First in a series of profiles of candidates running in the 6th Congressional District, which runs along the northern east coast of Florida.
Fred Costello isn't a "machine" Republican -- and he has the record to prove it.
The state representative from Ormond Beach was the only GOP member of the House to oppose the controversial Medicaid bill, HB 5301, that passed this session.
He introduced six bills, none of which passed the 2012 Legislature.
And Costello says that if he gets to Congress, he will vote his conscience, not the party line. That includes supporting the No Budget, No Pay bill endorsed by the bipartisan group No Labels.
But Costello is not some fringe maverick wearing a hairshirt. He has never lost an election -- having previously served on the Ormond Beach City Council and as mayor of that community -- and his 2010 run for the state House was endorsed by Florida's consummate Republican, former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Looking to Capitol Hill, Costello, a comprehensive cosmetic dentist, says it's time for Congress to drill deep.
"We have to cut, even if we're voted out of office. That means cutting things people like. Social Security and Medicare are going to be different," he says.
Costello ticks off the federal departments he would eliminate, and, unlike Texas Gov. Rick Perry, he doesn't have any trouble naming them.
"Energy, Education, Health and Human Services, the EPA ... we need to cut $250 billion every year for the next six years," he says.
Describing himself as "a policy wonk" and "a numbers guy," Costello notes that Americans have "the same per capita debt as Greece -- $47,000." And to reduce that figure, Costello says job creation is job one.
Bringing his agenda home to CD 6, where Flagler County has one of Florida's highest unemployment rates, Costello believes that costs are increasing because of chronic joblessness.
Targeting what he calls the axis of "too much taxation, regulation and litigation," Costello reasons that growth and development will kick-start jobs if government will simply get out of the way.
Costello ran against "growth management" rules that he said were strangling private enterprise and economic growth.
"It took eight years to get a project permitted at Interstate 95," he recalls from his days as mayor of Ormond Beach. So he campaigned against the state Department of Community Affairs -- "the growth Gestapo" -- to streamline permitting and building requirements.
Costello also took on the state's pension system, whose required "enhancements" for police and fire retirees were busting the budgets of local governments.
For his efforts, Costello earned the enmity of bureaucrats and special interests -- and that made for a less-than-stellar record of legislative accomplishment during his first term in Tallahassee. Among his bills that failed to pass:
- A revenue-neutral tax reform proposal, which would have replaced the local school property tax with increases in the sales tax, and new levies on bottled water and Internet sales.
- A competitive consultant negotiation act to reform the current request-for-qualification process in government bidding.
- An emergency suspension order to at least temporarily revoke the prescribing privileges from physicians arrested for murder or violation of controlled substances.
- An ethics bill to bar legislators who receive a "personal gain" from a particular activity from participating in debate or voting on that issue.
- A bill that would allow individuals who fall behind in paying child support to continue to drive for "business purposes."
- Public pension reform that would scale back benefits that currently allow firefighters to retire at age 52 with annual packages exceeding $100,000.
Except for the driver's license bill, each of Costello's proposals ran into a buzzsaw of institutional opposition, ranging from the Florida Retail Federation to public employee unions to his own fellow legislators. The driver's license bill passed the House but "got lost" in the Senate, he notes.
In each case, he argues that the unvoiced interests of taxpayers and citizens at large were lost as well.
Costello's independent streak doesn't mean he can't collaborate with colleagues on legislation that doesn't neatly fit tea party/conservative orthodoxy.
For example, he supported Rep. Scott Plakon's energy bill that included tax credits for renewable energy while terminating a state target that 20 percent of future energy supplies be "renewable."
To tea partiers who supported the latter while opposing the former, Costello said tax credits can be effective "incentives."
The Orlando native's overriding philosophy promotes government closest to the people.
"The federal government shouldn't tell states what to do, and the state shouldn't tell local governments what to do," explains Costello, recipient of the Florida League of Cities' Defender of Home Rule Award.
Costello -- whose wife, Linda, is running for the Volusia County School Board while home-schooling their 11-year-old granddaughter -- says he won't sign any pledges as a congressional candidate.
"I'm 100 percent Republican, but I'm a free agent," he declares.
Citing as an example the No Labels' proposal to halt congressional pay if lawmakers cannot pass a budget on time, Costello said, "I'd support it even if the GOP leadership didn't like it."
And the dentist, who counts state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, and two former Miss Floridas as patients, chuckles when asked about his prospects for besting three other Republicans in the newly drawn and incumbent-free CD 6.
"I'm the only candidate in my home field. I've lived and worked here for 35 years," he says.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
