Candidates hurl insults, labels in District 7 debate

In a face-off scheduled to air two dozen times, Commissioner Pat Frank and Brian Blair accuse each other of playing to donors' interests.

By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 27, 2002

TAMPA -- A soon-to-be-televised debate between Hillsborough Commissioner Pat Frank and her opponent, Brian Blair, could be subtitled, "You're the puppet . . . No, you're the puppet! And you're also mean!"

Blair, a former wrestler, blasted Frank from the get-go Thursday during the taping of a League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County debate for the at-large District 7 County Commission seat.

In his opening remarks, Blair described Frank as an ultraliberal who, at the same time, is backed by a "radical coalition" headed by east Hillsborough conservative activist Sam Rashid. He labeled her a career politician with 30 years in public office and accused her of harboring grudges.

Later, sounding like a rapper more than a wrestler, he said, "I have no strings attached. I am only a puppet of the people. It's not about me; it's about we. I am open-minded but not empty-headed."

Frank did not let him go unchallenged during the debate, which will air two dozen times on Hillsborough Television, cable channel 22, starting Oct. 3.

She denied taking any campaign money from Rashid. If someone is controlled, she said, it's Blair, who has received more than 10 percent of his campaign contributions from another east Hillsborough conservative, Ralph Hughes, whose building supply business directly benefits from a prodevelopment commission.

"There's no question that Ralph Hughes wants to control the commission," Frank said. "He has a mission in mind."

After the debate, Blair offered to prove that Frank had Rashid's backing. He pointed to contributions she had received from people who have been donors to other candidates Rashid has supported.

Frank described the donors as longtime friends and said she had met Rashid only twice, both times at public functions. She called Blair's assertions "poppycock."

To support his claim of Frank's ultraliberalism, Blair noted her support of a gay rights ordinance. He said her vindictiveness was illustrated by her support last week for cutting funding to the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce after it published a political brochure giving her low marks.

Frank said she didn't support any form of discrimination. And her opposition to chamber funding, she said, was based solely on its violation of a county contract.

She expressed surprise at Blair's attacking style given his oft-stated belief that he has never met a person he didn't like. He responded: "Unfortunately, there's a few that I have met that I don't care for right now."

In her closing remarks, Frank summed up her take on the afternoon. "It's fair to say you can see the distinction between the two of us," she said.

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