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Katherine Harris

Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957 in Key West, Florida) is currently a second-term member of the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 13th congressional district (map). She was first seated in the House in January 2003 after winning election in the 2002 election. She came to national attention while serving as Florida Secretary of State, responsible for presiding over the state results of the closely contested 2000 U.S. presidential election.

Harris is the presumptive Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006. Her opponent will be incumbent Bill Nelson. In May 2006, Florida Governor Jeb Bush questioned Harris's ability to win the general election and encouraged others to challenge her in the primary. Her opponents within her party were unable to find a credible primary challenger to run against her however. . The Governor, as well as Republican Senator Mel Martinez, plan to support her in the general election.

Early life

Harris' family has been referred to as one of Florida's wealthiest and most politically influential. Her father owned Citrus and Chemical Bank in Lakeland, Florida. Her grandfather was Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., a wealthy businessman in the citrus and cattle industries and a powerful figure in the state legislature.. The Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida is named for him.

Education

Harris graduated from Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida and attended Spain's University of Madrid, before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia in 1979. In 1980 she attended L'Abri (outside Geneva, Switzerland) on a L'Abri International Fellowship. While in college she was an intern for U.S. Representative Andy Ireland.

Harris received her masters degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1997 with a major in international trade.

Business career and service in the Florida Senate

Before entering politics, Harris was vice president of a commercial real estate firm; another previous job was as a marketing executive at IBM .

Early political career

Harris entered politics by winning election to the Florida Senate in 1994, in one of the most expensive state races in Florida history at that time.

Florida Senate and Riscorp

In the 1994 state senate election, Sarasota-based Riscorp, Inc. made illegal contributions totalling $400,000 to dozens of political candidates and committees , including $20,600 to the Harris campaign. . Ms. Harris played a prominent role in introducing the CEO of Riscorp to various Florida legislators. Two years later, in 1996, Harris sponsored a bill "to block Riscorp competitors from getting a greater share of Florida workers' compensation market, also pushed a proposal that would hurt a particular competitor." . This issue later emerged during her campaign for Florida Secretary of State in 1998. Regarding this issue, according to a SunHerald column from June, 2005, "Harris denied any knowledge of the scheme, was never charged with any crime and was cleared of wrongdoing by a state investigator." The CEO of Riscorp eventually pleaded guilty to illegal campaign donations amongst allegations of other serious wrongdoing at Riscorp and served prison time.

Secretary of the State

Harris was elected Florida Secretary of the State in 1998, defeating then-incumbent Sandra Mortham. Her office played a leading role in the closely contested 2000 U.S. presidential election.

International travel

During her first 22 months in office, Harris spent more than $106,000 for travel, more than any cabinet officer or the Governor. She visited eight countries on ten foreign trips.

In early 2001, Florida Senate leaders eliminated the $3.4-million that Harris had budgeted for international relations for the year, assigning it instead to Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency. But Florida House leader Tom Feeney said that he disagreed with the Senate and felt Harris was an able advocate to foreign countries. After the House refused to go along with the proposed budget action, the Senate agreed to restore the money but insisted on a review committee, appointed by Senate President John McKay, Feeney, and governor Jeb Bush, to evaluate all of Harris' expenditures on international affairs since July 1, 1999, and produce a report. .

2000 US presidential election

Main article: ]

As Secretary of State for the State of Florida, Harris presided over the contested 2000 US presidential election in Florida. There were allegations of conflicts of interest and partisan, unethical behavior in Katherine Harris's actions during the 2000 campaign. Among Democrats, a factor which rankled was the fact that Harris had been named as Bush's Florida campaign co-chair the year before. Bob Butterworth, the Florida state Attorney General, served as co-chair of Gore's campaign. A number of other elected officials of both parties actively campaigned for their respective national candidates.

After Miami mayor Xavier Suarez was removed from office in 1998 due to absentee ballot fraud, state election officials hired Database Technologies Inc. (DBT) of Boca Raton to scan the state's database of registered voters for felons, who are prohibited from voting by state law, and dead people. By the election, DBT had created a list of 57,700 convicted felons that Harris would purge from the voter rolls. The felon "scrub lists" allegedly removed 8,000 registered voters and some private investigators have claimed the number is as high as 55,000, but Choicepoint (the company that has since acquired DBT says those numbers are "simply wrong". Choicepoint asserts that many who claimed to have been "scrubbed" had attempted to vote at precincts in which they were not registered.

