Florida's campaigns will go negative early, experts warn

Eager for a respite from the political attacks of the primary season? Anxious for a nuanced debate over Florida's jobless rate, the housing market, the cost of health care?

Turn off the television. But for a brief post-primary lull, the airwaves are expected to be flooded until Nov. 2 with attacks and counterattacks.

"It's going to be a long slog for Florida viewers," said Evan Tracey, president of Campaign Media Analysis Group, a division of Kantar Media. "You're seeing it nationwide. Voters are angry, so politicians aren't wasting time trying to entertain or sound upbeat. They're going at one another, trying to assign blame, disqualify the opposition and take them out."

The negativity has its critics, chiefly among voters: "I think it's been one of the most horrible elections I've seen in my life," Sid Grossman, an 83-year-old Democratic activist in Margate, said of the Florida gubernatorial and Senate primaries. "It's been dirty. It's hard for voters to make a choice."

Politicians have sought higher ground: Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio's first general election ad is a warm spot about his parents, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink poked fun at her battling Republican rivals during the primary, saying in an ad she'd only "fight" for Floridians.

But analysts suggest it may only be a matter of time. And most expect the more contentious battle to be the governor's race where Republican winner Rick Scott won a primary so divisive that his vanquished opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, has refused to endorse him.

In contrast, Democrats Saturday were to hold "unity rallies" in Tampa and Orlando to kick off their campaigns.

"I suspect that once Scott throws a mudball, then you'll see a huge counter blast from Sink saying he started it, so the food fight is on," said Brad Coker, Florida director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

Tracey, who tracks political ads, found that spending has increased over the 2006 midterm elections and that more than half of the ads developed by candidates for state and federal office this year were negative, a "remarkable" figure, he said, given that most negative ads occur later in the season.

Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, said she's seen a spike in candidates setting out negative from the start. But she noted that some negative ads and character attacks provide voters with insight into the candidates.

"In Florida's Senate race, issue-wise I'm not sure it makes much sense to talk beyond jobs and the economy because that's what voters care about," she said. "These character issues can be important to voters -- it's how they get to know somebody who, odds are, they won't meet."

That's the case in Florida, where meet-and-greet town halls and coffee klatches aren't practical. For reaching the state's 4 million voters, you need campaign staff, consultants, volunteers and lots of television time.

Money may be an obstacle in the Senate race for Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek and Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running as an independent.

Coker noted that both Meek and Rubio are likely to go after Crist -- who is hoping to siphon voters from them.

"They'll engage but not put up ads against each other," Coker said. "It's going to be who can take more meat off Charlie's bones. That's going to be the race and we don't know if Crist has the money to fight on two fronts."

Even as Rubio struck a positive note in his first ad, his campaign released a web video mocking Crist for answering, "Who cares?" to queries about whether he'd caucus with Democrats or Republicans. And along with Meek's campaign, Rubio's campaign hammered Crist for saying he would have voted for the federal health care bill -- then later saying he opposed it.

"Breaking," read an e-mail from Meek's campaign -- noting that Crist had once urged Meek to vote against the bill. "Governor Crist Diagnosed with Political Amnesia."

Crist looked to shake off the suggestions that he was switching stances: "Being an independent, I have the freedom to be an honest broker for the people of Florida without regard for political party."

Miami Herald staff writer Beth Reinhard contributed to this report.

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Public Service Commission calls on FPL chief to appear

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Power & Light's chief executive, Armando Olivera, should be required to appear before the Public Service Commission to explain why the company provided inaccurate information last year regarding the cost of its nuclear power projects, Commissioner Nathan Skop said Tuesday.

Skop's remarks came at the end of a day-long hearing into how much Progress Energy and FPL can charge customers for nuclear projects. He was referring to an internal investigation released last week that found that FPL knowingly provided faulty information to the PSC last year when it was seeking approval to charge customers $63 million for nuclear-plant development.

The report, by Concentric Energy Advisors of Marlborough, Mass., was ordered by FPL in the wake of a whistleblower letter to the head of FPL's parent company. The report was made public Friday.

FPL spokesman Mark Brubriski said that FPL does not agree with parts of the investigation and withheld some of the information because they thought it would change.

The investigation found that most of the allegations from the whistleblower, about out-dated information sent to the commission, were accurate.

This year, FPL is seeking approval to charge $31 million to pay for plans to expand two reactors at the Turkey Point plant near Miami and two in St. Lucie County and to build two new reactors at Turkey Point. The projected long-term cost of the projects is $21 billion.

Last week, FPL reached an agreement with the Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers on utility issues, to ask the PSC to approve the utility's request to charge customers $31 million this year but wait until next year to determine if the charges are prudent and reasonable.

The timing is significant because in January, Gov. Charlie Crist's appointees to the PSC -- Skop and Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano -- will have left the board. If the PSC decides the costs are not justified, it can approve a refund.

Public Counsel JR Kelly said he supported the delay in the decision because the Florida Legislature has already authorized Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light to take hundreds of millions from electricity customers so they would start the lengthy process of planning for the nuclear plants.

Under the arrangement, the firms could collect the money years ahead of the construction process and keep it even if the projects never generate power. The companies must go to the PSC each year to get their nuclear development costs approved.

Kelly acknowledged that the timing of the delay may have political implications. He was targeted by utilities earlier this year when they urged legislators to force him to reapply for his job after his office successfully argued that the PSC should reject rate increase requests sought by both FPL and Progress Energy.

After Crist and other legislators objected, the effort died and Kelly kept his job.

Since then, the Senate rejected two of Crist's appointees to the PSC and the PSC nominating council also rejected the reappointment of Skop and Argenzino. All were heavily opposed by FPL.

Skop said Tuesday that he wants Olivera to testify to explain the company's actions.

``I've asked for Mr. Olivera for a very specific reason,'' he said. ``He is president and chief executive. There are some things the company has done. There's also some things they have to answer for the accuracy and timeliness of the information that his company provides to the commission.''

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Slashing suspect traveled with Marines for weeks

WASHINGTON -- The college student accused of slashing a New York cab driver showed no signs he might have trouble coping with the experience of traveling with combat troops in Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

Michael Enright, a student and freelance journalist who embedded with Marines in southern Afghanistan's restive Helmand Province in April, is accused of slashing the face and neck of an immigrant cab driver this week in Manhattan after asking if he was Muslim.

Enright traveled with Marines for several weeks this spring, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Friday. In Kabul, military spokesman Col. Hans Bush declined to say specifically what Enright might have witnessed, but said there was nothing in Enright's embed application packet that hinted at any problems.

"There was nothing in the packet to indicate (a lack of) robustness to face exposure to our operations," Bush said in a telephone interview.

Authorities in New York said that before the attack, the suspect told the cab driver, "Consider this a checkpoint." But journals Enright kept in the war zone did not contain any anti-Muslim statements or suggest a motive for the attack, investigators said. There were indications that he had been in Alcoholics Anonymous, they said.

The 21-year-old college student from Brewster, N.Y., was moved from jail to a psychiatric ward, corrections officials said Friday.

In Afghanistan, he participated in a Pentagon program that accommodates up to 100 journalists, videographers, book authors and others each month who want to report on the war. They are allowed to "embed," or travel and live with military forces, on assignments that can range from covering military headquarters in Kabul to traveling with combat forces in the most remote and dangerous areas of the country.

"The strength of the program is that it is probably the best way for a journalist ... to capture the tone, timbre and essence of troops in a demanding mission and to have that no-kidding sight, smell and feel of a combat operation," Bush said.

The Defense Department regards embeds as an important way to get out the story of the Afghan war effort, and the same system has been widely used in Iraq.

Typically, the military does not conduct background checks on individuals seeking embed opportunities, but instead relies on a person's sponsoring organizations to vet them, Lapan said. And he said he's not aware of any discussions about changing the policy in light of Enright's case.

"I have to be pretty candid about this - I don't think that it's our place to make those assessments," Bush said, adding that the organization that sends an individual should be certain he or she is suited to be on a battlefield.

Enright's time in Afghanistan was linked to a number of organizations. Part of his trip was paid for by a group called Intersections, which promotes interfaith tolerance. The trip was also part of a senior video project Enright was doing at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He was also providing some video to the internet company TV Worldwide.

A statement released by the company said Enright was a "volunteer intern/reporter during April and early May of 2010," when he produced video and photographic content from his embed with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, deployed in Helmand.

