EDITORIAL

Jul 31, 2010 — Tampa Tribune

Jul. 31, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- In primary races for the Florida House, the Tribune has endorsed Republicans James Grant in District 47, Marc Johnson in District 56 and Dan Molloy in District 57. Democrat Darryl Rouson has the Tribune endorsement in District 55.

Today we announce our choices in the remaining contested races on Hillsborough County ballots for the primary Aug. 24. Early voting starts Aug. 9.

District 60

One of four candidates will succeed Republican Rep. Ed Homan, who is term limited.

In the Republican primary, former Tampa City Councilman Shawn Harrison, a lawyer from New Tampa, is pitted against consultant Trey Stroud. Vying to be the Democratic nominee are retired Air Force officer Russ Patterson and Democratic activist Christopher Carlos Cano.

The north Hillsborough district stretches from the Pasco County line south of Land O' Lakes to Lake Magdalene and east through Temple Terrace to Thonotosassa.

Harrison, 45, who was the first Tampa councilman elected from New Tampa, believes his experience serving on the council and representing nursing homes gives him much to offer. He understands local budgets, helped lower Tampa's property tax rate and knows how frustrating Tallahassee mandates can be for local governments. He vows to protect the elderly from budget cuts.

To raise revenues Harrisons would consider increasing college tuition and building toll roads. He does not, at this point, favor a tax on remote Internet sales. He supports funding the Florida Forever land preservation program.

He does not favor the Hometown Democracy movement because he believes it would negatively impact local job creation. Moreover, he said , requiring land use decisions to go through a referendum process would be unduly burdensome.

Since the disaster in the Gulf, Harrison is rethinking his position on offshore drilling. He wants an explanation of energy alternatives (OOTC:EGAL) but understands you can't destroy the economy to get there.

Stroud, 48, is a marketing consultant for Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Wireless and lives in Carrollwood. The likeable first-time candidate is a free-marketer who would work to make government more efficient. He has an unmistakable desire to serve.

A Tampa native and the father of an autistic son, Stroud is most passionate when talking about protecting those Floridians needing "human services." He distinguishes those programs from "social services," some of which he says are "undeserved entitlements" from which he would make budget cuts.

Stroud would work hard to be a good legislator, but Harrison's experience makes him the better choice. For state House District 60, the Tribune endorses Shawn Harrison in the Republican primary.

Democrat Patterson, 58, has not held public office, but he has worked as a community organizer for candidates in other states. He spent 20 years as a navigator in the Air Force following his 1974 graduation from the Air Force Academy.

Patterson believes Tallahassee is dysfunctional after 12 years of Republican rule. He says it's time "to get a little creative" as the state faces another budget shortfall.

He suggests studying the state's car fleet and perhaps providing maintenance through one agency. And he would consider consolidation of the services the state provides children.

Patterson would look at taxes and fees to determine "which are destroying jobs, which are neutral and may be positively affecting job growth." He favors the tax on Internet sales.

He believes it's important to preserve Florida's green space and would encourage investment in alternative energy, which he calls a "trickle-up job creator."

Having lived in Europe for 18 years, Patterson favors light rail. "We've got to start somewhere on mass transit. It's an investment in our future."

Cano, a Tampa native, is an energetic 26-year-old student working to obtain a master's degree in public administration at the University of South Florida. A first-time candidate and self-styled moderate, he says he will "directly apply" his degree to being a lawmaker. He identifies former Rep. Mike Scionti as his mentor.

Cano impresses us with his confidence and knowledge of local issues. He has real promise, but he needs more seasoning politically and in the professional world. The Tribune endorses Russ Patterson in the District 60 Democratic Party Primary.

District 61

Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has been representing this district, which includes part of north Hillsborough and most of central and east Pasco, since 2006. In the Republican primary, he is challenged by 55-year-old Kevin Wright, a Wesley Chapel resident who owns a small sportswear store in Tampa and has never held political office.

The winner faces Democrat Elena McCullough in the November general election.

