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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By
Mark Hollis
Published
May 14, 2008
West
Palm Beach - Candidate Bryan Miller of Jupiter said it's all about riding
a "tidal wave election" to "bring fundamental change to
Florida."
Candidate Rob Ostrov of Wellington said it's about replacing a
Republican-led Legislature that's "woefully out of touch."
Candidate Chris Chiari of Fort Lauderdale said it's about achieving
"real reform in insurance."
And Skip Campbell, also of Fort Lauderdale, said it's simply time to do
what some call unachievable and put Democrats in key legislative districts
that encompass Palm Beach County.
"We can do it. We will do it," said Campbell, a former
Democratic state senator from Fort Lauderdale, who is running for the seat
held by state Sen. Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach, the presumptive
incoming Senate Republican leader.
The four Democratic candidates seeking legislative districts in Palm Beach
County held by high-powered Republicans on Tuesday held a news conference
where they blasted the Republican-run Legislature for failing to fix
homeowners insurance woes and not eliminating special-interest tax breaks.
They say the Republican lawmakers dwelled instead on frivolous matters,
and led what Miller described as "draconian education cuts."
Miller is running in a Democratic primary against attorney Rick Ford, who
in 2006 challenged Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, who is seeking
re-election. Ford did not attend Tuesday's event.
Also not attending was Todd Maki, who is running against Ostrov in a
Democratic primary for the seat held by state Rep. Adam Hasner, the Delray
Beach Republican who is the House majority leader. Chiari is making a
second attempt at the Broward-Palm Beach County seat held by state Rep.
Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Fort Lauderdale Republican who holds a top leadership
slot in the House.
Part of what the Democrats had to explain Tuesday was how they put
together their lineup of candidates. Ostrov had originally filed this
spring to run against Campbell but backed out after meeting with Campbell.
"There was absolutely no deal," Campbell said. "There was
no deal. I would never make a deal."
Ostrov said his background as a former prosecuting attorney gives him
confidence in his run against Hasner, who Ostrov said is "doing a
terrible job" representing his constituents in south Palm Beach
County.
After watching a videotape of the news conference, Hasner fired back
Tuesday, issuing a news release ripping Ostrov, also noting that Ostrov's
Wellington home is 20 miles outside of the district that he's seeking to
run in.
"After scheming with Tallahassee insiders and cutting a backroom deal
to drop out of a failing Senate race, it's disappointing that he [Ostrov]
has chosen to start this campaign by making partisan attacks and reading
from a partisan playbook," Hasner said.
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