Florida: Sixth District

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R)

Cliff Stearns (R) Elected 1988, 10th term up
Born:	04-16-1941, Washington, DC
Home:	Ocala
Education:	George Washington U., B.S. 1963
Religion:	Presbyterian
Marital Status:	married (Joan)
Military Career:	Air Force, 1963–67.
Professional Career:	Data Control Systems Inc., 1967–68; Negotiator, CBS, 1969–70; Pres., Stearns House Inc., 1972–present.
DC Office	2370 RHOB, 20515 202-225-5744 Fax: 202-225-3973 Website: www.house.gov/stearns
State Offices	Gainesville:352-337-0003; Ocala:352-351-8777; Orange Park:904-269-3203;
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The flat grasslands of central Florida, once bypassed by southbound tourists heading for the coast, has over the past two decades become a prime growth area in this high-growth state. Central Florida’s economy once depended on farming, on tourists getting off the interstate, and on state institutions, most notably the University of Florida in Gainesville. Then retirees began settling in places like the bluegrass country around Ocala, one of America’s prime horse-breeding grounds, and Leesburg, perched on a narrow spit of land between Lake Griffin and Lake Harris. Initially, these areas were studded with trailer parks and mobile home developments, but the 1990s brought more upscale development, albeit nothing approaching the high-rise apartments and gated communities that line the coasts further south. At the same time, the large citrus groves have been cut back—victims of booming property values, plus environmental changes that have resulted in more diseases. Some of this development is at the intersection of Lake, Marion and Sumter Counties in the rapidly expanding “Villages” retirement community. This part of central Florida grew by 62% from 1990 to 2004.

The 6th Congressional District of Florida includes much of central Florida and also part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, connected by a strip of lightly populated counties. In the south it includes parts of Marion and Sumter Counties, around Ocala, and a corner of Lake County. In the north it includes the western part of Jacksonville’s Duval County and most of Clay County just to the south. In between it includes most of Alachua County except for Gainesville. On balance, this is a Republican district. Alachua is one of the few Florida counties to regularly vote Democratic, but its most heavily Democratic precincts are located in the strongly Democratic 3d District. The country around Ocala and the Villages in the south is pretty heavily Republican; western Jacksonville and Clay County, with many military retirees, are even more Republican. In the 2006 governor’s race, Republican Charlie Crist won 73% of the vote in Clay County, his second-highest percentage in any of Florida’s 67 counties.

The congressman from the 6th District is Cliff Stearns, a Republican first elected in 1988. Stearns grew up and attended public schools in Washington, D.C., and served in the Air Force. In 1972 he went into Florida real estate and ended up owning five motels, three restaurants and other property. He was “someone who works in the community, goes to church with his neighbors, and doesn’t live in Tallahassee,” as he put it in his 1988 campaign, when he beat the favorite, state House Speaker Jon Mills, 54%-46%. “I was elected to put the federal government on a diet,” Stearns said, and went on to compile a conservative voting record, though less so on foreign policy. Since losing a low-level leadership contest in 1994, he has been an occasional maverick. He bucked party leaders on NAFTA, IMF funding and normal trade relations with China. He complains about the growth in the federal deficit since George W. Bush took office. “We used to be the party of accountability and fiscal responsibility,” he said. He wants to end the automatic cost-of-living increases for members of Congress.

Stearns has become an active and productive legislator. On the Veterans Committee, he sponsored a research center on Gulf War syndrome and won new medical facilities and benefits for disabled vets. On Energy and Commerce, he has worked on health care and Internet policy. He enacted a bill that encourages states to permit asthmatic children to carry and self-administer medication at school. After failing to win the chairmanship of the Telecommunications Subcommittee, Stearns became chairman of the revamped Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, where he took on many Internet issues. In 2004, he won House passage of the bill to restrict abuses of computer spyware; he got committee approval of database protection legislation, but ran into jurisdictional squabbles with the Judiciary and Financial Services Committees. His Do-Not-Call Implementation Act became law, authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to establish a national registry of consumers who opt out of telemarketing calls. He helped to enact the anti-spam law that requires most commercial e-mail to be labeled and have a valid return address. In October 2005, he enacted a bill limiting lawsuits against the firearms industry. The House also passed a bill with his provision to protect consumers from price-gouging during fuel emergencies. He backed a measure that opened parts of the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas leasing but he opposed new drilling in Florida waters. He held hearings on the U.S. Olympic Committee and on problems in college athletics, including gambling and recruitment. But Stearns suffered some setbacks, even while Republicans held the majority. The House defeated his proposal for a Federal Boxing Commission, with enforcement of uniform standards, and he lost on an amendment in the House to prohibit funds for ballot and language assistance under the Voting Rights Act. Although some critics contend that he could have done more on oversight of product-safety issues, committee Democrats were surprised by his relatively nonpartisan and productive course. His role appeared likely to diminish with the changing dynamics of Democratic control.

At home, he has faced no problems. In 2006, his reelection with 60% in his third contest with retired Navy officer David Bruderly was his lowest since 1990.

Committees

• Energy & Commerce (4th of 26 R)
  Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection; Telecommunications & the Internet (RMM); Environment & Hazardous Materials.
• Veterans' Affairs (2d of 13 R)
  Oversight & Investigations; Health.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 8
• Area size: 3,026 square miles
• Urban Population: 69.4%
• Rural Population: 30.6%
• Population 2000: 639,295
• Population 2005 (est): 741,103
• Median Income: $36,846
• Poverty Status: 13.4%
• Military Veterans: 18.3%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 78.9% White; 11.9% Black; 2.2% Asian; 0.3% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 1.4% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 5.2% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 10.7% German%; 9.1% Irish%; 8.9% English%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 21.7%; White collar 61.4%; Gray collar 16.9%;