An aide to U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez listened in on a phone conference call with reporters, which was set up by the campaign of opponent Betty Castor.
The call, which was a press conference with retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Graham and Charles Reed, former state university chancellor, was in support of Castor's handling of the Sami Al-Arian case at the University of South Florida.
Both men said Castor did everything she could when she was president to remove Al-Arian, who was under investigation for terrorist ties.
Jennifer Coxe said a reporter gave her the phone number and password to participate so she could be prepared to respond to any criticisms of Martinez. Coxe won't say which reporter, but dismisses the accusations, saying she was invited to listen in on the call.
"This kind of deceit is wrong," Castor spokesman Dan McLaughlin said. "But it's typical of the Martinez campaign."
SOME CATHOLIC BISHOPS have been aggressively urging Catholics to oppose Kerry, because he opposes restrictions on abortions. Members of Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Petersburg heard another take recently. An article included in all church bulletins, titled "Called to Embrace all of Life" stated that Catholic "pro-life" doctrine is much broader than abortion alone and includes war, capital punishment, poverty, denial of health care and more.
Without mentioning Bush or Kerry, the article noted that Jesus implored followers "to love our enemies, to feed the hungry, to bless the peacemakers, to set the oppressed free, and to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger. This November, we will look for and vote for candidates who take as seriously as we do the teachings and example of Jesus Christ."
USF POLL: A recent University of South Florida poll discovered this startling fact: The Tampa campus looks a lot like Florida.
And Florida, as we all know, is too close to call.
The results show 45 percent of voters support President Bush and 44 percent for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry with 12 percent still undecided.
In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Betty Castor, the former USF president, received 41 percent and Republican Mel Martinez received 39 percent.
About 775 students, faculty and staff were polled.
ISSUE DISAGREEMENT: President Bush campaigned Tuesday with U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez, but when he mentioned Martinez in front of big rallies, he brought up an issue where the two men don't view things the same way.
Bush supports a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering awards in lawsuits, and he told the crowds that he can count on Martinez to support him.
"I stand for medical liability reform, and I know I can work with the next senator from Florida, Mel Martinez, to get that reform done," Bush said at a rally in New Port Richey.
That was the only time Bush mentioned Martinez.
Martinez, a former president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, does not back Bush's proposal (he favors a $500,000 cap). Martinez spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe said later that the candidate has not changed his position.
"He will be a vote to bring it to the floor for debate," Coxe said.
GREEN BACKERS: Betty Castor got endorsements from several environmental groups Friday in Tallahassee.
"Betty fought against oil company attempts to drill off Florida's shore lines. She'll fight to reduce toxic emissions from power plants," said Betsy Loyless, vice president for policy of the League of Conservation Voters. "She'll work to strengthen the clean air and clean water laws; and, she'll take concrete steps to reduce global warming."
The group included leaders from the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, the Everglades Trust, the Audubon Society and the Florida Consumer Action Network and others.
"Like Bob Graham, Betty is committed to restoring and protecting the Everglades," said Tom Rumberger, a Republican and chairman of the Everglades Trust. "We need Betty in the Senate."
Steve Bousquet, Anita Kumar and David Karp contributed to this week's column. Send tips to bousquet@sptimes.com or call 850 224-7263.
