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Racial preference foe might back off
By PETER WALLSTEN © St. Petersburg Times, published February 17, 1999 TALLAHASSEE -- California businessman Ward Connerly is having second thoughts about leading a campaign against racial preferences in Florida. "If I were to make the decision today, it would probably be no," Connerly said Tuesday night in a telephone interview from his Sacramento office. "It has nothing to do with whether we think we could win, but whether we think this state wants our attention and resources rather than others that would be far less troublesome." Connerly emphasized Tuesday that he still had not made a final decision about whether to come to Florida. He is expected to make a decision by March 15, after he sees the results of a public opinion poll he commissioned to gauge his support in the state. But he acknowledged he has been discouraged by a cool reception from the state's Republican Party and criticism by Gov. Jeb Bush. "I'm getting a little bit stronger "no's' from these dudes than I'd expect," Connerly said. Bush met with Connerly in Tallahassee Jan. 20 but later criticized Connerly's efforts as potentially divisive at a time when the state GOP is reaching out to black elected officials and voters. Meanwhile, the state Republican Party is refusing to offer financial support for a Connerly campaign. Connerly's remarks Tuesday were his most skeptical to date. They were a stark contrast to the January day he hosted a press conference to present a study contending that race was a factor in admission to Florida's law schools and medical schools. That day, Connerly declared that Florida "needs to be dealt with." Connerly, who is black, is widely known for heading successful anti-affirmative action campaigns in California and Washington state. He has attacked the practice of racial preferences in the awarding of state construction contracts and university admissions. He acknowledged Tuesday that Florida could be more difficult. He called California his "home court," and he operated there with the backing of Gov. Pete Wilson and the state GOP. Washington is much smaller than Florida. What's more, Connerly complained Tuesday that Florida would offer a "low level of civil discourse." He cited previous comments by state Sen. Betty Holzendorf, D-Jacksonville, who said he should "get his little butt back to California." "I haven't been any place where in such a compressed amount of time I have seen people make so many inane statements," Connerly said. "It just indicates that people aren't ready for a prime-time public debate." As for Bush, Connerly said he believes the new governor is a silent supporter. "He doesn't want to have visited upon him the kind of political difficulties of having to choose between my position, which I think he instinctively supports, and going against his Republican equivalent of a Rainbow Coalition that he's constructed," Connerly said. Meanwhile, Connerly said he has gotten telephone calls recently from people in other states wanting his services -- states that would be easier to navigate than Florida, such as Maine, Arizona and Nebraska. Connerly plans to make his announcement at a March 15 meeting of the Associated General Contractors, the one group in Florida that has been supportive of Connerly's efforts. The group's leader said Tuesday night he had not spoken to Connerly in weeks. "I don't know what he's thinking," said Allen Douglas, executive director of the Associated General Contractors state council. "If he doesn't want to do it then we would certainly respect that decision. Florida's a much different state than California or Washington is." Florida Democratic Party spokesman Tony Welch said Connerly should decide to stay away. "The state overall has spoken pretty clearly about this," Welch said. "We don't want him here." Connerly said he thinks most Floridians support his agenda. He cited a 1997 poll showing as much as 85 percent support. If the new poll shows a significant drop, to say 55 percent, Connerly said he would not come. "It would suggest to me that a lot of the scare tactics that people used against me in my first visit were effective," Connerly said. In making his decision, Connerly said he would need to do more research on the cost of running a petition drive in Florida. He needs 435,000 signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the November 2000 ballot. He said he was confident the Florida Supreme Court would approve his language. Connerly cautioned that nobody should try to predict his decision. "I am not being coy. I am not trying to tease your state in any way," he said. "I am simply going through the kind of deliberative process I was involved in deciding whether to do (California's) Proposition 209."
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