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Otherwise, every Democrat voted in favor and every Republican against. The final vote was 220-215 (with 39 Democrats opposed) underscoring the difficulty ahead for Democrats and President Obama as the debate moves to the Senate.
-- Alex Leary, Times staff writer
Dan Ruth: This was supposed to be a cakewalk for a hitherto popular governor. Spend a year or so hanging around Tallahassee, wait for Mel Martinez to start wanting to spend — everybody now: "More time with the family!" — and then waltz into the United States Senate, otherwise known as "American Idols."
For Gov. Charlie Crist, political life has always been sort of a Willy Loman-meets-George Hamilton existence. The man is a walking hand-shaking, spit-polished, tanning bed machine. It was a simple enough game plan (full column here)
Howard Troxler: Just to be clear, Charlie Crist did not endorse the stimulus, okay? Sure, our governor took the stimulus dough. But it was an accident. He thought it was a campaign contribution. He hugged the president back in February, too. But he didn't even know he was hugging the president. He was being sociable. (column here)
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd plans to vote against the health care bill, confirming his long-held doubts about the size and reach of the proposal.
"While the House bill does take some positive steps toward increasing coverage and reforming insurance regulations, it simply falls short when it comes to lowering healthcare costs for North Florida families and businesses," Boyd said in a statement praised by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Orlando-area Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, who took Tom Feeney's seat in 2008, has already said she will vote against the bill. The vote could come late this evening.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Marco Rubio backer, joins a growing chorus of Republican activists in Florida wanting Jim Greer out (UPDATE: Greer's response below): "Jim Greer has shown on numerous occasions that he is incapable of running the Republican party of Florida (RPOF) and refuses to remain neutral in contested primaries. Mr. Greer has failed at managing the financial, political, and public relations aspects of the state party.
"The latest scandal involving a RPOF operative and the use of a fake Twitter account to disparage a duly elected county Chairman is just another in a long
list of management failures. Further, Greer has shown a bias in the primary of the United States Senate Seat in publically supporting Governor Crist and has repeatedly ignored calls from county party organizations for neutrality. This behavior is inexcusable and Florida Republicans deserve better.
"At a time when Republicans across the country are energizing and unifying to defeat the Democrats in 2010, Greer is dividing and deflating Republicans in Florida.I call on Mr. Greer to resign as Chairman of the RPOF. "
Jim Greer has other ideas:
Continue reading "Rep. Jeff Miller: Jim Greer needs to resign; Greer: No!" »
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio is emerging as the champion of activists fed up with Republicans who don't stay true to conservative principles. But if those turning against Gov. Charlie Crist are looking for a pure, uncompromising conservative, Rubio's legislative record might give them pause.
"He was a big disappointment to us when he was the speaker,'' said NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer, who saw Rubio do little to help pass a bill allowing employees to bring guns to work. "He talked the talk, but he didn't walk the walk."
As speaker of the House, Rubio consistently presented smaller budgets than the governor and the Senate. But he also spent eight years casting votes and cutting deals that reflect the reality of the legislative process: hard-line ideology rarely triumphs over compromise.
The 38-year-old campaigning as an authentic, from-the-gut conservative is the same person who spent tens of thousands of dollars to test political messages on focus groups, gave out big staff salaries and, like Crist, favored a $60 million subsidy for a new Florida Marlins stadium.
Bill McCollum is the anti-Crist. As in Charlie Crist.
The question is: Will people in Florida be ready for such a jarring transition of styles in the Governor's Office?
Or is McCollum the perfect act to follow the tanned and rested one? These two Republicans couldn't be more different. Where Crist exudes style, McCollum has substance. (Steve Bousquet's column here)
There's been lots of Buzz lately about Anthony Kennedy Shriver of Miami - son of Sargent and Eunice, brother of Maria - running for Florida governor. We haven't heard back from him, but it sounds like he is very seriously looking at the race. Perennially rumored to be on the verge of running for statewide office, Shriver leads Best Buddies International, a charity that helps intellectually disabled people.
What's not clear is whether there's much reason to see him as a serious threat to frontrunner Alex Sink. If Caroline Kennedy couldn't get anywhere in her foray into New York politics, why would a more obscure Kennedy fare much better in a race with a well-funded and overwhelming frontrunner?
