Capital News: State Sen. Al Lawson endorses Charlie Crist for US Senate

Campaigning tonight in Delray Beach, Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek raised the stakes for his debate Sunday against Republican rival Marco Rubio on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"A lot of people running around here with low expectations, 'Oh my God, we need to start praying for Kendrick,' " the Miami congressman told a crowd of about 150 people. "Let me tell you something. You need to start praying for Marco."

The third major candidate in the race, Republican-turned-independent governor Charlie Crist, is taking a pass on the debate.

"The governor decided not to come. No position. No voice,'' Meek said. "That's fine because him and Marco Rubio agree on 96 percent of the issues. So he will be represented there, via Marco Rubio."

He added: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to make you proud on Sunday, and I am going to make sure that everyone who ever doubted my candidacy will know that I am there fighting on behalf of people of good will."

TALLAHASSEE — Just when you thought TV-land would get a prolonged breather from his now-famous bald visage, the Republican Party of Florida has launched a $1.3 million television buy to help GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott.

Yes, the same RPOF who said two weeks ago that Scott’s own $50 million ad barrage in the GOP primary was “a multifaceted campaign of misinformation” and “an effort to mislead Florida voters and confuse the facts.” 

We’re told the statewide buy slated to start Saturday will rotate one positive Scott ad with a negative ad hitting Democrat Alex Sink. The buy was enough to prompt the sink campaign to pre-emptively blast the ads in a fundraising solicitation to party donors.

“The positive response to our campaign already has Rick Scott on the attack,” Sink campaign chief Jim Cassady says in the e-mail. ”The Republican Party has purchased millions of dollars in TV ads filled with lies and distortions.  This is only the beginning of the onslaught of attacks we expect.”

Sink has already spent more than $2.5 million on television since mid-August.

This just in: the Florida TEA Party reports that a Tallahassee circuit judge has affirmed a place on the Nov. 2 ballot for  John DeVries, the party’s nominee to take on state Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Longwood, who’s the GOP Speaker-designate in 2014-16.

A release from TEA Party spokesman and political consultant Doug Guetzloe said Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford denied a motion of for an emergency injunction that would have removed DeVries from the November ballot.

The Republican Party of Florida and its allies have filed at least nine lawsuits — by the TEA Party’s count — trying to force its candidates off the ballot. The GOP has asserted numerous irregularities — such as filing fees being paid by TEA Party found Fred O’Neal and the fact that many of the candidates don’t live in the districts they want to represent. Thus far, though, the lawsuits have been unsuccessful.

“It is a great victory for the voters of Florida who are supporting the TEA Party movement and our political efforts and it is a great victory for the TEA Party (TEA),” stated O’Neal, the Windermere attorney who founded the party and argued DeVries’ case..

In the continuing saga between Florida Power & Light and the Public Service Commission, the Juno Beach-based company has filed a motion today asking that Commissioner Nathan Skop remove himself from any remaining cases in which they are involved.

The motion, filed by Tallahassee attorney Barry Richard, calls Skop's comments to the news media and his comments from the bench "increasingly more hostile and adversarial.'' Skop was not reappointed to a second term after being rejected by the Public Service Nominating Council.

If Skop agrees to recuse himself, the panel will be left with four members, including PSC Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano, who was also rejected for reappointment.

The motion accuses Skop of being adversarial when he accused an FPL lawyer of "blatant disrespect" for opposing Skop's request to bring FPL CEO Armando Olivera before the commission to explain why the company provided the commission outdated data on its nuclear costs. It says that Skop "has reserved his antagonistic behavior for FPL and displayed no similar behavior with respect" to Progress Energy. FPL also objected to Skop's comments when he suggested an FPL witness may have committed perjury and when he accused the company of "spin," "misrepresentations," and "selective discourse."

Richard also cited Skop's statements late last week when he was arguing to bring Olivera before the commission and said:

"I'm a regulator, I do my job, and I've lost my job because I've chosen to do my job. So again, I'm not backing down from FPL in any way. I can back up what I state."

FPL's motion calls those comments "egregiously inappropriate for a quasi-judicial officer." It claims that he "crossed the line from impartial arbiter to zealous adversary and that his personal animosity toward FPL has risen to such a level that he utterly fails to maintain even an appearance of impartiality."

Richard told the Herald/Times that while Skop's behavior had been increasingly adversarial in the past, "the last straw for the company" came during the nuclear cost recovery hearings last week.

Skop would not comment. The nuclear cost recovery hearings will resume Sept. 7, at which time Olivera will testify under a subpoena issued by Argenziano. 

The motion may have a chilling effect on other commissioners voicing their opinions about the company's response to regulators. Skop must now decide to remain or remove himself. If he refuses to remove himself, Richard said, the company could appeal it to the First District Court of Appeals, which he expects would rule fairly quickly. Here's the motion.



On Thursday Bill Segal picked up where his Aug. 24 primary campaign left off by calling a press conference to repeat his claim that his county mayor’s race opponent Teresa Jacobs is a lobbyist.

Commissioner Segal pointed to profiles of Jacobs on her employer’s website, one which initially referred to her “technical and political skills,” and then an apparent subsequent version which took out a reference to “political skills.”

Segal’s point: Jacobs has a “do as I say, and not as a I do” attitude regarding ethics issues. Even if Jacobs is ultimately found not to be a lobbyist, she’s still an “influence peddler,” he said in a parking lot press event that attracted a bank of TV cameras not far from Jacobs’ office. Segal also says it’s “totally inappropriate” for Jacobs to work for a company that she — and Segal — voted to award a contract to in 2005.

