Agents Of Change

By MICHAEL FECHTER and WILLIAM MARCH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 25, 2006

TAMPA - They have been in public office for years, but Republican Charlie Crist and Democrat Jim Davis each offered themselves as agents of change Tuesday night in their first debate in Florida's race for governor.

Davis sought to link Crist with what he called an unsatisfactory status quo, saying repeatedly that Crist wants to "stay the course" - on school testing, growth management, insurance regulation and taxation.

"Tonight we have a clear choice about the future of our state; I'm running for governor because I think we can do better," Davis said in his opening statement.

Crist, in turn, offered an optimistic assessment of the state's future. "Change is coming - if you vote for Charlie Crist, you'll get positive change," he said in his closing remarks.

Front-runner Crist went early and often after Davis' high absentee rate during the last session of Congress, time Davis spent in his campaign for governor. He quoted Democrat Bill Nelson from Monday's U.S. Senate debate, who said that "the most important thing I do is get up every day and go to work."

"And you know what?" Crist said. "You didn't just have an empty chair; you have the second worst attendance record in the United States Congress. It is wrong. You violate a public trust when you do it, and you shouldn't do that."

Davis accused Crist of sitting out the state's more controversial issues during his four years as attorney general. Crist, he said, did nothing to stem rising property insurance and tax rates and admittedly stayed out of the fray when lawmakers tried to keep Terri Schiavo alive via feeding tubes in 2005.

That set up the one stunt of the night, pulled off by Davis.

In response to a question about middle class financial pressure on property taxes and insurance, Crist pointed to his record. "Public service is not to be taken lightly," he said. "And when you're somebody like my opponent, who doesn't show up for work, you pay."

Davis pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket and walked over to Crist's lectern.

"Speaking of showing up, Charlie, I want to show you something that showed up in my mailbox not too long ago. This is my insurance premium statement. I'm fortunate, because my insurance is only scheduled to go up 40 percent. As attorney general, Charlie never showed up, never stood up to these insurance companies. For four years he did nothing. And they have record prices and record profits."

Developers have given Crist $5 million, Davis said. Insurance companies have given $2 million.

Davis didn't sound happy, Crist said.

"I'm a happy warrior," Crist said. "I'm an optimist. I look forward to Florida's future."

Davis repeatedly promised Floridians a property tax break and insurance reform that could cut premiums next year. Crist called those "risky schemes" and noted that to cut taxes, Davis advocates raising other taxes such as the intangibles tax, which is a levy on stocks and other wealth.

On education, Crist defended use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a measure of school progress. It's a way to show students have gained a year's worth of learning in a year's time, he said.

Davis said the test punishes students, teachers and schools, and he advocated using the test as a barometer of student achievement, helping parents and teachers identify a student's strengths and weaknesses.

Recent polls are in conflict over where the race stands. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Crist with a 2 percentage point lead Monday, but subsequent polls by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries still have Crist up about 11 percentage points.

Both men made their points well and could walk away from the debate feeling good, said University of South Florida political scientist Daryl Paulson.

"Both of them did a pretty good job where they were attacked and came back with good responses," Paulson said.

Davis diffused Crist's attempts to gain the higher ground on civil rights. He asked Davis why it took 16 years to admit making a mistake when he opposed compensating two black men wrongly convicted of murder.

Davis said both Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee accepted his apology and noted that Pitts was in attendance at Nova Southeastern University in Davie to support him at the debate. He then turned the attack around, accusing Crist of standing "side by side with Katherine Harris when the right to vote was denied to many, many African-Americans and other Floridians. That was wrong."

Crist hit on pocketbook issues, too, promising to double the homestead exemption to $50,000 and allowing homeowners to take their current property tax limits with them if they move to a different home.

"I will always fight for you," he said.

He also tried to reassure conservative Republicans that he is with them, Paulson said. Some Republicans, especially among religious conservatives, are suspicious of Crist's stands on issues such as abortions. Crist again said he favors changing hearts, not laws, during the debate.

But he added several references to Ronald Reagan, Paulson said. "It was a subtle message: 'I'm with you, I'm one of you,'" Paulson said.

He even used Reagan's "There you go again" line to rebut Davis' claim that Crist's property tax plan wouldn't kick in for four years. Crist now advocates a special election in 2007 so voters can approve a constitutional amendment to expand the exemption.

Davis tried to link Crist with a less popular Republican president.

"Charlie sounds a lot tonight like Ronald Reagan, but he really wants to govern like George Bush. He wants to stay the course," Davis said.

Reform Party candidate Max Linn was excluded from the debate after an appellate court struck down a Broward judge's injunction.