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Widow of tire-failure victim joins fight against candidate© St. Petersburg Times, published September 28, 2000 TALLAHASSEE -- The widow of a man killed when his Ford Explorer rolled over on Firestone tires has joined the state's trial lawyers in a last-ditch effort to defeat a North Florida state Senate candidate. A TV ad featuring Melissa Webb, a Cocoa woman whose husband was killed last year after a tire failure on Interstate 4, was unveiled Wednesday as the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Florida Medical Association and several other groups jointly denounced state Rep. Janegale Boyd, D-Monticello. Boyd faces an Oct. 3 runoff against Rep. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, for the Democratic nomination to a seat formerly held by Quincy Democrat Pat Thomas, who died in June. The winner is likely to win election in the heavily Democratic district, which includes the state Capitol. Lance Block, president of the trial lawyers, said a similar ad may be used in other races, but no one has decided who else will be targeted. Block would not disclose how much the groups -- committees making independent and undisclosed expenditures -- are spending on ads to defeat Boyd. The ad shown Wednesday says Boyd should be held responsible for the actions of companies such as Firestone. "Unfortunately, Janegale Boyd made it more difficult for citizens like Melissa Webb to hold corporations like Firestone more accountable," the ad concludes. "Call Janegale Boyd, tell her our family safety is more important than corporate profits." Block said Boyd should be held accountable because she voted for a tort reform bill that made it harder to file civil lawsuits against businesses. "I think the public needs to know what the tort reform act does to ordinary people," Block said. After hearing of the ad, Boyd said: "It looks like the second phase of smear season has begun. I'd prefer to talk only about my record, but that's not an option." Boyd said she has asked her supporters not to run any ads that mention Lawson's name. "I'm taking all the bullets and I'm not firing back," she added. She will run an ad that compares her own record on crime with Lawson's record. The ad focuses on a bill that enhanced the penalties for repeat felons, the so called 10-20-Life bill that passed in 1999. Lawson said he is disappointed that Boyd plans an attack on his criminal justice record when he voted for virtually all of the "get-tough-on-crime" bills that have been considered in recent years. He said police groups and the sheriffs in the Senate district have endorsed him because of his record. "I hope Janegale and the lawyers will quit fighting each other," Lawson said. "I'm concentrating on the issues. I'm not getting involved." Boyd has been the target of negative television ads and a direct mail campaign accusing her not only of protecting corporations such as Firestone, but protecting health maintenance organizations, harming the environment and helping criminals stalk victims. The groups say Boyd, a nurse for Humana HMO, has voted to protect HMOs against consumer regulations and to protect the state's big corporations. Boyd noted that a recent survey of legislators by Associated Industries of Florida indicated that Lawson was more likely than her to vote the position favored by HMOs. Boyd said some of the votes attributed to her are incorrect and others are distorted. Instead of focusing on past votes, Boyd said the campaign should be directed at issues that are important to the 11 counties in the Senate district.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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