Wright says his main motivation to run for office is to "rescue the economy." His big idea is to tap the powerful Gulf Stream to generate alternative energy for Florida -- an appealing prospect. Successfully tapping that source could generate all the energy Florida needs, he says, but he doesn't really offer specific details on how that energy would be successfully harvested or explain why no utility in the state has tried it.

Wright, who says he has studied energy his entire life, should be applauded for his passion about the need to tap alternative energy sources to reduce our dependency upon fossil fuels. But he simply cannot match Weather's experience, knowledge of state government or potential.

Weatherford's profile is rising fast. He is in line to become speaker -- the most prominent position in the House and one of the two most powerful posts in the Legislature -- in 2012. Pasco, Hillsborough and the rest of the region could benefit tremendously. The speaker sets the agenda for the House, and unlike former Speaker Johnnie Byrd of Plant City, Weatherford is not divisive. He is skillful, personable and works well with others.

Weatherford, 30, the vice chair of the Committee on Economic Development, says he wants to help reinvent Florida's economy through more investment capital and better jobs. The state can no longer rely on tourism, agriculture and the development industry, he said, and he suggests that too much regulation has been a detriment to expanding the economy.

Public education, he says, is the No. 1 issue. He supports eliminating teacher tenure, as he and other lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to do last regular session, and creating in its place a "pay-for-performance" plan. Weatherford helped pass a voucher bill to widen students' educational opportunities and has worked hard to give voters an opportunity this fall to scale back an expensive constitutional amendment mandating smaller class sizes in public schools.

The BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown Weatherford that drilling close to shore is by no means the safe operation the oil industry had previously sold him and other lawmakers on. He now says he doesn't support near-shore drilling, but his stance isn't as firm as it should be. He says he doesn't see any reason "in the foreseeable future" to drill in state waters but is "reluctant" to say forever.

Weatherford's drawback is he sticks to GOP talking points and hasn't appeared willing to pursue his own ideas. He offers no solutions for the budget crisis and revenue shortfalls, other than insisting the state live within its means, which avoids the tough decisions. Weatherford has achieved much, but he would accomplish even more if he made the effort to be his own man.

The Tribune endorses Will Weatherford in the Republican Party Primary in District 61.

House District 67

Three Republicans are running in the primary of the district that includes northeast Sarasota County, much of Manatee and a swath of Hillsborough up to Gibsonton. Republican incumbent Ron Reagan is term limited.

The winner will face Democrat Z.J. Hafeez and John M. Studebaker, who has no party affiliation, in November.

Bob McCann, a doctor and lawyer, seems more concerned with political rhetoric than building a better future for Florida.

He would get rid of state development regulations, check environmental safeguards and doesn't like Florida Forever, which preserves beaches and wilderness. He has no interest in saving the Everglades.

Jeremiah Guccione, who helps operate seven assisted living facilities in Manatee, is a more personable and sensible free-market advocate. He understands Medicaid waste and is intent on checking its draining growth. His command of the key issues facing Florida, such as transportation, job growth, environmental protection and growth management is less impressive.

Greg Steube, a 32-year-old attorney and military veteran who served in Iraq, grew up in Bradenton and is focused on how government decisions affect people and businesses. Steube, son of Manatee Sheriff Brad Steube, is particularly knowledgeable about the needs of ranchers and farmers.

Like his two opponents, Steube believes the market provides the best solutions, and he wants to free businesses from unnecessary regulations and costs. He understands the need to protect the public health and environment but says too many regulations are duplicative.

A year ago, when many in his party were clamoring for near-shore drilling, he rightly warned that the state should go slow and not gamble the state's economic future on oil industry promises.

A priority would be investing in transportation improvements that would generate jobs and improve the region's economic prospects. He appreciates the importance of USF to the area's economy. Steube is more informed on the issues and better connected to constituents than his opponents. In District 67, the Tribune endorses Greg Steube.

Candidates not endorsed by The Tampa Tribune are invited by the editorial board to write rebuttals. Rebuttals should be limited to 200 words.

E-mail all replies to tribletters@tampatrib.com or write to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 191, Tampa, 33601-0191.

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