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Sanchez gives up negative approach
By DAVID KARP, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- From now on, mayoral candidate Frank Sanchez said Wednesday, he will only attack opponent Pam Iorio face to face. He won't mail out thousands of letters to voters painting Iorio in unflattering terms, as he did last week. He won't ask newspapers to publish letters, like his campaign did Saturday, calling Iorio a proponent of big taxes. He won't place negative newspaper ads like the one that appeared with Sanchez's picture on Friday in the weekly La Gaceta. Sanchez promised Wednesday only to raise issues about Iorio's record at public forums where she can respond. "I had no intention of going negative," Sanchez said. He said his past ads about Iorio's record on taxes were fair, but he also said the public would not see more of them. Sanchez's pledge comes a day after his campaign paid for ads on WTMP 1150 AM, a largely black radio station, criticizing Iorio's minority hiring practices as elections supervisor. Sanchez said he didn't intend for the ad to air. Tuesday night, Sanchez told a forum sponsored by the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs that he learned about the ad only moments before the event. He said a supporter was behind the ad's airing. "I heard about it 10 minutes ago," Sanchez said. "It was done without my authorization. That's not the kind of campaign I intend to run. "I apologize not only to Ms. Iorio, but I apologize to you, the public." Sanchez acknowledged Wednesday that his campaign had paid for the ad; Sanchez's voice can be heard on the ad. His pledge appears to represent a change in campaign strategy from last week, when Sanchez attacked Iorio as a proponent of taxes. Iorio, who calls herself a fiscal conservative, said the attacks distorted her record over eight years on the Hillsborough County Commission. It's not clear when Sanchez decided to shift gears. As recently as Saturday night, Sanchez campaign consultant Joe Johnson sent a letter to the St. Petersburg Times that depicted Iorio as a supporter of higher user fees and utility rates. Johnson asked the Times to report on the letter -- and said more attacks were coming. Wednesday, Sanchez's campaign manager asked the Times not to publish the letter. Johnson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Sanchez said he remains an adviser. Sanchez said the ads were sent to WTMP by accident. Sanchez co-chairman Jetie Wilde Jr. said the station ran them inadvertently. But Louis Muhammad, operations manager and program director of WTMP, said the station was given the ads and was paid to air them. "It wasn't mistakenly run," he said. Iorio said she's concentrating on her plans for Tampa. Her campaign mailed out a booklet Wednesday offering 10 reasons to vote for Pam Iorio. "I just focus on my own campaign, and the way I communicate with the voters," Iorio said. "It is hard to say what is going on with the other camp." Political consultants said Wednesday that Sanchez was pulling back because his attacks weren't helping. "It seems like he tried these different approaches, and they may not be working," said political consultant Mark Proctor. "So now he is going back to the other approach." Darryl Paulson, a political scientist at the University of South Florida, said the attacks may have damaged Sanchez's image. Before the March 4 general election, Sanchez looked like a statesman with a global vision for Tampa, Paulson said. But in the past three weeks, "we have seen almost a completely different political entity. It has made people uncertain of who (Sanchez) is and what he stands for. "My guess is he is reacting to an emerging and developing criticism of his campaign, that is floundering out there and has lost focus," Paulson said. Sanchez may also be adjusting to the impending war, which may make it tough for a candidate to strike a negative tone. "It just feels different out there," said political consultant Victor DiMaio. "Negative stuff is not working."
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