To get permission to embed, individuals submit an application that provides basic information, including their employers. The form also asks: "To your knowledge do you have a heart condition?" and "Do you have any other medical conditions?"

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Sandra Ruiz disqualified from Florida House race

Doral Councilwoman Sandra Ruiz has been disqualified from running for Florida House District 112, after a judge sided with two of her opponents who sued because Ruiz did not follow the resign-to-run state law.

Circuit Court Judge Jerald Bagley ruled Wednesday in favor of Democrat Johnny G. Farias and Republican Jeanette Nuñez, who argued that Ruiz should have resigned her council seat because state law prohibits an elected official from qualifying as a candidate for another public office if the terms overlap and if the official has not resigned his or her current office.

``The possibility, however slight, exists that Ms. Ruiz's election to the Legislature could overlap with her current position as a city of Doral council member,'' Bagley wrote in his ruling.

Joe Geller, one of Ruiz's lawyers, said Ruiz plans to appeal. Bagley's ruling does not go into effect for seven days, so absentee and early voters may still cast ballots for Ruiz.

Ruiz, who is term-limited, had argued that she did not need to resign because her council term ends on Election Day, Nov. 2, so there would be no overlap with a possible House term.

``What this law is there to say is, you cannot exercise the authority of two offices at the same time, and that is impossible in this circumstance,'' Geller said.

Lawyers for Farias and Nuñez had countered that Doral council terms do not begin until the day after Election Day -- and that the city could hold council meetings between Election Day and the day a council member is sworn in.

``You also have the fact that there could be a recount, there could be a close election,'' said Republican state Rep. J.C. Planas, Nuñez's attorney. ``A lot of times the certification of the election cannot be for, sometimes, 10 days after [election day].''

If Wednesday's ruling is upheld, voters in District 112 -- which includes portions of Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier counties -- would see a posted sign in polling places saying Ruiz has been disqualified. Future absentee ballots would also be sent out with that notice.

Because Ruiz is a Democrat, an upheld ruling could also leave Farias as the automatic winner of the Democratic primary to replace Republican state Rep. David Rivera. Three Republicans, including Nuñez, are vying for the post, along with Doral Vice Mayor Robert Van Name, who is running without party affiliation.

Van Name's term on the City Council also expires on Nov. 2, but he filed a letter June 3, two weeks before qualifying for the state House race, resigning his Doral post as of Election Day.

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Democrats, Republicans learn different lessons from mega-rich campaigns

Turns out owning a yacht with a reputation for wild parties is more of a liability than massive Medicare fraud.

Florida voters overwhelmingly rebuffed one mega-rich newcomer running for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, Jeff Greene, while another controversial self-funder, Rick Scott, pulled off a stunning upset to win the GOP gubernatorial nomination, according to an Associated Press projection late Tuesday.

A Scott win over Attorney General Bill McCollum -- in the face of aggressive and vocal opposition by the national and state Republican establishment -- sets up what is sure to be one of the most turbulent and unpredictable governor's races Florida has ever seen.

In Scott, Democratic nominee Alex Sink, Florida's chief financial officer, would face a controversial newcomer with limited knowledge of Florida issues who is capable of spending a record amount of money against her.

Tuesday had the potential to tell us whether you can buy an election in Florida.

Instead, it merely demonstrated the obvious: If you spend $50 million, as Scott did, you have a lot better chance than if you spend $25 million, as Greene did.

Both insurgent candidates lugged enormous baggage: Scott headed a healthcare company that paid a $1.7 billion fine for Medicare fraud; Greene made hundreds of millions betting that many Americans would default on their mortgages, palled around with B-list celebrities and earned a reputation as a tyrant among his employees. His yacht, which got almost as much media attention as he did, was infamous for wild parties and for at least one controversial stop in Cuba.

``It's very difficult to trust these guys,'' said Richard Irwin, 66, who was at a Broward County diner Saturday, when Greene stopped in. ``One is a multimillionaire tied to Medicare fraud, and the other one has problems with a 145-foot yacht docked in Cuba.''

The amount of money spent wasn't the only difference between the Scott and Greene campaigns, however.

Scott campaigned harder and smarter. Starting when he dropped $1.2 million on TV ads the first week he declared, he never let up on the TV advertising blitz.

In contrast, Greene spent a few million dollars on TV to move his poll numbers and then let up until the final month of the campaign. Some Democratic strategists contend Greene could have buried U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek if he had kept up the spending.

Scott avoided newspaper editorial boards and a debate televised statewide against a more seasoned candidate. But he also took a bus tour across the state.

Despite his often-rocky performance on the campaign trail, Scott managed to attract enthusiastic support from grass-roots conservatives who appreciated his outsider status and promise to shake up the status quo in Tallahassee.

Greene boasted of ``thousands of campaign volunteers,'' but in a stark sign of his lack of grass-roots support, only about 35 people came to hear his concession speech in West Palm Beach. Scott drew about 200 to his election night party.

Greene kept up a light campaign schedule throughout the primary, and by the closing days of the campaign was blaming the media for his lack of momentum.

``I expected all the negative campaigning, but I didn't expect the newspapers to be lying. I'm a married man with a baby at home and an elderly mother I look after, and some of the people they tried to tie me to, it was really unethical,'' Greene said.

Super rich, self-funding candidates are nothing new in places like California, but Florida had never seen anything like this before. Plenty of voters resented the big-spending rich guys, somehow more offended by people spending millions of their own money than candidates being bankrolled by lobbyists and special interests.

``When somebody spends $30 million or more, it's about power. And when somebody is seeking power that hard, that sends the wrong signal to me,'' said Republican Victor Castrillo of Valrico, who initially wanted to vote against every incumbent until he looked into Scott's background.

``Nobody is going to invest that kind of money in a race unless they expect something in return,'' agreed Nick Tinch, a St. Petersburg Democrat, who participated in a recent voter focus group with The St. Petersburg Times.

But as the outsider candidate, Scott had an ideal foil in McCollum, who personifies the dreaded epithet ``career politician.'' Elected during the Reagan revolution, he served in Congress for nearly two decades before doing a stint as a Washington lobbyist. He lost two previous bids for the U.S. Senate.

McCollum also may have been damaged by a long-running Republican party scandal that culminated in fraud charges against the former state party chairman, Jim Greer. In the final days of the campaign, Scott accused McCollum on television and in full-page ads of covering up Greer's wrongdoing. The charge drew angry retorts from state and national Republican party leaders, now in an awkward spot.

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Newcomer Mike Ryan leads in Sunrise mayor race

Sunrise voters appeared to be tossing out incumbent Roger Wishner as mayor in an upset Tuesday, with attorney Mike Ryan taking an early lead.

Retired social worker Imogene Ferguson, 66, gave residents a third choice.

Because of a quirk in the city charter, Wishner can return to his old commission seat even though he lost the mayor's race. His commission term ends in March.

Appointed mayor in January 2009, Wishner, 53, was elected to the City Commission in March 2007. He served as city commissioner from 1987 to 1999 and as state representative from 2000 to 2004.

But it was Ryan, a political newcomer, who won key endorsements from the city's powerful police and fire unions, both of which turned out for him at the polls on Tuesday. Ryan, 46, also won backing from Deputy Mayor Sheila Alu and the Sierra Club.

``This was a grass-roots movement motivated by wanting change in how the city has been led,'' Ryan said late Tuesday. ``This was a victory for the people.''

Resident Michael Silien, 49, showed up at the Sunrise Athletic Complex polling place Tuesday handing out ``Vote for Mike Ryan'' cards. Silien said he remains furious with Wishner and the commission for raising water rates by 40 percent in August 2009.

``I'm going to vote him out,'' Silien said of Wishner.

Helen Clare, a retiree who lives in the Sunrise Lakes condo community, voted for Wishner.

``He's done a lot of good for our community,'' she said. ``I thought he deserved to be re-elected.''

Wishner, who earned $39,000 as mayor, campaigned on a promise to maintain the municipal tax rate while reducing the cost of government. To help close an $8 million budget hole, he urged freezing payrolls to save $4 million next year.

Ryan said he ran because they didn't like how Wishner was running the city.

Had Ferguson been elected, she would have been the city's first black mayor.

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Sarah Palin backs Pam Bondi for Florida attorney general

TALLAHASSEE -- Sarah Palin endorsed former Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi for attorney general Wednesday, and Bondi didn't even know it was coming.

Palin's surprise endorsement in the three-way Republican primary surfaced on Facebook, and Bondi rushed to spread the word ahead of Tuesday's primary.

