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Knock at the door may be your new rep

Fundraising efforts have not fared well for all the District 48 hopefuls, but personal visits are going great.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published August 21, 2006

With just over two weeks before the Sept. 5 primary, the four Republicans running for state House District 48 are vying for votes by mailing out campaign fliers, making phone calls and knocking on doors.

But every now and then knocking isn't a good idea.

"Every spring you get a few houses with big black snakes curled up at the door," said Robin Borland, a former Safety Harbor commissioner and YMCA personal trainer. "I'm stuck with, 'Do I stand here and knock on the door and try to scare the thing away?' "

It's not like Borland has a lot of other options for ways to reach voters. She has raised the least amount of money among the four GOP candidates. She has spent about $13,290 of the $22,802 in cash donations she had raised as of Aug. 11. She said she is running a grass roots campaign and has walked most of the district.

"That money is to get your message out," she said. "If you've walked to every door out there you're getting your message out there for free."

Borland said she is getting good suggestions from some residents on how to solve problems, homeowners insurance being at the forefront of people's minds.

The top money-raiser in this election has been Tarpon Springs City Commissioner Peter F. Nehr. As of Aug. 11, he had raised $144,515 in monetary donations and spent about $92,533.

He's been getting a lot more contributions than he expected, he said.

When he was going door-to-door five months ago, only about 20 percent of the people wanted to talk, he said. Things have changed now that the primaries are almost here.

"Ninety-five percent of people want to talk to you," Nehr said. "And the No. 1 issue is insurance."

He makes no guarantees but said among the steps he would like to take is to create a national catastrophic fund with Florida and other states prone to natural disasters.

Nehr proposes creating the pool by using a combination of federal grants and a percentage of policies that different insurance companies write in those states. The federal government would have to release the money and set the standards before allowing the money to go out after a natural disaster.

Nehr said he wants to call a special session of the Legislature as soon as the election is over to talk about the insurance problem.

Pinellas County Housing Authority commissioner and electrical contractor Brian Flaherty also supports a national catastrophic insurance fund to spread the risk beyond Florida, though he sees that as more a national issue. He does support diverting money now being paid to the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance into a state reinsurance pool to provide low-cost reinsurance to insurance companies.

He also supports providing a tax incentive to residents who improve existing structures so they can better withstand strong winds.

On education, Flaherty supports expanding vocational education opportunities for trades such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, air-conditioning technicians and mechanics. But he opposes letting undocumented immigrants pay in-state college tuition.

As of Aug. 11, Flaherty had spent nearly $39,400 of the $61,396 in cash donations he had received.

The insurance problem has reached a critical level, said Palm Harbor chiropractor Ken Peluso, who is introducing himself door-to-door.

"If it were a simple answer we wouldn't have the problem," he said. "I just assure everyone that I'm 100 percent committed to making every effort to create the best solution."

Peluso has raised $115,194 in cash donations as of Aug. 11 and had spent $52,102. The campaigning is going well, he said.

"Fundraising is better than expected, ground troops are being mobilized and all systems go," Peluso said.

THE JOB

House Florida District 48 covers parts of Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, East Lake, Oldsmar, Safety Harbor and Clearwater in northern Pinellas County and part of Holiday in Pasco County. State representatives serve two-year terms and are paid $30,996 per year.

ROBIN BORLAND, 39, is a personal trainer at the YMCA and served as a Safety Harbor city commissioner from 2001 to 2004. From 2004 to 2005, Borland worked as a legislative aide to state Rep. Gus Bilirakis. Borland was born and raised in Pinellas County and earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of South Florida in 1998. Before that she earned an associate's degree from St. Petersburg College and a degree in computer graphics from Pinellas Technical Education Centers. She is married and has a son.

ASSETS: House

LIABILITIES: Mortgage

SOURCES OF INCOME: YMCA salary, husband's salary as a director at Nielsen Media Research

WEB SITE: www.electrobinborland.com

BRIAN FLAHERTY, 49, is an electrical contractor and has owned Brico Electric in Clearwater since 1993. He was appointed housing commissioner for the Pinellas County Housing Authority in 1998; his term expires in December. He was also appointed to the North Pinellas Recreational Advisory Board last year. Flaherty also has worked as a developer of affordable housing. He attended Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston from 1976 to 1977 and Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Mass., from 1980 to 1981. He is married and has two daughters.

ASSETS: House, rental property, partnership of two commercial buildings in Clearwater, retirement account

LIABILITIES: Mortgage on rental properties and commercial properties

SOURCES OF INCOME: Brico Electric, rental and commercial properties, and income from his wife, Karen M. Flaherty, a legislative aide for state Rep. Gus Bilirakis

WEB SITE: www.brian48.com

PETER F. NEHR, 54, owns the American Spirit Flag Shop in Tarpon Springs, which opened in 1993. He is in his second term as a Tarpon Springs city commissioner. Nehr, an immigrant from Austria, is a member of the Tarpon Springs Rotary Club and served as president of the Kiwanis Club in New Port Richey. After two of his sons said they didn't want to go to college because he hadn't, Nehr went back to school, even taking some classes with one son. In 2000, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Florida with a bachelor's degree in political science. Nehr is married and has three sons.

ASSETS: Home, business, stocks

LIABILITIES: Mortgage, car loans

SOURCES OF INCOME: Business, city commissioner's salary

WEB SITE: www.votepeternehr.com

KEN PELUSO, 49, a Palm Harbor chiropractor, owns Peluso Chiropractic and Rehab. He was elected Palm Harbor fire commissioner in 2000 and was re-elected in 2002. He served as president of the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce in 1995 and as chairman of the Palm Harbor Community Services Board from 2002 to 2004. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., and a doctorate of chiropractic from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, S.C. Peluso is married and has two sons.

ASSETS: Home, two office buildings, retirement accounts

LIABILITIES: Mortgages on his home and one office building.

SOURCES OF INCOME: Chiropractic practice, rental income

WEB SITE: www.kenpeluso.com

[Last modified August 20, 2006, 22:54:41]