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Bush orders special election

Associated Press
Published July 18, 2003

TALLAHASSEE - A special election was called by Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday to fill the House seat left vacant when John Carassas, R-Belleair, resigned to head Attorney General Charlie Crist's Tampa office.

Carassas resigned in late June.

Bush said the special primary election for House District 54 would be held Sept. 9, with a special general election to be held Oct. 7.

The district runs from Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach along the Pinellas County coastline.

Carassas, a former city attorney in Clearwater, was first elected to the House in 2000.

Carassas was most notable in the Legislature as a supporter of the state's open records laws, voting against nearly every attempt to close off records to public inspection.

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