Tampabay.com
JULY 06, 2007

From the builders, 'a sincere apology'

The Florida Home Builders Association has issued a "sincere apology" after an earlier web site posting that threatened to withhold campaign donations to legislators in 2008 unless they sponsored the group's priority: a cap on impact fees on new homes. The mea culpa message from president John Wiseman in an open letter to lawmakers notes that the builders' PAC met on Thursday and "reconsidered its prior action."

The builders' earlier stance smacked of a quid pro quo. It also was ironic. It was the same builders group whose political director, Wayne Bertsch, prompted then-Senate President Tom Lee to return a $20,000 campaign donation 18 months ago after criticism of Lee's fund-raising activities. See it here.

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