Gibbons Playing Dirty

Bill Foster is the target of a mailer criticizing his tax record while on the City Council. The mailer, which is apparently paid for by a group that calls itself the Committee for Responsible Representation, says Foster voted to increase city property taxes 64 percent from 1999 to 2006.

The mailer also says Foster accepted a 40 percent pay raise in 2005 while postponing pay raises for other city employees.

"Bill Foster had almost a decade of chances to stand up for working families and help grow our economy and jobs," the mailer reads in part. "Instead, Foster helped grow government."

Foster called the mailer a "false characterization" of his record and said he believes the ad was sent with the knowledge of candidate Deveron Gibbons.

Foster said he repeatedly voted to lower the city's tax rate while on the council, though property tax collections did increase. While he did see his pay on council raise from $27,316 to $38,000, plus a $150 monthly expense allowance, he voted against the measure. He said he is the only council member ever to opt out of the council member's pension program.

"I knew that after we started to single ourselves out of a crowded field, you have a big bulls-eye on you," said Foster, who led in the most recent Times/Bay News 9 poll with 17 percent. "We're getting it from everywhere."

The man behind the Committee for Responsible Representation, Patrick Bainter, of Gainesville, previously attacked attorney general candidate state Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell for a bill he sponsored that regulated the payday loan industry.

Foster is linking Gibbons to Bainter because Gibbons works for Amscot Financial, a company that provides payday loans.

"There's nothing that anyone can say to convince me (Gibbons) didn't know," Foster said. "It's a desperate attempt by somebody with a lot of money, money which came from out of the area."

Gibbons said Thursday he knows Bainter but doesn't know anything about the ad. Gibbons said he was working as a lobbyist in 2001 and helped pass the payday loan legislation that Bainter previously attacked.

"I really don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen it," Gibbons said when asked about the mailer.

Bainter did not return a call seeking comment.

UPDATE: Draw your own conclusions, but the Committee for Responsible Representation is a client of The Victory Group of Tampa, which is also working on Gibbons' campaign. The Committee for Responsible Representation paid a total of $45,560.12 to The Victory Group for media buys in 2008, state records show. Victory Group president Adam Goodman is serving as a Gibbons campaign consultant.

Aaron Sharockman,Times Staff Writer

More evidence linking Gibbons to Bainter. Gibbons' campaign paid Data Targeting Inc of Gainesville $6,664 on Aug. 5 for "direct mail services." Data Targeting is a company registered to Bainter. While that money is likely for a Gibbons mail piece, it shows Bainter and Gibbons' campaign have been working together.

How much of the time Al has spent at the St. Pete Times building politicing for Gibbons has been on the clock??????

He was there a lot lobbying for my boy Dev who is gonna promote me to Chief. I will then fire Mike McDonald and put my boy AL in there.

Desparate acts by Deveron will not get votes! Goodbye caucus when Foster arrives.

I am backing Foster!

NO GIBBONS = NO COALITION

VOTE FOR THE FUTURE

For gawd sake you fools...pick one white candidate and have every white person in this city back he or she!! Why do you think there is only one black, moron? He gets all the black vote and the dumbass whites will all disagree, spread their votes and PRESTO..we have this lame dik as our mayor. This may be our last chance to get something positive done in this city...unite now and don't freakin blow it!!!!!!!

[Tom]

Gibbons may or may not know what his associates at Amscot are doing to help him by hurting Foster. But the postcards tell the truth. If you say the truth makes Foster look bad, then, why do you like Foster?

The two are fighting each other to continue the Rick Baker administration and political machine FOR ANOTHER 8 YEARS.

If you want change vote for Ford.

If you want things to stay the same vote for either Foster or Gibbons.

The Times stopped helping Gibbons on July 4th when for the first time they wrote of the sleazy loan business Gibbons lobbies for. Now the Times is attacking Gibbons for an honest critique of the Baker/Foster tax increase.

The Times doesn't dispute the 64% rise in taxes under Baker/Foster. Baker/Foster supported an annual cut of a fraction of a percent of the tax rate while rising assessments pushed up tax collections. Without the Baker/Foster tax rate cut taxes may have risen by 64.001 %. Thanks guys!

But they couldn't find money for higher pay or to shore up the pension fund.

I didn't know that Foster turned down his city pension. It sounds like he did us taxpayers a favor. But he didn't stop the giant pay raise for the mayor and council. Remember the picket at city hall: http://www.bartlettpark.net/2007/02/...er-picket.html

Foster sat quietly for two years while the city secretly made plans to spend half a billion on the Rays new stadium. Ford led the opposition that killed it, for now.