Fla. House District 46: GOP voters pick teacher over lawyer
Charter school founder John Legg will face Democrat Dee Thomas in the general election.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published September 1, 2004
Despite accusations of negative campaigning, Republicans in Pasco County gave teacher John Legg their nod of approval Tuesday in his primary bid for Florida's House District 46 seat.
Residents chose Legg - founder of Pasco's first charter school - over attorney John Stewart.
Legg, 29, now will compete against physical therapist Dee Thomas, a Democrat, in November's general election.
With votes from a few precincts still being counted by 9 p.m. Tuesday, Legg declined to comment on the race but said earlier in the day "we feel very confident."
Watching Legg's lead, Stewart ceded his opponent the victory.
"I'm disappointed," he said. But "we ran a good, hard, strong race."
The bid for the House 46 seat, now occupied by state Rep. Heather Fiorentino (R-New Port Richey) turned unexpectedly negative at the eleventh hour.
The campaign's tone changed in the primary's final days when All Children Matter-Florida, a school choice advocacy group, launched a series of mailings and radio spots attacking Stewart.
Among the issues the group called into question was a candidate questionnaire in which Stewart listed his support of issuing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. The group also said he did not support Gov. Jeb Bush's education plan or other Republican reforms.
All Children Matter, whose members include Tallahassee lobbyist Brecht Heuchan - a friend of Legg's - said the ads were not meant to endorse Legg or smear Stewart.
Stewart blasted the ads for trying to create "false issues" and said he mistakenly circled his support on the survey for giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
Legg said Tuesday that he felt "we've run a very positive campaign."
Stewart, however, said "it wasn't enjoyable at all being slammed this week . . . apparently it had some kind of effect."
Throughout the race, Legg and Stewart, 57, shared similar platforms although they differed in strategy.
Both candidate stressed the importance of education, seniors' issues and health care.
However, Stewart - a political newcomer - said he would tackle the issues in Tallahassee methodically and with an open mind. He counted his legal and business experience, as well as his family values as assets.
Legg, by contrast, outlined specific action plans and cited his previous experience and exposure to state politics.
Among his credentials were roles as staff director for Fiorentino, his work with state Sen. Mike Fasano and his job as a consultant for the Republican Party.
