As Senate mulls stimulus, Florida waits

by James Oliphant

CAPE CORAL, Fla.--Jim Burch is a proud man from a proud town. But it has come to this.

"It breaks my heart to say we need help," he says.

This sprawling city on Florida's southwest coast values its tradition of not relying on government aid, of preferring to be left alone. That practice had sustained it through periods of dramatic growth.

But when the Florida housing market collapsed, Cape Coral tumbled with it. You can now buy a nice home near the water here for just over $100,000--70 percent less than it would have cost a few years ago. Unemployment has spiked over 10 percent largely because of the loss of construction work.

For Burch, the mayor of Cape Coral, the economic stimulus being debated in Congress might be a godsend. It could mean millions of dollars for work projects and thousands of jobs. For one thing, the city could re-start its upgrade of its sewer and water systems. The project stopped halfway through several months ago when the city ran out of funds for it--and more than a thousand jobs went away with it.

But to Burch's consternation, his representative in Congress, Connie Mack IV, voted against the $819 billion stimulus package last week in the House. Now the bill is bogged down in the Senate as Democrats and Republicans try to slash spending provisions in an effort to make the legislation more politically palatable.

Like many Republicans, Mack was not been shy in his opposition to the bill.

"History has shown us that no nation has ever spent its way to prosperity," Mack said in a statement the day of the vote. "Instead of throwing money at government programs that will do little to spur job creation, we should enact pro-growth solutions that allow private businesses--and not the government--to become the catalysts for job creation and economic growth."

"He's the poster boy against it," Burch says.

Burch sent a letter to Mack in January, asking that "you recognize our area as one being on the critical list for aid and assist us in any way that you can." Last week, after the House vote, Mack's office called to tell Burch the congressman had appreciated his input.

Mack's opposition has resulted in an unusual political dynamic in this part of the country. State, county, and municipal officials in Florida are eager for stimulus dollars to help revive the region's flagging economy, but Mack and other Florida Republicans have been united in their opposition to the package. This week, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) seemed to indicate he would support the measure if it contained some foreclosure relief for homeowners and mortgage companies.

Burch's Cape Coral isn't alone in reeling from the economic downturn. Across the Caloosahatchee River, neighboring Fort Myers is looking at laying off workers if new sources of revenue aren't found. The government of Lee County, where both cities are located, took that step last week, cutting 19 workers because money wasn't flowing in from construction permits.

The county holds an unfortunate distinction you won't find in the tourism brochures: it's the foreclosure capital of America. Estimates have the foreclosure rate at a staggering 1 out of 55 properties. Wide swaths of homes and businesses stand vacant. Banks, auto dealerships, restaurants, all shuttered and ghostly.

The county layoffs came two days after the House voted on the stimulus package. The local newspaper splashed Mack's "no" vote across its front page, next to a story describing how the package would benefit the area.

Ray Judah, a Republican county commissioner, says he hopes Mack will "recognize the critical need for infusion of funds for capital projects and job creation."

Judah says boards like his, as well as the city councils and mayors in the region, are the ones "in the trenches. . . who clearly understand the importance" of the package.

Gary Aubuchon, the county's Republican representative to the Florida Legislature, adds that stimulus dollars would "enable commercial development and reduce unemployment."

Under the package, the state of Florida could receive as much as $10 billion. That's left Florida Republicans divided over the bill. The state's highest-profile Republican, Gov. Charlie Crist, has been a vocal nationwide advocate for the package, but the battle lines are all over the state. The mayor of Miami, Manuel Diaz--a former Republican turned independent--is the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a leading lobby for the stimulus. But the congressional Republicans from South Florida remain steadfastly against it.

Few believe Mack's vote puts his political fortunes here in jeopardy. For one thing, the stimulus is likely to pass, allowing the congressman to maintain his stance as a fiscal hawk with no risk to his constituents. For another, as a brand name in Florida--he's the son of the former senator and the great-grandson of the Hall of Fame manager--he's faced minimal opposition in his three bids for re-election.

However, some believe Mack may choose to run for Senate next year to replace the retiring Martinez. If he does, Democrats will be waiting to remind him of his vote. "Americans will hold Republicans accountable for being the party of no economic help and status quo policies," says Jennifer Crider, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Mack will have another opportunity to weigh in on the package before it is sent to the White House. Gary Szolosi, a real estate broker in Fort Myers, says Mack should not surrender. "In the long run," he said, "[the package] is going to hurt more than help."

Szolosi says the housing market is slowly coming back to life. Buyers are flocking to the area to take advantage of the depressed prices, he says. And he doubts the money in the spending bill will create enough jobs to offset the damage to the federal debt.

"The opportunity now is so great," Szolosi said. "We have the same sun, the same sands, the same beaches."

But local officials say the region won't come back to life without federal help.

"We try in the public sector to keep up with the growth. The growth was going to pay for it. Now the growth has stopped," says Saeed Kazemi, Fort Myers' interim public works director.

Kazemi says the stimulus package could deliver as much as $300 million and create 3,400 jobs in Fort Myers, which faces a revenue shortfall. The city has a list of "shovel-ready" projects ready to go when the money comes in.

"There are some issues where politics needs to be put aside," Kazemi says. "This is needed right now."

Cape Coral's Burch feels so strongly about the prospective package, he traveled to Washington last month to help press for its passage. A land surveyor by trade, he only recently became involved in politics as first a city council member and then the mayor. "We are as deserving a city as any in this country," Burch says.

His town, a sprawling, lush, largely residential area cross-cut by more canals than Venice, Italy, has been battered by the foreclosure wave. The city government has taken to cleaning up lots after homeowners have packed up and disappeared in the dark of night. City workers trim the lawns, pull the weeds, and drain the swimming pools, all in an effort to maintain some semblance of property values.

Completing the water and sewer project would spur much-needed commercial growth, he says, which would rescue the city from its overdependence on housing values and increase revenues. "It's economic development," he says. "We can create thousands of jobs that will last up to three years to get us through this recessionary period."

Outside his window, a pair of dark-feathered ducks strutted across the green lawn of City Hall. "Politics has no business where the people and the despair I see in my city are concerned," he says. "If there is money I can get a hold of that can help my community, I'm going to do that."