TV ad blitz for McBride under scrutiny [McBride and teachers union may face multi-millions in fines]

The Miami Herald ^ | Jun. 07, 2003 | PETER WALLSTEN AND LESLEY CLARK

[summer]

Posted on Sat, Jun. 07, 2003

TV ad blitz for McBride under scrutiny

BY PETER WALLSTEN AND LESLEY CLARK

pwallsten@herald.com

TALLAHASSEE - Florida elections regulators say there is good reason to believe that former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride and the state's teachers union broke the law last year with a massive TV ad blitz that many believe led to McBride's stunning primary victory over former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.

The state's elections commission voted late last month to proceed with an investigation that could result in multimillion-dollar fines for McBride and a special company formed by the union to produce the ads.

The issue arose last year after the state Republican Party complained that the ad campaign violated state campaign finance laws limiting individual contributions to $500. The ad campaign is valued at $1.8 million.

The commission's vote comes as the Florida Education Association is smarting from a federal investigation into its most powerful stalwart, United Teachers of Dade President Pat Tornillo, who took credit during last year's election for helping to lead the charge to anoint McBride over Reno.

`POLITICAL PAYBACK'

Lawyers for McBride and the union were quick Friday to label the investigation a political vendetta by a Republican-led Florida Elections Commission loyal to Gov. Jeb Bush -- an arch-enemy of the teachers union -- who beat McBride handily to win reelection.

''It's political payback,'' said Robert Harper, a Tallahassee criminal defense lawyer representing McBride. ``Why would they do this in the face of an election that's long over?''

The ads, which flooded the state's major media markets during McBride's underdog primary campaign, touted the Tampa lawyer as the best candidate for teachers. The union leadership -- along with other party leaders -- decided early on that McBride stood a far better chance of defeating the governor in the general election than Reno. The strategy split the party's rank and file, angering Reno's South Florida base and, experts believe, led to low turnout in the general election among blacks and other loyal Democrats.

FREE SPEECH?

Harper and union lawyer Ron Meyer argued in telephone interviews Friday that the ads, which were drafted carefully to specifically avoid asking for viewers to ''vote'' for McBride, are legal free speech.

Both noted that the commission's staff was split on whether there was a violation, but Harper acknowledged that ``it's a close legal question.

''The majority of the courts have ruled in our favor on this kind of thing, so I think we're on firm legal ground,'' Harper added.

The dispute underscores an ongoing struggle in state politics over the blurry lines between the unregulated corporate and union donations known as ''soft money'' and the stricter limits placed on candidates.

A new federal law awaiting approval by the U.S. Supreme Court bans soft money in federal races, but Florida state campaigns still thrive on it.

If they are found guilty, McBride and the FEA-backed Quality Public Education Corp. could face hefty fines -- more than $5 million for McBride and $3 million for QPEC.

Elections commissioners reached this week by telephone said they were constrained by law from discussing details of a pending investigation.

The union's complaint of political payback led four commissioners with close Republican ties to recuse themselves from the proceedings involving McBride, including former Bush aide-turned lobbyist David Rancourt and GOP operative and lobbyist Rich Heffley. Bush replaced them with temporary members, leading to a vote finding ''probable cause'' to open a full-fledged investigation of the ad campaign.

Despite accusations of partisanship, one of the commission's Democratic members said Friday he agreed with the decision [to investigate].

''If you listen to the ads word for word, they walk a fine line,'' said commission member Jimmy Patronis Jr., whose family runs a prominent seafood restaurant in Panama City Beach. ''It's hair-splitting whether they are endorsing'' McBride.

CRUX OF ISSUE

For elections officials, the crux of the issue is whether McBride's campaign -- governed by the $500 per-donor limit -- and the teachers union, which raises unregulated soft money, coordinated their efforts. McBride and his aides said during the campaign last year that they did not coordinate with the union.

But elections commission documents obtained Friday by The Herald suggest a close tie. The records point out that the union hired McBride's own media consultant, David Doak, to produce the ads.

Doak in February told commission staff that he worked on the McBride campaign, and another consultant in his firm, Frank Wilkinson, handled QPEC.

Doak told investigators that his firm ''consciously and intentionally abstained from discussing the QPEC ad with members of the McBride campaign,'' according to commission records.

But the elections commission's general counsel, Phyllis Hampton, found that 'regardless of whether the members of [the Doak firm] did or did not discuss the QPEC ad with members of the McBride campaign, the ad is not an independent expenditure . . . because there was communication with the `media consultant.' ''

TRANSACTIONS

Between July and October 2002, QPEC collected $1.9 million from 45 contributors, the three largest being the FEA at $1.5 million, trial lawyer Wayne Hogan at $100,000 and trial lawyer Robert Kerrigan at $150,000. Both Hogan and Kerrigan were vocal McBride backers.

''If these entities or individuals had contributed directly to the McBride campaign, none could have contributed more than $500 per election,'' Hampton wrote.

Hampton went on to write that the ads were critical for McBride's recognition ``across the state of Florida, which was especially important since his primary opponent, Janet Reno, had much greater name recognition.''

