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Buns And Ballots At Jimmie B. Keel Library

Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE

Blaine Conte prepares for a day of selling hot dogs outside of precinct 578 in Tampa Tuesday morning.

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2008

Updated: 11/04/2008 07:15 am

7:15 a.m. Blaine Conte was about to spend a day mixing commerce and politics. On a normal day, Conte would be towing his hotdog-and-snack stand to construction sites.

Today, he was set up outside the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library in Tampa with enough franks and fixin's for 250 hot dogs.

"I want to make it comfortable for people," he said.

He arrived at 5:30 a.m. and was the first in line to vote. A few minutes after 7, he was back outside and getting ready to set up shop.

"It only took seven minutes," he said.

He intends to be there as long as there are voters.

"It's going to be a long day," he said.

Conte brought his stand to the library during early voting last week. He spent the hours from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday outside the library, the busiest early voting site in the county.

He voted for Obama.

"I believe he's for the small man. McCain's just not pushing my buttons," Conte said.

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