Linda Bird tells Insurance Companies: "Thanks, but No Thanks."

Renews Pledge to accept NO contributions from those connected to Big Insurance Linda Bird, Democratic candidate for Senate District 25, has reaffirmed her stand on refusing support and influence from those in the insurance industry after it was discovered that a small donation of $100 came from a local insurance broker.   "In combing through our finance reports, we noticed that a small contribution came from a local supporter who happens to work for the insurance industry here in Florida," said Bird.  "Normally a $100 check would not get flagged, but we've been very stringent, sourcing every dollar received so as to keep our promise to the voters." According to Mara Leventhal, campaign manager for Linda Bird, a campaign worker deposited a $100 check from a local insurance broker via campaign mailers distributed at a community event.  It should be noted that Florida Campaign Finance law does not require occupation disclosure on any contributions below $100, but when the transaction was discovered, the campaign refunded the amount to the donor. "No matter what my opponent claims, Florida's insurance companies do not, and will not have a stake in my campaign," said Bird. "The important thing to note, we have made  -- and will continue to make, every effort to track every dollar we receive this election cycle and keep the hands of Big Insurance off this campaign," said Bird.  "If Republican Jeff Atwater is as serious as he claims in his ads about being an insurance reformer, he'll follow our example and return the over $90,000 in insurance contributions he's received this election cycle."