Whether they’re running for president or a state House seat, Republicans in need of campaign cash often find their way to Bill Diamond’s Palm Beach home.

Florida Attorney General and 2010 governor candidate Bill McCollum will be the latest GOP office-seeker to belly up to Diamond’s political ATM when he attends a fund-raising lunch there Wednesday.

A veteran of New York City Republican politics, the 73-year-old Diamond co-owns a real estate business and was elected to the Palm Beach town council this year.

He was a regional administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, then was former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s commissioner of administrative services from 1994 to 2001.

Giuliani officiated in 1996 when Diamond married Regine Traulsen at Gracie Mansion.

When Giuliani launched a 2008 GOP presidential bid, Diamond was an early financier, hosting him in February 2007 for a $2,300-a-head cocktail party and then becoming one of Giuliani’s key Florida fund-raisers. It was through the Giuliani campaign that Diamond met McCollum, who was Giuliani’s Florida campaign chairman.

After Giuliani dropped out of the race, Diamond hosted Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman in August 2008 to raise money for Republican John McCain’s presidential bid.

Diamond’s home has also been the site of money-raising events for state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton; state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter; former Republican U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale; unsuccessful 2006 GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher; and former GOP county commissioner Bob Kanjian.

Tags: Adam Hasner, Bill Diamond, Carl Domino, Clay Shaw, George H.W. Bush, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, Ronald Reagan, Rudy Giuliani

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 1:38 pm and is filed under 2010 campaigns, Bill McCollum, campaign finance, George Bennett, legislature, Palm Beach County commission, Republicans, State House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.