Rossin brings experience, but draws tepid response

TALLAHASSEE -- Democrat Bill McBride today will introduce running mate Tom Rossin of West Palm Beach in a series of appearances across Florida aimed at appealing to the moderate suburbanites who can be decisive in statewide elections.

The McBride-Rossin team will spend the next seven weeks trying to persuade voters to reject Gov. Jeb Bush's bid for a second four-year term.

Political experts praised Rossin Tuesday as a safe and practical choice. Some party activists, however, were less than impressed. A few asked: Tom who?

"He brings experience, no negatives and a South Florida political presence," said David Niven, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University. "I don't think he's the flashiest choice you could make but he certainly is not going to cost you any votes."

"What's his name again?" asked Chuck Floyd, Democratic chairman in Alachua County, where McBride beat Janet Reno by a more than 2-1 ratio. "The question is, how will he do in South Florida?"

Rossin, 69, is a lawyer, former banker and rancher with 16 grandchildren. He is finishing an eight-year career in the Senate, the last two as Democratic leader. Although he got along with Republican senators, his job was a soapbox to hammer away at Bush's record, especially on education and the budget.

Rossin wrote an article in the Tallahassee Democrat in March comparing Bush's management of Florida to Ken Lay's tenure at Enron. "Jeb Bush has used Florida to turn a profit for his friends at the expense of our future," Rossin wrote.

Like many Democrats, Rossin held little hope for McBride's chances. But he eased into McBride's inner circle in recent weeks. He spent Tuesday night in Tampa and will accompany McBride on a three-city fly-around today in Tallahassee, Orlando and South Florida.

Rossin brings Capitol experience that McBride lacks and his presence is meant to bolster McBride in the three big counties in South Florida, where McBride ran poorly to Reno. He represents a politically moderate district that touches both coasts and parts of six counties, but like most state lawmakers, he's virtually unknown outside his home base.

When term-limited senators took their final bows in March, Republican Burt Saunders of Naples praised Rossin's willingness to drive across the Everglades to serve the westernmost part of his district, adjacent to Saunders'.

"The Republicans in Lee County said 'We don't want anybody to run against Tom Rossin. He is a Democrat, but we love him, and we respect him, and we appreciate what he has done for us,' " Saunders said.

As Bush has learned, the governor's agenda can be held hostage by the Legislature. If McBride wins, he would face a Republican Legislature hostile to many of his ideas, such as a cigarette tax increase and repeal of business tax breaks.

Some interest groups consider Rossin a moderate. According to Associated Industries of Florida, he voted with big business 41 percent of the time this year, higher than some prominent Republicans.

But Bush campaign spokesman Todd Harris called Rossin a "traditional liberal" on issues such as gun control and taxes.

Even before McBride can stand by Rossin, some jittery Democrats are questioning how Rossin helps their party defeat Bush in November.

Some don't see how a ticket featuring two lawyers in suits can galvanize the huge turnout Democrats need to win, especially blacks in South Florida who overwhelmingly favored Reno in the primary.

"It's going to be very difficult for me to run around with two elderly white male lawyers and go into my churches and inspire them," said state Rep. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, who supported Bush in 1998 but later renounced his support. "If he picks Rossin, it's very disappointing, but I wholeheartedly support him."

Paula Xanthopoulou, president of the National Women's Political Caucus of Florida, said Rossin was a disappointing choice "simply because the ticket would not be representative of the Democratic Party."

"I would have hoped for someone who was either a minority or a woman," Xanthopoulou said. "I would like to have seen more diversity in the ticket, especially in the need to bring all Democratic voters together in November."

-- Times staff writer Wes Allison and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

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