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Stephen Gorham: For a better state Senate

Neither major candidate rises to the stature of Tom Lee, the outgoing Republican Senate president who has represented District 10. But Democrat Stephen Gorham has the agenda and composure to effectively serve this conservative region.

Gorham, 28, a telecommunications specialist and U.S. Navy veteran, is conservative on hot-button issues. An NRA member, he opposes gay adoption, abortion rights and amnesty for illegal immigrants. Beyond the labels, though, Gorham has respect for constitutional protections. More importantly, he is mature enough to realize that most Floridians are struggling with more immediate hardships, from housing and insurance costs to taxes and crowded schools. His command of detail underscores the fairness he brings to tax, insurance and other policy debates.

His opponent, Ronda Storms, 41, made her name inflaming social and partisan division as a Hillsborough County commissioner. She has few real achievements to run on, and her platitudes fail to address the state's most immediate and serious problems. Voters in east Hillsborough, south Pasco and west Polk should wonder how effective Storms could be if her antics cause her to be frozen out of the Senate's collegial culture. In Florida Senate District 10, the Times recommends Stephen Gorham.

[Last modified October 20, 2006, 05:53:43]