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Boulware taking it to the House
Oct 6, 2008 - The State.com "South Carolina's Home Page"

The cars in the driveway at Raleigh and Melva Boulware’s home near Polo Road, a Cedilla Escalade and a Mercedes, are no surprise given the upscale neighborhood and his occupation as a radiation oncologist. Nor should it shock anyone during this election season that both cars bear bumper stickers supporting a Republican candidate.

A couple of things, though, might cause one to look twice. First, the candidate in question is running not in a South Carolina race, but for the Florida House of Representatives.

Second, the candidate is the Boulwares’ son Peter, who until recently was best known as a former all-state football player at Spring Valley High, an All-American at Florida State and, over eight seasons, the all-time sacks leader for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

Surprised? Get in line, right behind his parents.

“I was very shocked,” Raleigh (who goes by Jim), 61, said. “(Growing up,) he wasn’t an outgoing personality. He was very shy until the latter part of college.”

Added Melva, also 61: “At one point he said to me, ‘I’d rather not get an award if I have to get up and make a speech.’”

The news came in September. “We talk probably every day on the phone,” Melva said. “Peter said, ‘Mom, you won’t believe what I’m going to do.’

“He said, ‘I’m considering running for public office, and I’m probably going to do it.’” She laughed. “And sure enough, he did.”

A year later, Boulware — to use an NFL analogy — has survived the playoffs and is headed to the Super Bowl, Election Day. In late August, he won the Republican primary, capturing 84 percent of the vote to defeat Tallahassee businessman Jerry Sutphin.

His Democratic opponent, Tallahassee Community College professor Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, also is a political newcomer. (Incumbent Rep. Loranne Ausley is leaving because her seat is term-limited.) Still, in a district that voted 54 percent Democrat to 32 percent Republican in 2006, Boulware’s chances look similar to those of, say, last year’s New York Giants.

Boulware laughed at the football comparison.

“I’m just glad to be past the primary,” the 33-year-old said. “The toughest thing for me is the general election. ... I’m definitely a long shot.

“But I knew, getting in this race, it would be hard to do. I’m here to serve, to work as hard as I can, and hopefully voters won’t look at it as Republican or Democrat, but instead (will say) ‘Peter Boulware is best for this community and can help us.’”

Observers of the Tallahassee political scene say something like that could happen.

“Peter Boulware is the first serious Republican candidate ever in the Tallahassee legislative race,” said Bill Cotterell, longtime political writer for the Tallahassee Democrat. “Gov. Charlie Crist and the Republican leadership of the House are solidly backing him.”

For his candidacy announcement, Boulware was accompanied by the state Republican Party chairman and two state representatives, Ray Sansom of Destin and Dean Cannon of Winter Park, who are in line to be the Florida House’s next speakers. “We will win this race,” Sansom said.

Chuck Hobbs, a Tallahassee attorney, local NAACP advisor and Democrat who said he plans to vote for Boulware, said the candidate has “a couple of things going for him that resonate across party lines. He’s extremely popular at Florida State, where he’s considered one of the good guys, (and) he has name recognition is a year in which he’s not running against the incumbent.

“But it’s not limited to that. With a Republican administration, he may be able to bring home the bacon. With Republicans in power, it’s difficult for Democrats to accomplish what they want, and that could be a great asset.”

Boulware lately is making three-four speeches a week, handing out flyers and waving at passers-by, everything but kissing babies. He likened the daily grind to the way he approached football.

“Nothing is guaranteed, but I like my chances,” he said. “If I work hard, meet voters, show them I’m serious about this ... I think I have a good chance.”

From afar, his family will be pulling for him. Getting used to the notion of Peter the politician might take a little longer.

UNLIKELY CANDIDATE

The Boulware home was, by Jim and Melva’s account, not known for political discussions at the dinner table. Their four children — Raleigh Jr., 37, a former Georgia Tech lineman and current electrical engineer; daughter Kala, 35, a doctor who ran track at Notre Dame; Peter; and Michael, 27, who followed his brother to Florida State and plays for the Minnesota Vikings — heard more about church and sports than election issues.

“We talked about the Lord, Christian values, right and wrong, how to treat people,” Melva said. “Peter was heavily involved in the church. I suppose one thing might’ve led to the other.”

Peter, his father said, was all about hard work. “Michael, to be honest, was more athletic,” Jim said. “But Pete was an All-American at Florida State, and Michael never got there.”

Melva said her son is “relentless. He’s tough, no-nonsense. When he has a job to do, he doesn’t procrastinate. And he’s very particular: neat, orderly, but not to the point of driving you crazy.

“He was very aggressive, had his own mind, did what he felt he had to do.”

At Spring Valley, Peter was all-state in 1992, with numbers (132 tackles, 14 sacks, two blocked punts) that earned him national recognition. At Florida State, he redshirted as a freshman before playing three seasons capped by an All-American and ACC defensive player-of-the-year campaign in 1996, when he led the nation with 19 sacks. He earned his degree in management information systems the following spring.

The Ravens made him the No. 4 pick in the 1997 draft, and he was a stalwart on Baltimore’s defense-dominated Super Bowl championship team in 2000. Foot and toe injuries forced him to retire in early 2006.