Here's three day's-worth of Q-and-A between the press (Miami Herald, St. Petersburg Times, Palm Beach Post and Bay News 9) and Gov. Charlie Crist re: His relationship with accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein:
Q: Why did Rothstein give you so much money?
A: I think he wanted me to win. I think he thinks I'm a good public servant. I hope that's why.
Q: What was you relationship?
A: He was a contributor that worked hard.
Q: Was he a friend?
A: We had a friendship
Q: Didn't you fly down to his wedding?
A: Carole and I went to a wedding reception.
Continue reading "Charlie Crist, Scott Rothstein Q&A redux" »
Jerry Melvin, a longtime House Republican who faced terms limits in 2002 and paved the way for Ray Sansom, plans to run for his old seat.
A story in the Destin Log quoted Melvin as saying he would seek changes mandating a committee hearing before anything is inserted into the budget, a clear rebuke of the budget maneuvers that got Sansom into trouble.
Melvin, who is 80, is just one of several GOP candidates. Matt Gaetz, son of Sen. Don Gaetz, is also running. He worked as an aide to Sansom, for the Republican Party of Florida and as an attorney to developer Jay Odom.
Melvin had a sometimes rocky tenure in the House. He drew fire from Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and others for for derogatory remarks toward Cubans. In denying he slammed Jewish lawmakers for not supporting an education bill, he said, "You thought we had shot them -- every one -- or lined them up against the damn wall."
Sen. Mike Haridopolos, chair of the Senate's redistricting committee, has sent a letter to all senators informing them of the "concern" several committee members have on the "potential adverse affects" that proposed constitutional amendments will have on Florida voters, "particularly racial or language minorities."
The so-called "Fair Districts" amendments would take the three current standards for creating voter districts and add six more standards. Attorneys at the committee this week said the standards could violate federal law, and lead to costly and drawn-out lawsuits as a result.
"I've had members of the Hispanic delegation and black caucus come to me about this, and clearly this wil reduce the number of minority lawmakers, is what they have concluded," Haridopolos said, echoing concerns that Orlando Democrat Sen. Gary Siplin voiced this week.
Continue reading "Haridop to senators: Beware consequences of redistrict amendment" »
Gov. Charlie Crist says he stands by Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer in the face of a steady drumbeat of noise about Greer's leadership and handling of party finances.
"Extremely high" is how Crist described his level of confidence in Greer. "There's always a tendency to have different factions in society," Crist said Friday, "and so some people are going to be happy and some people are going to be disappointed. I think that's the natural flow of things, really."
"I know he is a tireless worker," Crist said of Greer, his hand-picked choice for party boss who was first elected by a margin of a dozen votes. "He's dedicated to trying to help the party do better and broaden the appeal to minorities. I just think he's done a great job."
-- Steve Bousquet
Sen. Dan Gelber, vying to be Florida's next attorney general, says the proposed anticorruption package he unveiled earlier this week is more vital than ever in light of confirmation this week that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating possible fraud by the board that oversees the state pension fund.
The reform package by Gelber, D-Miami Beach, would remove the AG from the SBA board, which now consists of the Governor, AG and Chief Financial Officer. Gelber says the AG should have "more arms length oversight" that will lead to prosecuting wrongdoing if needed.
Continue reading "Gelber reacts to SEC probe, wants AG off pension board" »
Gov. Charlie Crist has just canceled the remaining events scheduled for today because he is heading to Orlando, where police are searching for a gunman who shot eight people in an office building -- killing at least two.
He was in Tampa this morning and was supposed to attend an evening service at Temple Beth Am in Jupiter. According to his press office, Crist is on his way to Orlando.
Gov. Charlie Crist got a standing ovation today at a national conference of foster care experts and government officials at Tampa's Intercontinental Hotel. The three-day event, hosted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, is focusing on ways to reduce the number of children in foster care.
Joined by First Lady Carole Crist, the governor cited two years of record numbers of foster child adoptions in Florida: 3,777 last year and 3,764 the year before. He said that was the result of the "great efforts" of child welfare secretary George Sheldon and child advocate Jim Kallinger. "I'm a blessed man," Crist told the group.
