County candidate drops out of race

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published May 4, 2006

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TAMPA - Democratic candidate Deborah Cope says she's dropping out of the County Commission District 1 primary.

The reason? Money, she said Wednesday.

With $26,000 in the bank, she said, she couldn't hope to compete with Republican candidates like Rose Ferlita, who has a war chest of $218,000.

"Even though I think I'm the best candidate for the job, it's an uphill battle," she said.

Calling it quits was hard, though: "You hang on to that last little thread, until you look in the mirror and say, "okay, it's time for some common sense here.' "

With Cope out of the primary race, that leaves Democrats Mary Mulhern, who has raised $11,000, and Steven Eckstein, who just declared his candidacy Monday.