A three-term GOP incumbent, a Libertarian and a write-in candidate vie for the seat.
By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2002
The race for the District 56 seat in the Florida House offers a powerful Republican incumbent challenged by a Libertarian newcomer.
Sandra L. Murman, 52, a longtime community volunteer, is the first Republican woman to rise to House speaker pro tempore. In the past term, she chaired key committees overseeing the Department of Children and Families and appropriations for health and human services.
Mark A. Howard, 38, is a Seminole Heights resident and computer programmer who recently registered as a Libertarian and is making his first run for office. Howard seeks to hold the line on spending and end discrimination against gays.
Civic activist Neil Cosentino, 65, is running as a write-in candidate as simply "Neil." The retired U.S. Air Force pilot waged the Friendship Trail Bridge campaign to salvage the old Gandy Bridge for recreation.
As a three-term incumbent, Murman has far outpaced both men in the race for contributions.
Murman sponsored 32 bills in the last legislative session, many of them child-centered. Her bills that became law include measures to localize foster care delivery, criminalize the falsification of records by child welfare workers and reduce nursing shortages.
Murman boasts of returning millions in program dollars to her home district.
Howard views that claim as one that may drive overtaxed voters into the Libertarian fold.
"What she does not seem to realize is that all that money comes from taxpayers," Howard said.
While Murman lives comfortably in a $1.16-million home, Howard declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years ago, a result of "a relationship that caused spending to be excessive," he said.
Howard favors more stringent penalties for polluters, allowing parents to redirect school taxes to private school tuition and ending state laws that prevent gay men like himself from adopting.
"Every government solution seems to involve regulation, taxation or punishment," Howard said. "I think charities and corporations can take on more work of government."
Murman says the contributions she gets reflect "the quality of my legislation." She pledges to complete reforms at the DCF and in the area of mental health if elected to a fourth term.
"I've helped thousands of people and I've never lost touch with this district," Murman said. "I put their needs in my heart when I'm in the Legislature."
State House District 56 takes in parts of South Tampa and east Hillsborough County, including Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Harbour Island, Brandon, Riverview and Gibsonton. Representatives serve two-year terms and are paid $29,328 annually.
SANDRA L. MURMAN, 52, is seeking her fourth consecutive term in the Florida House. Murman earned a business and marketing degree from Indiana University and has worked as an account manager for NBI Inc. and a sales executive for Xerox. Murman lists her occupation as "community activist." She serves on the Juvenile Justice Task Force, Hillsborough Constituency for Children and League of Women Voters. She also is a Girl Scout troop leader and is active in the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Riverview Chamber of Commerce and United Way. Murman is a Davis Islands resident, is married and has a daughter. ASSETS: home, personal property, autos, retirement account LIABILITIES: mortgage SOURCE OF INCOME: representative's salary E-MAIL: murman.sandra@leg.state.fl.us
MARK A. HOWARD, 38, is making his first run for office. He is a computer programmer at Tech Data Corp. Howard earned a degree in computer information systems from the Devry Institute in Chicago and previously worked as a programmer at Quaker Oats Corp. Howard is a Seminole Heights resident and is single. ASSETS: home, truck, retirement account, personal property LIABILITIES: mortgage SOURCE OF INCOME: Tech Data salary E-MAIL: mark@howard4house.com