SPECIAL OF THE DAY: The “90 ft.” Waffle

Crist-Crossin’ Charlie’s House of Waffles

Crist: It Looks Like Good Advertising To Me. "Charlie Crist says he likes the way he looks, dominating downtown Tampa's landscape on giant banners placed two blocks apart. ‘It looks like good advertising to me,' the Republican candidate for governor told the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday, as a week of debate over the legality of his signs waged on. He stands with the Florida Republican Party's explanation that the banners are ‘only temporary' and not restricted by city ordinances if they come down in 30 days, even though code enforcement officials called the banners illegal and the city attorney has backed the ruling." [St. Petersburg Times, 10/27/06]

Knowing Very Well Sign Was Illegal, Crist Puts A Second One Up. "On Tuesday, the city of Tampa sent out a notice saying a huge Charlie Crist for governor sign on the side of a high-rise in downtown Tampa was illegal. On Wednesday came the response from Crist, who as state attorney general is Florida's top law enforcement officer: Another gigantic, apparently illegal sign on another building a few blocks away." [Tampa Tribune, 10/27/06]

Under Public Pressure, Crist Pulls the Signs Down ‘In An Abundance Caution'.  "Huge campaign signs which violate city codes in Tampa and St. Petersburg will be removed, a Crist campaign spokesperson says. Three big signs on office buildings in Tampa and St. Petersburg, promoting Charlie Crist as ‘the people's governor,' are coming down. Spokesman Jeff Sadosky of the Republican Party of Florida, which is paying for the signs, confirmed that Crist's campaign asked that the controversial signs be removed. Tampa city officials complained that the signs violated local codes because of their size, but Crist and the state GOP had refused to take them down, saying they were only temporary. Crist's spokeswoman, Vivian Myrtetus, added: ‘In an abundance of caution, we have asked the Republican Party of Florida to take the temporary signs down.'" [St. Petersburg Times online, 10/27/06]