State: Pro-business ads on TV to tout three candidates

They have money to burn, and starting today, TV viewers will see political ads touting the pro-business credentials of three candidates -- one of them a Democrat -- in hotly contested Senate races from Citrus County to Sarasota. They are so-called issue advocacy ads that, by law, cannot directly favor the election of a particular candidate.

But these commercials come pretty close to doing that.

Consider it a preview of the 2003 legislative session.

The ads are paid for by The Alliance for a Better Florida, a shadow PAC organized by owners of for-profit nursing homes, such as J. Norman Estes of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Like many in his field, Estes faces skyrocketing liability insurance costs. Many homes cannot purchase any insurance at all, despite a new state law requiring it.

The industry wants stricter limits on punitive damages in negligence cases as one way to bring down the cost of insurance. Trial lawyers will fight that at every step.

The most interesting of the three TV ads heaps praise on Sen. Richard Mitchell, D-Jasper, who is running in sprawling Senate District 3, stretching from Citrus County to Tallahassee. Mitchell's opponent is Rep. Nancy Argenziano, R-Crystal River, who aligned herself with the lawyers during the last nursing home battle.

Argenziano is seen as the early favorite because more than half of the voters in the district live in Citrus and Marion counties, where she is better known than Mitchell.

Other ads favor Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who is running for the Senate, and Rep. Mike Bennett, R-Sarasota, who is battling Rep. Mark Flanagan, R-Bradenton, in a Senate primary.

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One Japanese newspaper wants to send its Washington correspondent. The Los Angeles Times will be there. C-SPAN has called.

Interest is building in anticipation of the only Democratic gubernatorial debate set for Aug. 27 in Palm Beach Gardens. It will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on most Florida NBC stations.

Eissey Auditorium at Palm Beach Community College seats 750 people, but the tickets are gone, said Harry Johnston, the former congressman who is president of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, the debate sponsor.

Organizers set aside 80 seats for reporters -- 40 in the hall and 40 more in a nearby press room -- and those are going fast, too.

But the Forum Club did find room for state Sen. Daryl Jones, the longshot Democrat who was excluded at first because of his single-digit poll numbers against Janet Reno and Bill McBride.

Johnston said the club reversed course after another little-known Democrat, Bob Kunst of Miami Beach, qualified as an independent candidate instead. The club was in knots over how to include Jones and exclude Kunst.

Another factor: the possibility of a ruckus outside the hall. "There would probably have been some type of demonstration by Jones' fans," Johnston said. "We felt we would lose the focus on the debate itself, that reporters would focus on the disruption outside the debate more than the debate."

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Former USF president and former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor will signal her preference in the governor's race Thursday by co-hosting a fundraiser for McBride. Her daughter, Hillsborough County Commission candidate Kathy Castor, and former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman also will be at Mise En Place restaurant for McBride, along with a slew of other prominent Hillsborough women.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush will raise campaign cash in St. Petersburg, with a $500-per-person cocktail reception at the Snell Isle home of Dr. A.K. and Seema Desai. The host committee numbers roughly 75, and is dominated by area doctors.

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Tom Warner, a Republican candidate for attorney general, is a big fan of the Kevin Costner movie Bull Durham. So Warner pays homage to the movie when asked what he believes in:

"I believe in the soul, NASCAR, and the Florida Gators. The small of a woman's back. The hanging curve ball. High fiber. Good scotch. And that when a president leaves office he should leave most of the furniture there for the next guy . . . .

"I believe there should be a constitutional amendment outlawing the designated hitter, Astroturf, and liberal Democrats driving around North Florida in red pickup trucks."

-- Steve Bousquet and Adam Smith were on spin patrol. Send tips, thoughts, suggestions to spinpatrol@sptimes.com.

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Lucy Morgan

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