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MICHAEL SANDLERA Republican senator forced out by term limits and a Democrat novice seek the coastal Pinellas House seat.
CLEARWATER - A flurry of political activity has begun in the race to replace outgoing state Rep. John Carassas.
With his resignation official today, Carassas, a Republican from Belleair, steps aside as two candidates position themselves to seek his open seat. A special election will be scheduled soon by Gov. Jeb Bush.
Former state Sen. Don Sullivan, a well-known Republican from Seminole, has filed to run and already has raised nearly $8,000.
Newcomer John Daniel "Dan" Coleman, a political and public relations consultant from Belleair, will run as a Democrat.
Both opened campaign accounts in June, just days after Carassas announced he would leave the Legislature to pursue a job with Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist.
Sullivan, 67, was traveling in Russia on Tuesday with a delegation from St. Petersburg College and could not be reached for comment. He was hired as an administrator at the college last year.
Coleman, 52, said he has yet to raise any money. He intends to seek support from voters dissatisfied with the Republican-dominated Legislature and the special sessions required this year.
"I feel these special sessions have been a waste of the taxpayers' money," he said. "No one could agree. If this was business, these guys wouldn't have jobs."
Carassas's District 54 stretches along the Pinellas coast from Clearwater Beach to Fort DeSoto, and includes portions of Belleair, Largo, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Carassas, 37, who first was elected in 2000, submitted his letter of resignation to Bush last week. A former assistant city attorney in Clearwater, Carassas will be one of Crist's three deputy attorneys general. Based in Tampa, he will oversee 150 attorneys, offices in five cities and a territory stretching from Daytona Beach to Bradenton.
The special election to fill his seat likely will be held after August. Bush must establish a qualifying period, a primary and an election date. Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark said the primary and election must be at least two weeks apart.
A spokesman for the governor said Bush intends to announce a date for the special election in the next few days.
Sullivan served 10 years in the Florida Senate before term limits forced him out in 2002. He considered running for an open House seat that year and raised more than $34,000, but dropped out of the race to join St. Petersburg College.
This past month he raised $7,629. His contributors this year include former House speaker Lee Moffitt, the Florida Hospital Association and St. Petersburg College President Carl Kuttler.
Clearwater lawyer Ed Armstrong, known as a Republican power broker in Pinellas County, said Sullivan will be tough to beat in a short race. Sullivan has name recognition, understands the process and knows the lobbyists.
But, Armstrong said, Sullivan will need to overcome a less-flattering reputation locally.
"When Don was in the Senate, he didn't seem that interested in Clearwater," Armstrong said. "He didn't seem to be active at all at the local level. He wasn't at events. I think he was more focused on Tallahassee."
Carassas did not face a Democratic opponent in 2002, but he was challenged by a Green Party candidate.
Coleman, 52, has never held public office. He recently worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and ran unsuccessfully in 1996 for a seat on the Belleair City Commission.
Coleman said Republicans cannot go unchallenged by Democrats.
"We can't just let the Republicans win gratis," he said. "Just because you've worked the hallowed halls, doesn't mean you intimidate me."
- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.