The Political Whore

That’s a lot of alliteration from anxious anchors placed in powerful positions, but nonetheless Hillsborough County Commission contender Kevin Beckner has jumped on Brian Blair’s latest gaffe in a news release this week:

BECKNER BERATES BLAIR
“Lead by Example”

TAMPA: In response to Brian Blair’s negative reaction to the idea of having commissioner’s pay frozen (”I wake up every day to try to make a difference in this community, but at the same time, I don’t want to take food out of my [children’s mouths] …” and “What it does is barely pays for what I have,”) Kevin Beckner candidate for Hillsborough County Commission District 6 countywide stated…

“With all the challenges Hillsborough County and its residents deal with on a daily basis it is high time they are represented by individuals who can lead by example,” stated Beckner. “Frankly I find it irresponsible that while budgets are cut, jobs are slashed and whole departments are being threatened Mr. Blair only shows concern for his own personal well being.”

“Enough is enough, this county deserves a county commissioner who gets it,” stated Mitch Kates Campaign Manager for Kevin Beckner “What kind of role model for fiscal discipline is a guy who refuses to lead by example?”

The back-and-forth over freezing salaries and cutting car allowances between Blair and fellow GOP  Commissioner Al Higginbotham is a  hoot and is the core of my PoHo column this week. Read TFA here.

Speaking of Brian Blair (see previous EPC post and story), the most conservative of the Hillsborough County commissioners has drawn an opponent for his 2008 re-election bid. Democrat Kevin Beckner, a financial planner with offices in Ybor City, has filed and is running hard already.

To that end, Beckner has hired political consultant Mitch Kates to helm (love using nouns that aren’t verbs as verbs, sounds so insider-cable-newsy) his campaign. Kates has a short, but strong, record of taking underdogs to victory in Tampa Bay (Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern and state Sen. Charlie Justice).

So, is Tampa Bay — land of the banning of Gay Pride displays in Hillsborough public libraries — ready to replace Blair with Beckner, who is gay and has worked actively in both progressive campaigns and GLBT issues? Kates says yes and points to races in Oklahoma and Alabama where openly gay candidates beat Republicans as evidence that it can be done.

Plus, Beckner already seems tireless in the race and has raised an impressive $36,000 in his first partial quarter of fundraising, Kates said. That money came from about 200 contributors in both parties, Kates added.

I hope to get together with Beckner soon to talk about his platform and ideas, but in the meantime, I am more intrigued with the possibility of Kates and Blair meeting to settle this in the squared circle instead of at the ballot box. Both are former professional wrestlers: Kates as Jason the Terrible (left) and Blair (right) as a member of the tag team duo The Killer Bees.