TALLAHASSEE - During the 20 years that Gerald Lewis has served as Florida's comptroller, he's endured a series of investigations and even an impeachment attempt.
Each time, he's survived. But the attacks haven't gone away.
Now his latest political challenger is accusing him of soliciting campaign money, hunting trips and cigars from a banker he regulated.
It's a heady drama for a political race that -- all sides agree -- might otherwise go unnoticed by most people.
Armed with accusations that paint Lewis - the state's top fiscal watchdog - as a lavish spender who failed to disclose gifts he received, Republican challenger Bob Milligan of Panama City is seeking to topple the longest-serving Cabinet member.
Lewis hasn't taken Milligan's charges sitting down. Lewis blasts the maneuvers as "election-season attacks."
He also notes that some of the claims are based upon testimony of John Christo Jr., who, along with his son, John Christo III, was removed from control of a bank in Panama City after an alleged misuse of $850,000 in bank funds.
"Mr. Milligan has become a captive of these hometown bankers of his, who have been dealt with harshly by us and the federal government," Lewis said.
The charges are also suspect, Lewis aides say, because they've been served up with the help of Raymond B. "Vic" Vickers and Craig Kiser - a pair of Tallahassee attorneys who have worked for Lewis but have become his bitter enemies.
Lewis' foes suggest the comptroller has been wined and dined at a world-famous restaurant in Paris and given cases of premium vodka from Russia and boxes of fine cigars from Cuba. And according to the allegations against him, he failed to report any of it, as the law requires.
Lewis spokesman Terry McElroy said Lewis may have smoked one of the banker's cigars and may have had a drink with him, but he denied accepting any boxes of cigars or bottles of liquor. And Lewis also firmly denies accepting free hunting trips.
"This is not only inaccurate and garbage. But it's recycled garbage," McElroy said, noting how some of the charges stem from an impeachment effort in 1992. He said it's an attempt by Milligan to slide away from the serious issues of the campaign.
Several of the charges, though, are new, including claims that Lewis has violated state election laws for improperly using campaign funds, and suggestions that Lewis violated the state's public records law by concealing office records dealing with CenTrust Savings & Loan, which collapsed in 1989 after a $2 billion government bailout.
"The real issues of the campaign are the dull, mundane issues that no one wants to talk about," McElroy said. He said the debate ought to be over matters such as Florida's response to the spread of interstate banking, the rights of lending institutions to sell mutual funds, and ways to improve state accounting techniques.
Instead, Milligan, a retired U.S. Marine general, has lashed out against Lewis, accusing him of being lax in regulating thrifts. Similar charges were made against Lewis during his successful Democratic primary fight with state Rep. Art Simon. Having captured the majority of editorial endorsements, Simon was widely seen as the candidate with the best odds this year to unseat Lewis.
"The bottom line is that he (Lewis) has done the things that need to be done to protect the people of Florida from a fiscal standpoint," said Barney Bishop, Lewis' campaign manager, mentioning effort s by the state to clamp down on bank fraud and implementation of a toll-free fraud hotline.
Besides, Lewis has survived hotter fires. Among them, a 1992 legislative investigation of Lewis' office over concerns about banks giving money to their regulator.
A report based on the 1992 inquiry, which sparked the failed impeachment effort, blamed Lewis for the failure of several savings and loans. Lewis has called the report one-sided and claims it's riddled with inaccuracies. He has consistently blamed weak laws and economic turmoil for the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
Milligan is hoping voters haven't forgotten that era, saying S & L failures are "still costing taxpayers."
State Republican Party leaders have also aimed to keep the heat on Lewis and have sounded warnings that an anti-incumbent mood among voters makes him vulnerable to defeat. A new poll, conducted for the Associated Industries of Florida, seems to somewhat support their point.
Lewis maintains a lead of about 9 percent over Milligan and may be beating him by two-to-one margins in South Florida, according to the survey. But in the critical Tampa Bay area, the race is much closer.
Some polling experts, such as Florida pollster Bob Joffee, say early surveys of Cabinet races are rarely very telling because most Cabinet campaigns don't go into high gear until the final two weeks before the election.
Tom Slade, the GOP chairman, sought out a dozen or more candidates to run for comptroller. He eventually found Gen. Milligan, who was considering a run for Congress.
Last month, Milligan proved himself worthy of the fight, narrowly defeating GOP challenger Chris Comstock, a St. Petersburg financial planner who ran against Lewis four years ago.
Bolstered by the primary victory, Milligan is pushing his plans to dismantle much of the command given the comptroller. He thinks the job of regulating banks ought to be done by a several-member commission, rather than a single comptroller.
"I want to reduce the size of this government. I'll take a meat axe to it," Milligan repeatedly promises.
Lewis, however, believes the comptroller's duties ought to stay intact and that the post ought to remain an elected one.
Milligan, whose campaign brochures are emblazoned with Marine slogans, such as "the best watchdog in the fight," considers his 39-year military career his strongest asset.
"When we're in the thick of it, I'm not going to fold under to a bunch of pressure groups," Milligan said. "I'm not a puppet of the industry."
But the 61-year-old New Jersey native - who moved to Florida in 1986, just long enough to meet the state's seven-year requirement to be on the Cabinet - faces long odds as a political newcomer.
Tested for two decades as a formidable candidate, Lewis maintains a low profile that belies his campaign abilities. While candidates for other Cabinet posts are scrapping for donations, Lewis already has more than $800,000 in his campaign account, most of which he had collected before the primary. By comparison, Milligan has raised about $76,000, of which $25,000 came from the state Republican Party.
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