FIVE CANDIDATES FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL GATHER TO DISCUSS ISSUES IN BARTOW

It promises to be a crowded dais but an interesting discussion when the five candidates --- four Republicans and one Democrat --- come together next Monday for the Polk County Tiger Bay Club luncheon at the Peace River Country Club in Bartow.

The candidates --- State Senator Walter "Skip" Campbell (D - Taramac), Former Congressman Bill McCollum (R - Orlando), State Representatives Joe Negron (R - Stuart) and Everett Rice (R - Treasure Island), and State Senator Burt Saunders (R - Naples) --- are seeking to replace incumbant Republican Charlie Crist, who is a candidate for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

My understanding is that the event will not be in the form of a debate, but with each candidate getting a set amount of time to address the gathering, and with a time for questions from the audience. This would be probably one of the first times where all five candidates have appeared together on the same dais, which if correct would be yet another big feather in the hat of the young nonpartisan political interest club.

To find out more about the organization or next Monday's luncheon, contact Bill Stedem in Fort Meade at (863) 226-3325