Last November, Openly gay Hillsborough County, Fla. Commissioner Kevin Beckner beat incumbent Brian Blair in his bid for re-election. Now, Blair — a former professional wrestler — has filed suit against the Victory Fund endorsee claiming that Beckner’s campaign “leveled false allegations of self-dealing and racism,” according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Beckner shot back, stating that everything his campaign said was rooted in fact. He also accused Blair of wasting taxpayer money with a frivolous lawsuit that would tie up the courts and distract him from his duties as a commissioner.

“If Brian Blair’s looking for someone to sue, he should sue himself,” Beckner said. “He defamed his own character and integrity when he consistently voted for special interests and self interests instead of the interests of the people of Hillsborough County.”

Barry Cohen, Beckner’s lawyer, accused Blair of being a sore loser.

“The people knew what he stood for as an elected official and they rejected him, and now he’s being a crybaby,” Beckner attorney Barry Cohen told the paper. “When he was a wrestler, I heard he was a crybaby when he lost. And he’s still a crybaby.”

The paper reports:

But a public official faces a difficult challenge in proving libel. They must show that the statements were both defamatory and made with reckless disregard for the truth.

“It sort of goes to the core of what the First Amendment was designed to protect: political speech,” said Dana McElroy, a media law attorney with the firm Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, in Fort Lauderdale. “Great latitude is given where you’re speaking in the context of a political campaign about a public official.

“That’s not to say that it’s impossible.”

Blair’s lawsuit is based on claims Beckner made in a series of mailers, as well as ads in Florida Sentinel Bulletin newspaper that were aimed at black readers.

Among the alleged false statements is that Blair “voted to spend $1 million of our tax money on his personal lake.”

The assertion was based on a St. Petersburg Times story that showed Blair voted to spend nearly that much to clean up a series of lakes, including one behind his home, even though it was not a top county priority. The amount spent on the entire cleanup ended up being much less.

By a vote of 5-2, Hillsborough County, Fla. commissioners blocked openly gay commissioner Kevin Beckner’s proposal to study the possibility of extending benefits to county employees’ same-sex partners. The officials told Beckner, who held the Victory Fund’s support in his impressive win last November, that their opposition stemmed from the county’s inability to expand benefits during the current economic climate.

“We’ve got to make a very loud statement to the community that we get it,” Commissioner Mark Sharpe told the St. Petersburg Times. “We’ll be labeled backward and antiprogressive. That’s not the case. The message is being fiscally sound.”

The paper reports:

Only Commissioner Jim Norman acknowledged the social component of the proposal. He said he believes marriage is between a man and woman, and that benefits for county employees should extend only to married couples.

“I’m a conservative, and I’m not ashamed of being a conservative,” he said.

Commissioner Rose Ferlita offered Beckner the lone vote of support. She said that while she opposes expanding benefits at this time due to the down economy, she supports letting another commissioner gather information with the help of the county staff.

Beckner framed the issue as one of equal rights rather than gay rights, and said he was broaching the topic Thursday only because the county is preparing to seek bids for a new county health insurance provider.

Before any of that could be debated, though, he had to overturn a policy adopted in 2004 at the urging of then-Commissioner Ronda Storms, barring all consideration of such benefits. It forbids county employees from spending time and money looking into extending domestic partner benefits, and was adopted after Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio offered them to city employees.

“It seems to be headline news when somebody is gay or somebody is lesbian,” said Victory Fund endorsee Kevin Beckner. “I still struggle to understand why it’s a breaking story when you talk about somebody being gay or being lesbian… This isn’t a lifestyle. This isn’t something we have chosen to be; it’s who we are.”

Hillsborough County Commission candidate Kevin Beckner spoke to Creative Loafing Tampa about his race and how his sexual orientation has factored into it. Conducting the interview alongside lesbian Pinellas County Commission candidate Darden Rice, Beckner said that his county should be welcoming to the gay community due in no small part to the economic opportunities presented by gay tourists.

Beckner is running against incumbent Brian Blair, who recently spoke out against a Day of Silence for gay youth.

The article reads:

Like Brian Blair’s attack on the “Day of Silence?” Have voters brought that up to you?

Beckner: People asked about the Day of Silence. I think you all as the media, you got it pretty right when you said that this is an election year; the Day of Silence has been going on for years, and why [is Blair] bringing this up now? … This was a precursor, a preemptive strike in his behalf to test the waters on how he can drive a social wedge issue back into the campaign. He’s been about dividing the community rather than uniting the community.

Have you had a chance to talk to any non-out gay officials for advice or words of encouragement?

Beckner: I’ve had a lot of conversations. And I think this is another thing people don’t realize, too. You’re talking about “openly gay” candidates, but they don’t realize we’re not so different from other people. I’ve been in a long-term, committed relationship for the last nine years. My significant other has greatly served this community in the role of law enforcement for over 23 years. A lot of times when people hear about openly gay, they have these stereotypes and don’t realize we’re not so different than everyone else. We all face a lot of the same issues and have a lot of the same concerns. I think a lot of times when people think of “Oh, the first openly gay candidate” they don’t realize that Hillsborough County and counties across the state have been electing officials for years that have been gay but have not chosen to talk about their personal life. People just need to know some of the highest-ranking officials in this state happen to be gay, and they’re doing a phenomenal job; they just don’t talk about it.

The opponent of gay Hillsborough County Commission candidate Kevin Beckner has sent out a call to his supporters to oppose a Day of Silence scheduled for April 25. In an e-mail, Commissioner Brian Blair told his supporters that the day, which is being held in the memory of 15-year-old hate crime victim Lawrence King, is inappropriate since the school system doesn’t allow a daily minute of silence for prayer.

The e-mail includes information provided by the American Family Association that warns “Your child’s classroom may be disrupted by gay activism” and encourages members to complain to their children’s school administrators.

Blair’s e-mail reads:

I have always believed that all citizens are equal and should be treated accordingly. On the other hand, no group of citizens should be given government sanction and support to promote their social and sexual agenda upon the rest of us and especially, our children. The attached email provides information about a “Day of Silence” for homosexuals in our schools. Considering the fact that the same school system does not want to allow just one Minute of Silence in the classroom for God, this is preposterous.

I encourage every parent of children in the participating schools to voice their opposition to this proposal to the school administration, the School Board the newspapers and to family and friends. Can you imagine asking for a “Day of Cheer for Heterosexuality?” If no action is taken to change this policy, then perhaps it is time for another surgical strike from the majority; a “Day of Abstention” from school participation might be considered.

In 2005, Blair voted to prevent the county government from acknowledging gay pride celebrations.

Kevin Beckner is a ten-year resident of Tampa Bay. He has a background in criminal justice and is a former police officer. Now, he is a certified financial planner and is active in LGBT advocacy groups including Equality Florida and the Human Rights Campaign.

To contribute to Kevin’s campaign, click here.