With Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, facing term limits in 2014, attorney Sean Shaw, best known for his time as Floridas insurance consumer advocate and for being the son of former Chief Justice Leander Shaw, has emerged as a serious candidate to replace her in representing parts of Hillsborough County in Tallahassee.
Appointed by then-state CFO Alex Sink to serve as insurance consumer advocate back in 2008, Democrat Shaw left that post after the 2010 election cycle. Since leaving Tallahassee, he has remained active on insurance issues, handling insurance cases for the Merlin Law Firm and leading Policyholders of Florida. In his role with Policyholders of Florida, he has been a critic of Republican-led efforts to reform Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer of last resort.
Shaw is looking to get back to Tallahassee and filed to run for Reeds House District 61 seat back in January. Between entering the race on Jan. 15 and March 31, which marked the end of the first quarter, he posted impressive numbers for a non-incumbent Democrat. During that period, he raised almost $30,000 and spent less than $3,400.
But he already has drawn three opponents in the Democratic primary and this contest is already shaping up into an intriguing battle.
Businessman and community activist Edwin Narain will be no pushover for Shaw in the Democratic primary. While Narain entered the race in early April, and has not yet posted his fundraising numbers, he has an impressive background, serving on the Hillsborough County Headstart Policy Council board and the Hillsborough County Community Action board. Currently finishing his law degree at Stetson, he served as student body president when he was an undergraduate at the University of South Florida. Narain is currently an area manager for AT&T. On paper, at this early stage in the contest, he is looming as a major obstacle for Shaws return to Tallahassee.
Community activist Tatiana Denson is also running for the seat. Denson took on Reed in the 2012 Democratic primary. Reed spent more than $26,500 in the four-and-a-half months before the primary, while Denson spent just under $10,000. In the August primary, Reed utterly crushed Denson, winning 81 percent to 19 percent.
Undaunted by being buried in a landslide, Denson is back to run again, though her fundraising so far is nowhere close to what she was bringing in during her 2012 bid. Since entering the race in the middle of February, Denson has done little in the way of fundraising, bringing in only $25. Denson plans to ramp up her operations in the weeks to come.
Businesswoman Sharon Carter, a longtime Democratic activist who rose to serve as vice chairwoman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, filed her paperwork with the state on Monday. Like Denson, Carter plans to ramp up her operations in the coming weeks.
This is one of the most heavily Democratic legislative seats in the state and whoever emerges with the nomination should be headed to Tallahassee. After routing Denson in the primary, Reed cruised in November with no opposition in the general election.
At this early stage, Shaw has done well with a solid head start. But Narian and Carter bear watching. If Narian or Carter post impressive fundraising numbers for the second quarter of 2013, this race could rank as one of the more interesting Democratic primary contests of the 2014 election cycle.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News.
