In the three-person race to replace State Rep. Mike Scionti in the special primary election taking place in two weeks, Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Pat Kemp proudly says she's the only Democrat who actually lives in the district.
But some Hillsborough Democratic insiders say they have a problem with her running in the first place, claiming House District 58 is a Hispanic seat, and should remain such.
Janet Cruz-Rifkin and Gil Sanchez, both profiled in this space, are the other Democrats in the race.
Vic DiMaio is a Democratic political strategist. He says he's "livid" with Kemp running for office, and says it's tearing apart the party.
"The district has always had Hispanic representatives," he says, mentioning Elvis Martinez, Deborah Tamargo and Bob Henriquez as others who have held the seat in the recent past. "The majority of this district is West Tampa… and Pat Kemp should have known better…and the Democratic Party is supposed to promote diversity? Are we going to start running white candidates against Kevin White, Betty Reed, Thomas Scott?"
When asked Monday night to respond, Kemp called those comments "unfortunate," adding "I've been all about, and our 2008 presidential campaign was all about bringing people together in Hillsborough, and recognizing our common bonds, rather than the things that separate us."
DiMaio's friend, Patrick Manteiga, feels the same way about Kemp.
In last week's edition of the tri-lingual weekly newspaper La Gaceta, Manteiga wrote in his weekly column:
The chair of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, Pat Kemp, wants to wrestle this district away from Latins. She is running for it, and using grassroots party workers from outside the district to try and win.
If she is victorious, we are certain that, with redistricting on the horizon, she would favor moving district lines to diminish the district's Latin population and strengthen her reelection chances.
When asked about that particular charge, Kemp laughed, saying, "If the make up of the House and Senate stays as it is now (with Republican control), then they will have a lot of control over the district. Maybe he doesn’t understand the legislative process, to think that I could draw my own district. He must think I’m quite powerful!”
In an interview, Manteiga said that with redistricting approaching in 2012, any politician worth his or her salt will find a way to enhance their position, even while being in the minority party. He says African-Americans have gotten more seats working with Republicans in the past. "If I were an Anglo and I had that seat, I would whiten it if she could."
And Manteiga insists that if Kemp ran against Betty Reed, "I'm sure the black caucus would scream about it. If the Hispanic DEC Chair ran against Kevin Beckner, gays would scream about it. This is a safe, safe Hispanic seat."
Kemp says Manteiga's column was the source of some mirth at a fundraising party last weekend, where several Latinos in the crowd discussed canceling their subscription to La Gaceta. "So, there’s a lot of people who are readers who are outraged at what he wrote," she says.
Former 970 WFLA radio show host Mark Beiro has his issues with Kemp, but says he strongly disagrees that Kemp's race should have anything to do with her candidacy. "I reject that thought, but by the same token, politics is politics."
By that he meant the controversy about the fact that Janet Cruz-Rifkin lives in South Tampa, and not in the district (a report last week in the Tampa Tribune said Cruz-Rifkin was purchasing a home in the district before the January 26th primary "to take that issue off the table.")
That same article also alluded to the fact that she may be trying to appeal more directly to Hispanic voters in the district by listing her name on the ballot simply as "Janet Cruz" vs. "Janet Cruz-Rifkin."
Kemp supporters like Phil Compton have taken to going to a Facebook page mocking that perceived alteration.
Mark Beiro is critical about Kemp's work in the last year as Chair of the Hillsborough County DEC. And he says that she should step down as Party Chair (she has taken a leave of absence). He said that state committee members have recommended that Kemp resign from her position with the local party . But the Florida Democratic Party says a leave of absence is fine. (CL confirmed with Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff Tuesday afternoon that the state's by-law's recommends that a party chair take a leave of absence when running for political office. It does not dictate that he or she must step down from that seat).
District 58 includes West Tampa, Seminole Heights and parts of Town N' Country and Egypt Lake in northwest Hillsborough County.
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.