Kyc: District 43 State House

Jimmy Carr is still receiving praise for his blowout in the Democratic primary for state House of Representatives District 43, and he hopes the momentum will carry him through the general election.

But Carr, a political novice, isn't getting too cocky. His Republican opponent, former Citrus County Sheriff Charles Dean, also won big in his primary and has the name recognition and campaign treasury to match.

"I see it as a David and Goliath thing," Carr said. "Of course, we know who won that one."

Carr and Dean are joined in the race by Libertarian Neil Polimeni. The winner will represent all of Citrus and parts of Levy and Hernando counties.

Polimeni, a shift supervisor at the Hernando County jail, has been in the race from the beginning but did not face a primary opponent. He is one of more than 70 Libertarian House candidates this year, some of whom have no intention of winning or campaigning. They simply want to call attention to the party.

The Homosassa man insists he is not among the field of so-called trademark candidates.

"I'm a realist," he said in acknowledgment of the odds against him. "But I'm up for the win."

His campaign is based on the premise that less government is better. He supports Gov. Jeb Bush 's education platform but wants most decisions made by school boards. How much a teacher is paid, he said, should be decided locally, not by bureaucrats in Tallahassee.

Polimeni is against gun control laws and thinks environmental regulation is hurting economic development, though he allows that some oversight is necessary.

He said he does not always follow the party line and points to health care as an example. In that area, some government involvement is needed to keep costs in check, he said.

Carr is highly critical of Bush's education plan, which created the school grading system and provided vouchers for students at failing schools. Carr said the program works against poor districts that cannot score well on standardized tests.

The state, he said, needs to attract better teachers and emphasize the basics of writing, reading and arithmetic.

The environment also is high on Carr's agenda. He said he would seek federal funding to replace septic systems throughout Citrus County, not just near the rivers and lakes.

Both Carr and Polimeni have made an issue out of Dean's hefty fundraising: The former sheriff has raised about $100,000, with a good deal of it coming from political action committees.

"My opponent is going to be beholden to special interest groups," Carr said.

Dean insists he is his own man and said support from outside the district partly reflects the network he built during his 16 years as sheriff.

Having also been a teacher and cattle rancher, Dean is running largely on his background and experience. To him, no other candidate knows the area better.

He said he wants to preserve the quality of life in District 43 but does not want to hinder growth.

Like Polimeni, Dean wants to streamline permitting, saying the requirements of various agencies are redundant and limit development to those who can afford lawyers.

THE JOB

Members of the Florida House of Representatives debate policy and make laws for the state. District 43 includes all Citrus and parts of Levy and Hernando counties. Members serve two-year terms and are paid $29,328 per year.

REPUBLICAN

Dean

CHARLES DEAN, 63, is a lifelong Citrus resident who lives in Inverness. He was a teacher and school administrator before becoming Citrus County sheriff in 1980, a job he held until 1996, when he mounted an unsuccessful state Senate campaign. Dean has a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a master's degree from Rollins College. He is married and has two children. ASSETS: real estate, stock, annuities, savings accounts LIABILITIES: mortgage, car loan SOURCE OF INCOME: state pension, cattle farm

DEMOCRAT

Carr

JAMES "JIMMY" CARR, 58, a newcomer to elective politics, was born in Baltimore and grew up in the Tampa Bay area. He attended Northeast High School in St. Petersburg and went on to St. Petersburg Junior College. He owned a food distribution company and is a food broker. He has lived in Crystal River since 1992. He is married and has four children. ASSETS: stock, bank accounts, real estate LIABILITIES: loans SOURCE OF INCOME: business

LIBERTARIAN

Polimeni

NEIL POLIMENI, 33, a newcomer to politics, moved to Florida in the late 1980s and brought his family to Homosassa last year. He is assistant shift supervisor at the Hernando County Jail. He received a paralegal studies degree from Blackstone School of Law in Dallas. He is married and has a 3-year-old daughter. ASSETS: home, bank accounts, 401(k) LIABILITIES: mortgage, student loan, credit cards, auto loan SOURCE OF INCOME: job