To Build Clout, Region Needs New Faces

It's disappointing to see how little muscle Tampa Bay's legislative delegation has in Tallahassee. It's even more disheartening to hear incumbents say why that is. Most often, their answer is simply a shrug.

Tampa-area lawmakers need to step up their game. This region faces enormous challenges that need to be addressed at the state level - issues with jobs and the economy, transportation and health care, property taxes and insurance, public schools and state universities.

Senate District 11:

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is the region's most influential state lawmaker. When the Legislature was cutting $3 billion from the budget this year, he managed to send home more than $20 million for Pasco projects. He also helped secure $2 million for the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, which is working on a regional rail plan.

Fasano is challenged for a final four-year term by Fred Taylor, a business broker seeking public office for the first time.

Taylor, a Democrat also from New Port Richey, is a personable man who served his country in Vietnam and twice received the Purple Heart. He understands that taxes, education and homeowner's insurance must be fixed.

Despite Taylor's positive attributes, this should be an easy call for voters in the district, which spans north Pinellas County to the Citrus-Levy line. While this editorial board hasn't always agreed with Fasano, he deserves re-election for being effective on a statewide level and responsive to constituents wrestling with disability issues or homeowner's insurance.

Though he occasionally pushes petty issues - such as dictating the size of American flags in classrooms - Fasano gets things done. The Tribune strongly endorses Mike Fasano for state Senate, District 11.

House District 56:

The last-minute resignation of Rep. Trey Traviesa, who was supposed to chair the House Education Committee, has deprived voters in House District 56 of a spirited election to fill his seat.

Local Republican leaders selected Rachel Burgin, a former Traviesa aide, to replace him on the ballot. No prominent Democrat entered the race because Traviesa had appeared unbeatable.

Had there been a primary, Burgin, 26, would have attracted several worthy rivals. We remain puzzled why the party found her to be the best choice in a district that extends from Davis Islands east to Fish Hawk and includes Riverview and much of Brandon.

To her credit, Burgin understands the legislative process. And she insists she will think for herself, saying, "I am a conservative before I am a Republican."

Her Democratic opponent is Lewis Laricchia, who did not want to talk with us. He has posted a grumpy video online that tells residents of deed-restricted communities to recall their boards of directors and fire their attorneys. While we remain disappointed that district voters were deprived of primary contests, we endorse Rachel Burgin.

House District 57:

Incumbent Faye Culp, the Republican, is seeking her fourth and final election under term limits. She faces Democratic challenger Yvonne Capin in a district that extends from South Tampa north to Town 'n Country and Westchase.

When voters contemplate why Hillsborough's delegation has such little influence, they need look no further than lawmakers like Culp, who has few legislative achievements to point to. Last year she pushed important legislation on the problem of the homeless, but lacked the influence to drive it home. When asked her position on the state's questionable deal with CSX railroad, she said she couldn't remember. And when asked her most significant accomplishment in education, an issue she considers her strength, she pointed to having reduced paperwork requirements.Culp is a pleasant woman who prides herself on constituent services. She has a genuine interest in helping downtrodden children and is personally involved with a foster family who knows her as "Aunt Fay." While Tallahassee needs lawmakers with a human touch, Culp is content to be no more than that.

Democrat Yvonne Capin is making her first run for public office. Capin owned and operated a jewelry store and later ran a home-interior business before retiring a few years ago.

Determined to improve education and transportation, she also understands that state and local taxes are, for many taxpayers, too high and unfair. She is attracting broad support because unlike Culp, she's seen as someone who could get things done. Capin has many practical ideas based on her business experience, not political ideology. The Tribune's choice is Yvonne Capin.

House District 60:

Rep. Ed Homan, a Republican, is also seeking his fourth and final term. Homan, an orthopedic surgeon, says he has no ambition of seeking another elected office. The question for voters is whether he has enough ambition to make the most of his last term.

Homan, of Temple Terrace, is a reluctant legislator. He was encouraged to run because there were no physicians serving in the Legislature, and with health care issues constantly on the agenda his perspective was badly needed. But Homan is not much of a politician.

If elected, Homan says he hopes to secure the chairmanship of the House's health-care council where he could finally make his mark. He is candid about the legislature's lack of political will or good sense when it comes to health care issues, and he does not walk in lock-step with his party.

His opponent, E.J. Ford, a University of Tampa professor, is an intelligent and articulate challenger. Because of his liberal politics, Ford doesn't expect to win and bluntly says that if he does, he doesn't expect to accomplish much. He is correct that he would be ineffective, and Hillsborough voters have already had enough of that.

The Tribune endorses Ed Homan and encourages him to muscle up in addressing health care.

House District 67:

Change-minded voters in this district - which reaches from as far south as Sarasota County to as far north as Gibsonton - have an intriguing choice in this little-noticed race that pits incumbent Republican Rep. Ron Reagan against Democratic challenger Richard J. Jackson.

If elected to his fourth and final term, Reagan is in line to become House majority whip. He is, by all accounts, a likeable, civic-minded legislator known best for loyalty to his party.

He served as chairman of the House Insurance Committee, and played a key role in crafting property insurance reforms, including legislation that would have encouraged more private investment in reinsurance. But leadership failed to bring the bill to a final vote.

Reagan says the Legislature hit a "single" on insurance reform when what Florida needed was a "home run." Yet he thinks lawmakers are doing a good job and everything will be fine. Jackson brings a refreshing outsider's view to the race, but he has such a poorly funded campaign - a mere $9,000 in fundraising compared to Reagan's $214,000 - that it will be near-impossible for him to be competitive in this heavily Republican district.

Jackson's years of experience in public education and government affairs give him an insider's knowledge of the challenges, and he's unafraid to tell it like it is. He supports FCAT, saying districts spent years fighting needed accountability measures. He objects to lawmakers skirting government-in-the-sunshine laws. And he opposes the mission creep of Florida community colleges, which are starting to offer four-year degrees.

In this lopsided race, our choice is Ron Reagan. That said, Jackson's political future is full of potential.

House District 46

John Legg, R-Port Richey, has represented the district, which includes most of west Pasco and extends east to Shady Hills, since 2004. He is challenged by Ron Rice, a New Port Richey Democrat who works as a land survey supervisor for the city of Clearwater.

Rice, who lives in New Port Richey, is an appealing candidate making his first run. Sincere and articulate, he understands the state is at a financial crossroads and proposes a review of sales-tax exemptions - which is appropriate, even if not a new idea. He also says the Legislature must do a better job of funding education. As promising as the newcomer is, Legg, who operates a charter school he founded, knows the process and is effective working with Fasano. He has done a solid job, especially on education issues. He has worked to pass legislation that requires end-of-course exams and career academies that help students learn a trade.

The Tribune recommends John Legg for re-election.

House District 48

In a rematch of the 2006 race, Rep. Peter Nehr, a Republican, is challenged by Democrat Carl "Z" Zimmermann in the district that covers northeast Pinellas County and a small part of south Pasco.

Nehr, a Tarpon Springs flag store owner who won the seat by less than 1,500 votes, has done a so-so job. He understands the challenges facing residents and business owners, and is an advocate for the developmentally disabled. But Zimmermann, a broadcast journalism teacher at Countryside High School in the Clearwater area, has the skills and energy to bring a much-needed boost to Florida's public education system.

Zimmermann, who has spent 24 years in education, understands the complexities of the state's tax structure and the problems with homeowner's insurance. He wants to change teaching strategies to keep students wanting to learn. If elected, he would make an immediate impact.

The Tribune enthusiastically endorses Carl Zimmermann.