Democrats in D.C. are measuring the drapes and getting hired by high-end lobbying firms, but local Dems aren't quite so euphoric.

That's because both the Pinellas and Hillsborough Democratic Party remain racked by divisions, with Hillsborough openly searching for new leadership and Pinellas facing a contested election for chairman. Congressional Democrats may have fought for a few days over Hoyer vs. Murtha, but resolving the locals' differences is going to take much longer.

Let's start in Hillsborough, where the Democratic Party continued to lose ground. How bad was Nov. 7 for local Democrats? The only local Dems on the ballot who won the county vote were Congresswoman-elect Kathy Castor, House candidates Mike Scionti and Betty Reed, Senate candidate Arthenia Joyner and Tampa City Council member Kevin White. All five ran in districts with wide Democratic registration margins and represent no great achievement for the party.

Democrats in most County Commission races were outspent and outperformed, including incumbent County Commissioner Tom Scott (who lost a seat-jumping race to Mark Sharpe) and Mary Mulhern (who lost to a better-financed Rose Ferlita).

While St. Pete Democrat Charlie Justice did win a Senate seat that covers South Tampa, he actually lost the vote widely in Hillsborough to his Republican challenger. Hometown Democrats Jim Davis and Alex Sink lost in Hillsborough balloting for governor and CFO, respectively.

Controversial Hillsborough Democratic Chairwoman Janeé Murphy announced her intention to step down before the elections, but no exciting frontrunner has emerged yet. Murphy represented a more old-school, moderate branch of the local party, while her critics were more progressive and, for the most part, have fled to the local chapter of Democracy for America.

Some of the Democratic candidates I talked to on background were very complimentary of the DFA organization, as well as the new East Hillsborough Democratic Club.

Some of the faithful are whispering that they would like to see a powerful Latino politician take the reins of the local party, mirroring the GOP's move to make Mel Martinez the head of the Republican National Committee. That wish list includes former mayoral candidate Frank Sanchez and Mike Suarez, a former Bob Graham aide who ran unsuccessfully for the Florida House in 1998.

At least Hillsborough has only two real factions to try to reunite. Pinellas is another matter, where there are multiple factions, unless you want to condense it down to just the basic two: Those who love party Chairman Ed Helm and those who hate him.

Pinellas had a number of big Democratic victories, including taking one state Senate and two state House seats away from Republicans. But the winners in those elections are generally not in Helm's camp, while many of his more progressive candidates went down to defeat.

Then there are the fights he had within the party. The only two Democrats elected countywide have longstanding disagreements with Helm that border on flat-out hatred. Helm's wife, Adrien, formed a PAC that helped some Democrats try to beat others in the primary (the state is investigating the PAC to see if it violated elections laws). The St. Petersburg Times editorial board accused him of driving the party "into a ditch" and called him inept.

Helm, however, points to accomplishments like recruiting hundreds more volunteers for the local party, making automated telephone calls and putting grassroots-active candidates in each and every race on the ballot so that the Republicans would not have any gimmes.

Helm wants a full term as chairman; he'll face a challenge from Toni Molinaro, who used to run the party's website.

"I'm running again," Helm said, "so obviously I've got a thick skin. I do think what we are doing is right."

MEA CULPA: When Bill Heller entered the race for Florida House District 52, I questioned his stamina. Looking at Heller's age, 71, I wondered if he would be able to match the walking and speechifying of the much younger Republican Angelo Cappelli. The answer is: Yes, he could and did. Heller beat Cappelli, and plans on continuing his door-to-door canvassing on Saturdays once he takes office.

This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2006.