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Sarasota News Leader September 21, 2012 rity of our election process," as Boyd put it in a campaign statement — a need never proven by either candidate or his party. Challengers Adam Tebrugge and Liz Alpert recognize this ploy for what it is — an overt attempt to dilute the democratic process in Florida by disenfranchising certain class- es of voters. Both have been outspoken in their opposition to these new state policies. As Tebrugge pointed out in a debate among legislative candidates at the Tiger Bay Club earlier this month, "It was clear that the majority party in the Legislature was try- ing to suppress the registration of voters around the state." If that were the only issue on which this election hinged, it would be enough to earn Tebrugge and Alpert our unqualified en- dorsement. But there are many other im- portant issues on which the Republican in- cumbents' positions are found wanting. Both incumbents favor eliminating the state income tax on corporations. They maintain that it places an untenable bur- den on businesses in Florida and stifles "job creation." Yet, the corporate income tax makes up less than 1.5% of state revenues. Moreover, a comprehensive annual ranking of states by CNBC — titled "America's Top States for Business" — found that Florida's rating for "Cost of Doing Business" was dragged down more by utility costs and property taxes than by its corporate income tax. Tebrugge and Alpert wisely oppose elimi- nating the corporate income tax. Page 68 The incumbents also are willing partici- pants in their party's legislative attacks on Citizens Property Insurance Co., the non- profit corporation that insures more Florida property than any other firm. They support efforts to force Citizens policyholders into the private market, in spite of the inade- quacies in that market that necessitated the creation and expansion of Citizens in the first place. Both Tebrugge and Alpert support main- taining Citizens as a viable insurer of last resort, while calling for efforts to reform the property insurance industry in our state. On other issues — from budget shortfalls to infrastructure preservation to school vouchers and standardized student testing — Tebrugge and Alpert bring thoughtful, intelligent consideration to issues of urgent importance to Florida's citizens. In the general election on Nov. 6, we urge voters to cast their ballots for Adam Tebrugge and Liz Alpert for state rep- resentative. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Leader welcomes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone num- ber of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Let- ter to the Editor" in the subject line. Letters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other factors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader.