. $9,100.
In the first quarter of 2026, Seat 5 candidate Nina Culver raised $13,550. Of that, $9,100 — two-thirds of everything she took in — came from just 14 donors who also gave money to Commissioner Antonio Arserio. Fourteen of the same wallets, on both candidates' reports.
And it's not new. In 2022, twelve shared donors gave $9,150 to Culver and $8,850 to Arserio. Same pattern, same donor list, two elections in a row. We're showing you the paperwork, not telling you what to think — but when two-thirds of a candidate's early money comes from the same people funding a sitting commissioner, voters get to ask: whose phone calls get returned?
The receipts: Candidate campaign finance reports, City of Margate, 2022 and 2026 cycles. Public record — read them yourself at the City Clerk's office.
Campaign Money · Self-Funding
$67,529.88 of his own money
That's what Commissioner Arserio's 2026-cycle filings show he has put into his own campaign: $42,500 in cash loans (dated 2/27/25, 10/31/25, and 3/31/26) plus $25,029.88 in in-kind contributions. Unlike his 2022 cycle — where a $31,500 loan was repaid in full — no loan paybacks appear in the 2026 reports so far. The $42,500 is still outstanding.
The receipts: Arserio campaign finance reports, 2026 cycle, City of Margate.
Follow the Lobbyist
The Book network's $8,500
Money connected to Tallahassee lobbyist Ron Book — whose firm the City of Margate pays $10,000–$19,999 every quarter, per state lobbying records — shows up across Margate's politics. Book-connected contributions total $8,500: Arserio $3,000, Caggiano $2,000, Schwartz $2,000 — and exactly one candidate who isn't on the commission: Nina Culver, $1,500 (3/20/2026).
The receipts: Filed campaign reports and Florida lobbying compensation records.
$9,100
From 14 shared donors — 67% of Culver's 2026 first quarter
$67,529.88
Arserio's self-funding in the 2026 cycle, per his filings
$8,500
Book-connected money across four Margate campaigns
$112,605
What one commissioner costs per year, FY2026 city budget
