FL Democrat wins House seat vacated by sex solicitation offender Republican Bob Allen

[seafan]

Great news of another reason to celebrate the steady rise of Democratic numbers in this Republican-infested Florida Legislature:



Y'all remember FL State Representative Bob Allen, (R-Of Course) who was busted for soliciting prostitution from an undercover male officer last summer in a Florida public park restroom?

The Democrats just took that seat yesterday in a special election. It was a narrow win in a heavily Republican district, but nonetheless, it was sweet indeed. And a sign of more to come.



Democrat narrowly wins Bob Allen's Florida House seat

By Laurin Sellers
February 27, 2008

Democrat Tony Sasso narrowly defeated Republican Sean Campbell by about 400 votes in Tuesday's election for state House District 32, ending a fierce battle marred by attack ads and misleading accusations in the final days of campaigning.

.....

Sasso will serve the rest of former state Rep. Bob Allen's term, about eight months. He then will have to run for re-election to hold on to the seat, which serves parts of Brevard and Orange counties.
After seven years in the Legislature, Allen reluctantly resigned late last year when a jury found him guilty of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in a Titusville park restroom.
A judge withheld adjudication and sentenced him to six months of probation. Allen, a Merritt Island Republican who did not testify during his trial, has denied any wrongdoing and filed an appeal.

.....

Comments from House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber:

.....

Tonight Democrat Tony Sasso bested Republican candidate Sean Campbell in the District 32 Special Election in Brevard and Orange counties. His victory proves that voters will choose the better candidate with the better ideas no matter their party. Endorsed by both newspapers, Sasso was unquestionably the superior candidate. The seat we won, by the way, went for George Bush by 18 points, and is considered a safe Republican seat.

When Representative Sasso is sworn in, he will represent the ninth Election Day gain by Democrats in the State House in this two year election cycle.

In the larger context of this cycle, House Republican Leadership has presided over a total collapse of their party’s dominance. Florida Democrats had not netted a single seat in the Florida House in over two decades. Now, in a single cycle, Democrats have netted nine seats by taking seven Republican open seats and sending two Republican incumbents packing. This occurred in the same cycle that a Republican Governor was elected and the state Senate remained as is. This may be the worst election cycle for House Republicans in Florida’s history.

Much should be attributed to our political campaign team led by Steve Schale. There is no more brilliant tactician or harder working guy in this business. And our candidates, like Sasso, were tremendous, winning in seats that were drawn by our opponents who also enjoyed an overwhelming financial advantage. But we couldn’t have done it without my Republican House colleagues who have proven they are simply out of step with Florida’s mainstream. During this election cycle, they circumnavigated the state with Newt Gingrich in tow offering power points celebrating right wing Republican orthodoxy, instead of sensible candidates who speak to the aspirations of their constituents and the real challenges of our state. There are certainly moderate and right thinking Republicans who reside in the Florida House. But if they continue to follow their leadership over the cliff they will in short order discover a new view from the back of the House chamber.

.....

But, but, but (Jeb's apprentice) House Speaker Marco Rubio-R is desperately spinning the case that Sasso only won because he embraces conservative ideology..... :eyes:


Rubio: Sasso won by embracing conservative ideas

House Speaker Marco Rubio said that the victory of Democrat Tony Sasso in House District 32 over Republican Sean Campbell on Tuesday night is not some sign of impending doom for the GOP.

In a rejoinder to Rep. Dan Gelber, whose latest blog entry uses the Sasso victory to mock House Republican leaders as out of touch with the mainstream, Rubio points to the fact that Sasso himself received a top rating from the National Rifle Association and that his own website says that Sasso is in favor of "real property tax reform" and that he supports "conservative budgeting and a fair tax structure that protects homeowners from inequitable tax increases and encourages businesses to expand and create jobs."

"You may think this is a statement from me, right?" said Rubio in an e-mail. "No, it is actually right off the Tony Sasso website. It proves that the path to victory for Democrats is to embrace the fiscal conservative principles the House leadership has been espousing. We congratulate Rep. Sasso on his election and welcome him to the ranks of fiscal conservatives with open arms."

Rubio also added: "Lower taxes and the Right to Bear Arms? He sounds like my kind of Democrat."

Give it up, Rubio. Your party's days of running roughshod over this state are ending.


The Jeb Bush doctrine of destroying Florida's government by stealing every possible source of its revenue is withering like a rodent corpse.

[gasperc]

1. very good, every seat counts

in closing that huge advantage the GOP has in FL