- Field Day |
- Buildings Alive |
- Visions |
- CLGBT |
- Green Community |
- Fun & Free S#!T |
- Crossword |
- CL Space |
Friday, May 5, 2006
Deborah Couldn't Cope
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Fri, May 5, 2006 at 4:05 PM
Most of the big political news this week is coming out of the Hillsborough County Commission’s District 1 race, a fight between one big name and some lesser-known but well-positioned candidates. They all want to replace Kathy Castor as that dysfunctional board’s whipping boy.
Democrat Deborah Cope, the first in the race on the D side, has dropped out.
She wrote to supporters in an e-mail,
“Even though I believe that I am the best candidate for this county commission seat, I feel that the substantial financial lead of the Republican front-runner presents a formidable obstacle that will be very difficult to overcome. I addition to the fundraising lead, Rose Ferlita also pulls Democratic support. That combined with a three way Democratic primary splits the support even further and makes a victory that much more unlikely.â€
We’ll get back to that comment about Ferlita in a bit …
First, though, Cope was not finding much luck fundraising, although she
had a cash-on-hand advantage over her main rival, former Weekly Planet
arts critic Mary Mulhern, because she loaned her campaign $20,000. But
Mulhern, from some I have spoken to, is electric on the stump and is
getting good word of mouth. Given her organizational ties to the
Democratic Party nationally, her work on the Kerry campaign in the
Tampa 537 Club, Mulhern would have been tough to beat in the primary. I
write this acknowledging that she is an old friend and a former
co-worker here, so take the assessment for what it’s worth.
Ferlita is the big name here (and a friend and former client of my
now-defunct political consulting firm). She has raised more than
$218,000 (her Republican challenger, Brad Swanson, has raised just
$62,352). She has name recognition. And she has crossover support. As I
drank café con leche in West Tampa this week, I heard from lots of
Democrats that Ferlita is their candidate and that she will sweep the
heavily Democratic West Tampa in the general election (if she survives
the primary, that is).
I did hear, however, in other places some Democratic grumbling about
that kind of crossover support. Specifically, some are tweaked by the
fact that Demo consultants Janet and Ana Cruz hosted a fundraiser for
Ferlita recently at their home, the same location that hosted a
fundraiser for Hillary Clinton this year. Swanson surely could have a
field day with that fact, tying a Republican challenger to Hillary.
Ouch.
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
Let's see... If the commission is made up of only Republicans, maybe there won't be so much in-fighting. Then they can get to work changing Tampa city limits to just a few blocks in Ybor.
like
dislike
Im not going to say what everyone else has already said, but I do want to comment on your knowledge of the topic. You're truly well-informed. cheap designer handbags handbags wholesale
We have been banned and have a considerable amount of money owed to us. http://www.anfworld.com/abercrombie-and-fitch-jeans.html http://www.anfworld.com/ruehl-no-925.html
I am pretty interested in the write's view around the leisure. Thanks a whole lot for enjoying this magnificence article with me. Thanks to examine about this issues. Waiting your following practical posting.Posed By Jordan Dub-Zero
Top Commenters
