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3 Incumbents, 1 Newcomer Score Victories

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By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

TAMPA - Three incumbents and one novice scored easy victories Tuesday in primary races for the state House and Senate.

In a campaign that at times got personal, Democratic Rep. Betty Reed defeated civil rights lawyer Warren Hope Dawson by a wide margin in the House District 59 race.

Reed is a retired educator with a long history of community activism; Dawson is a lawyer with a distinguished civil rights record.

Two years ago, Reed bested Dawson by a slim 307 votes in the Democratic primary and went on to defeat Republican Willis "KC" Bowick in the general election.

This time, Dawson ran against her by largely attacking what he called Reed's soft record as a freshman lawmaker, chiding her for passing only two bills. One requires restaurants to keep their restrooms clean; the other allows law enforcement officers to carry radio equipment in their personal cars when driving to and from work.

Reed acknowledged a learning curve but defended a record that included $1 million for a black infant mortality study and about $600,000 for a local drug treatment center.

In Senate District 11, Democratic newcomer Fred Taylor, 60, knocked off first-time candidate Richard Skandera.

Taylor, 60, entered the primary with the backing of the state Democratic Party, which sees him as someone who can knock incumbent Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, out of office.

Taylor is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who holds three Purple Hearts. He works as a business broker and has a history of switching between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Skandera, 21, is finishing dual bachelor's degrees at the University of Central Florida. He lists Palm Harbor as his home, but lives and works part time in the Orlando area.

In the House District 55 race, incumbent Democrat Darryl Rouson defeated Charles S. McKenzie Jr. for the second time in six months.

The two faced each other in a three-way race in March during a special election to replace Frank Peterman, who was appointed secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Rouson, 53, a lawyer and a former Pinellas County prosecutor, has touted his work to attract new businesses into St. Petersburg's Midtown area and to reduce crime and drug problems. He pledged to make similar efforts in East Tampa.

He next faces write-in candidate Calvester Benjamin-Anderson to represent a district that stretches from south St. Petersburg into parts of Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

In the House District 67 primary, Rep. Ron Reagan, a three-term Republican from Bradenton, defeated newcomer Kirk Faryniasz.

Reagan, who is in the insurance business, said he has been successful in helping write legislation to increase the state's hurricane catastrophe fund, which enables companies to get loans from the state as incentives to do business here.

District 67 includes Apollo Beach, Ruskin and part of Sun City Center in south Hillsborough County.

Reagan said he looks forward to doing more for the business community and finding ways to draw more people to the state. He also said he hopes to press for passage of a bill that would make red-light cameras uniform throughout the state.

Reagan has also said he favors creating more four-year college programs at the community college level and drawing high-tech industry to Florida.

Reporters Yvette Hammett, Steve Girardi and Kevin Wiatrowski contributed to this report. Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652 or ksteele

@tampatrib.com.

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