Max Linn to run as Democrat against Bill Young

Max Linn, the outspoken multimillionaire who ran for governor as the Reform Party candidate in 2006 will challenge U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young as a Democrat.

Young, R-Indian Shores, is serving his 19th term in Congress. Linn, 48 of Treasure Island, said he will announce his candidacy tonight at the Greater Pinellas Democratic Club in Pinellas Park.

"We're going to do the David and Goliath campaign," he said in an interview this afternoon.

Linn said Young has steered a lot of federal dollars to Tampa Bay but his positions on Iraq and terrorism have undermined the United States. He said Young is in "lock step" with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Two candidates have filed for the District 10 seat: Jason Diviki, an independent from St. Petersburg, and Samm Simpson, a Democrat.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Comments

Good Luck Max.

[Dr_Dug]

Go get em Max!!

[tampabaydemocracy]

Great to see a second candidate standing up to Young. First Samm Simpson shows the courage coming out of nowhere, and her all-volunteer army gets almost 35% of the vote in 06. With Simpson already having the Progressive Democrats Of America national endorsement, she's in a better position this time around, and a spirited primary campaign will only be good for democracy.

when will the party stop recruiting known republicans to run as dems? They are everywhere, infilterating our party. I will work for a real dem. Max is a clown. Nuff said.

[Tim Hawkins]

As they say, "all politics is local politics". Bill Young represents Pinellas County Florida, not Hollywood, California. Perhaps Mr Linn and his Treasure Island neighbors forgot that it was Bill Young who saved their *sses on the Treasure Island bridge.

[Gov. Lite]

It comes as no surprise to me that Max Linn would run as a Democrat against Bill Young. Max spent a lot of his own money on his race for governor and had little to no infrastructure in place with the Reform Party. If he is successful in the primary he will most likely receive and benefit from the support of both the local and statewide democratic party. Term Limits have always been a passion of his and the majority of Floridians support limited terms as well. That said, it is certainly time for a change. As an advocate of Term Limits it's certain that Max would impose them on himself. That in itself would be a breath of fresh air in Washington. A previous post inferred that Max was a clown. I disagree. Further: I wonder if there were those who felt that Ben Franklin was a clown too. Still... a fresh perspective and a vision of the future through a different set of eyes isn't a bad thing, irregardless of who provides it. One thing is for sure. The primary season will be interesting with Max in the race. And if he's successful, the general election will be even more so.