Palin -- the former vice-presidential candidate and ex-Alaska governor who's expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 -- threw her support to other candidates, all women, in state and local contests in Alabama, Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina.

Palin called Bondi and an attorney-general candidate in Iowa ``bold, sharp, selfless women who will respect our Constitution, defend their states, protect our rights and push back against any over-reach of the federal government.''

Palin said the timing of the endorsements was meant to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

``I'm so very proud to be endorsed by such a strong Christian woman who loves her family and her country and is a true role model,'' Bondi said.

Bondi said she met Palin a few months ago at a breakfast in Washington hosted by the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports female candidates who oppose abortion rights. Bondi said the two women discussed their experiences with Down Syndrome, which affects Palin's son and Bondi's 6-year-old niece.

Bondi, a first-time candidate and Tampa native, is facing Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and Holly Benson, a former state representative and head of two state agencies, The winner will face one of two Democratic state senators, Dave Aronberg or Miami Beach's Dan Gelber, in November.

In a tight race that has not attracted widespread attention, the GOP hopefuls have been seeking to outdo each other in endorsements. Kottkamp recently won the support of conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, while Benson on Tuesday backed Bill McCollum for governor.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850-224-7263.

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Fla. governor candidates campaign at churches

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bill McCollum and Rick Scott courted voters in separate megachurches Sunday morning as their tight race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination came down to the final two days.

McCollum, the state attorney general, even got a political celebrity - former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee - to go with him to a Baptist church in Jacksonville. Opponent Rick Scott, accompanied by family members, dropped in on both morning services at Minsterio Internacional El Ray Jesus in Miami, one of the nation's largest Hispanic churches.

The bitter rivals also planned stops in southwest Florida on Sunday with polls showing that many voters are still making up their minds.

After church in Jacksonville, McCollum showed up at Duval County Republican headquarters with Huckabee, the latest high-profile figure to endorse his candidacy. Former presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney also have bestowed their political blessings.

Underscoring McCollum's wide support among the state's Republican establishment, his entourage also included state Republican Party chairman John Thrasher, incoming Senate president Mike Haridopolos and attorney general candidate Holly Benson.

Huckabee, who moved to Florida earlier this year, contrasted McCollum's long record of public service with Scott's lack of one.

"He's got the perfect balance of experience and a long record of integrity," Huckabee said. "His ability to know the issues from both the federal and the state side are critical, because the real battle for state budgets is going to be the relationship between states and the federal government. ... You need someone who on day one walks in and sits down at that desk and gets the state moving."

In Miami, Scott addressed the large congregation of Minsterio Internacional El Ray Jesus from the stage, his words translated into Spanish. He got applause when he talked about his strong Christian faith and how he went from being raised in a struggling family to running a major corporation.

He took a shot at McCollum, accusing his opponent of being "disrespectful" by misrepresenting his stance on the tough new Arizona immigration law when he spoke to the congregation recently. Scott has accused McCollum of flip-flopping on whether such a tough measure is necessary in Florida. McCollum first said such a law wasn't needed, then ended up proposing legislation he says is even tougher than Arizona's.

"I will always be respectful to the diversity of this state and country," Scott told the congregation. "I will always make sure I have leadership from this community involved in anything I do as governor."

The themes of the final weekend have been familiar to anyone who's seen the candidates' avalanche of TV commercials - McCollum reminding voters at every turn that Scott was once CEO of Columbia/HCA, a hospital corporation that paid a record $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges of Medicare fraud. And Scott, a political newcomer, painting McCollum as desperate career politician beholden to the myriad special interests that have given millions to his campaign.

Tuesday's election will culminate a bitter four-month contest that saw record spending for a state primary campaign - mostly by Scott, who has written checks for more than $30 million to blanket the state's TV airwaves with his commercials.

McCollum, a 66-year-old former congressman and twice unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate, was the presumptive nominee until Scott jumped into the race in April. Scott, 57, already popular in tea party circles for his high-profile opposition to President Barack Obama's health care plan, blasted out TV commercials introducing himself as a "conservative outsider."

After trailing in some polls by double-digits less than a month ago, McCollum overtook Scott in a Quinnipiac University poll last week. That survey showed he was favored by 44 percent to 35 percent out of 807 likely Republican voters. But nearly a fifth of participants said they hadn't yet decided on a candidate and roughly a third said they might still change their mind.

The primary winner will face presumptive Democratic nominee Alex Sink and independent candidate Lawton "Bud" Chiles III.

--

Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.

--

Online:

McCollum campaign: http://billmccollum.com/

Scott campaign: http://www.rickscottforflorida.com/

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Hate candidate signs? Consultants do, too

They're an inescapable part of election season. Political signs pop up in yards, vacant lots and on the sides of roads.

Yet many of the consultants who run campaigns see them as a waste of money. Democratic consultant Judy Stern of Fort Lauderdale thinks signs are wonderful -- for candidates her clients are running against.

``I love watching people waste their money on signs. It's great. Keep spending your money that way. What do you learn from a sign? What does a sign tell you?'' Stern said. ``Signs don't vote.''

Republican consultant Rick Asnani of West Palm Beach agrees.

``Signs don't help you win. They're a waste,'' he said. ``You can spend your money doing a lot more productive things. Do you need signs to win a campaign? The answer is no.''

Most political consultants said it's much better to put money into targeted direct mailers, cable television ads or canvassing door to door.

`BUSIER THAN EVER'

Still, business is good at American Political Signs in Hollywood.

``This year I'm busier than ever,'' said Charles Stuart, who has been working in the family business for 18 years. The Internet has taken ``a little business away,'' he said, but campaigns still buy signs.

They proliferate because candidates and their supporters expect them -- and complain when they aren't available.

``We often buy a lot of signs because we get people saying, `Hey, I haven't seen your signs out there.' Our supporters really want that kind of visibility,'' said political consultant Brian Franklin of Weston. ``Candidates want to do it because people ask them where their signs are.''

Asnani said candidates and their supporters often are obsessed with signs. ``You don't need them but every single candidate gets them. There's a psychological battle we fight,'' he said. Ultimately, his objective is to ``try to minimize the damage of how much they're going to spend.''

The ubiquitous little signs on metal frames cost $2 to $4 each. An order of 500 can hit $2,000.

Besides draining a campaign's bank account, West Palm Beach-based Democratic consultant Richard Giorgio said signs are often a headache.

``Sign wars are just never-ending problems in political campaigns,'' he said. ``They're expensive. And they get swiped.''

Sometimes, Giorgio said, they're taken by people who want the little metal frames.

THEFT

Often it's political mischief. Just as inevitable as signs are the complaints from candidates that evil supporters of the opposition are stealing their signs. And just as frequently the other side says its signs are being stolen, too.

The thieves rarely get caught. One juicy exception was a few weeks before the 2002 election when a Hernando County sheriff's deputy stopped a pickup truck one night shortly after midnight and found, according to The St. Petersburg Times, a hammer, two pairs of gloves, and four Karen Thurman for Congress signs.

One of the men in the truck was Harvey Waite -- the husband of Ginny Brown-Waite, the Republican who went on to defeat Thurman in that election.

Robin Rorapaugh, a Hollywood political consultant, especially dislikes one related form of political advertising: billboards. Rorapaugh said only two ever make sense: ``A billboard in front of your opponent's house to make your opponent crazy, and a billboard in front of your candidate's house to make your candidate happy.''

Otherwise, she's not as anti-sign as many of her fellow consultants.

``Signs in a local race can be good in that it cues your neighbor who to vote for in races that get very little press coverage,'' she said. ``A sign that's not in a yard is a waste of money. A sign that's in a yard, that's a vote-getter.''

Kevin Hill, a political scientist at Florida International University, said signs can provide a marginal benefit in some contests.

In a race in which people know little or nothing about the candidates, such as a judicial election, a few voters might be influenced by remembering the last name they see before voting -- and in a low-turnout election a handful of votes can make the difference between victory and defeat.

NAME RECOGNITION

Stuart, the printer, said signs help candidates build name recognition. Franklin said that's a common belief that convinces many candidates to demand signs because they think name recognition will translate into votes. He thinks it makes more sense to invest in advertising that conveys a message that can't be delivered by a sign.

Yet they remain integral parts of campaigns.

``Elections are like circuses, and the signs are like the balloons,'' Franklin said. ``They're not the main act.''

