When he was acting as Jeb Bush's bete noire in the Florida Legislature, Dan Gelber had the reputation as being Florida's smartest Democrat. But the former federal prosecutor and North Miami Beach legislator's political career was derailed, at least for the time being, after his loss to Pam Bondi in the race for Florida Attorney General in 2010.
Gelber refused to criticize Bondi when given the opportunity during his Tampa Tiger Bay Club appearance at Maestro's at the Straz Center on Friday afternoon, but he wasn't so polite when it came to critiquing Gov. Rick Scott. He said he believed that any of whom he dubbed the Big Three — Charlie Crist, Bill Nelson or Alex Sink — will defeat Scott next year, despite the improving Florida economy.
"I think Bill Nelson has to decide whether he wants to stay in the Senate or not. He would probably be our premier candidate in the sense that he's the most well-known and he's in political office," he said.
Regarding Charlie Crist, Gelber said, "A lot of people say he's always changing his positions. Frankly, he was socially moderate when he was a Republican," referring to his pro-environmental agenda as governor, and his advocacy for automatic restoration of rights for ex-felons. "Which is a position a lot of Democrats don't take."
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2013.