Boulware and his wife, Kensy moved back to Tallahassee with their three small children (a fourth is expected in December), where Peter became partner and vice president of a Toyota dealership and joined a long list of local charitable organizations. Politics, though, was the furthest thing from his mind, he said.

“If you’d asked me two years ago, (there was) no way possible,” Boulware said. “But after I retired, someone talked to me about it, and I talked to friends, asked, ‘Do you think I should consider it?’ The more I talked to, the more people said, ‘You would do a good job for the district.’”

His decision to run as a Republican was a surprise to his parents, lifelong Democrats, though they said they were fine with it.

“As I listed those things (that he believed important) and starting comparing myself to the Democrat and Republican Party, I found myself leaning more toward the Republican Party,” Boulware, registered as a Democrat until 2003, told reporters in 2007. “That makes me a Republican, I guess.”

That somewhat lukewarm allegiance has dogged him at times, with skeptics labeling the wealthy former player a “pocketbook Republican.” Boulware said his change boiled down to core beliefs.

“I was taught that African-Americans vote with the Democrats; I never knew why,” he said. “When I got older, I said, ‘Man, let me really analyze what the two stand for.’

“The biggest thing for me is personal responsibility. It’s up to you to do all you can do to be successful. ... If others need help, fine, but at the end of the day, it depends on you working hard.”

Hobbs, who is black, thinks Boulware can be part of a trend. He cites Crist’s “significant backing in the black community” — an estimated 19 percent of blacks voted for the Republican governor in 2006 — and even revives an old George W. Bush slogan.

“When (blacks) think of Republicans, we mostly think of Strom Thurmond or Trent Lott,” Hobbs said. “But it seems there is such a thing as ‘compassionate conservatism’ — even if you have to go to the local level to find it. Guys like Crist and Peter represent something less polarizing.”

FLORIDA STATE TIES

Boulware said he still is learning the political landscape. Recently, not unlike a rookie football player, he got a bloody nose for his trouble.

Recognizing the power of his Florida State lineage, Boulware’s bumper stickers and yard signs featured a Seminoles spear. That earned him a cease-and-desist letter from the school’s trademark licensing director, who ordered him to remove the spear from campaign materials and his Web site.

Boulware did so, but at least one blogger took exception, saying a number of items distributed before Florida State’s complaint still display the spearhead (including the stickers on his parents’ cars).

“We made a mistake and tried to correct it,” Boulware said. “Others tried to blow it out of proportion.” He laughed. “I’m not naive, thinking there won’t be any negatives (in the campaign). I’m sure something else will come up down the road.”

Fred Varn, a Democrat who could have been Boulware’s opponent in the general election but now supports him, said he is sure something will come up.

Varn, a 12-year member of the Leon County School Board, was forced out of the Democratic primary by a judge’s order after Vasilinda sued, saying Varn violated the state constitution because his school board tenure would have overlapped his legislative term had he won. Varn says he believed he didn’t have to resign until after the election.

“What I’ve done, I haven’t ‘endorsed’ anyone, but when reporters have asked, I told them I’m voting for Peter,” Varn said. “A lot of people are angry at what happened to me, (and) a lot of my workers moved to (Boulware).”

He insists his backing of Boulware isn’t sour grapes. “Of the three running (Boulware, Vasilinda and an independent), Peter has the best chance of getting something done for state workers,” he said.

“He’s smart, got a good personality, and he can walk into a crowd and make himself at home. He’s got the makings of a fine politician.”

The Tallahassee Democrat’s Cotterell said that in past elections, “when Republicans win in Democratic districts in Florida, it’s because the Democrats tore each other up in the primary and couldn’t reunite.”

Boulware’s Florida State background remains a potential “X” factor. Bobby Bowden has not endorsed his former player, but the coach’s feelings are clear.

“Peter was one of those guys who came in with good credentials and left with good credentials,” Bowden told SI.com in August. “Peter would be good at whatever he does.”

NO COMMENT

Boulware said he will focus on telling voters what his issues are: lower property taxes, better educational opportunities and lower costs on insurance for hurricane-plagued Florida. He said he will go to neighborhoods, knocking on doors, to deliver the message.

Meanwhile, his family ponders what role to play. So far they have mostly watched, but with the election a month away, what now?

“We’ve talked about voting early and going down (to Tallahassee) to sweat it out,” Jim Boulware said. “We’ll celebrate if he wins and be there” if he doesn’t.

And if he should win? For years, Boulware’s parents followed him in a sports arena that brought him fame and wealth but also left him open to criticism. They know, with this new venture, he will face that and more.

“Seeing politics like I see it now ...” Melva said. “It’s tough. Tough decisions are having to be made, and people are angry. So it’s not an easy job, and the higher up you go, the harder it is.”

Peter Boulware doesn’t speculate on his political future. “One step at a time,” he said, sounding like an athlete who had that mantra burned into his brain.

Said Jim Boulware: “I tease him, ‘Pete, if you talk to Barack (Obama), you bring up the right wing, he’s got the left wing, (and) you’ll have a landslide victory.’ And he says, ‘No way.’”

So is Peter a McCain backer? Jim started to say yes, but Melva intervened. “I don’t think you should speak for him,” she said sharply. “I think I know how I’m voting, but I’m waiting.”

Jim sighed. “I guess, like my wife, I’m not decided,” he said.

Sounds as if the Boulwares have this political business figured out, after all.

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