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Mosque debate divides Democrats, especially in NY

NEW YORK -- As vulnerable congressional Democrats weigh how to respond to President Barack Obama's statements on Muslims' right to build a mosque near ground zero, those in New York and closest to the controversy are staying silent or scrambling away.

Democrats control both Senate seats and 27 of the state's 29 Congressional districts, but analysts believe as many as eight House Democrats in the state may be headed to defeat this year. Republicans, hoping to ease Democrats' grip on the state, insist the economy remains the major campaign issue but say the mosque flap could also help move voters their way.

From eastern Long Island to more rural upstate areas, House Democrats have been opposing the construction of a $100 million Islamic center two blocks from the World Trade Center site. More than 2,700 people died there on Sept. 11, 2001, at the hands of Islamic terrorists, and the wound remains fresh for many New Yorkers who are still traumatized by the attacks or who lost loved ones that day.

Developers of the planned Islamic center known as Park51 have plans for a 13-story structure featuring a pool, gym and 500-seat auditorium, as well as a mosque and Sept. 11 memorial. It's a project of the Cordoba Initiative, a New York-based nonprofit group that promotes greater understanding between Islam and the West.

Obama told a largely Islamic crowd over Ramadan dinner last week that he believed Muslims have a right to build the mosque and practice their religion there. A day later, he said he wasn't passing judgment on the wisdom of building an Islamic center at that location.

The latest Democrat to break with Obama is Rep. John Hall, a two-term incumbent expected to face a strong challenge from Republican Nan Hayworth in the 19th district north of New York City.

In a statement released Wednesday, Hall said freedom of religion was essential to democracy but that he hoped the project would be constructed elsewhere.

"I think honoring those killed on Sept. 11 and showing sensitivity to their families, it would be best if the center were built at a different location," Hall said.

Hall joins three other House Democrats believed to be vulnerable in November who have announced their opposition to the project.

In eastern Long Island, four-term Rep. Tim Bishop said ground zero should be a symbol of interfaith understanding. If developers of the Islamic center are seeking such unity, they should move the project, he said.

In Staten Island, the most conservative of New York City's five boroughs, Democratic Rep. Mike McMahon said the project was a local matter and shouldn't come under federal jurisdiction. Nonetheless, he said he hoped it would be moved.

"I believe a new location is the right compromise so that Muslim Americans can worship without eliciting feelings that push us away from our country's basic tenet of religious acceptance while the families of 9/11 victims obtain the peace of mind they deserve," McMahon said.

A few vulnerable Democrats have chosen to stay silent on the matter, including Syracuse-area Rep. Dan Maffei, Rep. Bill Owens in northern New York and Albany-area Rep. Scott Murphy.

Murphy's Republican opponent, Chris Gibson, posted a statement on Facebook appearing to support the Islamic center project, saying, "It's either all or nothing - churches, mosques and synagogues should be treated the same." He later issued a clarification, saying he didn't think building a mosque near ground zero was a good idea.

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Charlie Crist returns $10,000 to Jim Greer

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist's independent U.S. Senate campaign is refunding nearly $10,000 to Jim Greer after the indicted former Republican Party chairman asked for the money to help pay for his legal defense. ``As you know circumstances have caused me to need money to defend myself and take care of my family,'' Greer wrote in an Aug. 5 letter. ``I know sending the money back is hard, but with what has happened it may be politically beneficial for you to do.''

Greer, 48, faces six felony charges, including organized fraud and money laundering, after authorities said he used a secret fundraising contract to funnel party donations to a consulting firm he owned.

Greer and his wife made maximum contributions -- $4,800 each -- to Crist in May 2009. Crist's campaign first disputed the letter's authenticity but agreed Monday to return the money after Times/Herald inquiry.

The move served as an inconvenient reminder forCrist about his close ties to Greer, the man he put at the party's helm when he was elected governor in 2006.

In the one-page letter, Greer spit fire at the Republicans who ousted him, calling them ``liars, racists and extremists'' but made it clear he still supports Crist. He wrote: ``Charlie over the last three years, I did all that I was asked to do by you and others. Your goals were my goals. When all of the others abandoned you, I remained loyal.''

The campaign's decision to return the money marks a departure from its previous stance. A number of GOP donors asked the campaign to give back their money after Crist left the Republican Party in April but he refused. A former supporter even filed a lawsuit in federal court to force a refund.

Danny Kanner, a Crist spokesman, did not respond to questions about the reversal nor why it took the campaign nearly two weeks to act on the letter.

The campaign of Republican Marco Rubio, Crist's chief rival in the U.S. Senate race, seized on the issue. ``It should surprise no one that despite refusing to return a single penny to Floridians who gave to him in good faith, Charlie Crist wasted no time in refunding money to his indicted political confidante,'' Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos said.

Following Crist's lead, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's attorney general campaign said Monday it would donate $1,000 from the Greers to the party. Likewise, Rep. Chris Dorworth, a future House speaker seeking re-election, said he would return $500 his campaign received.

Two other Republican legislative candidates, Clay Ingram of Pensacola and Jason Brodeur of Sanford, returned Greer's contributions June 3, the day after his indictment.

Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican candidate for governor, returned $1,000 on March 30, the day before the party and state authorities disclosed the Greer investigation.

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

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Cash flies in GOP race for Florida governor

TALLAHASSEE -- As Rick Scott freely spends his fortune in his bid to become governor, Republican rival Bill McCollum is fighting to keep up by spending the millions of others.

McCollum's allies make up a long list: Big Sugar, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Progess Energy, real-estate developers, road builders, beer distributors, car dealers, nursing homes and wealthy individuals like Fort Lauderdale entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga and Dallas philanthropist Peter O'Donnell.

All have written hefty five- and six-figure checks to a pair of political committees controlled by McCollum, the state attorney general, as Scott and McCollum battle for the nomination in next Tuesday's primary.

McCollum's two groups, Florida First Initiative and Sunshine State Freedom Fund, have raked in a combined $4.1 million to help fund a barrage of McCollum TV ads attacking Scott for his role in leading the Columbia/HCA hospital conglomerate, which was hit with record Medicare-fraud fines. McCollum, who has criticized Scott for trying to ``buy the governor's mansion,'' said he's not selling out in taking special-interest money.

``If people want to contribute to me, generally speaking, I don't care who they are unless they have an unsavory background,'' McCollum said. ``They can give to this campaign. They can give to me if they believe in my cause. That doesn't mean I believe in theirs.''

McCollum said he's not sure, for instance, whether he supports a major buyout of U.S. Sugar lands in the name of Everglades restoration. U.S. Sugar has spent more than $1.1 million to help McCollum.

``Our company has stepped up pretty significantly with Bill McCollum. But that's not unusual,'' said U.S. Sugar Corp. vice president and lobbyist Bob Coker. ``We don't sit down and say, `We've given you $49, therefore, we expect blah blah blah.' That's not our game. We expect someone who's going to be fair and who will allow us to espouse our views.''

Coker said he has known McCollum for decades and has respected the candidate's work ethic and principled approach to issues. He acknowledged U.S. Sugar contributed to a secretive political committee, The League of American Voters, which does not have to disclose its donors under federal tax law because it is a 501(c)4 nonprofit activist group. The league has contributed $550,000 to one of McCollum's committees.

Scott's campaign issued a statement demanding that the league disclose its donors.

McCollum said he ``didn't have knowledge'' of the league and that he ``didn't have any contact'' with its members. So he won't call on the group to disclose its donors.

Other large chunks of the McCollum money are tough to track because they were diverted through other committees controlled by two influential state legislators who support McCollum: Rep. Dean Cannon, a Winter Park Republican and incoming House speaker who gave $975,000, and Sen. Mike Haridopolos, an Indialantic Republican who gave more than $608,000.

Before contributing to McCollum, the committees of Haridopolos and Cannon received large sums of special-interest cash from developers, insurance companies and the health industry, all of whom dominate the agenda in the Legislature.

Scott's free-spending ways -- $34 million at last count -- make this primary far and away the most expensive election in Florida history.

McCollum has repeatedly accused Scott of trying to buy the governor's mansion. Scott calls McCollum a career politician who's tainted by special-interest contributions.

Candidates for office in Florida cannot receive more than $500 from each donor in a primary and a general election. But a quirk in the election code allows a candidate to create an electioneering group that can raise and spend unlimited sums, as long as they do not expressly call for the election or defeat of a candidate.

McCollum also gets money from taxpayers by participating in the state's public campaign-financing program.