On the way out, Crist was cornered by Fox-13 reporter Chris Chmura, who asked Crist if he made a "John Kerry-style flip flop" by now saying he didn't endorse President Barack Obama's stimulus package.
"They're wrong," Crist said, adding he didn't endorse the specific stimulus bill Congress passed -- though he is very grateful for the billions it brought to Florida. When the reporter asked Crist if he has "remade himself" for a race against Marco Rubio, the governor uncharacteristically asked travel aide Dave Mica Jr. to end the questioning. "Dave?" Crist interjected.
-- Steve Bousquet
"Out of an abundance of caution," Adam Putnam said today that he would return "several" contributions connected to Scott Rothstein's law firm.
The campaign did not receive any personal contributions from the Rothstein, said Putnam, who is running for state agricultural commissioner. The contributions amounted to about $4,000.
Orlando-area Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas will abandon fellow Democrats and vote against the health care bill, the first known defection from Florida.
"While the health care reform bill before the U.S. House of Representatives has many positive elements, I believe that it does not do enough to slow the growth of health care costs and spending on care. Therefore, after careful consideration and with great difficulty, I have decided that I cannot support the legislation," she said in a statement.
Her decision, while expected, is still striking given the passionate call for Democrats to stand together on the landmark issue. But Kosmas took her seat last November from Republican Tom Feeney and she already has a number of GOP challengers.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not demanding lockstep support from her caucus, allowing some vulnerable members to stray. She needs 218 votes out of 256 Democrats. Pelosi will have the backing of another Orlando-area Democrat, who also took a Republican seat in 2008, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the self-styled "congressman with guts."
None of the powerful people had ever seen a cake quite like it.
It wasn’t the double layers of chocolate that had everyone abuzz, nor was there anything particularly special about the white chocolate placards that read: “Happy Birthday, Gov. Charlie Crist. From Scott and Kimberly Rothstein.”
Rather, the fact that Rothstein paid $52,000 just to have his name there surprised some of the lobbyists and honchos with the biggest special interests in Florida: Florida Crystals, The GEO Group, Mardi Gras Race Track and Casino, Disney, TECO, Floride Power & Light, etc.** They each paid a mere $5,200 each to sponsor just one of the candles on that beautiful July 24th day in 2008 at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach. Their donation is denoted in the little silver flags that stand by the candles of the special-interest layer cake.
Continue reading "Photo: Crist had Rothstein's cake and ate it, too" »
Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein's office was a secured inner sanctum, complete with video cameras, secured entrance and hidden private elevator.
It also was a shrine to himself, plastered with photos showing Rothstein embracing powerful politicians, framed thank-you letters from charities and candidates he lavished with generous donations, grownup toys like red Ferrari model cars and a Nixon action figure.
Amid a federal investigation into allegations that Rothstein was running a massive Ponzi scheme, his law partners at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler invited the media to tour the private office Thursday. A hired PR man and a lawyer portrayed the office's opulence, security and compartmentalized layout as evidence that even the partners were bamboozled by their hard-charging friend and colleague. (story here)
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating possible fraud by the Florida State Board of Administration, the agency that manages $132 billion in public investments for hundreds of local governments and 1 million current and future retirees.
The federal investigation centers on whether the state and three Wall Street giants misled the public about the risk and liquidity of some of the SBA's investments.The three firms that sold the troubled securities to the state are JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. (story here)
For every lengthy letter from one Republican to another over Gov. Crist's U.S. Senate run, there's a lengthy response. Here's what Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer has to say to the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee's cease-and-desist request:
November 5, 2009
Dear Chairman Cox-Roush,
I have reviewed your recent correspondence and appreciate you taking the time to convey your concerns. After reviewing Rule 8 in consultation with our general counsel, I am providing the following response:
First, the RPOF pays certain allocable and non-allocable expenses at the request of the statewide campaigns. With regard to state races, these expenses include: paying rent, phones, internet, copies, etc. With regard to federal races, no party resources are being provided to either federal campaign that are not reimbursed at cost. This practice of providing candidates access to these resources is nothing new, is in complete compliance with all campaign finance laws, and has been done many times over the years, including prior to my chairmanship. In fact, you and others may not be aware, but the current policies for all candidates relating to this matter, including campaigns where there is a Republican primary, are much more stringent than in previous cycles. Let me reiterate that this is a long-standing practice within the RPOF and these resources are available to any statewide campaign.
