Legislator unshaken as stance assailed

Rep. Rudy Bradley's run for a Senate seat could face obstacles because of his backing of the One Florida proposal.

By ADAM C. SMITH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2000

For three weeks, state Rep. Rudy Bradley has somberly listened as thousands of African-Americans across the state lambasted the governor's plan to overhaul affirmative action programs. He has heard it called a giant step back for civil rights, and he has heard African-American supporters of the plan derided as sellouts who forgot whence they came.

If that seems like an awkward position for the Legislature's strongest African-American ally of Gov. Jeb Bush, consider that Bradley also faces a tough campaign for a traditionally African-American Senate seat. Time for him to put a little distance between himself and Bush's One Florida plan, right?

Think again.

Through sit-ins in the governor's office, marches by black students and denunciations from the likes of Martin Luther King III, Bradley has remained steadfastly supportive of the plan, even as some prominent constituents suggest he does so at his own political peril.

"I've been listening to the groundswell of anti-(One Florida) comments, and I wouldn't want to be in his shoes," said the Rev. Manuel Sykes of St. Petersburg's Bethel Community Baptist Church.

"(Bradley) is standing for something that is widely perceived to be against the interests of his constituents. He's got to do some real fancy explaining to make people see that he is genuinely concerned about them in the steps that he's taking," said Sykes, who two years ago praised Bush's efforts to reach out to minorities.

Being a maverick among African-American lawmakers is not a new role for Bradley, who in 1998 endorsed Bush for governor and later switched to the Republican Party. Representing an overwhelmingly Democratic district since 1994, the 53-year-old Bradley became Florida's second black Republican lawmaker since Reconstruction.

Now he's running for the state Senate District 21 seat to be vacated by Democrat James "Jim" Hargrett of Tampa. The two announced Democrats for that seat, state Rep. Lesley "Les" Miller Jr. of Tampa and former Education Commissioner and legislator Doug Jamerson of St. Petersburg, both say Bradley's One Florida stance will be a major issue in the general election campaign.

"In spite of all the opposition, I'm working to do what's right for all the people of Florida. It takes courage," Bradley said of his position, which he hopes will come to be seen in a fuller context.

Courts are consistently overturning existing admissions and purchasing programs that involve gender- and race-based preferences, he said. And California businessman Ward Connerly is pushing a ballot initiative that would go much further than Bush's proposal to erase race- and gender-conscious programs.

"I support affirmative action, and I would much rather have it stay just as it is now," said Bradley, who sits on the legislative committee reviewing One Florida. "But I'm a realist, and I know it's better to have something you can change and modify if it's not working, than it is to have something that's etched into the state Constitution."

So far, One Florida is drawing staunch opposition from constituencies Bradley needs to court in his Senate bid. Senate District 21, which stretches from Manatee County into southern St. Petersburg and east Tampa and Hillsborough County as far north as the University of South Florida, is more than 40 percent African-American and 14 percent Hispanic.

"Unless this One Florida process slows down a bit, it definitely could be a problem for him," said Betty Reed, an African-American Hillsborough County Commission candidate who lives in District 21.

Even without the affirmative action uproar, Bradley faces big obstacles. For one, he is a Republican running in a district where more than two-thirds of the voters are Democrats. For another, he lives in St. Petersburg, though roughly 70 percent of the district's voters are in Hillsborough.

"I didn't believe he had a chance to begin with, but after this, he has less of a chance," said La Gaceta newspaper publisher Patrick Manteiga. Voters in that district, he said, are sure to be dubious of anything portrayed as an attack on affirmative action.

The issue is unlikely to play a significant factor in the primary, because Jamerson and Miller essentially agree with one another. Both fault Bush for failing to seek more input in developing One Florida, and both say it goes too far in eliminating existing programs.

Bradley contends his legislative accomplishments, from sponsoring inner-city economic development initiatives to securing money for AIDs prevention programs, will set him apart from his challengers. He also enjoys a significant fundraising advantage. As of the end of 1999, Bradley had raised $61,730.

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