Whoever wins next week will face Democrat Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer. She has raised $7.4 million, much from bankers, lawyers and insurers. Like McCollum, Scott has an electioneering committee in addition to his campaign but funds most of it himself. Sink doesn't have one yet.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@ sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

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DeMint has 6-2 record in picking primary winners

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim DeMint has shown a knack over the past year in backing insurgent Republican Senate candidates and helping them defeat better-known foes in primaries around the country with money from his Senate Conservatives Fund.

Here's the breakdown of the South Carolina Republican's 6-2 record in his formal endorsements:

WASHINGTON: Dino Rossi, a real estate investor who narrowly lost gubernatorial bids in 2004 and 2008, is the only Republican to advance to the general election in Tuesday's "top two" primary pitting Senate candidates from all parties. He'll face incumbent Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who also advanced this week, in November.

COLORADO: Weld County prosecutor Ken Buck defeated former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton in the Aug. 10 Republican primary. Buck's general election opponent is incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet, the Democrat appointed to succeed Ken Salazar last year when he became interior secretary.

UTAH: Mike Lee, a Salt Lake City lawyer and first-time office seeker, defeated incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett at the state GOP's convention in May, and then bested business owner Tim Bridgewater in the June 22 Republican primary runoff. Lee will face Democrat Sam Granato, also a political newcomer, in November.

CALIFORNIA: Assemblyman Chuck DeVore lost badly to former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in the June 8 Republican primary. Fiorina will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November.

KENTUCKY: Rand Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon, defeated Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the May 18 GOP primary. DeMint had endorsed Paul, the son of former presidential candidate and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky backed Grayson. Paul's general election foe is state Attorney General Jack Conway in a race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Jim Bunning.

PENNSYLVANIA: DeMint's early support of former GOP Rep. Pat Toomey helped compel incumbent Republican Sen. Arlen Specter to switch parties and seek re-election as a Democrat. Toomey defeated conservative activist Peg Luksik in the May 18 GOP primary and will face Rep. Joe Sestak, who ousted Specter in the Democratic primary, in November.

INDIANA: State Sen. Marlin Stutzman lost to former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats in the May 3 Republican primary. Coats will face Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth in the general election campaign to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.

FLORIDA: Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio's big polling lead forced Gov. Charlie Crist to announce on April 29 that he'll run as an independent. Rubio will likely win the Aug. 24 Republican primary, but Crist has surged in polls for the November election that also will include a Democrat, either Rep. Kendrick Meek or billionaire Jeff Greene.

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Bill Clinton leads South Florida rallies for Kendrick Meek

For financially strapped Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, the cavalry arrived Monday in the form of Bill Clinton, who rallied the Democratic troops Monday at three back-to-back rallies in South Florida.

The popular former president's appearances offered a shot of free publicity for Meek, a Miami congressman who's been outspent more than 5-1 on television by Palm Beach millionaire Jeff Greene.

``Look, I love Kendrick Meek,'' Clinton told roughly 1,000 people at a Delray Beach recreation center. ``I'd be here for him if I was the only vote he had in the entire country. I also believe with all my heart he should be the next U.S. senator from Florida.''

In the crucial run-up to the Aug. 24 primary, Meek will campaign with former Sen. Bob Graham in Miami Lakes on Tuesday and join President Barack Obama at a party fundraiser Wednesday in Miami Beach.

``Put your hands together for the 42nd president of the United States of America, William Jefferson Clinton!'' said an excited Meek in Delray Beach.

Greene, a real estate mogul with little support from the Democratic establishment, declared himself the outsider'' on MSNBC and campaigned Monday in the heart of Meek's congressional district in Liberty City. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off Nov. 2 against Republican Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation.

The day before he was slated to visit Haiti, Clinton delivered a sweeping defense of the Democratic agenda of health care reform, financial regulation and middle-class tax cuts.

``If you're a Democrat, you need to hold your head up,'' he said. ``I'm tired of reading how we're all belly-aching.''

Though Meek and Greene have made little secret of their contempt for each other, Clinton refrained from mudslinging.

``One guy has delivered for you,'' he said of Meek. ``The other guy has got more money and more ads.''

The Meek campaign hopes the Clinton rallies will drive Democrats to the polls in what is expected to be a low-turnout primary election.

``I'm here to see Bill. I have to be honest,'' said Marilyn Edelstein, 70, of Boynton Beach, who attended the Delray Beach rally. ``But I'm interested in Kendrick too. I'm a true Democrat ...''

The relationship between the two men dates back to 1991, when Clinton was a little-known Arkansas governor in Florida at the start of his presidential bid and Meek was a state trooper on security detail. Clinton has headlined five fundraisers for Meek since he began running for the Senate. about 18 months ago.

Clinton called Meek ``a very close friend of Hillary's and mine,'' and joked that the crowds were ``stuck'' with the former president because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton can't participate in campaigns.

Clinton was speaking at the Signature Grand in Davie. His last stop Monday night was at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

While Meek was with Clinton, Greene stumped at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Liberty City, where about 100 people attended a birthday party-like rally with a bounce house, face paint and balloon hats.

``It feels like a celebration,'' Greene said. ``I really want to give you folks something to celebrate. That's why I'm running for Senate.''

Greene said that ``I know this is Kendrick Meek's district. He's a perfectly nice fellow, and I'm a big fan of his mom, who was an exceptional congresswoman.''

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Supreme Court upholds 'birther' sanction

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has upheld a $20,000 fine against a leader of the movement challenging President Barack Obama's citizenship.

The high court on Monday refused to block a federal judge's October 2009 ruling that required California lawyer and dentist Orly Taitz to pay the $20,000 fine for filing a "frivolous" litigation. The judge said Taitz attempted to misuse the federal courts to push a political agenda.

Taitz sued in Georgia federal court on behalf of Army Capt. Connie Rhodes. Rhodes sought to avoid deployment to Iraq by claiming Obama wasn't born in the United States.

Justice Samuel Alito on Monday rejected Taitz's second request to block the sanctions. Justice Clarence Thomas had rejected the request earlier.

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Pentagon: China's military power growing

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon says China's military power is on the rise as it pursues more land-based missiles and attack submarines, and that the secrecy of its drive increases the risk of miscalculation.

The annual military assessment was released Monday. It comes at a time of strained U.S. relations with Beijing.

This year, the two countries have been at odds on whether North Korea attacked a South Korean warship and how to settle China's longtime dispute with Taiwan.

The Pentagon report says Beijing is actively pursuing ways to prevent the U.S. from intervening in a potential conflict with Taiwan. The report also says the country's secrecy about its military program "increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation."

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Petraeus: Capturing bin Laden still a primary goal

WASHINGTON -- Army Gen. David Petraeus (peh-TRAY'-uhs) says capturing or killing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden (oh-SAH'-muh bin LAH'-din) remains a primary goal of U.S. forces.

The top U.S. and NATO military commander in Afghanistan tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that bin Laden is an "iconic figure" and his arrest remains a "very important task for all of those who are engaged in counterterrorism around the world."

Petraeus says bin Laden probably is in an extremely remote mountainous area of Pakistan.

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Mosque divide enters Florida politics

As President Barack Obama sought to clarify his support of a mosque near ground zero in New York City, the political storm swept through Florida with two top Democratic candidates criticizing the plans as insensitive.

Gov. Charlie Crist, meanwhile, said he agreed with the president's view about religious freedom.

``I know there are sensitivities and I understand them,'' he said after meeting with Obama in Panama City about the oil disaster. ``This is a place where you're supposed to be able to practice your religion without the government telling you you can't.''

Crist is running for U.S. Senate as an independent, having left the Republican Party, and his views could appeal to Democrats.

But some Democrats in Florida were sharply critical of Obama. ``President Obama has this all wrong,'' said Jeff Greene, who is running for U.S. Senate. ``Freedom of religion might provide the right to build the mosque in the shadow of ground zero, but common sense and respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones gives sensible reason to build the mosque someplace else.''

The mosque would be part of a $100 million Islamic community center two blocks from where nearly 3,000 people perished when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

In Panama City, Obama expanded on a Friday night White House speech that asserted that Muslims have the same right to freedom of religion as everyone else in America. ``I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there,'' he said. ``I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding.''

Until Friday, the White House had said that it did not want to get involved in local decision-making. His attempt to clarify his remarks did not keep the controversy from swelling.

Alex Sink, Florida's CFO and Democratic candidate for governor: ``It is my personal opinion that the wishes of the 9/11 victims' families and friends must be respected. They are opposed to this project and I share their view.''

