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Candidates run low-tech races
By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer
Glossy fliers and television commercials are the stuff of modern campaigns, but all three candidates in state House District 53 say they're relying on the old tools: handshakes and voter chats. Democratic incumbent Charlie Justice and Republican challenger Ken Feck say their knuckles have rapped thousands of doors since they began walking neighborhoods in July. Michael Gilson-De Lemos, a Libertarian, said he has been attending coffees and inviting small groups of voters to his home. "I am surprised at how little personal contact the voters have with their government. . . . I have heard more times than I can count they've never met a politician before," said Feck, 32, a small business loan officer with Mercantile Bank. District 53 includes portions of St. Petersburg, Gulfport, Pinellas Park, Kenneth City and the Lealman area. Justice said his campaign printed 13,000 pieces of campaign literature this summer. He has only 4,000 left, and most were distributed through door-to-door walks. "We have been going to every forum and every neighborhood association that we could possibly listen to," said Justice, 34, who is completing his first term. Feck said his campaign has visited at least 8,000 homes. Both Justice and Feck have sent mailings also, and Justice said he may run television commercials before Tuesday. When asked what the voters have told them during their door-to-door walks, Justice and Feck listed the same three issues: education, health insurance and prescription drugs. "Mostly what I've been hearing about is education, education, education," said Justice, an academic adviser for the University of South Florida. "They want smaller class sizes, they want better-paid teachers and they want safe schools." Justice supports Amendment 9, which would mandate lower class sizes in Florida, and said he favors making the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test a "diagnostic" tool that would help evaluate schools rather than punish them. Feck likes standardized testing in schools but said the results should be shared more effectively. Feck said he has talked to people making $18,000 to $20,000 per year who are told that "to insure their families, it's $400 or $500 a month. You do the math. Can you afford that?" He said he would like to explore whether there's a way to pool the state's purchasing power to help families obtain more affordable health insurance. Feck and Justice agreed that a limited plan approved by the Florida Legislature and endorsed by Gov. Jeb Bush was a step in the right direction but said it doesn't go far enough. Like the others, Gilson-De Lemons has been attending neighborhood meetings and forums. He said he also has been meeting with voters who contact him. By running for office, he hopes to educate people about the Libertarian Party and its philosophy, which focuses on personal freedom, a limited role for government and finding nongovernment alternatives to programs managed by the government. Gilson-De Lemos, 47, secretary of the state Libertarian Party, lives just outside District 53 but said he has made arrangements to move into it. Asked about his prospects in this race, he said, "Our feeling was if we got a half-percent to 1 percent of the vote, we would feel that that was absolutely terrific."
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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