Week in Review

REPUBLICANS WIN HERE, TOO: Republican Ken Hagan, a former insurance sales manager, defeated two opponents in the District 2 race to represent northern Hillsborough on the County Commission. Republican Jim Norman, who was forced to leave that seat because of term limits, easily beat two opponents Tuesday to become the at-large District 5 commissioner. He returns to the commission along with Democrat Tom Scott, a sometime ally who handily dispatched Republican opponent Jacqueline Knight.

Hagan becomes the commission's youngest member at age 35. The New Tampa resident trounced Democrat Ron Dyser of Carrollwood and independent Rod Gaudin, using a large network of friends and relatives in a door-to-door campaign. "We increased the walking after the primary," Hagan said from a victory celebration at Legends Bar and Grill. "We walked to the homes of Democrats and independents."

Norman, 49, a Republican who has served 10 years on the board, won a new four-year term as an at-large commissioner by defeating Susan Valdes, a Democratic health care clinic manager, and Robert "Bob" Wirengard, 57, who ran without party affiliation.

Republican challenger Ed Homan defeated Democratic incumbent Sara Romeo for the District 60 House seat two years after narrowly losing to her.

Homan, 59, an orthopedic surgeon from Temple Terrace, benefited from a district redrawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature to include sections of the solidly Republican New Tampa.

Romeo, 53, defeated Homan in 2000 by 336 votes, and Homan said he thought the race was a dead heat coming into the election.

"I had no clue how the vote was going to turn out," said Homan from his home, where almost 60 campaign volunteers celebrated.

Both candidates mailed out fliers criticizing each other in the last month of the campaign. In the final week, a group calling itself People for a Better Florida paid for an attack ad that called Romeo "the Grinch" and accused her of raising taxes.

Republican Kevin Ambler took the open House District 47 seat with a convincing victory over Democrat Michael Steinberg.

Both men promised a clean campaign, but the race turned increasingly bitter as Steinberg accused Republicans of negative push polling. He also agreed with voters who tried to get Ambler off the ballot for not resigning his elected post with the Northdale Special Tax District to run.

Ambler, Steinberg and Libertarian Rob Schwartzberg battled to replace state Rep. Rob Wallace, R-Lutz, who was leaving because of term limits in a district that includes Carrollwood, Northdale, Citrus Park and Keystone.

Campaigning as a social conservative, Ambler emphasized education but opposed the class size amendment because of the costs involved. "I had the best experience, qualifications and message," he said.

Steinberg supported raising taxes to finance smaller class sizes and a statewide indigent health care plan. He accused Ambler of going negative.

BUS AGENCY LOSES TWO STRONG VOICES: A lame-duck Hillsborough County Commission, in one of its final acts Thursday, replaced two board members of the county's mass transit provider. Jan Smith of Lutz, who served as chairwoman for the past two years of her three-year term, and Joyce Smith of Town 'N Country were vocal advocates for the administration of Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, better known as HARTline. Jan Smith was also a vocal advocate of rail, which some of the commissioners oppose.

"I knew it was going to happen," Jan Smith said. "I think part of it is that Joyce and I have been very vocal in the issues that we believe in."

A majority of county commissioners have at times expressed various criticisms of HARTline and its administrator, Sharon Dent. Some view the expense of the bus program as not worth the cost given limited ridership, while others feel the system is run poorly. The majority also opposes HARTline's pursuit of laying the groundwork for a rail system serving Tampa.

Commissioners gave no explanation for the replacements during the meeting Thursday.

HARTline board member Steve Polzin was reappointed. Both Smiths were replaced by Elbert Morrow, vice president of Landmark Engineering & Surveying Corp., and Kenneth Hoyt, president of KSH International Inc.

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