Rick Scott, one of the Republicans in the gubernatorial race, was the first to criticize Obama, calling his stance ``shameful and the act of a cowardly politician.''

Scott's GOP rival, Attorney General Bill McCollum, said, ``It is simply symbolically wrong at a time when we're at war.''

In the Senate race, Republican Marco Rubio said, ``It is divisive and disrespectful to build a mosque next to the site where 3,000 innocent people were murdered at the hands of Islamic extremism. I strongly disagree with President Obama and Charlie Crist.''

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the other leading Democrat in the race, issued a statement reflective of the sensitive nature of the debate. ``Our nation was founded on the pillar of religious freedom and construction of the mosque should not be denied on religious grounds,'' Meek said, ``but this is ultimately a decision for the local community in New York City to make.''

This report was supplemented with material from The Associated Press. Times/Herald staff writer Marc Caputo contributed.

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Court deals blow to public money match for Bill McCollum campaign

TALLAHASSEE -- A federal appeals court in Atlanta turned Florida's public campaign financing law on its head Friday, halting a critical provision that was expected to inject taxpayer cash into Attorney General Bill McCollum's struggling campaign.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will put an immediate stop to the matching money McCollum thought he was entitled to when his Republican rival Rick Scott, a multimillionaire who is financing his own campaign, exceeds the state's $24.9 million spending cap. Scott has rejected the spending limits under the so-called ``millionaire's provision.''

McCollum has received $1.7 million in state public financing because he has agreed to limit his campaign spending, and will continue to be eligible to receive public financing from another provision of the law. But the court injunction blocks the state from giving him the dollar-for-dollar match of everything Scott spends above the spending cap.

The court's ruling comes at a time when McCollum is trailing Scott by 11 percentage points in the latest polls and the GOP gubernatorial primary is only weeks away. The latest finance reports show that McCollum has only $800,000 on hand for the Aug. 24 primary.

The court rejected McCollum's argument that the subsidy helps fight corruption and the powerful influence of special interests, saying he and the state hadn't proven their case because the spending cap is ``not the least restrictive means of encouraging,'' that goal.

``At bottom, the Florida public campaign financing system appears primarily to advantage candidates with little money or who exercise restraint in fundraising,'' wrote U.S. Circuit Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. ``That is, the system levels the electoral playing field, and that purpose is constitutionally problematic.''

The court agreed with Scott's argument that the public subsidy provisions ``chills free speech'' by imposing a burden on his ``right to spend his own funds in support of his own candidacy.''

McCollum's campaign manager Matt Williams blasted Scott for challenging the law and ``trying to change the rules in the middle of an election.''

He said the decision to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court will be up to the Florida Department of State.

Among the legal options for McCollum, however, is to file his own lawsuit attempting to eliminate the $500 cap on individual contributions that hamstrings McCollum but not Scott.

The ruling reverses a 2-week-old decision from the federal district court Judge Robert Hinkle and casts doubt on Florida's public financing law -- including the $500 contribution cap.

Hinkle said that the spending cap for those who accept public financing dollars was adopted by the Florida Legislature in 1991 together with the $500 limit on individual campaign contributions to ``combat corruption or the appearance of corruption'' in politics.

He said that recent court rulings halting campaign finance laws in Arizona and Connecticut differed from Florida's.

Nonetheless, he predicted, the delicate balancing act between First Amendment rights and blunting corruption could mean that his ruling might be overturned.

The appeals court cited numerous other court rulings that conclude that contribution limits ``alleviate the corrupting influence of large contributions,'' but said that Florida's system does not appear to offer a remedy.

Scott, a former healthcare executive with a net worth of $218 million, has poured at least $23 million of his own money into his campaign, and $8 million of his wife's money into a political committee he founded called ``Let's Get to Work.''

Meanwhile, McCollum cannot receive large direct contributions under law, so he has relied on political committees he helped found -- the Sunshine State Freedom Fund and Florida First Initiative. Along with three other committees founded by his allies, the groups have raised about $3 million since June and directed much of that money toward bashing Scott.

The money is a who's-who of special interests in the state Capitol: Blue Cross Blue Shield, U.S. Sugar, Auto Nation, the Florida Retail Federation, tobacco companies, doctor groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Unlike a campaign, which is limited to $500 contributions, the committees can raise and spend unlimited sums so long as they don't expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate on the ballot.

Staff writer Marc Caputo contributed to this report.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@MiamiHerald.com

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Bill McCollum gives contradictory views on gay issues

TALLAHASSEE -- When it comes to homosexuality as a campaign issue, Bill McCollum is a study in contradictions.

The Republican candidate for governor is clear: He opposes same-sex marriage and says gay couples should not be allowed to adopt children.

``I don't believe that the people who do this should be raising our children,'' McCollum says.

But the finance chairman of his campaign, Miami investor Jon Kislak, led the unsuccessful drive to keep a same-sex marriage ban out of the state Constitution in 2008. Kislak said his gay daughter had to move out of state to marry her partner and adopt a child -- his grandson.

It's the fifth time McCollum has faced apparent contradictions involving gay issues as a candidate or as attorney general.

• He told a Baptist publication last week that he opposes an existing state law that lets gays serve as temporary foster parents, a stand even one of his most conservative supporters disagrees with.

• His office paid $120,000 to antigay activist George Rekers as an expert witness in a gay adoption case, only to learn that Rekers traveled to Europe with a male escort. McCollum accepted full responsibility for hiring Rekers and said in retrospect he would not have hired him.

• He has long sought political advice from Arthur Finkelstein, a respected Republican consultant in Massachusetts who, along with his longtime gay partner, has adopted two children. ``I've had a number of people who are gays work for me,'' McCollum says. ``I have no discrimination in my office about employing anybody or working around me.''

• McCollum was vilified by social conservatives in his 2004 U.S. Senate race as a tool of the ``radical homosexual lobby'' for favoring a federal hate-crime law including protection for gays and lesbians. The attack reflected a broader strategy by allies of the victorious Mel Martinez to puncture McCollum's pro-family image.

A mailer savaging McCollum over the hate-crime bill so enraged him that he waved it in the air in a live TV debate in Tampa and angrily called Martinez ``unfit'' to be a senator.

``He's been running away from that ever since,'' said Nadine Smith of Equality Florida, a Tampa-based gay rights advocacy group. ``It's absolutely appalling. Political desperation in its ugliest form. The real shame of this is, I don't think he believes any of this. He's pandering as hard as he can.''

Locked in a fierce fight with Rick Scott for the GOP nomination for governor and vulnerable on his right flank, McCollum says he favors changing state law to prevent gays from being foster parents.

Florida already bans gay couples from adopting -- the only state to do so.

That prohibition is being challenged in a case before the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami. A trial judge struck down the gay adoption ban, and the state has appealed.

McCollum's office is defending the ban on behalf of the Department of Children & Families.

``Should homosexuals be permitted to serve as foster parents in Florida?'' interviewer James A. Smith Sr. asked McCollum, according to an online transcript.

``Well, I personally don't think so, but that is the law,'' McCollum said. Asked if state law should be changed, he said: ``I think that it would be advisable. . . . I think that it's a lifestyle that I don't agree with. I realize a lot of people do. It's my personal faith, religious faith, that I don't believe that the people who do this should be raising our children.''

Questioned by reporters in Tallahassee on Tuesday, McCollum seemed to backtrack from his earlier comments. He said he wants to wait until the Supreme Court rules in the case. ``I reserve my opinion about what we should or shouldn't do till we see what that ruling is with regard to foster care,'' McCollum said.

During an appearance at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon Wednesday, a reporter asked McCollum how he squares his views on gays, adoption and marriage with his ties to people who advocate -- and live -- an opposing perspective. ``I have people who work for me who are my friends who are gays who support positions I don't agree with,'' he said. ``I happen to have my own opinions. I think same-sex marriages are wrong. I think same-sex adoptions are wrong. That's my view.''

Times/Herald staff writers Marc Caputo and John Frank contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bous

quet@sptimes.com or 850- 224-7263.

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Condo deal taints Greene's bystander claim

RIDGECREST, Calif. -- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene says he had nothing to do with creating the subprime mortgage mess that made him fabulously wealthy.

He was simply a savvy investor who ``could see that the housing market was imploding'' and lucky enough to make more than $500 million by betting against it.

But he wasn't just a spectator to the housing collapse. Four years ago, Greene was party to precisely the kind of deal that decimated the market.

