The mailers praise lawmakers on education stances. A lobbyist aligned with home builders puts it plainly: "Our goal is to help our friends."
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published September 16, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - The 2004 elections are a year away, but a half-dozen Republican lawmakers already are enjoying the benefits of an unusual direct mail pitch to Tampa Bay area voters.
A group with close ties to home builders has mailed thousands of glossy, colorful cards, praising the lawmakers for voting against changes to the prepaid tuition and Bright Futures scholarship programs.
The unstated aim: to support legislators who helped the home builders by tying them to an issue that enjoys widespread public support.
Voters can't tell who's behind the campaign. The postcards carry only this tiny disclaimer: "Paid for by People for Integrity in Government."
"Our goal is to help our friends," said lobbyist Richard Gentry, an organizer of the effort. "They went out on a limb on this particular issue, and this is an awfully good issue to start a conversation with many of your constituents."
Gentry, who represents the Florida Home Builders Association, said the political pitch is designed to "inoculate" lawmakers against opposition, while sending a message to the House leadership that bucking the party line can be a good thing.
The beneficiaries include Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey; Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon; Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa; Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey; Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton; and Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. All opposed a House plan to require Bright Futures scholarship recipients to pay the cost of future tuition increases. The Senate killed the proposal.
"I'm grateful that someone was thanking us for supporting Bright Futures," Ambler said. "I wish I knew who this group is so I could thank them."
Ambler and Galvano were two of seven House Republicans who opposed the change in Bright Futures. The pair also sided with Democrats in voting to cap tuition increases at 7.5 percent, while most other House Republicans supported a tuition increase of up to 12.5 percent.
It's no coincidence that the same lawmakers sided with home builders in opposing cuts to a program that pays for affordable housing. That proposal also was spearheaded by House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, and his leadership team.
The lavishly financed group paying for the political mailings, People for Integrity in Government, is registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt political group. Its chairman, Ben Murphey, is a Hillsborough County real estate developer.
The largest single contributor to People for Integrity in Government is a group called Citizens for Better Communities, a political arm of Florida's home building industry, according to the IRS.
Gentry, general counsel to the Florida Home Builders Association, is listed as the treasurer of Citizens for Better Communities. The group transferred $135,000 to People for Integrity in Government last fall.
The law requires such "issue advocacy" ads to be independent of any candidate. The group has coordinated its efforts with Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, who fought changes in Bright Futures. Pruitt, who hopes to be Senate president in 2006-2008, acknowledged helping to shape the Bright Futures mailings.
The same group paid for a mail campaign against former state Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat who lost a Senate bid in November.
Sen. Jeff Atwater, the Republican who defeated Butterworth, was the lone beneficiary of the education mailing not from the Tampa Bay area.
The mailings are a sign that the two popular education programs could be a big issue with suburban middle-class voters in next year's elections.
Under the heading "Keeping the Promise!", the text of the card says in part: "Now there are some legislators who don't believe in fulfilling these promises. We think it is important to recognize and thank the ones who do."
The mailers include a detachable card that can be sent to lawmakers' offices. Fasano said "thousands" are piling up at his New Port Richey office.
- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
