Florida House District 59, Democratic primary

Winner: Betty Reed

Because a write-in candidate dropped out, two Democrats will face off in a primary open to all registered voters. Warren Hope Dawson is a fighter. Betty Reed said her bills that have passed have never been opposed.

	Betty Reed, 67	Warren Hope Dawson, 68
Experience	Reed is running for her second term in the state House. The retired educator touts her grass roots community involvement, including service in PTAs and on the Hillsborough Children’s Board.	Dawson is a lawyer who has served in the Army and as president of the National Bar Association. He has a private practice and has also represented government agencies.
Work	Before her election, she lobbied to make air conditioning mandatory in public schools. In her first term, she successfully sponsored bills to identify minority students for participation in advanced placement courses and to investigate the high infant mortality rate in the black community.	He represented cases to desegregate schools and fought to convert the state Legislature and Tampa City Council into smaller, more representative single-member districts. He blasted Ye Mystic Krewe for having no black members and protested the exhibition of slave ship relics in a tourist attraction.
Opinions on experience	“I have really built trust in the community to know that I am working on their behalf.” She said she knows what constituents are going through.	It’s one thing to lead a Parent Teacher Association, he said, but it’s quite another to be a champion for one of the state’s neediest districts.
On private school vouchers	Though she has voiced strong opposition to private school vouchers, she voted for a tax credit scholarship this session, because she said many constituents supported it. She later switched her vote, citing budget concerns.	Dawson criticized Reed for initially voting for the vouchers and said more state money needs to be spent on public education. “It is the answer to so many problems that we have,” he said. He also says teachers need higher pay.
If elected . . .	She wants to continue her fight against infant mortality and also push a bill that would allow the families of elderly citizens in nursing homes to use disabled parking permits when accompanying them.	He wants to look into instituting a form of universal health care in the state and scrutinize the spending practices of the Legislature.
Assets	Residence, vacant property, employee benefits, car.	Residence, retirement fund, house.
Liabilities	Mortgage, student loan, car loan, department store credit card.	None.
Net worth	$233,000	$1.2-million
Source of income	State representative salary, Social Security, retirement fund.	Private law practice.
Personal	Married to James Reed, five children, belongs to Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace.	Married to Joan Brown Dawson, one daughter, belongs to the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Web site	Yes	Yes
E-mail	Yes	Yes

About the job: State House District 59 stretches from the university area to parts of Riverview and West Tampa in Hillsborough County, and includes Belmont Heights, Sulphur Springs and Palm River. The term lasts two years, and representatives make $30,336 a year.