07/25/2007

by Mike Sharkey/Staff Writer
Jacksonville Financial News & Daily Record

State Rep. candidate Mike Weinstein has yet to draw an opponent in his bid for the Dist. 19 seat currently held by Dick Kravitz. This week, Weinstein got two endorsements that just may deter anyone from running against him.

Both the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police and the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters publicly announced their support of Weinstein. Given that the election is more than a year off, the endorsements did come as a surprise. He said it was unusual to get endorsements of this magnitude when an election is more than a year out.

“I’m very pleased,” said Weinstein, who is the president of Take Stock in Children. He did note that qualifying is less than a year away. “It’s unusual, but it matches the leadership of the House (of Representatives).”

In the past few months, Weinstein has received the support of Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio and his two successors, State Reps. Ray Sansom and Dean Cannon.

Weinstein and Michael Munz, vice president of The Dalton Agency — which is acting as both Weinstein fundraiser and general consultant — both said the two endorsements will make it difficult for anyone to enter the race to succeed Kravitz, who cannot run again due to term limits.

“It’s a huge message-sender,” said Munz.

“It’s sobering for others to think about getting into a race against a candidate with lots of support financially and lots of grassroots support,” said Weinstein.

FOP President Nelson Cuba said Weinstein’s 15-year track record with the State Attorney’s Office and 30-year local community activism makes the endorsement logical.

“Mike has always been supportive of law enforcement and involved in state and local politics,” said Cuba. “When he gets elected, he will hit the ground running. I can see him in a leadership role immediately. He’s a natural choice for anyone in law enforcement and anybody who votes.”

Weinstein said he’ll spend the next five-plus months raising money and gathering support. He said he’d like to have $200,000 in his campaign account by the end of the calendar year.

“I will continue to go to the appropriate meetings, both the Republican Party and civic meetings, in St. Johns, Clay and Duval counties and continue to raise funds,” said Weinstein. “I want to have two good quarters, this one and the next.”