Orlando Sentinel:Florida attorney general's race: Democrats Dave Aronberg, Dan Gelber not so far apart

CAMPAIGN 2010
July 29, 2010|By Josh Hafenbrack, Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- For two months a year, they sit six feet from each other on the floor of the Florida Senate, battling the Republican majority in the state Legislature.

Now, two rising stars in the Democratic Party – Sens. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres and Dan Gelber of Miami Beach – are seeking the party's nomination for what is arguably the second-most powerful post in Florida government: attorney general, Florida's chief legal officer.

The race is a true tossup. Even veteran political strategists confess they have no clue about who will win the Aug. 24 primary. The contest has been far overshadowed by high-dollar slugfests for governor and U.S. Senate, also on the Aug. 24 ballot.

Indeed, Aronberg and Gelber have such similar voting records and views that they've mostly been squabbling over – and exaggerating -- minor differences.

Their most heated exchanges have occurred over Aronberg's criticism of Gelber and his now-former law firm of Akerman Senterfitt, which signed on to represent BP following the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout and spill in April.

Gelber didn't resign from the firm until June 24, saying he needed time to wrap up cases he was working on. But Aronberg insists his affiliation with the firm still could force Gelber to recuse himself from legal proceedings against BP. Florida and other states are likely to end up in a legal battle with BP over financial damages.

"I don't believe that the next attorney general for Florida should come from BP's law firm," Aronberg said.

Gelber calls that an "absurd, desperate allegation." Gelber said he had no knowledge of the BP case, and "within three weeks of hearing the firm had that client, I was gone."

Gelber, 49, has hit back at Aronberg on a different issue: qualifications. Gelber points to his nine-year tenure as a federal prosecutor in South Florida, from 1986 to 1994, and casts Aronberg as a career politician with a thin legal resume.

"I think while Dave's been preparing to run, I've been preparing to serve," said Gelber. "There's no other polite way to say it, but Dave is a junior lawyer on his best day. He's a very typical politician. He's been running for office from a young age, and he's never been a lawyer."

Aronberg, 39, worked in private practice after graduating from Harvard Law School and also served for 20 months as an assistant attorney general, prosecuting economic crimes, before being elected to the state Senate in 2002.