Reno wins crucial labor backing

The 110,000-member AFSCME endorses Janet Reno to be the Democrat challenging Gov. Bush.

By WES ALLISON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 20, 2002

Janet Reno's calls for tougher action in response to the latest child welfare scandal helped win her the endorsement of the state's second-largest union on Sunday.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, meeting this weekend in Orlando, chose Reno over Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, her chief competitor for the Democratic nomination.

Union spokesman Doug Martin said Reno won out largely because she called for replacing Kathleen Kearney, chief of the state Department of Children and Families, with an experienced child welfare administrator. The DCF is under scrutiny after losing 5-year-old Rilya Wilson, a foster child from Miami. Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has appointed a blue-ribbon panel to investigate.

Martin said the union agreed another panel is worthless. "The problem is bad policy and mismanagement. Janet Reno said you need to . . . get someone to knows what they're doing," he said.

"That gave us insight how she might respond as governor."

The Reno campaign described the union as very politically active. "These are people who have come under assault from this administration and have been denied the resources they need to do their jobs," said Mo Elleithee, Reno's campaign manager.

Sunday's vote gave Reno a much-needed labor endorsement. AFSCME, which represents 110,000 workers, is the state's second-largest union, behind the Florida Education Association. McBride has been endorsed by the teachers union and the Florida AFL-CIO, an umbrella group of 66 unions.

The union's endorsement was not a surprise. About half of AFSCME's members live in South Florida, where Reno is strongest, and 80 percent are black. If Reno loses the September primary, the union will support the winner against Bush, whom they blame for ignoring the needs of working people.

The union did not endorse anyone in the 1998 election.

AFSCME has taken issue with Bush's attempts to turn some state functions, including portions of the child welfare system, over to private businesses, as well as to his program that ties pay bonuses and raises to performance.

"When our people talk about the governor they say things like mean-spirited, hard-hearted," Martin said.

The governor has defended his policies, and spokesman Todd Harris said Bush has no intention of changing.

As to the union's criticisms about the Rilya Wilson case, Harris said: "I hardly think a labor union that has just endorsed the front-running Democratic candidate for governor is in a position to offer unbiased and credible suggestions of how the state should handle the Rilya Wilson tragedy."

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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