Issue of race raised in election

A black judge says her white opponent, who says she's campaigning along racial lines, is misreading her print advertisement.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 16, 2002

TAMPA -- The campaign ad for Hillsborough County Judge Cheryl Thomas emphasizes her Tampa roots. It lists her family members, her schools, and the church where she was baptized.

The ad, which appeared in the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, also contains Thomas' photo, and the words, "Let's support our very own on September 10th."

Thomas, 44, is black. So are most of the Sentinel Bulletin's readers.

Thomas' opponent, lawyer Anthony Arena, who is white, sees the ad as evidence of Thomas "campaigning along racial lines."

"This ad is no less inappropriate than if I would have done it," said Arena, 40. "I am disturbed by it. Is this an appropriate way to campaign? I thought it wasn't."

Thomas said her opponent is misreading the ad.

"Isn't "our own' a Tampa native?" she said. "I didn't think there was anything in that ad that said anything about my race. It talked about my family, and my family is from Tampa."

This controversy unfolds against a bitter historical backdrop, in a county where accusations of racism have tainted previous judicial elections.

Eight years ago, lawyer Frank Gomez blanketed voters with 42,000 brochures featuring photos of himself and Charlene Honeywell, the African-American jurist whose seat he coveted. "What should you look for in a county court judge?" the brochures asked.

Critics -- and there were many -- called it a nakedly racist ploy that contributed to Honeywell's narrow defeat at the polls.

These days, said political consultant Wayne Garcia, who is working for Arena's campaign, "When you choose to run against an African-American incumbent, you're hit up front with, "You better not do what Gomez did.' "

Thomas said she wants no part of racially divisive politics.

"I'm not making race a factor in this campaign, because I'm the best qualified candidate," she said. "I don't feel my appointment was based on race. I don't do my job based on race."

Thomas said she took out the ad in the Sentinel Bulletin, a Tampa-based, twice-weekly newspaper, because the price met her budget. "I would put it in the St. Pete Times if and when I could afford it," she said, adding that Arena has stressed his own Tampa roots as part of his campaign.

Thomas has worked in the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps as a prosecutor on the state and federal level, and in private practice. Appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, she took the county bench in January 2001.

With Thomas boasting such credentials, and with 30 circuit and county seats up for grabs this year, some critics are questioning why Arena chose to run against her. She is one of only two incumbents, in fact, to face opposition.

"Why is she being challenged? Is it because she's black?" asked Barbara Twine-Thomas, president of the George Edgecomb Bar Association, a black lawyers' group. "She has served effectively and has an impeccable record. Why would (Arena) suggest she's making an appeal to race when it has been suggested that the only reason she's vulnerable is she's African- American?"

Twine-Thomas said the message of Thomas' ad is not racial, but instead suggests "a hometown girl who has done well." Still, Twine-Thomas said, "Why shouldn't African-Americans support her? And why shouldn't she reasonably expect their support?"

Arena, a former Hillsborough prosecutor who now works in private practice, said he targeted Thomas' job because he wanted to start as a judge on the county bench, and the other available county seats were occupied by friends.

Garcia, the political consultant, said with memories of the Gomez-Honeywell episode still fresh, both sides should be sensitive to racial overtones in their ads.

"(Arena) has tried to govern himself in the most ethical and clean way," Garcia said. "I think the phrase "vote for one of our own' crosses the line, because it clearly sets up an us-versus-them. If that's not playing the race card in reverse, I don't know what it is."

-- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.

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