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REBECCA CATALANELLOThe governor, in effect, rejects Chuck Rushe, who not long ago seemed a shoo-in for the position.
In a rare entry into local Republican party politics, Gov. Jeb Bush has thrown a curve ball into the primary race for Pasco County school superintendent:
Bush decided he wants Republicans to vote for Heather Fiorentino.
Fiorentino, a former teacher, is in a contest for the Aug. 31 Republican party nomination against Chuck Rushe, chief financial officer for the 57,000-student district.
Bush's move effectively rejects Rushe, who a year ago seemed a shoo-in for the post, having obtained the bipartisan endorsements of former longtime superintendent Tom Weightman (a Republican) and retiring superintendent John Long (a Democrat).
"Heather is a friend," Bush spokeswoman Karen Unger said Monday of the three-term state representative. "The governor admires her strong commitment to education as well as her commitment to the people of her district."
The gubernatorial show of support is the handiwork of state Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey, a Fiorentino backer and Republican heavyweight who said he asked for Bush's assistance while the two were in Tampa watching the Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
"Sometimes these things pop up at the most fun and unusual places," Unger said.
The last time Bush injected his name into a local school superintendent's race was 2000, when he helped to successfully oust Escambia County Democratic incumbent Jim May - a vocal critic of Bush's vouchers plan - by endorsing May's opponent.
Unger said she wasn't immediately certain whether Bush would be involving himself in other local elections or Republicans primaries.
"I don't recall the governor ever getting involved locally," said Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning, who has served in the office since 1980. "But that doesn't mean it hasn't happened."
Bush's primary endorsement, which Unger said would be formalized Wednesday by letter, comes on the heels of the Pasco County Republican Executive Committee's efforts to do the same.
Bill Bunting, president of Pasco GOP, said he expected Fiorentino to get an official endorsement during the group's July 15 meeting. The party leadership, which normally stays out of primary elections, fell six votes short of a quorum when it attempted to back her on June 18.
"A part of me is a little concerned that the governor is insinuating himself in a local school election," said Lynne Webb, president of the United School Employees of Pasco, which endorsed Rushe. "As a union, we have not been entirely pleased with the governor's initiatives."
In fact, neither has Fiorentino.
In her first term as a legislator, Fiorentino was one of 49 representatives to vote against Bush's landmark A-Plus plan - the 1999 school reform initiative that raised the stakes connected to standardized FCAT testing for students, teachers and schools.
Fiorentino, 46, said she took issue with select aspects of the bill but that she and Bush have developed a strong relationship in spite of their differences.
"I think that's part of the reason we have such high respect for each other," Fiorentino said Monday. "Because of A-Plus."
"It was a pretty big event among Republicans when she voted against FCAT and the A-Plus plan," recalled Long, who expressed surprise at the idea that Bush might endorse Fiorentino.
Rushe, 55, said Monday that the news could be a blow to his campaign, but rebuffed suggestions that it might be fatal.
"I think that it's not exactly secret that (Fiorentino is) Sen. Fasano's and Bill Bunting's candidate. I think they'll do whatever they possibly can to try to support her," Rushe said. "At this point in time, I'm the underdog. But I'm going to trust the people that when they look at our qualifications, they're going to see that I'm the most qualified to run this business we call education."
Weightman, the Republican who was elected superintendent for six terms as Pasco schools superintendent, said that although the news offers a boost to Fiorentino's campaign, Bush's action does not override what happens when the GOP voters go to the polls: "I think it will come down to election day."
At last reporting in April, Rushe had raised $56,250 in campaign contributions to Fiorentino's $20,757.
Whoever wins the Republican primary will face Democrat Alice Delgardo, 52, on the Nov. 2 ballot, a Pasco County newcomer who last week filed her intention to run. Also, Republican James Griffin, 33, is a general election write-in candidate.
Because of state law, Griffin's June 3 entry as a general election challenger turned what was an open primary into a Republican-only event. Rushe, who has attracted bipartisan support from school leaders, rejected early pleas from Democrats to change parties, saying his ideology is "30 years a Republican."
Chuck Kalogianis, president of the West Pasco Democratic Club, said Monday that political watchers shouldn't assume that Bush's stamp of approval clinches Fiorentino's chances. Some of the same people who successfully pushed for the Penny for Pasco sales tax initiative March 9 also are on board with Rushe.
"Those people know how to put together and run a good campaign," Kalogianis said. "If you're one of those people who does odds, then the odds are in favor of Heather. But I think it's going to be a close contest."