Brian Blair, the most conservative of the Hillsborough County commissioners, has drawn an opponent for his 2008 re-election bid. Democrat Kevin Beckner, a financial planner with offices in Ybor City, is running hard already.
In a sign that it will be a serious challenge, Beckner hired Mitch Kates as consultant to his campaign. Kates has a short but eye-catching record of taking underdogs to victory in Tampa Bay, including state Sen. Charlie Justice and Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, CL's former art critic.
Beckner hopes to parlay dissatisfaction with Blair's ongoing attempt to dismantle the county's wetlands protection division (the focus of last week's PoHo column) into a seat on the Republican-dominated commission. His campaign is focusing on the effects of uncontrolled growth on the region's transportation systems and its environment.
But is Hillsborough County — infamous for banning of Gay Pride displays in its public libraries — ready to replace Blair with Beckner, who is gay and has worked actively in progressive campaigns and is outspoken about GLBT issues? Kates says yes and points to races in Oklahoma and Alabama where openly gay candidates beat Republicans as evidence that it can be done.
Plus, Beckner already seems tireless in the race and has raised an impressive $36,000 in his first partial quarter of fundraising, Kates said. That money came from about 200 contributors in both parties, Kates added.
For now, however, I am more intrigued with the possibility of Kates and Blair meeting to settle this in the squared circle instead of at the ballot box. Both are former professional wrestlers: Kates wrestled in a hockey mask and holding an ax as Jason the Terrible, while Blair was famous as a member of the tag team duo The Killer Bees while clad in skintight black-and-yellow-striped bumblebee shorts.
So here's my idea: Produce a pay-per-view loser-leaves-town, Texas cage match between Jason the Terrible and the Killer Bee. The proceeds will be used to purchase environmentally sensitive lands to protect them from development.
Speaking of Blair, the nonpartisan League of Women Voters has joined more than 70 civic leaders and environmental activists in condemning the commissioner's attempt to eliminate wetlands rules and staff in the name of budget cuts. A letter to the editor from president-elect Richard Brown says:
"The decision by the Hillsborough County Commission — sitting as the [board of directors of the] Environmental Protection Commission and without prior public hearing — to strip protection of wetlands from local government is bad public policy.
"The League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County has consistently advocated that local agencies have responsibility for oversight of land use policy and resource protection. Quite simply, local government provides better protection and service than either state or federal agencies can muster in these areas.
"If the decision of the Commission stands, Hillsborough County will inevitably lose wetland acreage. As wetlands acreage gets reduced, citizens of Hillsborough County will encounter increased pollution and flooding. They will also be forced to pay for cleaning up the resulting disasters. As our county becomes more developed, environmental protections should be increased, not reduced."
The latest polling from CBS News brings some interesting tidbits about party satisfaction and the population's desire (or lack of) for third-party candidates.
When Democratic voters were asked if they were satisfied with their options in the presidential primary, 61 percent said they were satisfied. For Republicans, it is a 180 turnaround, with 61 percent saying they want more choices, or more to the point, that they aren't happy with the field they have right now. As Campaign Insider magazine points out, this is consistent with previous polls and reflects the fact that GOP conservatives haven't found a horse in this race yet.
On the issue of a desire for a third-party choice, 53 percent of all voters said yes, they'd love to see a third-party candidate. Broken down by party, neither Republicans nor Democrats have a majority of members who feel that way (although both show support in the low 40s for an independent option). The number's quite a bit higher for independents; 71 percent of them want a third-party choice. Shouldn't that number be even higher than that? Isn't the desire for a third-party candidate the main reason why people register as independents? Because they aren't comfortable with either party or their candidates?
This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2007.