2006 Know Your Candidates

Business owner, commissioner square off

U.S. House of Representatives: 11th District

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published October 25, 2006

The race to replace gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis in Congress is down to a local politician and a conservative business owner.

Kathy Castor has served on the Hillsborough County Commission since 2002, after running unsuccessfully for state Senate two years earlier. One of two Democrats on the seven-member board, Castor touts her leadership in ethics reform and has fought to preserve the county's indigent health care plan.

In Congress, Castor said, she would focus on children's health issues, insurance programs, health care and reforming President Bush's education policy "that has failed in Florida."

"When you look at the balance of powers, the Republicans control the White House, the state Legislature and the County Commission," Castor said. "What I hear voters demanding this year is change, and they want a balance in government and they want people who are willing to stand up for them and make a difference."

Eddie Adams Jr. said he would be that change. As a black Republican, Adams said he would bring a voice to Congress that's missing. Of the African-Americans elected to the U.S. House, none are Republicans.

"Republicans are ruling the Congress," Adams said. "At some point, we need to have our leaders actually look like the population that they're leading."

Adams describes himself as an abortion opponent who doesn't believe in capital punishment. In Congress, Adams said, he'll focus on investigating alternate energy sources, developing a flat tax and improving regional transportation issues for the district he represents.

Adams has campaigned on the slogan, "Building a Brighter Tomorrow, Together." He's for U.S. troops remaining overseas to fight the war on terror. And he considers his grandfather, a Baptist preacher, as a role model.

Castor is the daughter of former University of South Florida president Betty Castor, a former state education commissioner who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate. Kathy Castor's father was a county judge.

THE CANDIDATES

Republican

Eddie Adams Jr., 53, is a Lake Wales native who moved to Tampa in 1971 to attend the University of South Florida, where he received a degree in microbiology. He went on to work for Tampa General Hospital as a cardiopulmonary laboratory technologist for almost 20 years. In 1995, Adams graduated with a master's of architecture from the USF-Florida A&M University Cooperative School of Architecture Design. He ran unsuccessfully for Temple Terrace City Council in 2004. He worked for the architecture firm of Rosier/Jones Associates Inc. then started his own business, Adams & Associates Residential Designs. He is a member of the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce and the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club. He also sits on the board of directors for the Central City YMCA and is a board member for King's Kids Academy. Adams and his wife live in Temple Terrace. They have two children. Assets: Adams & Associates Residential Designs. Liabilities: Mortgage. Sources of income: Architectural design firm, wife's salary. Web site: adamsforcongress.org.

Democrat

Kathy Castor, 40, is a first-term Hillsborough County commissioner representing South and West Tampa and the shoreline neighborhoods of the county. A Miami native, she grew up in Tampa and received a bachelor's degree in political science from Emory University in Atlanta and a law degree from Florida State University. She ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2000. Castor previously worked as a land use lawyer with the Icard Merrill and Broad and Cassel firms, with a three-year stint in between as assistant general counsel with the Florida Department of Community Affairs. She serves on the board of directors for the 1,000 Friends of Florida and Habitat for Humanity, and is past president of the League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County. She lives in South Tampa with her husband and two children. Assets: Home, cars, mutual funds, retirement funds, college savings accounts for daughters, savings accounts. Liabilities: None. Sources of income: Hillsborough County Commission salary, husband's salary. Web site: castorforcongress.com.

THE JOB

U.S. representative, 11th District

The 11th Congressional District includes a large portion of central and coastal Hillsborough and small parts of Pinellas and Manatee counties. U.S. representatives serve two-year terms in Congress and are paid $165,200 annually.

[Last modified November 3, 2006, 14:58:59]