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You thought you knew these candidates? In House District 38, it's Tent Killer challenging Little Danny

 
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.
Published Sept. 25, 2018

Most everybody knew John David Hayes simply as "David'' until 1982. The then-21-year-old skydiving enthusiast, however, made a bad landing on his 11th jump in Alberta, Canada, and soon everyone started calling him something else.

"TK.''

"Tent Killer,'' said Hayes, recalling how he missed the landing zone and squashed someone's temporary living quarters.

Today, at age 57, he remains TK and his name will be on the Nov. 6 election ballot as David TK Hayes in what he admits is an uphill bid to unseat Rep. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, for the District 38 state House of Representatives seat covering east and portions of central Pasco.

Daniel Wright Burgess Jr., 32, has been "Danny'' since his election to the Zephyrhills City Council at age 18, to his college and law school studies and rank as U.S. Army Reserve captain. He has been Zephyrhills mayor and a practicing attorney and now is a two-term state representative and the recently hired manager of the future operations division of the Pasco Sheriff's Office.

Actually, Burgess acknowledged, he wasn't always "Danny.'' His father is Danny. His 3-year old son, Daniel Wright Burgess III is "Baby Danny.'' The state representative is "Little Danny.''

"I'll never be able to get away from that,'' he said.

Hayes and Burgess are not strangers. Burgess said they've worked together on legislation dealing with worker's compensation and on coordinating a relief effort to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Irma.

"I like Danny. He's really a good guy,'' said Hayes. "I just disagree with him on about all of his policies.''

The outspoken native of the Canadian province of Newfoundland moved to Zephyrhills in 1995 to manage Skydive City after a 14-year career at IBM. He later became part-owner of the company and created an affiliate, JST Management, to own and operate the airplanes used in the parachute jumps. He became a U.S. citizen in 2008 because, he said, he wanted to vote.

Then he wanted to serve. City government didn't interest him.

"I'd run for president if I could,'' he said. He settled on the state House because Burgess, a two-term incumbent, was poised to be re-elected without opposition for the second consecutive time.

He said he wouldn't have stepped forward if a Democrat had run. He is running with no party affiliation, though his views align closely, but not entirely, with the Democratic Party's.

"I'd rather speak my mind, not their mind,'' he said.

For instance, he would gladly practice transactional politics to achieve important goals.

"I'm not so much of an absolutist,'' he said. "I'll leave your guns alone if you leave women alone.''

Women's issues, specifically state interference in women's reproductive rights issues, are one of his top concerns. Burgess co-sponsored the 2015 bill requiring physicians to wait 24 hours before treating women seeking abortions. Burgess counters that the state required waiting periods for firearm sales and for cremations, so why not abortions.

"I will never apologize for being pro-life,'' said Burgess. "If that issue sends me home, so be it.''

Hayes also is critical of Burgess and Tallahassee Republicans for favoring charter schools over the traditional public school system in Florida. He believes people will be willing to pay slightly higher property taxes to finance higher wages for teachers.

Burgess doesn't go that far, though he advocates for an elected commissioner of education and says of teachers, "I hate that they feel they are not valued.''

Burgess benefits from the fund-raising prowess that accompanies incumbency.

Through Aug. 31, he had raised $209,000. with significant amounts coming from political action committees and others in the health care and insurance industries. Local contributors include Pasco Commissioners Ron Oakley and Mike Moore, School Superintendent Kurt Browning and members of his staff, and local business owners, including Kevin Ryman and the Linville family. Hayes raised $12,000, more than half of which came from himself.

The district's nearly 113,000 registered voters include 43,442 Republicans, 36,395 Democrats and 32,500 affiliated with neither major party. Hayes trying to swing a majority of the independent voters, figuring the Democrats will prefer him to the Republican, anyway. Independent candidates haven't fared well in Pasco County. Two years ago, a no-party candidate who ran for an open county commission seat collected just 30 percent of the vote.

Burgess can point to the bounty included in the current state budget for Pasco County and his district, including nearly $30 million worth of infrastructure like the planned interchange at Interstate 75 and Overpass Road. He also was influential in devising the plan to borrow state dollars to complete the eastward expansion of State Road 56 with the loan repaid by developers' fees to Pasco County.

"Those are game-changers for economic development,'' said Burgess.

Burgess does have one sense of urgency in this campaign.

He and his wife, Courtney, are expecting their third child Oct. 26, two days after the start of early voting.

Election Day is Nov. 6.

Contact C.T. Bowen at ctbowen@tampbay.com or (813) 435-7306. Follow @CTBowen2.