Those removed from the voting rolls included people convicted only of misdemeanors and those who had the same names and birthdays as the felons. On Election Day 2000, some persons, including those claiming to have been erroneously listed as felons, were reported to have been turned away from the polls. The use of felon "scrub lists" was strongly criticized as an attempt to disenfranchise poor and African-American voters in particular. Some states permit even felons to vote after they have served their time. Others require a civil pardon. Florida has a complex process which requires a released prisoner to apply to a state-commission, the Executive Clemency board, for a restoration of civil rights.

Harris certified that the Republican candidate, then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, had defeated the Democratic candidate, Vice-President Al Gore, in the popular vote of Florida and thus certified the Republican slate of electors. Her ruling was challenged, and overturned on appeal by Florida's Supreme Court. This decision, however, was itself reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore. That Court ruled (5-4) that Gore's request to extend Florida's statutory deadline for ballot re-counts had no merit, because no Florida law at the time provided for that option. This ruling nullified the state court's decision, upholding Harris' certification. Because the statutory vote-counting deadline expired weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, Gore had effectively run out of time to legally challenge Florida's official results. The decision foreclosed any further court challenges by Gore and resulted in Bush's margin of victory in Florida being officially tallied at 537 votes. When this became official, Florida's electoral votes—and the Presidency—went to George W. Bush.

Harris later wrote Center of the Storm, her own memoir of the 2000 election controversy, in which she presents an account supportive of her decisions and takes issue with some of her critics. She was also heavily featured in the documentary Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election.

Appearance and attire

Harris has been the subject of jokes regarding her makeup, attire and photographs. On The Tonight Show, Jay Leno said that "they had trucks in Florida bringing the ballots to Tallahassee... It's the same trucks they used to bring the makeup to Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris." During the 2000-2001 season of Saturday Night Live, comedian Ana Gasteyer did a recurring impression of Harris.

In January 2005, Harris told the Associated Press that "the jokes about my appearance–it's the computer-enhanced photos...It was like in a comic strip. They actually had blue eye shadow on front pages of newspapers and I haven't had blue eye shadow since Girl Scouts in seventh grade." On August 1, 2005, Harris was a guest on Sean Hannity's talk radio program on ABC Radio. Hannity asked Harris whether the jokes bothered her, and Harris told him that "I'm actually very sensitive about those things, and it's personally painful...You know, whenever they made fun of my makeup, it was because the newspapers colorized my photograph." On August 2, 2005, Harris and her staff were asked to point to a colorized photograph. According to spokesman Adam Goodman, Harris said that "I haven't worn blue eye shadow since the seventh grade when I was in the Girl Scouts". William March of the Tampa Tribune wrote "She didn't name a newspaper that showed blue eye shadow." When asked why Harris would accuse newspapers of altering her photograph, Goodman said "I think what she's saying is the number of photographs that were run that were unflattering was large, and that was unfair because the only reason this was made a caricature built around cosmetics was because she was a woman," .

Some critics have derided Harris for apparently trying to highlight her feminine attributes in campaign appearances. She is known for wearing tight-fitting sweaters and other form-fitting outfits that some have called undignified for a politician. In particular, some panned an appearance on Hannity & Colmes in which Harris stood in profile for the entire interview (being shown from the waist up), an angle which prominently highlighted her bustline. This scene drew the ire of many critical bloggers, and was the subject of a humorous The Daily Show piece.

Harris supporters have rejoined that similar remarks about a Democratic candidate's sexual appearance would have provoked a media firestorm of allegations of "gender insensitivity" and "anti-woman" bias.

Regarding Harris's manner of dress, image consultant Gloria Starr remarked, "It's a detraction from her desired outcome. The focus should be on her commitment and appropriateness to the position" and "The last thing a woman needs is to have a man looking at her breasts instead of her face" and also "I would absolutely love to work with this woman."

2002 and 2004 races

In 2002, Harris ran against Sarasota Attorney Jan Schneider for the congressional district vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Dan Miller, winning by 10 percentage points in this predominantly Republican-leaning district.

Harris considered running for the seat of retiring Senator Bob Graham in 2004, but was reportedly dissuaded by the Bush White House to allow Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez to run for the open seat. Martinez went on to narrowly beat challenger Betty Castor. Harris ran for re-election to her House seat; she was re-elected with a margin similar to that of 2002.

