State: Six seek role of people's lawyer

TALLAHASSEE -- The three Republicans running for Florida attorney general have cast themselves in three distinct roles: tough guy, legal scholar and consumer cop.

It's Locke Burt as the tough guy, Tom Warner as the scholar and Charlie Crist as the consumer cop.

The three Democrats see themselves in similar roles, with one overarching refrain: "I can beat Charlie Crist."

That's because Crist is the only candidate with statewide name recognition, more than $1-million in the bank and the assumed mantle of front-runner.

Scott Maddox sees himself as the friend of law enforcement. Buddy Dyer is the smart lawyer and George Sheldon views himself as the friend of consumers, reminding voters that he is a deputy under Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who enjoys a national reputation as a consumer advocate.

All six candidates are struggling for attention in a year when the president's brother is running for a second term as governor and the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate was the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general.

They want voters to know that whoever wins in November will be the people's lawyer, the one who seeks a refund on your behalf or defends the state when it is sued.

They point out that the job becomes even more powerful next year when the state Cabinet shrinks from six members to three. The Cabinet oversees a variety of matters, ranging from environmental protection to the state pension.

The winner will fill big shoes: In his 16 years as Florida's top lawyer, Butterworth has gotten national attention for fighting Big Tobacco. On the Cabinet, he has been a lone voice against some Republican initiatives, such as ending affirmative action in university recruiting, creating a "Choose Life" license plate and giving private landowners fringes of state-owned submerged lands.

Florida's longest-serving attorney general, Butterworth waged so many antitrust and consumer fraud cases that AdWeek magazine ranked him among the nation's "10 most feared attorneys general." He is leaving office because of term limits.

The attorney general represents the state in most appeals arising from criminal convictions in state courts, opposes major challenges to Florida laws and issues formal legal opinions on state law. The office also enforces antitrust and consumer protection laws and handles civil prosecution of criminal racketeering.

The next attorney general also will gain heightened political status as the holder of one of a declining number of statewide elective offices in Florida. That will position him as a contender for the Governor's Mansion.

One of these men will fill the job:

Locke Burt hopes his legislative experience will resonate with voters. "For the last 11 years I have been the Senate's expert on criminal justice," Burt said. He lists his endorsements off the top of his head: Highway Patrol officers, firefighters, the retired officers council of the Police Benevolent Association, countless sheriffs. He has served on the criminal justice and judiciary committees, and wants all death row cases settled within five years.

Burt, an Ormond Beach senator since 1991, courts voters who favor candidates who are tough on crime. An eight-minute campaign video calls him "Lock 'Em Up Locke," a nickname he earned in 1993 when the Legislature expanded prisons for 10,000 inmates.

Charlie Crist is still widely known as "Chain Gang Charlie" for advocating prison work crews in 1995. Now education commissioner, Crist likes to remind voters that he sued Florida Power while a state senator to get refunds for overcharged customers. The company settled, and the consumers got their refunds.

"I filed an injunction, using my own money," Crist said. He served on the Senate ethics committee and grabbed headlines by introducing bills banning the use of state planes for political purposes and deceptive political phone calls after Gov. Lawton Chiles' campaign used the tactic to help defeat Jeb Bush in 1994.

Tom Warner already holds an important but little-known legal job in state government as Florida's first-ever solicitor general, a post within the Attorney General's Office in which he argues constitutional cases for the state. Warner has quietly stressed this position and noted he has more legal experience than Burt, a lawyer who runs an insurance company, or Crist, who never reported much income from his legal office while in the state Senate.

"Being a lawyer is what I know best and what I do best, and that's what the attorney general does," Warner said. He also was a member of the Florida House from 1992 through 1999. He disagrees with Burt's focus on law enforcement relations.

"The attorney general doesn't arrest people, and we don't prosecute people," Warner said.

Scott Maddox is the Democrat who casts himself as the friend of law enforcement.

"Both my parents were police officers. My entire family is law enforcement," said Maddox, who briefly flirted with running for governor.

Maddox, considered an up-and-comer by party leaders, was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission as a 24-year-old law student at Florida State University and became mayor at 26. As president of the Florida League of Cities last year, he visited almost every community in the state.

"My number one priority is to protect our citizens from criminals, con artists, corporate outlaws and anyone else who wants to prey on our people," Maddox said.

Though he is affiliated with a major state law firm, Akerman Senterfitt, Maddox's legal practice has been limited because of his duties as mayor and owner of an advertising and consulting firm. He has been a member of the Florida Bar for just two more years than the five-year minimum the state Constitution requires.

Buddy Dyer likes to tell voters he passed the Bar exam the first time and got the highest score. That contrasts with Sheldon and Maddox, who had to repeat at least one portion of the exam, and Crist, who failed twice before passing.

"I think I differ in terms of capability to perform the job," Dyer said.

Dyer is a state senator who was born in the Orlando district he has represented since 1992. He has wooed the state's elderly voters with promises to recruit people to a state program that lets them volunteer to help fight elder crime.

As Senate Democratic leader, Dyer pushed for an amendment sought by Florida power companies in 2000 that would have prohibited out-of-state "merchant" power companies from building new generating plants during a two-year study of the state's needs. The amendment failed.

George Sheldon is the other office insider and who hopes his close ties to Butterworth will pay off for him. Not only is Sheldon a deputy under Butterworth, he is godfather to Butterworth's daughter, a point he likes to make to reporters.

Sheldon says his campaign slogan could be "I'm the next best thing to re-electing Butterworth." He emphasizes the work he has done on the consumer battles Butterworth has waged, including a case against a hotel accused of discriminating against African-Americans.

"I've stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bob Butterworth as his deputy" since 1999, Sheldon said.

"I am proud to have worked for him and to have learned from him and to have shared in some of his successes," Sheldon added.

The primary election for both parties is Sept. 10.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk