ST. PETERSBURG -- Former City Council member Bill Foster said he has hired a consulting firm known for unusually negative ads to run his campaign.

The Mallard Group also ran Foster's council campaign in 2003. The Clearwater firm is known for cutting down the competition, but Foster said he will run a clean campaign.

"I will not go negative at all. It’s
going to be issue-driven and will have nothing to do with what the
others are saying," he said in an interview earlier this month.

Campaign consultants, Foster said, "all
can go below the belt. It's within the control of the candidate to keep
everything positive."

He said he might file his campaign paperwork this week, but will definitely file by the end of the month. Candidates cannot raise or spend campaign money until they file to run.

"It's still so early," he said. "The key is you don't want to exhaust your volunteers too early."

Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer

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