Attacks on Crist have tie to Republican

A former state GOP official is listed as registered agent for a group that has leveled mail and Web-based attacks on Charlie Crist.

By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 4, 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- Charlie Crist, the apparent front-runner in the Republican primary for attorney general, has come under attack by an obscure group with ties to a former top state GOP official.

The Alliance for Public Safety sent out mailers criticizing Crist and directed recipients to a Web site, www.cristfacts.org, that provides links to negative articles about Crist.

The alliance was formed in June and lists as its registered agent John Wehrung, former political director of the Republican Party of Florida who now runs a political consulting firm with former Florida GOP head Tom Slade.

The alliance's street address is the same as the Florida Professional Firefighters, a 16,500-member union that endorsed Crist opponent Locke Burt and has a link to Burt's campaign on its Web site and numerous Burt signs outside its Tallahassee headquarters.

The same address appears on a flier praising Burt and fellow Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

The cristfacts.org Web site shows a photo of Crist slouching, his mouth half open and his eyes half shut. Visitors are invited to click on the words:"Charlie Crist Sells Government Contracts to Campaign Contributors," or "Charlie Crist Failed Florida's Kids as Education Commissioner."

The alliance sent out a flier last month calling Burt and Bush the "lead batters" of Florida's law enforcement and public safety all-star team.

Burt spokesman Rick Wilson distanced Burt's campaign from the alliance's mailing and Web site. Still, he didn't disagree with the content.

"I think the Alliance for Public Safety has done Florida a favor in putting up this Web site," Wilson said.

The president of Wehrung's consulting firm, Tidewater Consulting, said neither Wehrung nor Slade had anything to do with the flier or Web site. Wehrung simply filed the alliance's corporate papers for a friend, said Tidewater president Richard Coates.

Crist called the flier and Web site the act of a desperate campaign.

"When someone's campaign isn't going well, this is the kind of thing people do," Crist said. "It's inappropriate, it's untrue and it shouldn't be done."

The Web site includes links to newspaper articles and editorials, as well as to pieces apparently written by the alliance itself, about controversies that have dogged Crist during his tenure as education commissioner.

Some of those include accusations that he gave a contract worth nearly $1-million to a company that donated to his education commissioner campaign, over the objections of his staff. Other links on the Web site discuss elections and ethics complaints filed against Crist, accusing him of fundraising violations and improperly accepting gifts.

Crist was cleared by the state elections commission but still faces an ethics inquiry.

Tom Warner, Crist's other opponent in the Republican primary, said the Web site appeared accurate but said he had nothing to do with it. Warner has billboards questioning Crist's fitness for attorney general, and he said he didn't need any group to do that for him.

"I think it's a pretty strong signal that there are Republicans who don't think Charlie is the right candidate for attorney general, which is what I have said all along," Warner said.

A spokesman for the Republican Party condemned the Web site, saying it wasn't the style of campaigning the party supports.

-- Times researchers Kitty Bennett and Deirdre Morrow contributed to this report.

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