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Candidate's solo act has therapeutic touch

By C.T. BOWEN
Published October 19, 2006

Under is a big part of Donovan Brown's campaign for the state House of Representatives District 61 seat.

Underfunded. Underdog.

But what he hopes for most: understanding.

Brown, a Zephyrhills Democrat, is the 26-year-old substitute teacher running for the seat being vacated by Republican Ken Littlefield, who isn't seeking re-election after accepting a gubernatorial appointment to the Public Service Commission.

Brown is restarting his campaign after a stay at the Harbor Behavioral Institute, a mental health facility, where he was committed under the state's Baker Act. His neurological disorder can manifest itself in numerous ways, he said, but the most common is bipolar disorder.

His mental illness started at 19, he said, when, as a University of South Florida student, he preferred to be alone. Solitude became isolation, obsessive compulsion and an addiction to computer games, he told the Times previously. He worked to become more social and to become more expressive.

"A year ago, I wouldn't have this conversation," he said by telephone Wednesday.

The campaign for office became therapeutic. It forced him to interact with people as he collected 1,135 petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. He decided to run, he said, to offer voters a choice. At the time, Littlefield was cruising unopposed toward another re-election to the seat he had held since 1999.

Brown devised a platform familiar to many: property tax relief and solving the homeowners insurance crisis. He wants to extend the homestead exemption beyond $25,000, but wavers on the amount. Cutting the corporate taxes for private insurance companies might translate into reduced premiums for customers. He is politically astute enough to hedge and note he's not alone in doing so.

"I'm not sure I know, or if any of the candidates know, the best option on insurance."

He likes to point out he won't be beholden to lobbyists and special interests because none have contributed to his campaign.

Brown was eager to get out and meet people at the conclusion of the July candidate filing deadline, but things came crashing down when Littlefield bowed out and Republicans selected Will Weatherford as their replacement candidate.

The paranoia started and Brown ended up in the hospital and in the headlines.

"I got flustered with some of the events," he said about another 26-year-old entering the race.

He is candid about confronting his illness.

"It's a learning experience for me to learn to cope with things. I'm not without my faults, but I really do have the voters best interests at heart."

That experience, he says, is one way he can differentiate himself from his Republican opponent. Trying to solve a very personal problem will be an asset in attempting to do likewise with the issues in Tallahassee.

In some ways, the isolation is now political. His campaign, he says, is a solo act. He is talking to journalists and plans to again meet voters at the grocery stores and other public spots where he collected his signatures.

The Democratic Party will be making telephone calls on behalf of the entire ticket, but its assistance to Brown specifically is expected to continue to be minimal. There is no money for direct mail, television or other traditional campaign advertising.

It just might be irrelevant, anyway. No matter the election's outcome, Brown likes his position.

"I'd like to win," he says, "but win or lose, I've really come a long way."

Reach C.T. Bowen at bowen@sptimes.com or at 727-869-6239.

[Last modified October 19, 2006, 06:35:19]