McCollum's 'Elian' letter is decried from both parties

TIMES POLITICAL EDITOR NICKENS E-mail: Click here

By TIM NICKENS

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 6, 2000

Rep. Bill McCollum was criticized from two different directions Wednesday for his fundraising letter that cited the Elian Gonzalez controversy as a reason to contribute to his Senate campaign.

A fellow Florida Republican, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami, said he did not authorize McCollum to use his name in the fundraising letter. Meanwhile, Florida Democratic chairman Bob Poe called on McCollum to return contributions generated by the letter and apologize.

A spokeswoman for the McCollum campaign said there are no plans to apologize or to give up money sent in by Miami-Dade County contributors who received the controversial letter.

The fundraising letter was mailed last month to Miami-Dade County voters, but the campaign will not disclose how many letters were sent or how much money they raised.

Diaz-Balart said he was "outraged" when he received the fundraising letter at his Miami home because McCollum used his name to raise money.

"I had told Bill McCollum that no one can use my name for fundraising unless I explicitly approve it, and I expressly did not approve the use of my name," Diaz-Balart said.

He said that he talked with McCollum about two weeks ago and that McCollum apologized.

A campaign spokeswoman for McCollum said she was not familiar with the details of that conversation. "We certainly would never want to upset a good friend," spokeswoman Shannon Gravitte said.

The Cuba-born Diaz-Balart wrote a separate letter that endorsed McCollum and cited his sponsorship of legislation that would grant Elian citizenship as one reason for supporting the Longwood Republican's Senate campaign. But Diaz-Balart said his letter was sent separately, not as part of the later mailing last month that included McCollum's fundraising letter and a copy of the legislation.

In his letter to McCollum, the state Democratic Party chairman quoted Republican Gov. Jeb Bush's remarks at a recent Cabinet meeting in criticizing the fundraising letter. The governor said, "The is a child of God in my opinion, to survive the Florida Straits as he did, and now, to be thrown into the international political realm ... it's inexcusable."

"I couldn't agree more," Poe wrote to McCollum. "Mr. McCollum, Elian is a child, not a fundraising opportunity."

Gravitte said there was nothing wrong with citing the custody controversy in the fundraising letter. She said McCollum's sponsorship of legislation to grant the boy citizenship is just one of the congressman's efforts to fight Fidel Castro.

"This is a clear letter that explains congressman McCollum's 20-year record on fighting for freedom and democracy in Cuba," Gravitte said. "Elian Gonzalez is part of dealing with the Cuba issue."

She blamed Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, the Democratic Senate candidate, for the Democratic Party letter and labeled it a negative attack. Nelson's campaign manager, Mike Henry, said he was not aware of the party's letter until he received a copy Wednesday afternoon.

Last week, the state Republican Party responded to criticism from Democrats by deciding to give to Elian's legal defense foundation all contributions generated by its fundraising letter mentioning him. A Bush spokeswoman said the governor believed using Elian to raise money was inappropriate.

But Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew still blasted the Florida GOP on Wednesday. In Washington, he accused the state party of "taking a complicated issue and making money off of it."

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