In a 2004 speech in Venice, Florida, Harris claimed that a "Middle Eastern" man was arrested for attempting to blow up the power grid in Carmel, Indiana ; "Carmel Mayor James Brainard and a spokesman for Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan said they had no knowledge of such a plot. Brainard said he had never spoken to Harris."

During a 2004 campaign stop in Sarasota, a local resident, Barry Seltzer, "tr to 'intimidate' a group of Harris supporters" by menacing Harris and her supporters with his automobile. Witnesses described Seltzer as having swerved off the road and onto the sidewalk, directing it at Harris and her supporters. Nobody was injured in the incident. Seltzer, who claimed he was "exercising political expression," was eventually arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Controversy from the MZM Scandal

In 2005 and 2006, Harris faced political controversy when a major corporate campaign donor, defense contractor MZM, Inc., was implicated in a bribery scandal that resulted in the criminal conviction and resignation of California congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham and conviction of MZM founder, Mitchell Wade. Wade bundled together contributions from employees of MZM, and reimbursed those employees for their contributions. .

Regarding this issue, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein has recently said that Harris did not appear to know the donations were obtained illegally. Harris has maintained she had no personal knowledge that her campaign was given illegal contributions. For its part, Wade admitted that the donations to the Harris campaign were illegal and were part of an attempt to influence Harris to MZM's benefit. .

Documents filed with Wade's plea say that he took Harris to dinner early in 2005, where they discussed the possibility of another fundraiser and the possibility of getting funding for a Navy counterintelligence program in the member's district. .

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Republican strategist (and former Harris staffer) Ed Rollins stated that Wade had paid for the meal. The Sentinel reported that this meal "may have cost as much as $2,800". . Wade and Harris discussed MZM's desire for a $10 million appropriation, Wade offered to host a fundraiser for Harris' 2006 Senate campaign . Regarding the MZM contributions, the Sentinel article goes on to say "The Justice Department has said Wade, who personally handed many of the checks to Harris, did not tell Harris the contributions were illegal". And regarding the expensive meal, quotes Harris as saying that she personally had only a "beverage and appetizer" worth less than "$100". House rules prohibit accepting any gift worth $50 or more.

In the weeks following the expensive meal, former senior Harris staffers claimed that "they initially rejected a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request last year but reversed course after being instructed by Harris to approve it."

Harris later sent a letter on April 26, 2005, to defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman C.W. Bill Young, in which Harris sought $10 million for a Navy project backed by Wade. . In the letter, Harris emphasized the importance of the project, asking that it be added to her list of five priorities and identifying it as her new No. 3. (Harris has released the April 26 letter, but neither she nor Young would turn over the request form used for the proposal.)

Mona Tate Yost, an aide to Harris, left to work for MZM during the time Wade was pressing Harris to secure federal funding (April or May of 2005).

2006 Senate Race

Main article: Florida United States Senate election, 2006

Overview

On June 7, 2005, Harris announced her candidacy for the United States Senate as a Republican, challenging incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. Harris' fund raising has lagged behind Nelson's and her campaign has been troubled by controversy over campaign contributions by Mitchell Wade. As of May of 2006, she was far behind in all the polls.

Despite Harris' support of many Republican causes and her previous statewide victories, some party leaders such as Governor Jeb Bush and Karl Rove expressed doubts about her statewide appeal. National Republicans have openly criticized her campaign and have tried to convince other GOP candidates to challenge Harris in the primary . As the May 12 deadline for the primary approached, many leaders including Gov. Bush publicly courted the Speaker of Florida's state house of representatives Allan Bense, but on May 11 he declined.

Campaign Troubles

In late February 2006, in the midst of revelations surrounding Mitchell Wade's illegal contributions, Harris' campaign finance director and campaign treasurer both resigned. .

On March 15, 2006 edition of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes political debate show, Harris pledged to spend ten million of her own dollars on the campaign, which she has said is all of her inheritance. She has also stated her run is dedicated to the memory of her father. She has accused Nelson (the current Senator) of posing as a moderate while being "beholden to the far-left political side" , and has said she wants to bring integrity and ethics back to government.

Harris was a headlined speaker at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Dr. James Kennedy, pastor) "Reclaiming America for Christ" conference held in Ft. Lauderdale March 17-18, 2006. The conference web site invited gatherees to attend in order to "reclaim this nation for Christ." As part of her speech, Harris urged conferees to "Win back America for God." The stated mission of ReclaimAmerica.org is to "To inform, equip, motivate, and support Christians; enabling them to defend and implement the Biblical principles on which our country was founded."

