Charlie Justice calls Bill Young's behavior "corrupting"


CL contacted Young's Washington office for a response.  An agitated staffer claimed this publication and WMNF radio call "all the time" after Charlie Justice issues a press release.  He then said, "you guys named him legislator of the year, didn't you?" referring to this publication calling Justice tha t.  Since there aren't any editors in the house, I can't confirm that (I've only here since September).


Young has replied to the St. Pete Times, saying that the "the radical left" wants him out of Congress because they " just don’t want a voice for reason and Constitutional government who stands in the way of their big government power play."


The Times then anonymously quotes someone from  Young's camp that says that Charlie Justice can play the earmark game as well, noting that  in 2006


Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed his request tor spend $187,000 to replace windows and add a generator to a building operated by the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children for use as a hurricane shelter.


Okay, Justice wanted to spend $187,000 to replace the infrastructure on a facility for the mentally disabled in Pinellas County.....vs. $13 million to fund a New York tourist destination?  Equal in their severity?  You decide.

We reported earlier this morning on how Democratic Congressional candidate Charlie Justice has started to take the gloves off, so to speak, in going after Pinellas GOP Congressman Bill Young's  tendencies to funnel millions of dollars in projects to lobbying firms employing former staffers.

Shortly after that, the Pinellas/Hillsborough State Senator then blistered off a fiery press release, in which he assailed Young for his "corrupting abuse of the federal budget process for his own political gain. I believe that Congressman Young’s behavior is disgraceful, disqualifying and completely out of the step with the people of Pinellas County.”

Justice then said that Young had "hid" $13 million in taxpayer money to help build a tourist destination in New York Harbor.

He then says,

"It's curious, at least until you learn that Congressman Bill Young got $120,000 in contributions to his campaign in return for boosting tourism in New York."

WE LOVE OUR READERS!

Since 1988, CL Tampa Bay has served as the free, independent voice of Tampa Bay, and we want to keep it that way.

Becoming a CL Tampa Bay Supporter for as little as $5 a month allows us to continue offering readers access to our coverage of local news, food, nightlife, events, and culture with no paywalls.

Join today because you love us, too.

Scroll to read more News Feature articles

Join Creative Loafing Tampa Bay Newsletters

Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.