Republican Primary Contenders Vie for Chance to Face Kosmas
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
By: Nicole Creston

August 17 -- When Central Florida Republicans go to the polls next week, they'll be deciding who will take on the area's two freshman Democrats in Congress. The GOP has high hopes of winning back the seats now held by Alan Grayson of Orlando and Suzanne Kosmas on the Space Coast.

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Five GOP candidates want to take Kosmas’ place. However, based on fundraising, the primary looks like a 3-way race between State Representative Sandy Adams, former Winter Park Commissioner Karen Diebel, and former Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller.

There are few major differences between Miller, Adams and Diebel on the issues. On healthcare, for instance, Miller’s on record saying he wants to repeal and replace the Obama administration’s new healthcare law. At the Christian Chamber of Commerce Candidates’ Forum in Orlando last week, Diebel and Adams echoed that sentiment.

"I strongly believe that we need to repeal and replace this healthcare bill," said Diebel.

"I think that we need to repeal and replace," said Adams.

The question is, replace it with what? Sandy Adams has served in the state House since 2002. She thinks healthcare is better addressed at the state and local level, not by the federal government. She’s got some experience with that.

"I was involved in legislation on Medicaid, when we were doing Medicaid in the state of Florida, and it helped with some of the prescription assistance," says Adams. "Because we were having a lot of mandates pushed down from the federal government, and a lot of people were having trouble affording their prescriptions."

Karen Diebel wants to increase private sector involvement. Her plan grew from her background as a business executive, and her experience running a private healthcare clinic for the uninsured and underinsured in East Orlando.

"We have a prescription program, we have outreach systems to the hospitals, we have the ability to refer out to specialists who donate their office time, says Diebel. "I’m a strong, strong believer that you have private solutions to public challenges. Because we did it."

Diebel believes these clinics can be duplicated across the country.

Craig Miller did not attend the Christian Chamber of Commerce forum and did not respond to requests for a separate interview.

Perhaps the biggest issue in District 24 is the future of the Space Coast after the space shuttle program’s expected end next year. The candidates say they’ll fight the White House plan to cancel most of NASA’s Constellation program. It was supposed to send astronauts back to the moon.

Adams says President Obama’s initiative to explore deep space would take too long to get off the ground. "All the research, technology, development…we can’t wait until 2020 or 2025. We’ll be so far behind other countries if we do so."

The White House says the Space Coast will get $40 million for retraining and economic development when the shuttle program ends. But Diebel says retraining money would be better spent keeping these already highly-trained workers in their current jobs.

"We have 23,000 people who are at risk of losing their jobs in the next 13 months on the Space Coast," says Diebel. "This is our community of people that have expertise in science, technology, engineering and math. And this is, number one, a national asset. Space is the ultimate high ground."

The candidates agree space is a national security issue. They feel the same about oil drilling. They both say the recent BP oil spill hasn’t changed their support for offshore drilling. Craig Miller is on record supporting it, too.

When it comes to immigration, both Diebel and Adams say they’re in favor of Arizona’s new law that would have police check a person’s immigration status if they suspect that person’s in the U.S. illegally. Sandy Adams says she’s not involved with the Arizona-style bill just introduced in Florida, but she’s sponsored a similar piece of legislation several times since 2007.

"The bill encompassed E-Verify, SAVE [Act]," says Adams. "There were a lot of different aspects to the piece of legislation, but very similar to Arizona."

E-Verify is a web-based system that allows businesses to determine employees’ work status. The SAVE Act focuses on immigration law enforcement.

Adams says her bill and her 17 years as an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy prove she’s acted against illegal immigration. But she doesn’t specify what she’ll do if she goes to Congress.

Karen Diebel says the U-S doesn’t need any additional laws on the books. She favors enforcing the laws that are already there. "We have tools at our disposal…if we can strengthen them, fund them and really execute and hold accountable the systems that we have in place, we can tackle them effectively."

Craig Miller is taking some heat over immigration. When he headed up the National Restaurant Association in 2006, he publicly supported a path to legal citizenship for illegal immigrants. But now, Miller’s on record opposing it and supporting Arizona’s legislation, too.

Attorney Deon Long and American Airlines pilot Tom Garcia are also on the Republican primary ballot, with similar positions but much less campaign cash. On the Democratic side, Congresswoman Kosmas is financially miles ahead of her Democratic primary opponent, real-estate executive Paul Partykas, and she’s raised more campaign money than all five Republican contenders combined.