A housewife and Republican activist from Tampa has filed a Federal Election Complaint against the Charlie Crist for Senate campaign, alleging that it was involved in the creation of an anti-Marco Rubio web site. Republican operative Rich Heffley, a senior advisor on the last Crist campaign, helped create truthaboutrubio.com but says the Crist campaign had nothing to do with it, had no knowledge, and that he is not (yet)working for the campaign.
"Mr. Heffley is a political confidante of Charlie Crist and he shares office space with the Crist campaign, so it is extremely unlikely that Mr. Heffley created this site without the involvement, consent, and/or knowledge of the campaign,'' the complaint states. "Regardless, the creation of the anti-Rubio site constituted coordination under the Commission's regulations because Mr. Heffley is a "common vendor" for the website and the Crist campaign. Furthermore, Mr. Heffley continues to protect the identity of his collaborator, who may be associated with the Crist campaign as well."
Continue reading "Federal election complaint lodged against Crist campaign" »
Some rivalries never die. Professional wrestler Jimmy Hart, who in the past has faced Brian Blair in the ring, is now backing his opponent in another contest. Hart said he's throwing his weight behind Irene Guy in the 2010 Republican primary for Florida's District 47 state House seat. Blair is also running for the post. Hart was part of the Hart Foundation wrestling team when Blair was one of the Killer Bees.
"I hope I don't get drop-kicked by Brian Blair," Hart said during a phone interview from California, his latest stop on a book-signing tour with Hulk Hogan. Hart met Guy last month when the two volunteered at an event sponsored by Computer Mentors, a non profit that helps underprivileged children gain technological skills. The two are pictured here with Ralph Smith, executive director of Computer Mentors. (Smith is the one in the middle.)
"My main thing is this -- when I met the lady, she came across as very real," Hart said. "She seemed to really know what she was talking about." Hart, who lives in Tampa but not Guy's district, said he hasn't spoken to Blair about what he might like to accomplish in the Florida legislature. "I've known Brian for a long time. I love him to death," Hart said. "But in this case, I think Irene has something to offer."
Blair said Hart apparently still wants to be the bad guy. "He was my arch enemy," Blair said, calling Hart a "far-left liberal" who endorsed Barack Obama. "If he wants to carry on from the 80s and early 90s, we can do that," he said.
And in case you Buzz readers are wondering, Hart and the Hulk will be at the Barnes and Noble on U.S. 19 in Clearwater at 7 pm. Monday for a book-signing.
Gov. Charlie Crist gets a rare Pants On Fire from PolitiFact for saying he didn't endorse the stimulus. From PolitiFact.com:
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, facing a potentially bruising Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, continues to run from any assertion that he is linked to President Barack Obama.
Last week Crist told reporters he didn't know Obama was traveling in Florida. On Wednesday, Crist told a national television audience he didn't endorse the $787 billion federal stimulus bill pushed by Obama and passed by Congress in February.
"I didn't endorse it," Crist told CNN host Wolf Blitzer. "I -- you know, I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians."
This, from the same man who skipped a Florida Cabinet meeting to campaign with Obama for the stimulus in Fort Myers in February? Who went on national talk shows and across the state selling the plan?
Read the full story here.
Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday renewed his call for a special legislative session next month to consider the SunRail commuter rail project in Central Florida, which he said would produce a lot of jobs.
But House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, still is not yet on board, and he's challenging Senate President Jeff Atwater to prove that there are 21 votes in the Senate to pass SunRail.
"We're working on it," Crist, a big SunRail booster, said of a December special session. "I would like it to be next month. I think it's important to be able to do it sooner rather than later."
"The House has twice supported and voted for SunRail," Cretul spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin said via e-mail. "To justify a special session, the speaker would need to see specifics of the Senate's proposal and he would need the specific, clear assurance that the Senate has the votes to approve the proposal during a December special session." (SunRail failed on a 23-16 vote in the Senate in the spring session).
Phil Williams, interim deputy secretary for Medicaid at AHCA, just got an earful from senators on the health care appropriations committee who learned that the company hired last year to collect an estimated $120-million in Medicaid overpayments has so far collected zilch. Zip. Nada.
And that leaves the state's Medicaid budget $120 leaner than what was expected -- not a good situation as the Legislature looks down the barrel of rising Medicaid costs and a more than $2-billion budget shortfall.
"We are going into this budget crisis, and here we are just not collecting overpayments?," said a ticked Sen. Mike Haridopolos, the Republican tapped to be the next Senate president. "If $100 million could have been collected, how could we go a whole year without collecting money that could go back to taxpayers? And then we just tell the company that got the contract, 'Oh it's OK, we'll wait.' In the real world, a company would have been fired for doing that."
Continue reading "Senate P.O.'d at AHCA Medicaid contractor for failing to collect $100-mil" »
Asked at today's press briefing whether the White House considered Gov. Charlie Crist's appearance with President Barack Obama in February an endorsement of the stimulus bill, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Crist's words at the event "speak for themselves.
"I think he was very supportive of the legislation and supportive of the benefits that it would have and has had for the state of Florida in seeing positive economic growth," Gibbs said. "I would say yes, yes."
Lesley Clark
UPDATE: Greer's lengthy response is at bottom
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer's involvement in Gov. Charlie Crist's U.S. Senate race against Marco Rubio is proving more divisive than ever. A group of local Republican leaders sent this hard-hitting letter, which a Republican forwarded to us, to Greer telling him to cut it out. Here it is.
November 5, 2009
Dear Chairman Greer,
It has become apparent to us that you and by extension the RPOF have failed to recognize the significance of the resolution passed earlier this year by a majority of the County Chairs and members of the State Executive Committee in our state, particularly with respect to following Rule 8 of our Constitution.
As recently as today, we’re being informed that an operative of the RPOF used a false “twitter” account to disparage a duly elected county Chairman. Add this incident to the recent revelation that a contract employee of the RPOF, and “Senior Political Advisor” to Governor Crist, Mr. Rich Heffley, initially denied, then admitted, that he was the author of an “anonymous” website set up to attack the record of a US Senate primary Republican candidate. Both of these compound the earlier allegations that your early and vigorous endorsement of Charlie Crist in his candidacy violated Rule 8 and resulted in the aforementioned resolution by a significant majority of the members of the State Executive Committee asking you to cease and desist the violation.
Continue reading "Local Repubs to RPOF chief Greer: Cease and desist. Greer: No" »
U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite's support for New York Republican Dede Scozzafava's doomed campaign is emerging as an issue in the Brooksville Republican's re-election.
Republican Jason Sager, a political neophyte from Brooksville, filed to run against Brown-Waite in 2010, telling the Times' Tony Marrero that he stands for conservatives concerned about a government that has strayed from the principles of the Founding Fathers.Sager said he was concerned about Brown-Waite's support for Scozzafava.
The congresswoman, an Albany, N.Y. native, refused to answer questions about why she went to New York to campaign for Scozzafava just days before the state lawmaker dropped from the race and endorsed the Democrat. But in an interview last week, Brown-Waite said Scozzafava was being unfairly attacked and had a solid Republican record.
Relaxing marijuana laws is an issue you won't see the Florida Legislature take up in 2010, but the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington has a new study out today that says the state has the harshest penalties in the nation.
"State law provides for a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison for possession of one ounce, whereas the state with the second-most severe penalty, Arizona, has a maximum penalty of 1.5 years. Thirty other states and the District of Columbia have maximum penalties of six months to one year in jail," the study reads.
But while the study claims there is "no relationship between marijuana arrest and use rates" a look at the state data provided by the group shows Florida's pot use actually decreased from 2003 to 2007. Mike Meno, a spokesman for the group, says however that Florida has average use rates compared with other states and if the tough laws worked, the rate should be lower.
From a press gaggle with Gov. Charlie Crist over the stimulus package. Did he endorse it?
Crist: "I don’t think so. I don’t think so. The bill that passed wasn’t exactly what I would want to vote for. But it’s what passed. And once that happened, you need to realize you need to do everything you possibly can to fight for Florida and our fellow Floridians, whether they’re school teachers, construction workers or whatever it might be. And so once this happens, you know, I think it’s important to embrace it, fight for Florida’s fair share and do what’s right for the state."
