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Politics

Deans gear up fundraising group

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published March 29, 2007

INVERNESS - A new organization with connections to Rep. Charles Dean will help raise money for Republican politicians, according to state filings.

The Nature Coast Conservative Coalition is a so-called 527 - named after a section of the tax law.

Its founder and president is Dean's son, businessman Charlie Dean Jr. of Tampa.

But the Republican legislator and former Citrus County sheriff recently declared his ties to the organization with the Florida Department of State.

Under state law, Dean, who was first elected in 2002, will have to create a Web site and post receipts for any donations he solicits on behalf of the organization.

"I wanted to declare my interest so there would be no questions," Dean said in an interview this week.

He said he had not yet received any money for the organization.

But eventually, he said, the group's goal is to educate voters and help "candidates that we think are going to be good for the Republican Party."

After the 2004 presidential election, political activists criticized some 527 groups for raising and spending hundreds of millions of dollars in unregulated contributions through a loophole in election laws.

But Dean said the Nature Coast Conservative Coalition would give him a chance to inform voters and support causes and candidates he believes in.

"There are a lot of people that have them. I just thought it was to my advantage, when I felt and saw how this would work," he said.

Dean said his involvement with the group had nothing to do with his possible run for state Senate.

State Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, and former House Chief of Staff Richard Corcoran have already filed to run for the District 3 seat.

Incumbent Sen. Nancy Argenziano is on a short list of candidates for the state's Public Service Commission. If Gov. Charlie Crist taps her for the post, she would have to resign from the Senate.

"Yes, I am interested, obviously. But I think it's only appropriate to give her Sen. Argenziano due respect," Dean said.

And that, according to Dean, means waiting until a seat is vacant before formally announcing a candidacy.

"I think everybody understands and knows that I'm the logical choice to run for that seat, because my current House seat is all in that area," he said.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified March 28, 2007, 22:12:38]