Political Junkie: Campaigns launch salvos of smear

The race for the at-large District 5 commission seat is starting to resemble Fright Night before Halloween. Both Republicans in the Sept. 10 primary are pelting each other with an almost daily barrage of attack ads.

Frequent primary voters got not one, but two mailings Tuesday from Commissioner Stacey Easterling about her opponent, Commissioner Jim Norman.

The first shows a man milking a cash cow. The second reminds voters of a trip Norman made to Las Vegas three years ago, which was chronicled by the Times.

The flier uses the Times' headline: "Norman surfaces in Vegas casino." It also shows a roulette wheel and an empty chair from the commission meeting he missed while on the trip.

The mailer notes that Norman was there with a businessman he was accused of helping to get a contract at Tampa General Hospital. A federal inquiry ended without charges, which is not noted in the flier.

Norman has repeatedly denounced the stories about his Vegas trip as unfair, though his explanation for why he was there has varied.

Most of the quotes in the Easterling flier appear accurate, though there is an inference that bears clarification. One quote reads: "Norman was accompanied by his (taxpayer-paid) legislative aide . . . Kelly."

The missing word is "Ben." The aide is male, and there was nothing in the stories that suggested Kelly was on the clock at the time of the trip.

The eggs keep flying today, when Norman is expected to land his own mailers slamming Easterling as a "Republican In Name Only," or a RINO for short. Outside it shows an actual Rhino near tall grass, with the title "RHINOS are DANGEROUS!"

Inside, it has Easterling's floating head in more tall grass. Then it has another photo of Easterling, somewhat faded, with the headline "RINOs are DEVASTATING!"

The flier notes Easterling's three consecutive annual votes in favor of Democrat Pat Frank as chairwoman of the commission. It includes a picture of Frank, with a mock thank-you note. It doesn't mention the crystal gavel Norman presented to Frank just before the most recent vote.

The mailout also includes a copy of a campaign letter from Deanna Prieto-Easterling, former aide to late State Attorney Harry Lee Coe, to Democrats on behalf of her daughter two years ago. In that note, Mom says that her daughter, who was running against Democrat Ben Wacksman at the time, might be a Republican but "didn't choose to run away from the principles and passions of our party."

This time around, in a campaign between two Republicans, both candidates are trying to out-conservative one another.

In addition to his attack ads, Norman has been sending out some softer material. But even puff pieces can get a candidate into trouble.

On the front of one recent mailing, Norman is pictured speaking at Bell Shoals Baptist Church, with a crucifix in the background. On the other side, Norman claims to have led the charge to reinstate reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer before every commission meeting. (It was being recited at some meetings, but not all.)

If you received one of the fliers, take a look at the front again. There, a faded version of the Pledge of Allegiance is printed in old-style type. Really old. So old that the version printed was from before 1954, the year the words "Under God," were added.

Norman campaign consultant John Coley accepted blame for the oversight.

Against the cacophony of those ads comes a mailing from Frank, who is seeking re-election to the at-large District 7 seat and is facing Democrat Ed Crawford.

The front reads: "All Positives."

Inside, Frank notes in a text-heavy piece her support of growth paying for itself, for indigent health care and fiscal responsibility. She does give herself credit for the county's recently improved bond rating, though in truth the credit is shared with other commissioners and county staff.

A caller who recently rang the home of City Council Chairman Charlie Miranda wanted to ask about the race for mayor. Miranda, a candidate for that post, gladly listened.

Did he have a negative or positive opinion of former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman?

How would Miranda feel about Mayor Dick Greco endorsing one of the candidates?

Did he approve or disapprove of the mayor's recent trip to Cuba?

By the time he hung up, Miranda knew where the poll came from even though the caller never identified a client. "I guarantee you Mr. Sanchez did this," Miranda said.

Candidate Frank Sanchez acknowledged his campaign has been conducting a poll. He didn't know for sure that this one was his.

"If I do polling, it is for the same reason anyone does polling," said Sanchez, noting that candidate Bob Buckhorn has conducted a poll as well. "It is to get a sense of what people are thinking."

Polls often help candidates craft a winning message. The questions about Freedman could help gauge whether it would be effective to link Freedman to Buckhorn, who worked for her. The questions about Greco might show if Greco's endorsement would help Sanchez -- or make him look like a lackey.

Buckhorn pounced on the poll as a sign of Sanchez's empty campaign.

"If someone is searching for a reason to run or testing the winds to find out what to say, I think that's sad," Buckhorn said. "I am running on a platform. I am running on 15 years of service."

No word yet on the poll results. But here's a tip to the polling firm:

Next time, don't call the opponent.

-- Got a tip? Contact Bill Varian at (813) 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com, or David Karp at (813) 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.

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