Former Georgia senator Max Cleland headlines Saturday's Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee rally at the Lowry Park bandshell.
The rally begins at noon, and Cleland is expected to speak at 12:45 p.m. Barbecue dinners will be sold with proceeds going to the local DEC.
Cleland, a Vietnam veteran who uses a wheelchair after losing three limbs in the war, is one of the highest profile supporters of presidential hopeful John Kerry.
U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, state Sen. Les Miller, state Reps. Bob Henriquez and Arthenia Joyner and state party chairman Scott Maddox also are scheduled to appear.
No word on whether Maddox will bring the sheep he toted around Tallahassee on Wednesday to mock House Speaker Johnnie Byrd.
537 CLUB: Before the rally, some Democrats will be in South Tampa to register voters. They call themselves the 537 Club. The name comes from the number of votes that separated George Bush and Al Gore in Florida in the final, official count from the 2000 election.
They plan to target high-turnout precincts around the county in the months leading to the November general election. This weekend, they'll start at Friendship Park, at the corner of Bay to Bay Boulevard and Lois Avenue, at 9:30 a.m.
"We're going to walk through Hillsborough County," said Phyllis Busansky, a former Hillsborough County commissioner and an organizer of the South Tampa 537 Club.
Or, as another Democrat said not long ago, they're going to go to Carrollwood! And Brandon! And South County! and West Tampa! And then they're going to go to Washington where they're going to take back the White House!
Yeiaaiah!
Or not. Just ask Howard Dean. IRON IT OUT: If you see a woman with an ironing board standing outside your polling precinct Tuesday, don't think she's a personal valet.
Ed Austin, who is running for the County Commission seat being vacated by Jan Platt, is going to file by petition, and will have supporters gather signatures outside precincts. With desks and tables proving unwieldy and flat surfaces difficult to find, Austin has asked supporters to bring ironing boards.
WEB SITE UPDATE: Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson has revamped the Web site for his office - www.votehillsborough.org The print is a little smaller. But there are more links, including those that allow people to click on to their precinct and find out who all of their elected officials are for the county, city, etc. They can also locate their polling places.
As one more bonus, there's also a nice, friendly picture of Johnson that greets visitors to the site.
CANDIDATES' SITES: Speaking of Web sites, if you feel uninformed about the three Republicans who want to be Hillsborough County's next sheriff, try bonnerforsheriff.org, www.davidgeeforsheriff.com and www.fitzpatrickforsheriff.com You'll learn everything from where they grew up to what they think about the department's promotions process.
And if English isn't your native language, David Gee and Kevin Fitzpatrick offer Spanish versions. Gee, now second-in-command to outgoing Sheriff Cal Henderson, is trabajando para asegurar el futuro del Condado de Hillsborough. Fitzpatrick, who recently retired from the sheriff's office after 29 years, promises he'll darle a los residentes del Condado de Hillsborough el mejor servicio posible.
Lane Bonner, a retired FBI agent who lives in Plant City, doesn't have a Spanish version of his campaign Web site - but like Gee and Fitzpatrick, he's using cyberspace to tell voters why he thinks he's the best replacement for Henderson.
ON MURMAN'S MIND: Finally, we offer voters the legislative priorities of state Rep. Sandy Murman, R-Tampa, who didn't turn in her survey last week in time to be included in the Times roundup of the views of Hillsborough County's senators and representatives. Here's a condensed version of her responses.
1. Your main goal for this session? Secure funds for the developmentally disabled and child welfare programs, get $15-million for the Health Sciences Center at the University of South Florida, and make certain that Hillsborough schools get adequate funding for increased enrollment.
2. The one thing you DON'T want the Legislature to do? "Increase government or taxes."
3. Most important bill you are writing or co-writing? The parental rights amendment. A second bill deals with sexual abuse of developmentally disabled individuals, and third, would create a long-term care managed care system for the elderly.
4. Other legislation or issues you are backing? Sponsoring local legislation to help increase the police and firefighters' pension, and obtain $2.5-million for the new Tampa Museum of Art and $1-million for a jail diversion project at Mental Health Care to help ease the overcrowding. Also backs changes to the process of putting constitutional initiatives on the ballot.
- Times staff writers Bill Varian, Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler and Ernest Hooper contributed to this report.
