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Sink may keep Democrats afloat

By ADAM C. SMITH
Published March 5, 2006

We'll be hearing loads over the next eight months about Florida's gubernatorial campaign - the first wide-open governor's race since 1986 and the first Florida election in 12 years without a Bush at the top of the ballot.

With a poisonous political climate nationally for Republicans and two moderate, well-prepared Democrats - U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa and state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua - running to succeed Jeb Bush, Democrats are talking up their prospects for finally regaining a strong voice in Tallahassee.

But if they had any sense, Florida Democrats would stop obsessing about the governor's mansion and start paying more attention to Florida's least understood office: chief financial officer. That's the Democrats' best shot for statewide victory at this point and the most realistic path to rebuilding their cash-strapped, influence-strapped and prominent-candidate-strapped party.

Wonder who's the best face to reverse the fortunes of beleaguered Florida Democrats? The consensus from Republicans and Democrats alike isn't Davis or Smith. It's Alex Sink.

"No question," said longtime Republican strategist J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich. "If the Democrats were smart, they would focus on the race where they had the highest probability of winning, and that's the CFO race with Alex Sink."

Democrats have been trying to recruit Sink to run for something for years. Who better to run in a Republican-dominated swing state, they figured, than an accomplished businesswoman and mother with a Southern twang?

In 2002, Democrats wound up with Sink's husband, attorney Bill McBride, as their gubernatorial nominee and overwhelmingly lost the governor's race. Plenty of party activists still complain about McBride's wobbly general election campaign and fault him for failing to prepare better. But the 57-year-old mother of two learned from her husband the pitfalls of statewide campaigns and has political and business contacts across Florida that any candidate would envy.

She said she researched the CFO position exhaustively before jumping in the race, talking to, among others, former Republican Comptroller Bob Milligan, whom she greatly admires. "He said he thought I would be a refreshing new face," she chuckled.

Sink is untested and is certainly no shoo-in. She is likely to face state Senate President Tom Lee, R-Valrico, in the general election. But Lee faces an aggressive Republican primary challenge from state Rep. Randy Johnson of Celebration and a bleak historical precedent: Presiding officers usually get nowhere in statewide campaigns.

Sink doesn't have a voting record or political career to pick apart, and she offers a hefty resume for chief financial officer. She retired in 2000 as president of Florida for NationsBank (now Bank of America), managing $40-billion in assets and 9,000 employees in 800 branches.

"Alex outclasses her competition in both experience and ability," said Buddy Shorstein, Bob Graham's former chief of staff. "She can bring great strengths that could really help whoever's running for governor."

I saw Sink the other day address a group of Democratic activists in Seminole County. Even as she told the hard-core Democrats that she intends to keep partisanship out of the CFO department, listeners beamed in approval at her emphasis on competence and accountability.

"How many of you have friends who say, "I'm a registered Democrat or Republican, but I vote for the person'?" she asked the Seminole County Democrats in her North Carolina drawl. "Well, Democrats, this is the year we have the caliber of candidates that we'll be able to look at them eyeball to eyeball and say, "The Democrat is the best person in the race."'

Even if Sink becomes the only statewide Democrat to win in November, the party would finally have a potentially high-profile alternative voice in state government. The CFO is one of four members of the Cabinet, and the post would give the party a badly needed fundraising opportunity.

"Next to governor, CFO is the most powerful office in the state today," said former state Democratic chairman Charles Whitehead. "And we have probably as good a candidate as you could find in the southeastern United States for the job."

Few voters even know what the chief financial officer does. It's a new position created when voters shrank the Florida Cabinet in 1998. Tom Gallagher was elected CFO in 2002 without opposition, so this is the first campaign for the job.

Florida's CFO directly oversees 11 divisions in the state Department of Financial Services, everything from accounting to insurance fraud to workers' compensation and funerals. The CFO pays the state's bills and has broad auditing authority to monitor state spending. Sink says she would aggressively review privatization contracts to see what kind of deal taxpayers are getting. The CFO does not directly regulate insurance, but Sink promised to appoint an insurance consumer advocate who would be a high-profile voice in state government.

Because of Iraq, Jack Abramoff and Katherine Harris, Democrats have lots of reasons to be optimistic heading into November. But sometimes pining for the home run is not nearly as wise as building the bench.

Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727 893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 3, 2006, 19:09:03]