Agriculture Commissioner: Bronson keeps agriculture job

The third time proved to be the charm for former state senator Charles Bronson, who was trouncing Miami school librarian David Nelson late Tuesday in the race for state agriculture commissioner.

Bronson, a Republican who lost two previous tries for the agriculture post, was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush last year to lead the 3,500-employee department, which promotes farming but also is in charge of consumer protection.

Although polls had shown Bronson and Nelson in a dead heat, Bronson said he pulled ahead in the last week or so because "people woke up and started looking at the Cabinet races."

To win he ran extensive television advertisements, lined up endorsements from Democratic bigwigs and used the corporate jet of supporters such as citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin III. Bronson also credited grassroots support from the firefighters and police unions.

Nelson, a Democrat calling himself "Joe Novice," ran a shoestring campaign out of his house, traveling primarily to places he could reach by car and collecting less than $20,000 in contributions. The one-time avocado-picker hit dozens of produce festivals, passing out fliers that he folded himself.

"For $15,000 I did pretty damn good in this state," Nelson said. But that wasn't enough money to pay for TV ads, he said.

Nelson, 39, said he was spurred to run by the loss of two sour orange trees from his backyard. They were cut down by agriculture department employees as part of the drive to halt the spread of citrus canker. Nelson's campaign was embraced by opponents of the controversial canker program, which so far has cut down 600,000 backyard trees, but that was not enough to counter Bronson.

Bronson, 52, stashed more than $1-million in his coffers even before he began campaigning in earnest. Through October and early November he ran a series of TV ads touting his department's work to protect consumers and to safeguard the state's food supply. They featured images of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse.

A Kissimmee native, Bronson ran unsuccessfully for agriculture commissioner in 1986 and 1990, but won a state Senate seat in 1994 and re-election in 1998. He traces his family's connection to Florida back to the 1830s and is very popular among agricultural interests -- so much so that they joined forces to help defeat the Democratic candidate with the most potential for causing him trouble, environmental activist Mary Barley.

Among the tactics used by the group, primarily financed by Griffin, was running TV ads touting Nelson, who at that point had not been critical of Bronson's job performance.

With their help Nelson won a surprise primary victory over Barley and another more experienced Democratic candidate, Winter Park veterinarian Andrew "Dr. Andy" Michaud.

Pollsters credited Nelson's surprising showing in pre-election polls to voters who mistakenly believed he was related to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.