The Palm Beach Post
Published Thursday, September 21, 2006

By S.V. DAte and Meghan MeyerDemocrat Jim Davis’s bid for governor won the endorsement Wednesday of the Voters Coalition of Palm Beach County, as did two other Democrats running for statewide office: Skip Campbell for attorney general and Alex Sink for chief financial officer. The group endorsed incumbent Republican Charles Bronson for agriculture commissioner, the only one among the governor and Cabinet positions that is not an open seat.

The nonpartisan group had endorsed Davis’ opponent in the Democratic primary, Alachua state Sen. Rod Smith, and Davis’ current opponent, Attorney General Charlie Crist, in his Republican primary against Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher. Davis’ running mate, former state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami accepted the endorsement at the group’s news conference at the South County Civic Center, west of Delray Beach. He said he knew how tough the board members’ questions were based on his experience running for governor in 2002, when he finished third in the Democratic primary. “They’re very thorough,” Jones said. “They’re well-studied. Their secondary and tertiary questions are very insightful and have a lot of depth. You have to be well-prepared to get an enthusiastic endorsement from this group.”

Coalition Chairman Bob Newmark said Davis met with the group and Crist did not, but that did not figure into the board’s decision. He added that of 13 races in which a Democrat and a Republican are running, the coalition endorsed seven Democrats and six Republicans in state and Palm Beach County races. Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac said: “Charlie Crist is proud of endorsements from doctors, nurses, law enforcement and firefighters.” Davis, a Tampa congressman, had been scheduled to appear at the news conference but changed his schedule at the last minute to be in Washington, D.C., to cast votes in the House of Representatives.

Sarasota-area Congresswoman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris similarly canceled an appearance at Century Village in West Palm Beach to remain in Washington to weigh in on the Voting Law Reform bill. “It is one of the few votes that she cannot miss, even at this point in her campaign,” County GOP Chairman Sid Dinerstein explained in an e-mail to reporters. The Voters Coalition also endorsed Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson for the U.S. Senate; Republican incumbent Mark Foley for U.S. House District 16; and Democratic challenger Ron Klein for U.S. House District 22.

The group also gave its backing to Republican incumbent Ken Pruitt for state Senate District 28; Democrat Ted Deutch for state Senate District 30, which is an open seat; Republican incumbent Carl Domino for state House District 83; Democratic incumbent Shelley Vana for state House District 85; Democrat Maria Sachs for state House District 86, which is an open seat; and Republican incumbent Adam Hasner for State House District 87.

In addition, the coalition endorsed David E. French for Circuit Judge, Group 13; Frank Castor for County Judge, Group 19; Republican incumbent Peter H. Carney for Palm Beach County tax collector; Democratic incumbent Jeff Koons for County Commission District 2; and Democrat Jess Santamaria for County Commission District 6, which is an open seat.

Staff writer Deana Poole contributed to this story.