''McBride's campaign went in a matter of weeks from virtual obscurity to the forerunner in the Democratic primary,'' Hampton wrote.

The commission documents noted that the FEA [FL Educators Assocation - teachers union] has been cleared on at least three similar charges in the past, but that one ruling sent a warning that ``future violations will be dealt with harshly.''

[windchime]

"Maybe next the press will expose the teachers union-Dem. con that stuck Floridians w/ the bill for all those new union members created by the "Class-Size" amendment -..."

Here's hoping!!

[summer]

Re your post #20 - I'm posting a link to another recent Miami Herald article for those who don't know who is in the "union elite" --

Ten questions that should be on FCAT test
[by Carl Hiassen, Miami Herald, re: UTD's Pat Tornillo]

[summer]

FYI.

[kittymyrib]

If the teachers had any sense, they'd refuse to pay their union dues after all the corruption that has been uncovered, and the FEA's headquarters could be seized and turned into something more useful, such as an old-folks home, since this is Florida after all.

[summer]

"We did it; he didn't do it," said Meyer.

Julie, Thanks for posting that article. The above line ("we did it -- not him") sounds totally lame to me. As I recall, McBride was the star of those tv ads, and he was well aware the commercials cost money.

[summer]

Some teachers do have sense, and a lot of teachers in Dade County (Miami) became fed up with Tornillo a long time ago and dropped out of the union. These decreasing union numbers have been the subject of several local tv news stories.

[summer]

RE your post #19 - Thanks for posting all those links, RC. :)

[summer]

Re your post #17 - My pleasure, windchime. :)

[summer]

Re your post #12 - My pleasure, PogySailor. If you find a Tampa Trib article, please post/or link it on this thread. Thanks. :)

[summer]

My pleasure, Tunehead54. Glad you could tune in. :)

[summer]

Re your post #11 - [blushing] Thanks, RCNM. :)

[summer]

Re your post #16 - Good points about the mortgage, Southack.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Happy to help. Ask anytime, Chief. (^:

[george wythe]

The commission's vote comes as the Florida Education Association is smarting from a federal investigation into its most powerful stalwart, United Teachers of Dade President Pat Tornillo, who took credit during last year's election for helping to lead the charge to anoint McBride over Reno.

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[JulieRNR21]

. As I recall, McBride was the star of those tv ads, and he was well aware the commercials cost money.

My recollection as well. The 'endorsement ad' conveys the message: This is the one we want you to vote for. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

Besides mortaging their Union Headquarters to give McBride $1.5 Million without taking a vote from the 'rank & file' teachers seems downright unethical; if not illegal.

[summer]

Oh, they never ask the rank and file anything. Why should they? McBride promised to have an office of the union right next door to his in Tallahassee. Who cares what teachers think when you can have lunch everyday with the head of the union, right Mr. McBride?

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

[laredo44]

``Why would they do this in the face of an election that's long over?''

I'll guess respect for the rule of law.

[cksharks]

bfl

[JulieRNR21]

More on the subject from the Tampa Tribune Online:

Elections Regulators Will Proceed With McBride Investigation
The Associated Press
Published: Jun 7, 2003

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida elections regulators have decided to proceed with an investigation into whether former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride accepted almost $2 million in illegal campaign contributions from the state's teachers union during last year's campaign.
If the investigation finds he broke elections law, McBride could be forced to pay millions in fines based on charges that he used the money in producing a massive TV ad campaign.

The Florida Elections Commission ruled last month that enough evidence exists to show that $1.88 million spent by a union subsidiary to boost McBride violated state law limiting individual contributions to $500.

The panel has also voted that enough evidence exists to show that the Florida Education Association Quality Public Education Corp. also broke state law.

For elections officials, the crux of the issue is whether McBride's campaign and the teachers union, which raises unregulated soft money, coordinated their efforts. McBride and his aides said during the campaign last year that they did not coordinate with the union.

The ads first started airing in July 2002 and were considered a key factor in elevating the still-unknown McBride past former Attorney General Janet Reno in the Democratic primary.

McBride could eventually be forced to pay a $1,000 penalty if he is ultimately found guilty of breaking the law. But he also could be fined as much as three times the amount of the illegal contribution - $5.64 million.

Lawyers for McBride and the union on Friday labeled the investigation a political vendetta by a Republican-led Florida Elections Commission loyal to Gov. Jeb Bush, who beat McBride handily to win re-election.

"It's political payback," said Robert Harper, a Tallahassee criminal defense lawyer representing McBride. "Why would they do this in the face of an election that's long over?"

Harper and union lawyer Ron Meyer argued that the ads, which were drafted carefully to specifically avoid asking for viewers to "vote" for McBride, are legal free speech.

Geoffrey Becker, a spokesman for the GOP, defended the decision by the commission, saying that four sitting members of the commission were asked to recuse themselves from the McBride vote because of their close ties to Bush and the Republican Party.

But Bush chose the four people who acted as substitute commissioners for the May 21 and May 22 meetings of the commission.

Jill Bratina, communications director for Bush, said Friday that the governor followed established law in selecting the replacements and that he did not select anyone directly affiliated with the Republican Party.