Democrat Arthur Hayhoe has spent years lobbying for gun control and gun safety measures.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published March 25, 2004
WESLEY CHAPEL - Longtime gun safety activist Arthur Hayhoe is taking aim at state Rep. Ken Littlefield, R-Dade City.
Hayhoe, a Democrat, has filed the paperwork to challenge Littlefield for the District 61 seat, which covers east and south-central Pasco County, as well as a northern pocket of Hillsborough.
He decided to run after Littlefield co-sponsored two controversial gun bills. One would prevent state environmental agencies from forcing gun ranges to clean up the lead and arsenic pollution from bullets fired on site, potentially sticking taxpayers with the cleanup tab.
The other measure would prevent the state from compiling any list of gun owners using pawn shop records or other gun sale records.
"When I saw Ken Littlefield co-sponsored them, I said, "I've got to do this,' " said Hayhoe, 71, who serves as a volunteer executive director of both the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Floridians for Gun Safety. "These things are terrible."
Although he has spent the past two decades lobbying for gun control and gun safety measures, Hayhoe said he would not run a single-issue campaign.
He criticized Littlefield's support for the bill that reinserted Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, against the ruling of a judge and the wishes of Schiavo's husband. Hayhoe also opposes a bill that would require parents to be notified before minors get an abortion.
"I think most people feel like they want to keep the Legislature out of their family business," Hayhoe said.
This is Hayhoe's first bid for public office. He has an associate's degree in electronics from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
He spent a decade in Vietnam, first with the American Red Cross, then with American contractors supporting the military operations. He worked as an engineer for various companies in Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1985, then went into insurance sales.
From 1990 to 2003 he was a marketing director for Well Care health plans of Florida. If elected, Hayhoe said he would be a full-time legislator.
The position pays $29,328 this year, and the term lasts two years. So far Hayhoe is the only challenger for Littlefield, who has filed the paperwork to seek re-election.
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com
