Maybe a self-made success story who doesn't owe anyone anything, a tough man who could not care less about special interest campaign checks or endorsements, and only wants to do what's right.
``You're very lucky to have him in Florida. It's not very often guys like him, who aren't compromised at all and don't owe anything to anybody, put themselves out to run for political office,'' said longtime friend Jeff Wilson, founder of Wilson's Leather chain.
Or maybe your new senator is a tyrant and egomaniac who spends six years embarrassing Florida.
Either alternative looks plausible in the case of Greene, a political blank slate with a track record of remarkable success -- and sheer tackiness.
On the one hand, Greene's billionaire wealth is completely of his own doing, from mining side jobs to put himself through college to spot-on betting against the subprime mortgage market.
But behind the bio sound bites and chipper TV ads lies a man widely disparaged by current and former employees, former tenants and political consultants as a self-absorbed cheapskate. A lawsuit accuses him of being cruel and verbally abusive to his former chef. A deck hand electrocuted on Greene's Summerwind yacht had to fight eight months to get his medical bills paid after Greene denied knowing him.
Now Greene, 55, is poised to earn the Democratic nomination. He faces Kendrick Meek in the Aug. 24 primary and, if he wins, will take on Republican Marco Rubio and independent Charlie Crist -- a three-way race in which 35 percent of the vote could be enough to win.
``If he plans on running his country like his yacht, we're all going to be sinking,'' said John Walenczyk, a Summerwind deckhand.
The buzz among Greene employees is that if the Asian or European markets have done poorly overnight, it's going to be a rough morning because Greene, a screamer, is up all hours monitoring his vast portfolio.
James Battles, Greene's former personal chef, sued him last year, alleging Greene demanded round-the-clock attention and would berate and humiliate Battles when he sought reimbursement for food paid for out of his own pocket.
Battles said Greene fired him after he was hospitalized for exhaustion before one of Greene's parties. The settlement is confidential; Greene declined to comment.
Harlan Hoffman, 37, was in a Fort Lauderdale yachting apparel store in 2007 when he saw a help wanted ad for Summerwind. He was shocked while buffing Greene's yacht and wound up hospitalized.
A boat's owner is supposed to take care of on-the-job medical costs, but Hoffman said Greene -- whom he never met -- told the insurance company he had never heard of Hoffman and that he didn't work on Summerwind. It took eight months and legal action to get his bills paid.
Political consultants across Florida can attest to how Greene bargained them down an extra few hundred or thousand dollars. Lawsuits suggest a super-rich businessman often happy to stiff vendors until a court orders otherwise.
Greene already has lost one campaign manager and shoved aside senior media consultant Joe Trippi. But he brushes off questions about temperament.
``I've ruffled some feathers. I'm not embarrassed because a handful of people didn't like me,'' Greene said.
``Most of my employees would say, `Wow, you were a tough boss, you were so aggressive, but I learned a lot from you.' . . . I would never expect anything from somebody I wouldn't expect from myself.''
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