Greene insists he did nothing wrong. Yet the way he handled the deal left an opening for massive fraud and put him uncomfortably close to a man now under federal indictment.

The setting: this remote desert town at the edge of Death Valley. At a project called La Mirage, Greene converted 1950s-era military housing from apartments to 300 condos. In the summer of 2006, just as he was starting to make his bets against the subprime housing market, official records show that Greene's company unloaded the units, some for as much as $165,000. The buyers turned out to be people who never intended to own the properties or pay back the loans.

Local residents, who referred to the complex of single-story duplexes and triplexes as ``Criminal Gardens,'' were stunned at the sale prices. Even in the midst of real estate hysteria, they seemed over the top.

Within 18 months, all of the La Mirage buyers defaulted on their loans and every condo was in foreclosure. Low-income tenants, still paying rent and unaware their apartments had been sold, found themselves on the street. Lenders recouped about $25,000 per unit when the properties went up for auction.

Banks -- and ultimately U.S. taxpayers who bailed out the banks -- were left holding the bag on nearly $34 million of worthless paper.

Now James Delbert McConville, Greene's counterpart in the transaction, is in jail facing criminal charges of conspiracy and money laundering stemming in part from the La Mirage transaction. The assistant U.S. attorney says the FBI is still trying to put a dollar figure on McConville's alleged fraud, and is ramping up its investigation of the La Mirage deal.

Greene, 55, is in a tight race with U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. The election is Aug. 24.

In an interview Friday with the Times, Greene strenuously denied any responsibility for the failed loans at La Mirage.

He said his broker simply brought him a buyer, McConville, who wanted to buy all 300 condos for about $21 million, or $70,000 a unit.

Greene said he never met McConville. He said his only direct involvement was signing blank deeds and sending them to his escrow company -- a practice he calls common but which one expert says is risky at best. By signing blank deeds, longtime appraiser Richard Hagar said, Greene effectively enabled the fraud.

BLANK DEEDS

Greene said he was unaware that the blank deeds were recorded showing him getting as much as $165,000 a unit from individual investors who turned out to be straw buyers.

``I'm always signing blank deeds. That's how an escrow company works,'' Greene said. ``If [McConville] put the deeds in other people's names, that's his business. All I care about is that I get my money.''

While he thinks it's terrible that all the La Mirage loans defaulted, Greene insisted that he couldn't be expected to know his buyer or keep track of what happened after he signed the deeds.

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GOP rivals McCollum, Scott face-off at Christian Family Coalition forum

In a room crowded with Christian conservatives in Miami, Bill McCollum and Rick Scott joined a collection of mostly GOP candidates running for Attorney General Saturday to tout their equally conservative credentials.

Compared to the recent testy debates, McCollum and Scott were quite civil.

McCollum made no mention of Scott's troubles as CEO at Columbia/HCA, the massive hospital chain that had to pay a $1.7 billion fine for Medicaid fraud. And Scott stayed silent in portraying McCollum as a ``career politician.''

The two GOP rivals sat at opposite ends of a long table inside a DoubleTree Hotel banquet room, but appeared to be the best of Republican friends before the Miami-based Christian Family Coalition forum.

McCollum spoke of his faith in God, telling the group that if elected governor he would have signed the ultrasound bill that Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed earlier this year. The bill would have required most women to pay for an ultrasound.

He then talked about his economic plan to put 500,000 Floridians back to work by reducing taxes and regulations, and tackling tort reform.

He reiterated his pledge to continue the state's legal challenge to the federal health care law. As attorney general, he has filed suit against the federal government arguing that it violates state's rights.

``I'm not running to be governor,'' said McCollum, ``I'm running to govern.''

Scott spoke about his childhood growing up Methodist in the Midwest in a modest family with little money. He also talked about his experience launching a donut business and later creating one of the nation's biggest hospital chains, Columbia/HCA.

He said he accepted Jesus Christ in his life at a young age and said he is pro-life and has an A rating from the National Rifle Association.

But it's his business acumen that he plans to put to work to revive Florida's sagging economy. ``We want to make this state the state to do business,'' he said noting his seven steps to create 700,000 jobs in seven years -- ``777'' -- plan.

If elected, Scott said he would cut property taxes, phase out the business tax and pump more money into universities for research.

While most polls show Scott with a sizable lead in the Republican primary, some in the audience were still on the fence just weeks before the primary.

Alma Herrera, a Miami entrepreneur who grew up in New York, said she was leaning toward McCollum because ``he's an established politician -- I know what I'm getting.'' But she was impressed with Scott's business background.

Robert Rodriguez, a lifelong Republican from Homestead, said he thought the choice was between an experienced politician and an experience businessman.

``Bill still has my vote,'' he said noting that the millions spent by Scott ``concern'' him.

But independent voter Noel Gonzalez, of Miami, says he could vote for Scott, saying that Scott ``worked for his money and didn't inherit it.''

Three GOP attorney general candidates -- Holly Benson, Pam Bondi and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp -- appeared before the coalition members. Each talked about their faith, families and conservative principles.

Benson, describing herself as a ``Ronald Reagan optimist,'' she said would pursue tort reform, Medicaid fraud and aggressively fight the federal health care law.

Bondi spoke mostly about her experience as a former prosecutor in Tampa and her fourth-generation Florida roots. She, too, criticized the federal health care law and promised to vigorously fight it in court. She also pledged to oppose gay marriage, protect the U.S. border and the environment.

She also said she had no aspirations for higher statewide office or Congress. ``This is not a stepping stone,'' she said.

Kottkamp reminded the conservative crowd that Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, both top leaders among Miami Republicans, back his campaign.

Like the other candidates, he said he would fight the federal health care law in court. ``This isn't a lawsuit about health care - it's about freedom,'' he said.

He added that he would wage battle against same-sex marriage, saying Florida will soon have to deal with the same issues unfolding in California, where a federal judge struck down the state's ban on gay marriage.

The breakfast forum was sponsored by the Christian Family Coalition, a group founded in 2003 by Anthony Verdugo, who serves as executive director. It has about 70,000 e-mail activists across the state.

The coalition has another scheduled forum for those running for governor and attorney general, beginning tonight at 7 p.m in Boca Raton. The forum will be aired live on the coalition web site -- www.cfcoalition.com .

Sergio Bustos is the Miami Herald's state and politics editor. He can be reached at sbustos@miamiherald.com

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Democrats battling for `consumer' title

TALLAHASSEE -- As two of the state's leading Democrats vie for attorney general, the contest is becoming exactly what the party didn't want -- nasty.

Dave Aronberg labels rival Dan Gelber a hypocrite beholden to special interests. Gelber calls Aronberg a ``junior lawyer'' and a ``typical politician.''

The attacks come as the state lawmakers, who sat six feet apart on the Senate floor, seek an edge in a tight primary race where they agree on most major issues.

Beyond the blustery attack ads, the two are battling to claim the title of consumer advocate.

The state's chief legal officer -- arguably the second most powerful elected post -- plays a key role in protecting Florida consumers from fraud and discrimination.

``It's probably a more powerful position than the governor because he can use the courts rather than the Legislature,'' said Walt Dartland, the executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast and a former candidate for attorney general.

An examination of the candidates' legislative records show Aronberg and Gelber split on several key consumer issues, such as property insurance and utility regulation. The votes reflect larger philosophical differences between the two men.

Aronberg, 39, is moderate, reflecting the even partisan split in his district, and sides often with business groups. He is more youthful with a people-pleaser attitude.

At a recent campaign stop, Aronberg used the word ``consumer'' five times in a seven-minute speech as he talked about his legal experience fighting for people and the litany of ``consumer protection'' legislation he sponsored in his eight years in the Senate.

A Harvard graduate, he took leave from a private Miami law firm to work with the state's insurance commissioner in the 1990s to investigate companies that refused to pay claims on policies sold to Holocaust victims. He later joined the Florida Attorney General's office ``to stand up for consumers full time,'' he said.

As a lawmaker, he established a consumer fraud post in his office, hiring a former deputy attorney general who helped recover $4 million for his constituents.

FIERY PARTISAN

Gelber, 49, represents the liberal Miami Beach. He is fiery partisan with a self-assured demeanor.

The son of a prosecutor and judge, he became a federal prosecutor in South Florida at age 25, developing an expertise in public corruption and civil rights. A number of the cases involved economic crimes, where he said he targeted public officials and scam artists.

