2 unions throw support to McBride for governor

Florida's biggest construction union and electrical workers back the Tampa lawyer over front-runner Janet Reno.

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 3, 2002

Bill McBride's campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination picked up a bit more steam Saturday when he won the backing of Florida's biggest construction union.

"When you balance who we think is the most electable against Jeb Bush in the general election and who our members would be most motivated to get out and vote for, Bill McBride came out on top," Mike Williams, president of 75,000-member Florida Building Trades Council, said Saturday night after members finished interviewing all four major Democratic candidates in Tallahassee.

Earlier Saturday, McBride also won the recommendation of Florida's International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The labor endorsements are the latest nicks to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Though her primary opponents are little known across the state, she faces persistent doubts among the Democratic establishment about her ability to beat Gov. Jeb Bush in the general election.

Last month, the 122,000-member Florida Education Association also threw its support to McBride. Both the FEA and Building Trades Council fall under the umbrella of the Florida AFL-CIO. McBride is the favorite to win that endorsement.

"This is really important to my campaign," McBride said Saturday night after winning the union recommendations. It's going to add the right kind of momentum that I need right now."

Reno's campaign spokeswoman said Reno looks forward to working with the Building Trades Council in the general election.

"We've got a lot of labor support that you're going to start seeing in the upcoming weeks," Nicole Harburger said. "Janet Reno will mobilize the rank and file, and she will mobilize Democrats at the grass roots."

McBride, a Tampa lawyer who used to run Florida's biggest law firm, remains a long shot for the Democratic nomination. His supporters see him as the strongest candidate to win swing voters in Central and North Florida, but he has never before run for office and most Floridians have never heard of him.

A Mason-Dixon poll released by several newspapers last week confirmed that Reno overwhelmingly leads her primary opponents. If the primary were held today, Reno would take 56 percent of the vote. McBride would get 13 percent, state Rep. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach 5 percent and state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami 3 percent.

But the poll also supported the concerns many Democrats have about Reno. It found 36 percent of voters viewed her favorably, and 40 percent unfavorably. In a matchup against Jeb Bush, the governor trounced her 58 percent to 36 percent.

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