Tampa Times
August 19, 1967
Ron Hutchison
State Atty. Paul Antinori sounds like a candidate—a candidate for Congress. While Antinori is playing it close to his well tailored vest, insiders now expect him to challenge Congressman Sam Gibbons next year for the Hillsborough seat on Capitol Hill. The state attorney shies away from formally declaring his intentions, but discreetly leaves the door open for announcement of his candidacy early next year.
WORD FROM THE prosecutor’s office is the young state attorney is receiving encouragement to make the race and he is known to be testing the political winds for favorable signs. During the coming months he will circulate through the county, evaluating and measuring his chances and those of the politically battle-hardened Gibbons. Four years ago, Antinori was a political unknown; today he is a heavyweight contender in Tampa politics. When the fight for Gibbons’ spot begins, it is expected Antinori will be there to answer the bell.
ANTINORI is the county’s most controversial officeholder and there are few persons with neutral opinions about him. He carries the potent credentials of a winner, but must be ready to face his minuses in a tough fight with Gibbons. The state attorney unseated an entrenched opponent by the effective use of television and a spellbinding speechmaking power that captivated voters. During the intervening years in office, Antinori has polished his use of TV and the speaker’s platform to a high gloss. A cinch to challenge an opponent to debate, Antinori would have a distinct advantage and score heavily in face-to-face encounters.
THE STATE ATTORNEY will be popular with Latin voters and will find many dedicated, volunteer workers in these ranks. Antinori’s fights with local news media have won him a certain following in the county. These battles plus his successful prosecutions of School Supts. J. Crockett Farnell of Tampa and Woodrow Darden of Titusville will add to the Antinori “champion of the underdog” image. Other trial victories here and around the state have given Antinori the aura as a “War on Crime” field general. In this area, Antinori has been closely linked with Gov. Claude Kirk and some of the Republican governor’s popularity could reflect on the Antinori campaign.
ANTINORI WILL HAVE the advantage of being on the offensive in a campaign against the incumbent. He will be able to constantly attack the officeholder’s record and keep his opponent off balance. Finally, the state attorney will have one plus going for him that will be hard to top—ambition. Antinori will present a perpetual motion campaign fueled by his ambition for higher office. In a close race and the outcome in doubt, Antinori could expect to be the target of heavy broadsides and guerrilla sniping. The background of Antinori’s family and its alleged past links with the Underworld would definitely come into play in a tossup election. Although not responsible for misdeeds of relatives, Antinori would still be the target for innuendoes about criminal records and associations of his family.
THE HANDLING of a gambling case against Antinori’s uncle Frank Diecidue, may prove embarrassing. Diecidue, identified to a Senate sub committee as an alleged Mafia member, now has a four-month-old case pending in Tampa, awaiting action by the governor’s office. These will be hauled from the closet and rattled during a campaign. Antinori’s absenteeism from his office, doing the governor’s bidding in other parts of the state while Tampa’s trial conviction rate hovers near 60 per cent would be another minus factor. Reports of a previous registration in the Republican Party by Antinori before he switched to Democrat would become a negative element. Antinori’s scraps with newsman may have cost him valuable free public relations contacts with the public and could cost him a close race, a la Richard Nixon.
THE NEGRO COMMUNITY might support an Antinori foe because the state attorney has failed to hire a Negro to his staff in any job. This, plus his ruling that the killing of Negro suspected burglar Martin Chambers was justifiable, would be detrimental. The Negro killing by a policeman touched off Tampa’s June riots. Antinori’s later placing the case of a Negro member of the “White Hats” group on the trial absentee docket drew resentment from both Negroes and whites. The strange handling of such state attorney investigations as the Hospital and Welfare Board, obscene books, and the Tampa Fire Department, will be resurrected. The lack of a bright military record will be a minor item, but it will cost Antinori votes, especially if Vietnam is the major issue.
THE FACT THERE HAVE BEEN no major campaigns in three years to battle gambling by hard-hitting grand jury investigations or stiff trial prosecution will figure in the election. Tampa’s rising crime rate will receive the spot1ight in this area. Pressure will be another detrimental factor to the state attorney. He will be under pressure of a major gamble— risking the safety of another four-year term as state attorney for Gibbon’s job. Whatever the outcome, the election won’t be dull.
Congressman Sam Gibbons isn’t “blowing his cool” over the prospect of State Atty. Paul Antinori as an opponent in next year’s election. Gibbons has remained aloof and refused to be stampeded by persistent rumors the young prosecutor is girding for a free-for-all, no holds barred bid for the congressional seat. The envy of some senior Capitol Hill colleagues for his entree to the White House, Gibbons thus far has kept mum about the coming election and any possible challengers.
A TOUGH, EX-PARATROOPER and seasoned politician, Gibbons is aware a battle with Antinori would be the toughest of his congressional career. During the next six months, Gibbons and his supporters will be taking a long look at the congressman’s strong selling points and those which will need shoring up. Gibbons can list several pluses on the credit side of the ledger. His association with President Johnson will be a plus from the standpoint of getting national help in a close race. Gibbons could call for, and receive, national party help in the area of campaign funds and nationally prominent party leaders as campaign boosters. LBJ is known to regard Gibbons as one of the brightest, young men in Congress and would make a special effort for Gibbons if the race appeared close.
THE PRESIDENT and Gibbons have differed on the proposed tax increase and the conduct of the Vietnam War. These will be strong selling points for the Tampa lawmaker. Gibbons met with the President last week and declared he favors “tax reform, not tax hike.” This will be remembered by the voters back home. The congressman called for increased use of air power in Vietnam and here again split with the White House. But this week, the use of air power was stepped up and Gibbons chalked up another plus. A strategically planned fact-finding mission to Vietnam by a congressman always impresses constituents and this might be in Gibbons’ future plans.
OF THE TAX HIKE and the war, Gibbons told The Times: “I have talked with the President and told him tax reform would be better than a tax increase. I have said I don’t subscribe to an across the board tax increase and that the tax bill will be changed before its passed.” “Nobody loves the Vietnam War and it’s a tough thing to make decisions on. I have advocated greater use of air power and have discussed the problem frankly with the President.” Gibbons considers his role in the ouster of former New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell as a “break-even proposition.” It will win him votes with conservatives and cost him votes with Negroes. Countering the loss of Negro votes will be the channeling of federal funds to Tampa for “War on Poverty” programs. These programs have aided more than 1,700 persons in securing employment.
GIBBONS ALSO FOUGHT hard for a Veterans Administration Hospital here and a
medical school for the University of South Florida. Good press relations
and a keen awareness of keeping the folks back home informed of what he’s doing
in Washington will benefit Gibbons in a close race.