Crist: "What’s going on here is a realization that we need to utilize those funds on behalf of the people of Florida for their benefit. As you’re probably aware, there’s discussion about whether there should be a second stimulus, I don’t think that there should. I think that this one has to take hold. It seems to me that, unfortunately, the president’s answer to almost every challenge that is facing our country is to spend more money. That isn’t necessarily the recipe for success in my view."
-- Marc Caputo
As a Democratic Congress looks more and more likely to expand Medicaid eligibility – and therefore increase costs for states (more here on the $1 billion estimate) – the Republicans who control the state Legislature are chafing and talking behind closed doors about how to manage costs.
The Republican solution: HMOs. Or managed care. Or home care. Or integrated care. Or whatever HMO-lite solution that would cap expenditures, bring more predictability to Medicaid and end the fee-for-service model of allowing recipients to go to the Medicaid doctor of their choosing without having a gatekeeper/doctor who provides primary care and steers them to the right therapist or physician depending on their need.
Right now, all eyes are looking north, to Georgia, where Medicaid is managed by HMOs.
Continue reading "Legislature chafes at Medicaid expansion, ponders cost cutting " »
Charlie Crist on CNN yesterday said he didn't endorse the stimulus package. A snippet:
WOLF BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a second, governor. For a second, do you have any regrets about endorsing the economic stimulus package?
CHARLIE CRIST: Well, I didn't endorse it. I — you know, I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians.
Didn't endorse. Got it? No siree. Yet here's that what Crist said Feb. 10 in Fort Myers when he introduced Barack Obama amid chants of "Yes, we can!":
CRIST: "We've had to cut about $7 billion the past two years and we haven't raised taxes and we're still in balance. But to be candid, it's getting harder every day. It's getting harder every day and we know that it's important that we pass this stimulus package. It is important that we do so to help education, to help our infrastructure, and to help health care for those who need it the most — the most vulnerable among us. And let me finish by saying, Mr. President, we need to do it in a bipartisan way. This issue of helping our country is about helping our country. This is not about partisan politics. This is about rising above that, helping America and reigniting our economy."
A House investigation to determine whether Rep. Ray Sansom violated legislative rules of conduct will go forward. A select committee took that step Thursday over the opposition of Sansom's attorneys, who had requested a delay until Sansom's criminal trial is complete, citing the possibility that media coverage of the House probe could make it difficult to find an impartial panel of jurors in Tallahassee.
The Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct voted to follow the advice of its independent counsel, Melanie Hines, in going forward with the probe of the Destin Republican, who resigned his speakership last January and is awaiting trial on a perjury charge. If he is found guilty of violating House rules, he could face sanctions ranging from a reprimand to expulsion.
Hines, a former statewide prosecutor, gave committee members a legal memorandum in which she said the public interest in Sansom's case is of paramount importance. "The public has the right to demand that only those persons whose trustworthiness and integrity are beyond question participate in the process by which laws are passed," Hines wrote.The panel chairman, Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, outlined a timetable for the probe, which includes a formal response by Sansom to the specific allegations by Nov,. 15; an exchange of witness lists by Nov. 20; completion of discovery by Dec. 24; and joint pretrial stipulations by Jan. 15, 2010. The actual hearing is now set for the week of Jan. 25-29, 2010.
"We've taken another step in the process," Galvano said. "What you heard from the committee was a cautious desire to move forward."
On Nov. 5, 2008, Ray Sansom pulled up a chair before a swarm of reporters and essentially began his term as speaker of the Florida House, exulting in Republican success at the polls the night before and staring down a $2 billion budget deficit.
"It's going to be a tough one, no question about it," he said of the coming year.
A few weeks later, those words would prove brutally true. Sansom, one of the three most powerful politicians in Florida, saw his reign collapse after taking a high-paying job at his hometown college, exposing $35 million in tax money he funneled to the school.