On April 1, 2006 her top campaign advisor, pollster and campaign manager all resigned with a half dozen other staffers. Republican pollster and consultant David Johnson said, "I've never seen staffers go like this. It's just imploding." However, other observers note that Harris has been abandoned by the party establishment and its consultants before and always managed to adjust and win races for state senate, secretary of state and Congress.

In early April, 2006, Harris told the Tampa Tribune that some of her ex-campaign staffers and the national Republican party were deliberately sabotaging her campaign, "putting knives in her back" and had warned her that if she did not back out of the campaign she would get an "April surprise". Former campaign staffer Ed Rollins said "They were all good professionals...There was no backstabbing. It's insulting that she would even say that. If she wants to know what went wrong with the campaign, maybe she needs to take a good look in the mirror." Rollins, however, has frequently quarelled with other clients and Harris' famously serendipitous approach to campaigning undoubtedly clashed with his imperious style.

On June 8, 2006, Harris' fourth chief of staff, Fred Asbell, left in order to pursue a "business opportunity". Asbell said he'd "greatly enjoyed" his time with the campaign and he would remain in a consultant position.

Political positions and voting record

Harris is a conservative Republican. She is anti-abortion and has voted against abortion rights, stem cell research and for granting legal status to unborn children, via the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. She supports free trade, tax cuts, restricting bankruptcy, welfare reform, school vouchers, the Patriot Act, the Flag Burning Amendment and Federal Marriage Amendment and is a supporter of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

References

  1. "Gov. Bush Doubts Harris Can Win Sen. Seat", Associated Press, May 8, 2006.
  2. "GOP can't elude Harris vs. Nelson", St. Petersburg Times, May 11, 2006.
  3. "The Woman in Charge" CBS News, November 26 2000.
  4. Joe Follick, "Tracks in Florida's Sand", Tampa Tribune, July 22, 2001.
  5. Calendar and Exhibits, Museum of Florida History. June 10, 2006
  6. Becker, Jo, and Dana Milbank. "Controversy swirls around Harris." Washington Post. November 14, 2000.
  7. "Project Vote Smart - Representative Harris" Project Vote Smart. Accessed April 30 2006.
  8. Pinnell, Gary. "Katherine Harris Puts All On Line for Race" Highlands Today (The Tampa Tribune), April 10 2006.
  9. ^ Rado, Diane. "Harris backed bill aiding Riscorp" St. Petersburg Times, August 25 1998.
  10. "Katherine Harris" NNDB, Accessed April 30 2006.
  11. Gleason, Brian. "Will Harris get dragged into finance scandal?" Sun and Weekly Herald, June 28 2005.
  12. "Katherine Harris" infoplease, Accessed on April 30 2006.
  13. Morgan, Lucy. "Millions for Harris' trips under review" St. Petersburg Times, July 31 2001.
  14. Brown, Michelle Burton. "How Technology Influenced the Outcome of the 2000 Elections, the DC Sniper Case & 9/11" Women's Independent Press, December 2004.
  15. " The Truth About ChoicePoint, DBT and the 2000 Elections in Florida" ChoicePoint, Accessed on April 30 2006.
  16. Bousquet, Steve. "New voter rolls arouse more fears." St. Petersburg Times. December 2, 2001.
  17. Palast, Greg. "The great Florida ex-con game: How the 'felon' voter-purge was itself felonious." Harper's Magazine. March 1, 2002.
  18. "Harris: Papers doctored makeup in photos." Associated Press. August 4, 2005.
  19. "SNL Archives|Impression", The SNL Archives, Accessed April 30 2006.
  20. March, William. "Harris Says Newspapers `Colorized' Photographs, Distorting Her Makeup" The Tampa Tribune, August 3 2005.
  21. "Katherine Harris 'Oops' On Terror" CBS News, August 5 2004.
  23. "Man accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris" CNN, October 27 2004.
  32. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060511/news_1n11nation.html
  33. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060226/NEWS/602260714
  41. "Harris loses 4th chief of staff" Orlando Sentinel, June 8, 2006.

Notes

  1. Ibid.
  2. Rado, Diane. " Harris backed bill aiding Riscorp." St. Petersburg Times. August 25, 1998.
  3. "Mid-career Master in Public Administration." John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 2005.
  4. Tapper, Jake. "The woman under fire." Salon. November 13, 2000.
  5. Ibid.

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