Stepping out of the crowd

I had never met Tim Curtis but picked him out of a small knot of people 50 yards away. You can take a Marine out of a uniform but you can't take the Marine out of the man.

It was a recent Saturday afternoon and, as it has been for a month now, hotter than blue blazes. I was out at Al Lopez Park just north of Raymond James Stadium where the "Curtis for Congress" people were holding a picnic.

I followed the trail of campaign signs and balloons to the picnic shelter. Curtis was with a couple of supporters. He had that military look of a guy who had stopped off for a haircut on the way over. I don't think his polo shirt was starched but I'm not sure.

Curtis is a Democrat, but only if your idea of a Democrat goes back a few decades to when it was all right to sound like a Glen Beck conservative and attack those tax and spend liberals. He's not a complete neophyte. He ran for a county commission seat as a Republican. He says it's not really a party thing. He sees a lack of leadership throughout the political spectrum.

To be more specific, it's not the taxing that has his dander up as much as the spending. "We are always going to have taxes," he says. "Where we have failed is taking responsibility for how we spend money. It's not even a partisan issue. Both sides have spent money irresponsibly."

Changing that approach is what he wants to do in Congress.

But that's going to have to come later. At the moment, he is the lone Democratic challenger to Kathy Castor for the 11th District seat. It makes the landing at Inchon look like a walk in the park.

"I know I can win," he says.

The right stuff

You know, that's why I love people like this. They remind you that people do care and are willing to step out of the crowd and not only say so but work their tails off in the process.

I think he does believe he can win. There are four Republican challengers to the seat who also are convinced they can win. To that end, they have sacrificed a chunk of their lives, a lot of their fortune and called on the patience and sacrifices of their families and friends.

The numbers against them are staggering, and unless you are a mega-millionaire with resources to buy great chunks of media, chances are nobody is going to pay much attention to your message before voting time.

Curtis, who runs a UPS store and grew up in Temple Terrace, says he is going to win because he is out there every day - every day - knocking on doors. At least he is in shape. "I just want the opportunity to shake every voter's hand and tell them my message. If I can do that I know we can win."

Smoke 'em out

He also would like to lure Castor out into an open forum debate. Lots of luck on that one.

Meanwhile, back at the picnic, Curtis was trying to pump up his supporters. All around the rambling park other picnics were going on: birthday parties, family gatherings, and people tossing footballs in the air.

It's unlikely any of those people were wrapped up in politics on a hot Saturday in June, but most of them were about to get hit by an ex-Marine asking for their votes in August.