Now, precisely one year later, a special House committee will decide this morning whether to continue its investigation into whether Sansom broke the rules, a tribunal that could result in exoneration, reprimand or expulsion from office. An investigator found probable cause of wrongdoing in several areas. Sansom's lawyer has asked for a delay because a criminal case involving the same issues is unresolved. (story here)
Scores of Florida House Republicans have sent a letter to U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and George LeMieux urging them to oppose health care changes that will add an estimated 1.4 million Floridians to Medicaid, costing the state billions.
"With Florida already facing budget shortfalls of potentially $2.3 to 5.5 billion over the next two years, it would be fiscally irresponsible to add hundreds of millions of dollars more in unfunded costs onto the backs of the Florida taxpayers. Increasing Medicaid at this rate is unsustainable. Such a move would harm any attempts to grow Florida’s economy and create the jobs that Florida’s workers need," the letter reads.
Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, the lawyer who represents the public before the Public Service Commission, told the House Energy and Utilities Committee today that he supports making the PSC more like a judicial body, instead of the quasilegislative, quasijudicial body it is.
"We should take a very strong look at commissioners acting like the judiciary,'' he said. He said the PSC should be required to operate like the Division of Administrative Hearings, the judicial board that handles consumer complaints and disputes with state agencies.
The commissioners' staff, Kelly said, should also be required to abide by the same rules that ban communications between PSC commissioners and the utilities they regulate, just like the staff of judges do. "That is an absolute must,'' Kelly told the panel.
The House committee spent two hours getting a primer on the ethics rules governing the PSC and its staff in response to news reports about the open access many representatives of the regulated utilities appear to have with the staff at the state utility board.
Continue reading "Public counsel wants PSC to operate like judges" »
Ray Sansom's lawyer today filed a motion that seeks to squash State Attorney Willie Meggs' appeal of a circuit decision throwing out part of the criminal charges against the former House speaker.
The motion with the First District Court of Appeal matches one previously filed by co-defendant Jay Odom.
"The lower court's order is a non-final interlocutory order for which the state has no direct right of appeal," it states. "Accordingly, this appeal should be dismissed." The argument goes that because Judge Terry Lewis dismissed only part of the charges against Sansom, it remains an open issue requiring "additional judicial labor in the lower court."
*
On the day George LeMieux was sworn in as U.S. Senator, a black limousine pulled up outside the Capitol and out popped a well-dressed bunch including Scott Rothstein, the now-beleaguered lawyer and political fundraiser. That's the last we saw of him.
But Rothstein and entourage kept the party going later on at Charlie Palmer's steakhouse, where he mixed it up with Florida political insiders. Bernard McCormick, a blogger and publisher of the glossy Gold Coast magazine, has these details (which he tells the Buzz is based on a "very well" placed source):
"Rothstein soon approached the table of political staffers and singled out Shane Strum, the soon-to-be chief of staff for Gov. Crist. 'Mr. Strum, may I have a word with you,' Rothstein asked. He pulled Strum aside, put his arm on his shoulder and began to make a pitch for one of Rothstein’s clients. The staffers cringed. It looked like a scene from The Godfather, and Strum clearly wanted none of it."
Read the blog here. LeMieux's office tells us that Rothstein was not on the invite list, meaning he showed up with others who were.
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Gov. Charlie Crist today set a Feb. 2 primary and April 6 general election for the Congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton. Memo here.
Wexler surprised many last month by saying he was leaving Congress in January to join the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, based in Washington. He has endorsed state Sen. Ted Deutch as his replacement.
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If there's one group that can sway loads of votes in Florida with a single blast e-mail, it's the NRA. And it just sent out this big, wet kiss of an e-mail in support of Sen. Paula Dockery, who is running against Attorney General Bill McCollum for governor:
ALERT Paula Dockery, A+ NRA rated Senator enters FL Governor's Race
STRONG PRO-GUN, A+ rated Senator Enters Governor's Race
Paula Dockery, a Strong Pro-Gun and NRA A+ rated Florida Senator has entered the race and is challenging Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Florida Governor's race.
With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease some of the anger being directed at the party establishment.
"We will not spend money in a contested primary," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News in a telephone interview today. "There's no incentive for us to weigh in," said Cornyn, R-Texas. "We have to look at our resources. . . . We're not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election."
