Opinion: Lopsided runoff in lobbies

However close or not close today's House Dist. 54 runoff turns out to be among the voters, it has been a lopsided affair where Florida's lobbies are concerned. By Friday's reporting date, political action committees had made more than 100 contributions, totaling some $45,000, to Dave Miller, a retired Florida Power Corp. executive who is Rep. Dennis Jones' anointed successor. That came to more than a third of Miller's $127,000 in total contributions. Meanwhile, rival John Carassas, an assistant Clearwater attorney, reported only 24 political committee contributions totaling $10,180, roughly 12 percent of his total of $84,700 in contributions.

Not so long ago, lobbies rarely contributed to primary campaigns for open seats like the one Jones is leaving due to term limits. They saved their money for challenged incumbents or for open seats where one party or the other was shaking the money tree. But with terms now limited to eight years, the lobbies are under increasing pressure to make their investments early. Though some people fancied term limits as a remedy for big campaign spending, that "solution" has become part of the problem instead.

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