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Democrats sparring in race for House District 70 seat

 
Wengay Newton was on the St. Petersburg City Council.
Wengay Newton was on the St. Petersburg City Council.
Published July 14, 2016

Weeks before ballots hit mailboxes, the three Democratic candidates vying to represent House District 70 are starting to jab at each other.

The contest pits former St. Petersburg City Council member Wengay Newton, 52, against political novices Dan Fiorini, 60, a small-business owner, and lawyer Christopher "CJ" Czaia, 56.

Fiorini and Czaia lack name recognition in parts of the district, but both men said Newton's prior service on the City Council doesn't give him an advantage.

"What did he ever do on council?" Fiorini asked after meeting with Tampa Bay Times editors. "He was always on the losing side of 7-1 votes."

"He's known, but people aren't enamored with him," Czaia said.

Both men criticized Newton for always being on the losing end of legislation votes.

Newton, who served under three mayors during his eight years on the City Council, welcomed the criticism.

"If it wasn't representative of the kids in District 7, I voted against it," he said about his council votes. "I'll wear that badge. That's a cross I'll bear."

House District 70 sprawls over parts of four counties — Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee — but the largest block of voters resides in the southern neighborhoods of St. Petersburg.

The seat is now occupied by Darryl Rouson, who is seeking a state Senate seat. The Democratic winner will face Republican Cori Fournier in November.

The candidates bring different backgrounds to the race.

Newton runs a photography business and spent 18 years at Xerox Corp. Fiorini owns a St. Petersburg custom frame business and once served as legislative aide for former state Rep. Helen Spivey.

Czaia, a former Manatee County Democratic official, has lived or worked in all four of the district's counties. He operates law offices in Tampa and Minnesota, focusing on immigration, personal injury and criminal cases.

Newton's years on the City Council is what sets him apart, he said. He touted his efforts to get a summer jobs program from nothing in 2008 to $850,000 in 2016. He says he will be a consensus builder if sent to Tallahassee.

"I'm excited," he said. "You can get things done that are detrimental to both sides. I know what works."

So far, Newton, who began his campaign in January 2015, is winning the cash race.

He has collected nearly $30,000 in contributions. Fiorini entered the race in February but has collected nearly $19,000. Czaia jumped in weeks ago with $11,000, but he loaned his campaign $10,000, according to state records.

The contest has turned negative.

Fiorini accused Newton of using campaign donations to buy personal meals and groceries and pointed to numerous purchases below $20.

"Unlike my opponent, I am not going to Chick-fil-A with campaign donations," Fiorini said. "That shows his judgment."

Campaign records show that Newton has made 85 expenditures for food, totaling more than $4,000. Of that, three fundraising events accounted for $1,100. In comparison, Fiorini has spent nearly $1,000 on meals for large events.

Not so fast, Newton says. He acknowledged he should have better detailed how he spent the money. Several "food" purchases from Walmart and Sam's Club should have been labeled as fundraising events, he added. He said he doesn't have money for paid staffers and buys meals when volunteers help him campaign.

Asked about the $27 he spent at Popeye's on June 22 in Orlando, Newton said: "We went to work the area for" contributions. The Florida Realtors Political Advocacy Committee donated $1,000 that day, records show.

One of Newton's donors isn't concerned with the purchases. Gulfport Realtor Poul Hornsleth said he attended an April event where Newton "put out a spread" for supporters.

"I don't see Newt as a splurger," Hornsleth said. "I'm very glad to continue to contribute to Wengay Newton."

Czaia has drawn criticism for an address he listed on campaign filings. The location, a UPS store at 200 Second Ave. S, sits outside district boundaries. Czaia said he uses the a mailbox location for his campaign. At a reporter's request, Czaia provided his driver's license to show that his primary residence is inside the district.

Fiorini, the president of a homeowner's association at a condominium complex, is not without blemishes.

He filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010 and blamed the Great Recession for causing him to lose "almost everything" after a business failed.

At the time, Fiorini reported more than $228,000 in liabilities and about $170,000 in credit card debt, records show. He said he opened his current business with "$15,000 to $17,000" from retirement accounts.

In April, one of Fiorini's neighbors told police he assaulted her during a dispute over an Airbnb situation at the complex. St. Petersburg police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said the department forwarded the complaint to prosecutors.

An officer, she said, could not establish probable cause and thought the woman had an old bruise on her arm that was "not consistent with a grabbing injury." The woman's statement also didn't match that of a witness, she added.

Fiorini scoffed at the accusation, saying he did "yell" at the woman during the encounter, but did not grab her. "Not everybody likes me," he said, laughing about problems he encounters when enforcing HOA rules.

While it's common for politicians to bring handlers or aides to the meetings, Fiorini pushed a stroller into the room. The stroller held Rolf Pierre, a 13-year-old dachshund, who did not bark or make a noise during the meeting. Fiorini later joked that he is called "crazy white guy with the dog" in south St. Petersburg.

As soon as Newton sat down for the meeting with editors, he displayed a frequent trait from his council days: Using his cellphone. He asked editors to delay the meeting for two minutes sending an email to a donor.

Times staff writer Charlie Frago contributed to this report. Contact Mark Puente at mpuente@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2996. Follow @MarkPuente