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Faircloth drops out of Hillsborough Commission race

Posted Oct 11, 2011 by Christian M. Wade

Updated Oct 11, 2011 at 01:13 PM

Brad Faircloth, a Republican and minister at Palma Ceia Primitive Baptist Church in Tampa, has dropped his challenge to Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner in the 2012 elections.

His decision narrows the current field of Republican contenders to two: Margaret Iuculano, vice president of the Foster Care Alumni Association for the State of Florida, and Steve Cona, a fifth-generation county resident who lives in Westchase who is making his first run for office.

Beckner, who has held the seat since 2008, has become a target for conservatives who want to oust him.

Iuculano, who has seen money from out-of-state electioneering groups flowing into her campaign coffers - including the American Conservative Strikeforce - recently launched a thinly veiled anti-gay attack on Beckner, the county’s first openly gay commissioner.

In a fundraising letter to supporters, Iuculano links Beckner to an “ultra-liberal style San Francisco agenda.”

Beckner, 40, a financial planner, was elected after soundly defeating incumbent commissioner Brian Blair. Campaign finance records show he has raised $75,000 for the election next year. Iuculano has raised about $27,000 and Cona hasn’t yet reported his contributions.

Republicans outnumber Democrats on the county’s seven-member governing body. Besides Beckner, District 3 Commissioner Les Miller is the only other Democrat.