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Political junkie

Opponent adds fuel to criticism of Castor campaign

By TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Published May 13, 2006

If any of the other candidates have a hope of defeating Hillsborough Commissioner Kathy Castor in the District 11 congressional race, they going to have to start getting after her a bit.

Fellow Democrat and lawyer Scott Farrell has at least been trying. He blasted Castor for negative campaigning after she put out a news release highlighting her fundraising lead, and noting some lowlights from the other campaigns.

She detailed how little money Farrell has left, and how his biggest campaign expense has been to buy and repair a grease-fueled recreational vehicle. Pretty tame stuff by negative campaign standards.

Then last week, after Castor put forward her thoughts on how to address high gas prices, Farrell accused her of jumping on his grease-fueled bandwagon. He dismissed the platform as a shameless effort to promote her name since the first letter of each point in the platform spells out CASTOR.

"I am glad to see that my challenger, Kathy Castor, has been listening to what I have been saying for more than a year - that a comprehensive energy policy is key to insuring the future economic and environmental security of all Americans," Farrell said. "However, voters know that it takes more than standing in front of a 7-Eleven and a self-promoting acronym to solve the problem."

Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms is not the only local pol getting spoofed by fake MySpace.com listings. Pranksters have also impersonated Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and County Commissioner Brian Blair, though not quite as extensively as Storms.

The phony mayor lists among her interests getting her hair permed and sliding backward down the westbound ramp from Ashley Drive to Interstate 275. Blair's gets a little more vulgar and shows a picture of him topless that apparently dates from before he got elected. The real pols both confirmed they had nothing to do with the postings.

The MySpace posting for Strip club king and five-time losing candidate for local office Joe Redner, on the other hand, is real. On it, Redner has said he will likely try a sixth time.

Redner will hold a news conference Monday at 10 a.m. at County Center to announce his run for the Hillsborough County Commission and reveal his "Contract with the Voters of Hillsborough County."

Redner will challenge commission Chairman Jim Norman, who so far has no other Democratic opponent. Redner ran unsuccessfully for the County Commission in 2000. He also made failed bids for the City Council in 1999 and 2003 and has made two other attempts at getting elected in the past.

Redner made news late last year by announcing he is gay in a federal lawsuit against Hillsborough County commissioners, who banned the county from acknowledging or participating in gay pride events.

But adult businesses and gay pride won't be a significant part of Redner's campaign, said his campaign manager, Kelly Benjamin. Instead, priorities will include growth management, education, public transportation and the environment.

"Joe is a strong supporter of the environment," Benjamin said. "He has a clear concept of the dangers that the population explosion will cause this area if they're not dealt with in a very immediate fashion. I don't think the people on the current County Commission have that foresight."

Benjamin, a former pirate radio operator and political activist who drives a car powered by vegetable oil, made his own run for public office in 2003, losing to Rose Ferlita in a Tampa City Council race.

Will he run again for the council in 2007?

"I'm keeping all my options open," he said.

They are having a retirement party for Chloe Coney, but it may be more of a beginning than an ending. Coney, the chief executive officer of the Corporation to Develop Communities, will step down in grand fashion on May 30 at a party at Ragan Park (1200 Lake Avenue).

However, her exit from the corporation may be to pave the way for Coney to run for the Hillsborough County Commission District 3 seat, something she has hinted at since December.

Democrat Kevin White and Republican Ken Anthony are the only candidates who have filed to run for the seat being vacated by Tom Scott.

Staff writers Bill Varian, Janet Zink and Ernest Hooper contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 13, 2006, 02:30:25]