TAMPA -- Republican Congressional candidate Eddie Adams Jr. recently earned an appointment to the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority and has quickly asserted himself.

As a member of the authority, which oversees Tampa General Hospital's lease of government land on Davis Islands, he's been asking questions about the hospital's hiring of minority contractors. Leadership at the previously public hospital has faced criticism through the years of having a weak record of rewarding minority owned firms, particularly black-owned firms, with contract work.

Adams presented his questions in writing Monday during the quarterly meeting of the government agency. It appeared on stationary for his Eddie Adams Jr. for U.S. Congress stationery, which raised a few eyebrows of the other board members.

Asking about the appropriateness of effectively campaigning during a meeting of a governmental agency on which he serves, Adams said it was the only stationery he had available. He said it wouldn't happen again.

An interesting side note: Adams' campaign stationery makes no mention of his Republican party affiliation. He is making his third bid for the Democrat-leaning 11th Congressional district, a seat held by Kathy Castor, who has handily defeated Adams during the last two elections.

-- Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer