Ad takes new tack to boost McBride

The Democratic candidate for governor seeks to inspire voters with his successes and his vision for the future.

By WES ALLISON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 25, 2002

Now that Bill McBride has persuaded enough Florida Democrats to vote for him, he's going after the rest of you.

The state Democratic Party on Tuesday began airing a retooled television ad aimed at introducing its candidate for governor to folks who didn't necessarily vote in the party's primary, or who voted for someone else.

It's McBride's first ad since he beat Janet Reno and Daryl Jones in the Sept. 10 primary, and viewers can expect a nonstop ad blitz from him and Republican Gov. Jeb Bush through the Nov. 5 election.

The Republican Party of Florida relaunched a TV ad Tuesday that shows Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells touting Bush's record on fighting crime. It first ran June 20.

The GOP also is airing a spot about Bush helping to get a traffic light near a school in Baker County. Look for more Bush ads soon.

"This is the time of year when a lot of stuff starts happening," said Towson Frasier, the state's Republican Party spokesman.

The new McBride spot, running statewide, uses much of the same footage as an ad that first aired in July. It shows him as a boy from Leesburg, a high school football star, a Vietnam veteran and successful lawyer, and seeks to provide a natural contrast to Bush, the son of a president, who never served in the military.

The new version is more polished and addresses the future as well as the past.

"We're completing the task of familiarizing the full electorate in Florida to who Bill is," said McBride spokesman Alan Stonecipher.

It ends with the McBride campaign slogan: "Let's reach higher."

"He's always believed some things are worth fighting for," an unseen announcer says as a much younger, thinner McBride appears in his military uniform. "He left law school to join the Marines, fought for his country and won the Bronze Star.

"Raised in a middle-class family, he worked his way through school with a football scholarship and by waiting tables. . . . As governor, he'll be a leader on education, protect our environment and bring in high-wage jobs."

McBride has released an education plan that calls for $1.1-billion in new spending to increase teacher pay and decrease class size, although most of the funding would depend on the Republican-led Legislature. But he has not offered plans or specifics for how he would improve the environment or boost job growth.

Today, McBride will tour an inner-city school in Miami that received an F under Bush's school grading plan, while Bush will campaign in Orlando and Miami.

Most of the week, McBride will be preparing for Friday night's debate with Bush in Jacksonville. His running mate, state Sen. Tom Rossin, is scheduled to attend a fundraiser with U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., Friday morning in Miami.

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