Posted on 12/01/2001 4:29:39 AM PST by summer
SENTINEL POLITICAL EDITOR
Mark Silva
Rosie to help Reno drive
Published December 1, 2001
TALLAHASSEE -- Rosie O'Donnell, television comedian, will star as host of a fund-raiser for Janet Reno, the former U.S. attorney general running for governor.
O'Donnell's agreement to raise money for Reno is one sign of the celebrity status that Florida's race for governor will achieve in 2002.
Reno is widely expected to win the Democratic Party's nomination for a contest against Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.
Reno, for now, isn't talking about her appearance with O'Donnell.
"We're working on it," Reno said Friday. "When the time comes, it will be appropriate to comment."
For Reno, the Dec. 30 reception will cap a partial year's fund raising that got off to a slow start. Her campaign opened one week before the terrorist assaults of Sept. 11.
Yet, while she raises money nationwide for an expected contest with the president's brother in a hotly contested state, O'Donnell's reception will be no party for high rollers.
The Reno campaign is seeking $250 from each guest, a level of giving that is matchable, dollar for dollar, with the state's public campaign financing fund.
The unknown detail at this stage, the campaign says, is the location.
O'Donnell has a home on Miami Beach's Star Island, a gated ring of mansions facing Biscayne Bay. But that home is in use, probably forcing the campaign to find another setting.
"We are trying to find another Star Island type of place," said Julie Simon, a campaign spokeswoman. "Rosie had offered right after Janet opened her bank account to do anything we wanted. So we asked her to do a fund-raiser right after the Christmas holidays She agreed to do it at her house, but someone is [staying] at her place."
Reno made a standup comic appearance of her own, as the Clinton administration was leaving office.
She stepped through a wall on the set of Saturday Night Live, joining a Reno impersonator on stage, and declared: "It's Reno Time."
Mark Silva can be reached at msilva@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5034. Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel
I have a few Reno 0Cents Stamps already at www.0cents.com but I plan a special series of Reno's after she wins the primary!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.