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Former USF dean mulls state House bid

Democrats seek to persuade Bill Heller to run for House District 52, a seat being vacated by Rep. Frank Farkas.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published May 18, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Bill Heller, a longtime educator and civic leader who led the University of South Florida St. Petersburg through a massive expansion, said Wednesday he is considering running for the state House.

Heller, 70, is being courted by state Democrats to run in St. Petersburg's hotly contested District 52, an open seat viewed by party leaders as the most competitive in the state. A decision, he said, could come within weeks.

"My big thing is, can I make a difference, and would people feel I can make a difference?" Heller said from his campus office Wednesday.

Four Republicans and one Democrat already are running for the seat, which is being vacated by term-limited Rep. Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg.

Heller hadn't considered a run, and even donated $100 to a Republican in the field, before being approached by former USF president Betty Castor.

Steve Schale, the political director for the House Democratic Caucus, said the longtime education professor would be a rare candidate, popular to both Democrats and Republicans.

"When you start getting regular phone calls from people in the community that this is a guy you need to pay attention to, it's hard not to," Schale said. "He's probably been running for office all his life and not realized it."

District 52, a swing district covering northeast St. Petersburg and parts of Pinellas Park and Largo, is a key battleground for Democrats who believe they can steal a seat from Republicans. Castor handily carried the district in her 2004 Senate campaign, and John Kerry lost to George W. Bush by just a few hundred votes. Republicans hold a 1,700-voter advantage.

"It's the perennially hard-fought seat in Pinellas County," said former Sen. Don Sullivan, a Republican. "But Bill will be a formidable candidate there."

The other Democrat in the race, Liz McCallum, said she spoke with Heller on Wednesday about his potential candidacy. McCallum, who lost to Farkas in 2004 by 3,100 votes, said she never expected to run without a primary challenge.

In July, Heller gave $100 to Angelo Cappelli, a St. Petersburg investment banker widely seen as the front-runner among the four Republicans running for the seat. Cappelli said he saw Heller about three weeks ago at a board meeting of Family Resources Inc. and Heller told him he was considering running, but leaning against it.

Cappelli, who said he has raised more than $100,000, said he likes Heller, but advised him against getting in.

"I told him, 'If you run against me, make sure you know I'm bringing everything I have to bear,' " Cappelli recalled saying.

Heller was named USF St. Petersburg's dean in 1992, and in 10 years oversaw an enrollment boom and massive expansion into the downtown while championing movements toward campus independence. In 2002, USF president Judy Genshaft asked him to resign, saying change was needed.

Heller, who also is a fixture in St. Petersburg civic and social circles, continues to teach in the school's special education department.

The state Legislature this year passed a bill renaming the college's education building in his honor.

"If you look at the decisions being made in Tallahassee, if Bill Heller can be part of that process shaping education policy, everybody is better off," said Rep. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, who works as an academic adviser at USF St. Petersburg.

Adam C. Smith contributed to this report. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 06:08:36]