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District 60 Candidates Pick Up Pace

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

NORTH TAMPA - On primary day, the two candidates for state House District 60 went about their regular routines.

Ed Homan, the Republican incumbent, performed orthopedic surgery. Edward "E.J." Ford, the Democratic challenger, taught class at the University of Tampa.

Neither candidate faced an opponent in the primaries, so there was no need for last-minute neighborhood canvassing or hand-waving at busy intersections.

"I'm pretty much lying low," Ford said Aug. 26, primary day.

But the pace at which they plan to spend time courting voters leading up to the Nov. 4 general election is about to change.

Homan, a three-term state representative who serves on four legislative committees and chairs the House Audit and Performance Committee, said he sees the state's sluggish economy, homeowners insurance and inequities in property taxes as major issues.

"I intend to focus on what we can do to get our economy going again," Homan said.

He cited a slowdown in the state's population growth as a problem. Homan said promoting tourism and encouraging home construction should help ignite the state's economic engine.

Homan, 65, said he doesn't think the state should be in the insurance business. However, he said he sees the need for the state's largest insurance carrier, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which provides homeowners insurance for Floridians denied coverage by other insurers.

He would like to pour more effort into finding ways to persuade more private companies to begin selling homeowners policies in the state again.

Homan said he wants to do something about the inequities in property taxes.

"I am not for getting rid of Save Our Homes for all of us who have it, but at the same time more work needs to be done to get rid of the gross inequities of similar homes having different property taxes," Homan said.

The Temple Terrace physician has raised $109,752 from a mix of Bay area residents and Central Florida doctors for the fall campaign.

His challenger, who has raised a fraction of Homan's war chest, said he faces an uphill struggle against a well-funded, well-connected incumbent.

Ford, whose campaign has collected $3,898, mostly from Hillsborough County residents and a few people from out-of-state, said his best chances for success in a district fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans is to take his message directly to the people.

"If you lack money like we are, you canvass the neighborhoods," said Ford, who also lives in Temple Terrace.

He recently completed his doctoral dissertation in anthropology at the University of South Florida. He also is teaching two classes at the University of Tampa, which are introductory courses in government and world affairs.

"I style myself as a political anthropologist," Ford said. "Anthropology, first and foremost, is the study of people: past, present and future. I study those in the present. I'm studying modern populations in Central Florida."

Ford wrote his doctoral dissertation based on his experience as a volunteer worker in Mary Mulhern's successful bid for Tampa City Council last year. He said his involvement in her campaign also influenced him to seek public office.

Ford, 40, said he decided to run for office to draw attention to two high-priority issues for homeowners: homeowners insurance and property taxes.

"We sent them up there to Tallahassee to fix those two problems," he said of 2006-07 legislative session lawmakers. "Their only lasting memorial is the presidential primary mess."

Ford was referring to the Legislature's controversial 2007 decision to push up this year's presidential primary to the fourth Tuesday in January. The decision put the state at the center of a political firestorm, prompting Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the state, and the national party sanctioned its convention delegates before a compromise was reached in June.

Ford said his campaign also will focus on protecting individual rights.

"I believe the government should keep their hands off our bodies, out of our churches and out of gun cabinets," he said.

Both candidates said they share concerns about higher-education funding and finding dollars to retain highly coveted professors at state universities.

House District 60, which covers Temple Terrace, New Tampa, Lutz, Thonotosassa and Mango, also includes USF, where Homan is an assistant professor of orthopedics at the medical school and Ford earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in anthropology.
ED HOMAN
AGE: 65

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in biochemistry, 1964, Louisiana State University; doctor of medicine, 1968, Louisiana State University Medical School

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: State representative, District 60, elected 2002; re-elected 2004 and 2006

OCCUPATION: Orthopedic surgeon

FAMILY: Married, three sons

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: www.edhoman.com

PHONE: (813) 966-1958

E.J. FORD

AGE: 40

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in anthropology, 1990, University of South Florida; master's degree in anthropology, 1996, USF; doctoral degree in anthropology, 2008, USF

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None

OCCUPATION: Instructor at the University of Tampa
FAMILY: Married, two stepsons and a daughter

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: www .ejford.org

PHONE: (813) 629-9803

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842 or kknight@tampatrib.com.

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