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Posted on 10/03/2002 7:04:25 AM PDT by floriduh voter
CAPTION: The unusual interlacing of his campaign and the teachers group is assailed by the governor as an "umbilical cord."
published September 17, 2002
In the small hours of the morning after last week's election, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride raised his voice over more than 100 cheering supporters to thank his wife, Alex Sink, and then called another woman to the stage.
As cameras flashed, McBride held upraised hands with Maureen Dinnen, the president of the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union. Then he called up Pat Tornillo, the union's boss in Miami-Dade County, to thank him, too.
Education has been the centerpiece of McBride's campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor. But education is more than a big issue. The union is involved in his campaign at every level, from strategy to communications.
Not in recent history has a Florida candidate been so publicly entwined with a single interest group, political analysts say.
The link became even stronger Monday when CATHY KELLY, the union's director of government relations, was named McBride's campaign manager. She's on loan to the campaign until the Nov. 5 election. The union will pay her salary but lend her services to the Florida Democratic Party, which in turn assigned her to the McBride campaign.
McBride credits the union with enabling a "very ordinary man like me" to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
"People will write the story of this election, and they will say that the school teachers and crossing guards and the cafeteria workers and education support professionals and the working men and women of Florida have had enough," McBride told nearly 200 FEA members in Orlando Saturday.
"It was hard to get their endorsement because they wanted to make sure I shared their same values. But once I got it, they were real warriors and real soldiers. Even back when we were at 5 percent in the polls, they were out on the street corners, waving signs."
But it was far more than sign-waving. Consider:
* Through a special political action committee whose contributors are secret, the union spent more than $2-million to produce and air two TV advertisements that helped elevate McBride from Tampa lawyer to statewide candidate, erasing Reno's 30-point lead.
* The union and its affiliates gave $292,229 to the state Democratic Party, which heavily subsidized McBride's campaign, and $15,626 directly to McBride. It also provided more than $50,000 in in-kind donations to the party, such as fliers, posters and consulting.
* Tony Welch, the union's communications director, also is on loan to the McBride campaign. Like Kelly, his salary is being paid by the union and his services lent to the state Democratic Party, which is assigning him to the campaign.
Dinnen and her staff helped McBride craft his education policy, and she has advised him on his choice of running mates. As the campaign manager, Kelly will oversee all aspects of McBride's race.
Kelly worked on U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's winning gubernatorial campaigns in 1978 and 1982 and on his Senate campaign in 1986. She replaces Robin Rorapaugh, who has left the campaign. A statement from McBride lauded Kelly's knowledge of Florida politics and organizational skills. Rorapaugh and McBride reportedly had personality differences.
The Bush campaign hopes to portray McBride as a pawn of the teachers union. Bush has clashed with the union over teacher pay, school grading and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which McBride has pledged to change.
Monday, Bush called the union McBride's "umbilical cord," and said he doesn't believe it represents most teachers.
"The union matters because they've provided a vehicle for him to get millions of dollars that are not reported, where we don't know where the money's coming from," Bush said.
"They've made it possible for him to be a viable candidate, and he has said that the union officials would have an office in the governor's office, which is breathtaking if you think about it. . . . We're talking about a quid pro quo here that is kind of disturbing."
McBride's spokesman and Dinnen said McBride was speaking figuratively. "He was saying that his door is going to be open, and he is going to seek our advice very openly," Dinnen said.
McBride continued his pro-education message Monday, visiting a prekindergarten center at Prayer Tower Christian Academy. Bouncing kids on his knee, he talked up the importance of strong state support for pre-K education programs.
With 120,000 members, the teachers union was McBride's first and most important major supporter. In January, it formally endorsed him over Reno. Because it dominates the Florida AFL-CIO, an endorsement from that group quickly followed.
Lance deHaven-Smith, a public policy professor at Florida State University, could not recall a case in modern Florida history where a union had such a dramatic impact on a campaign. It opens McBride to criticism that he is too close to one interest group, he said.
"Teacher support may translate to the conclusion on people's part that McBride is very good on education," said deHaven-Smith. "It may be a test of people's perception of the teachers union."
-- Times staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report.
Is this reference a subtle flip-flop regarding their FCAT position although the quote is unrelated to FCAT?
Cathy Kelly, McB's new campaign manager, a longtime political director of the Florida Education Association who was chosen to ensure that focus (re: campaign strategy). "Not that you don't constantly measure whether you're accomplishing what you have to accomplish and reacting accordingly." HUH? SAY AGAIN?
ON THE OTHER HAND, TEACHERS FOR JEB, we're with you! Keep up the good work. We don't want Cathy Kelly to have a private suite in Tallahassee - she would be co-governor, mark my words.
Everyone, please contact your County Headquarters and stop by. They have yard signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and buttons for sale.
People in other states, please drop by www.jeb.org and from there, you can jump to the Women for Jeb Coalition. There is new material re: Jeb's Women's Issue record and Education Record for emailing to your Florida friends and relatives. You OUT OF STATERS are doing a fantastic job.
FLORIDA, please keep talking and sharing with your friends on the fence. Invite them to a Rally to see for themselves why we are voting for Jeb.
FINALLY, TEACHERS FOR JEB, you've had to listen to lots of nonsense since January and you persevered. CONGRATULATIONS, Floriduh Voter
Good morning, ladies. Note that McB is on his third campaign manager and that he had a personality conflict with the last one. The two he fired because he's an experienced candidate and empty suit should join the Women for Jeb Coalition, ya think?
Gunnnrmike
IMO, patriotism is alive and well and Jeb always says "God Bless America followed by God Bless Florida".
My display of Old Glory is out of lights that I plug in every night and it stays on until morning. Everyone where I live sees it from the sidewalk-courtyard entering or leaving the complex. It's staying up indefinitely.
Isn't this illegal use of union dues?
This can only be spun as a straight story by a press in bed with the teacher's union themselves. By "loaning" her to the DNC they can bypass campaign finance laws? Aren't they clever. This is so maddening - the press doesn't just spin this for the DNC, they're NEA PR agents.
At the last NEA convention they condemned President Bush repeatedly, pledging themselves to supporting the DNC...never mind the children who have seriously suffered under their irresponsible leadership in US education. GRRR!
It's interesting that Gephardt is in his own trouble for siding with the POTUS after acknowledging how close he and Babs are. The liberals are calling Gep a sell-out.
Any Green Party or Libertarians in your area helping McB out? It's real dirty work that they are doing.
We can trust no one but ourselves.
All the media is rat infested unfortunately and we don't want to contact someone who will play up how wonderful this union Cathy is.
The very serious matters should be handled by the Bush/Brogan campaign. I know that Jeb reads the St. Pete paper daily. They have more resources than I do and they aren't missing much.
IMO, instead of contacting the media if something's really fishy in your area, it's best to just contact the Bush/Brogan campaign at www.jeb.org. They like to hear from Tampa Bay.
I e-mailed the author who also wrote a puff-piece on McBride today in the St. Pete Times:
Thanks!
Is that an actual quote? LOL. No wonder they're fighting testing and accountability in FL.
And if this is true....
...she has advised him on his choice of running mates
her advice is on par with her grammar.
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