``I prosecuted the kinds of cases where there are real victims to crimes,'' Gelber said. As a top Democrat in the House, he led the effort against rate hikes for the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Company and pushed a bill to expand prescription drug discounts.

Although both men claim the high ground on consumer issues, an examination of legislative records shows Aronberg and Gelber split on several key votes.

In 2003, the telecommunications industry pushed a controversial bill to increase phone rates as much as 20 percent a year. Aronberg voted yes. Gelber, then a House member, missed the vote, but a day later recorded his opposition to the measure.

SPLIT ON INSURANCE

Another dividing issue: property insurance -- in particular, the industry's effort to reduce state regulation of homeowner policies.

In 2009, the Legislature passed HB 1171 to give large insurers the ability to set rates without state oversight, a move that critics said would lead to costlier policies. Gov. Charlie Crist later vetoed the bill.

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GOP rivals throw verbal punches in nasty second debate

TAMPA -- Rick Scott ``ripped off taxpayers.'' Bill McCollum is a ``desperate career politician.''

The only live TV debate between the Republican candidates for governor was a bruising affair Thursday night, with each man repeatedly leveling hard verbal punches in a nasty confrontation that was largely an hour-long version of their 30-second TV ads.

Facing off in the Tampa studios of WTVT-Fox 13, each man tried mightily to put a positive spin on his biggest vulnerability: the $1.7 billion Medicare fraud that took place on Scott's watch at Columbia/HCA Corp. and McCollum's life as a career politician who voted to raise taxes and fees while serving in Congress.

Scott said he took ``responsibility'' for the fraud but stopped short of implicating himself.

``I've leveled with the voters from Day One,'' Scott said. ``We could have done things better. When you're in business you learn lessons. ... We should have had more verification. That's a lesson I've learned and it's a lesson I'll bring to the table.''

McCollum strongly defended his lengthy political career that has emerged as a liability in an election season when voters seem disenchanted with politics as usual.

``Bill McCollum's not a career politician. He's a career public servant,'' McCollum said, quoting an endorsement of his candidacy from the Naples Daily News, Scott's hometown newspaper.

McCollum said he was ``proud of my record of public service,'' and that voters aren't willing to turn the reins of government over to a novice: ``They know that this state needs leadership, somebody who understands Florida and gets things done,'' McCollum said.

Midway through the debate, moderator John Wilson of WTVT allowed each man to speak to each other, and the level of animosity escalated -- on taxes.

After McCollum seized the initiative early on, he was suddenly forced on the defensive by Scott, who said his opponent voted to raise taxes and fees 42 times during the two decades he served in Congress.

``The only time that I voted for a tax increase when I was in Congress was Ronald Reagan's economic plan,'' McCollum said ``It's the one vote I regret that I ever took.''

``You voted for fee increases,'' Scott said.

``Of course I voted for fee increases,'' McCollum said.

``Oh, gosh, that doesn't impact anybody? Scott said sarcastically, like police officers that need to get a job. They're struggling to get a job. You just raised their fees another $50.''

``The way you're acting tonight is not responsible. Occasionally, you have to vote for a user fee,'' McCollum said.

``That's a tax. That impacts people,'' Scott said.

The level of hostility reflected the high stakes with less than three weeks before Republicans choose a nominee in the Aug. 24 primary to take on Democrat Alex Sink and independent Lawton ``Bud'' Chiles in November.

McCollum repeatedly tried to attack Scott's credibility by citing Medicare fraud at Columbia/HCA.

``How could you have missed such an abuse?'' McCollum asked Scott.

``We could have done things better,'' Scott said, saying others were to blame and that he was never charged or fined. ``When you're in business, you learn lessons and the business lesson is: Trust but verify We should have had more verification.''

McCollum also repeatedly criticized Scott's lack of political experience and his lavishly-funded campaign for governor, unprecedented in Florida history.

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Rand Paul's Kentucky Senate rival tells voters to reject 'ignorance'

MAYFIELD, Ky. — Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway told several hundred people at a western Kentucky party breakfast Saturday morning that voters must reject the "ignorance" of Republican Rand Paul in the Nov. 2 general election.

"We have to beat back this ignorance, this intolerance and give to the people the government they deserve," Conway said to loud cheers, adding, “We have the campaign to do it.”

Paul, during an interview after the Graves County Republican breakfast at Graves County High School, said Conway's problem is that "he will have to run as far as he can from President Obama's policy.

"He can call me names. That's OK. But he knows he has Obama to deal with."

During his speech to about 300 Republicans at the breakfast, Paul noted what will likely be a liability for Conway among many voters: the unpopularity of Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Bring Nancy down," Paul challenged Conway. "I'll buy her plane ticket. Bring the president down. They're unpopular in Kentucky because their ideas and their issues are wrong."

Asked what will happen if Conway uses TV campaign ads to declare that Paul is ignorant and intolerant, Paul said, "We will match him every dollar. People who know me know that I am not intolerant."

Conway accused his opponent of being "against just about every single government program except those that feather his own nest."

Read more of this story at Kentucky.com

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Bill McCollum, Rick Scott face off in debate

Down in the polls and running out of time and money, Bill McCollum desperately needed a game-changing moment in Monday's debate with his surging rival for governor, Rick Scott.

It never came, though McCollum delivered a more polished performance in the first of only two matchups between the leading Republican candidates before the Aug. 24 primary.

In the noon debate aired later in Spanish by Univisión stations in Miami, Orlando and Tampa, the two men sparred about a wide range of issues beyond the Hispanic community. From healthcare to the economy to education, they slammed each other's reputation again and again during the hourlong match.

Among McCollum's best moments came when he took Scott to task for his role as the embattled chief executive officer of Columbia/HCA. Referring to the hefty stock Scott received after being ousted as CEO amid a massive Medicare scandal, McCollum sneered, ```Rick let's get serious. You said you took responsibility, but the only thing you took was $300 million. You took it from seniors, you took it from veterans, you took it from the sick.''

It was a zinger -- not a knockout blow.

For his part, Scott awkwardly suggested that he had embraced the Hispanic community by learning to drink cortaditos and eat late dinners, but he did not commit any major gaffes. Not bad for a guy who had never participated in a debate before in his life, up against a sitting Florida Cabinet member who entered politics in the Reagan revolution.

McCollum served in Congress for two decades before he was elected state attorney general in 2006. He ran twice unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

``This is what a career politician does,'' Scott said, referring to McCollum's attacks. ``My opponent is desperate.''

McCollum tried to frame his political experience as an asset, saying, ``I know state government. I know how it runs. You don't.''

A debate Thursday hosted by the Fox affiliate in Tampa may be McCollum's last chance to try to upstage his opponent before early voting starts Monday.

With a double-digit lead in the polls, Scott balked at a chance for a live debate that would have aired statewide on Aug 11. The two sponsors -- Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association -- say they will carry through with a one-man show featuring McCollum only.

Scott refused to commit because he wanted the debate held at a public venue in Jacksonville, and away from the Orlando area that is McCollum's home.

That means most voters' only exposure to Scott will be his carefully crafted 30-second ads.

Scott has poured about $28 million -- most of it his own money -- into a statewide media blitz, while McCollum and anti-Scott political committees have responded with only about $9 million worth of ads.

A federal appeals court dealt the financially strapped McCollum a potentially life-threatening blow last week by ruling that he is not entitled to more public matching funds to offset Scott's free-wheeling spending in the homestretch. Scott has argued that the public campaign finance system limits his free speech.

Over and over, McCollum sought to steer the conversation toward Scott's role in a company that paid a $1.7 billion fine for Medicaid fraud. He also repeatedly ticked off his endorsements from the Cuban-American members of Congress representing South Florida.

Scott kept a smile plastered on his face, even when McCollum was taking him to task. He gave clipped responses and ignored McCollum when he tried to goad him into explaining a recent remark about predominantly black schools having ``different issues.''

Scott also tried to minimize the time he spent defending his oversight of Columbia/HCA.

``People made mistakes. So when you're the CEO you accept responsibility,'' he said. He added that his company did a ``wonderful job'' lowering healthcare costs.

Both candidates professed their support for Arizona's new crackdown on illegal immigration.

``We have over 700,000 illegal immigrants in the state. They're costing us billions of dollars and they're taking legal residents' jobs,'' Scott said.

McCollum said he had always opposed ``amnesty,'' but as a member of Congress in 1986, McCollum voted for a bill signed by President Reagan into law that granted legal status to immigrants who had arrived before 1982.

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