Sen. JD Alexander, clearly dissatisfied with the Department of Management Service's compliance with his monthslong push for a comprehensive inventory of state real estate and buildings, is considering legislation that would turn DMS into a Cabinet-level agency.
"There are some good people at DMS, and they're doing some good things," said Alexander, R-Lake Wales. "It's just, can we do better and more broadly? This is a time where we could attract some real high-quality people. There are a lot of great Realtors and professionals without jobs."
Continue reading "Sen. Alexander, tired of DMS delay, says make it a Cabinet agency" »
Sen. Dan Gelber, the Miami Beach Democrat who's running for attorney general, used an appearance before Florida prosecutors Wednesday to push a series of legislative proposals aimed at restoring honesty in government. Gelber said historically, the Legislature has been "very cold" to the idea of cracking down on forms of corruption, but that a string of scandals may have changed the atmosphere.
"I believe there's an appetite this year," Gelber told the state attorneys, seated around him on the Capitol's 22nd floor. "I think the amount of public corruption prosecutions has created a total lapse of credibility with the public."
Among Gelber's proposals to clean up government:
Gelber is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general along with Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres.
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A fake Twitter account aimed at discrediting a prominent critic of state GOP leaders appears to have been linked back to a senior official at the Republican Party of Florida. Brevard County Republican Chairman Jason Steele says three months after discovering someone was tweeting inflammatory messages using his name and his picture, law enforcement investigators have determined the account was created on a computer in the home of Tim Nungesser, who last month was promoted to director of the party's field operations department.
"Tim Nungesser is no longer with the RPOF,'' party spokesman Katie Gordon Betta said in an e-mail yesterday.
Buzz is awaiting more response from the state party, but Steele says Nungesser told him the party's executive director, Delmar Johnson, had been long aware of the fake Twitter account and laughed it off. The party denies that.
"Tim is a young man who made a mistake. I don't want to see him prosecuted. I want to see Delmar Johnson and Jim Greer resign from the Republican party,'' said Steele, who was put on probation earlier this year for sending e-mails critical of party actions. "I am sick about this. This is not about me, It's about the Republican party of the state of Florida cleaning up its act and doing the right thing and getting back on a positive footing so people have confidence in the party again."
Continue reading "Scandal brewing? Fake Twitter account tied to RPOF" »
A major Crist backer said Eikenberg was supposed to join the campaign after the New Year, but he had to sign up early. "They didn't expect Rubio to rise this quickly," the source said. "They're nervous." Rubio supporters say Eikenberg is no maestro. Look at his involvement in U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw's 2006 and George LeMieux's 1998 runs for office. Both lost.
-- Marc Caputo
Don Winstead, Gov. Charlie Crist's stimulus czar, briefed the Senate's budget committee Wednesday and said that, under federal formulas Florida can be credited for creating jobs or helping employ 47,069 directly, indirectly or by way of some complicated "induced" formula due to the federal stimulus package.
That doesn't mean, though, that 47,000 new full-time workers now have employment. That number represents the affected jobs.
Winstead said that, under federal formulas, 29,320 jobs have been created or saved. The bulk of them are in schools. Those weren't new jobs. They were teachers, janitors, etc., who kept their work due to the stimulus (er. budget bailout) cash. About 1,800 new jobs were created in transportation projects.
Anticipating the doubts over the methodology of figuring what's a job and what was created, Winstead pointed out that the formulas were federally mandated.
Surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren, former House Speaker and lobbyist John Thrasher was sworn in to the state Senate this morning -- taking the Jacksonville seat long held by Sen. Jim King, who died this summer of cancer.
King's current and former staffers and aides watched from the gallery above the Senate floor as Thrasher was sworn in. Also watching was King's widow, Linda, and longtime friends including former House Speaker T.K. Wetherell, who is retiring soon as president of Florida State University. Plenty of lobbyists were there, too -- notably more than attended Sen. Joe Negron's swearing-in last month.
"I'm humbled, obviously, to be here," Thrasher said. "Obviously I didn't expect to be here today. I hoped it would have been later."
"As a statesman, as a politician, he was the best," Thrasher said, turning to Linda King. "I love him and miss him dearly. And we will do everything to uphold his legacy. I promise you that."
Thrasher is already being talked about as a future Senate president -- and that could put him in competition with Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
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