Mel Sembler, a gregarious developer and major Republican fund-raiser whose largess was repaid with prize ambassadorships by two presidents, and who founded a controversy-courting “tough love” drug rehabilitation program, died on Oct. 31 at his home in St. Petersburg, Fla. Mr. Sembler, who developed more than 350 shopping centers and other retail projects in the Southeast, was a sought-after fund-raiser for Republicans, capable of shaking the money tree for $11 million at a single dinner. establishment who had an open lane to power in the era before the rise of Donald J. Trump. Mr. Sembler was candid about the role of money in politics. “Money gives you a voice,” he told The Tampa Bay Times in 2019.

---

Persons: Mel Sembler, Brent, Sembler, Donald J, Trump, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Bush, “, ” Organizations: Republican, Tampa Bay Times, “, acme, Supreme, Citizens Locations: St . Petersburg, Fla