This alleged ethics “double talk” by Jacobs appears to be one of the issues Segal plans to push again, this time leading up to the Nov. 2 runoff.

Jacobs says she not a lobbyist and there’s no conflict with her past vote and current post, and Segal knows it.

But in purely political strategy terms, it’s an interesting line of attack for Segal.

Segal and the state Democratic Party pushed this same “Teresa’s a lobbyist” line in the primary. And that race ended with former Commissioner Jacobs gaining 42 percent of the vote, and Segal 23 percent. Did it work, or backfire?

Plus, one of Jacobs’ calling cards in that race was her record of pushing for tougher ethics, disclosure and public input measures. It would sort of be like Jacobs attacking Segal for his lack of business acumen — and please just ignore his three decades as a builder, investor and restaurant owner.

And Segal must know his lobbyist critique always invites the predictable Jacobs’ counter punch: Segal is trying to distract from his own issues with voting conflicts, hiding business partners, and attending No Name Club parties, the free, swanky all-male events co-organized by lobbyist and Segal supporter Fred Leonhardt.

Wouldn’t he rather leave ethics issues off the campaign trail’s front burner?

This isn’t a new fight. Jacobs sent a letter in July explaining what she does, and asking Segal to refrain from making this and other “false claims” about her job history and policy positions. Here’s that letter to Segal.

It apparently didn’t work. So now Jacobs is sending press calls to her boss.

Steve Tindale, co-founder of Tindale-Oliver & Associates, said he and others at the 50-plus employee firm “are pretty amazed” at being pulled into the mayor’s race by Segal. Tindale said Jacobs was not hired as a lobbyist, and that’s not what she does now for the firm, one that basically advises local governments on transportation issues.

“We don’t a have one [a lobbyist], we’re never had one, and as far as I’m concerned, we’ll never have one,” Tindale said

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott and his new lieutenant governor nominee toured the state, Thursday, after he announced his running mate pick as state Rep. Jennifer Carroll of Jacksonville.  Scott and Carroll appeared together in front of cheering supporters during the Orlando stop, at the Beardall Senior Center, near downtown. They also rallied in Jacksonville earlier in the day, with an appearance in Tampa slated for Thursday evening.

Click here for more photos from Thursday’s event.

ABOVE: Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jennifer Carroll, with Rick Scott, gives a thumbs up in Orlando, Thursday.   (Photos by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Jennifer Carroll waves to supporters, with GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott, as she arrives at a rally at the Beardall Senior Center in Orlando, Thursday.

Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jennifer Carroll responds to cheering supporters, with GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott (far right), his wife Ann Scott (far left), state Rep. Bryan Nelson (2nd from left) and state Rep. Sandy Adams, during the rally in Orlando, Thursday.

Running mate Jennifer Carroll and GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott react to supporters during the rally at the Beardall Senior Center, in Orlando, Thursday.

Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jennifer Carroll with GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott as they arrive at a rally at the Beardall Senior Center, Thursday.

In a new television ad airing on Florida's Panhandle, Democrat Alex Sink say that while we're fighting the oil spill we "have to diversify our economy starting right now."

She says in the 30-second spot that she has a "detailed plan to develop new business and attract new business for Florida." Judge for yourself how detailed it is here. 

 

UPDATED: In a Leon County courtroom, the Republican Party of Florida made a last minute attempt to remove a tea Party candidate from the ballot in a Central Florida state legislative race. But time was an issue because the ballot gets certified at 5 p.m. Thursday and the circuit judge appeared skeptical about granting an injunction.

Rep. J.C. Planas, a termed-out Miami lawmaker, was hired by the party to argue the case on behalf of a voter in House District 34, Christopher Denion. (Rep. Chris Dorworth, a future House speaker, currently holds the seat.) Planas argued that John DeVries is a bogus tea party candidate and asked Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford to disqualify him for technical issues surrounding his paperwork and a loan from Florida Tea Party leader Fred O'Neal.

"What we have here is the RPOF verses the Tea Party of Florida," O'Neal said in his opening statement. "They are trying to take us off the ballot."

At the end of the day, the judge rejected the RPOF's efforts to get an injunction but Planas said he will push it to trial. He also said he will ask prosecutor Willie Meggs to file a criminal case against DeVries.

Planas said DeVries admitted on the stand writing a worthless check -- which if convicted would disqualify him. "We are going to expose the (Florida) Tea Party for what they are," he said.

The group, led by Orlando political consultant Doug Guetzloe, is under fire as a front group for Democrats. (And remember the name "Florida Tea Party" is also a matter of legal dispute.)

Even if Planas won the argument for an injunction -- and the judge was incredibly skeptical -- it was still likely DeVries name will appear on the ballot, given that the case is ongoing and a decision might not come at the end of the hearing. Not to mention, the Florida Tea Party, as a recognized political organization, can then nominate a replacement.

Planas said the case is a trial balloon, and if successful, will lead to more GOP efforts to remove Florida Tea Party candidates.

In a harshly worded letter to the federal government's BP claims czar Kenneth Feinberg, Senate President Jeff Atwater bascially tells him: don't screw up.

"I have become increasingly troubled by reports of delays in the claims process, artificial and capricious deadlines on filing, and an apparent insensitivity to the very real, long term impacts of this tragic accident on the families and small businesses of Florida,'' Atwater wrote. He then went on to say that he hopes he'll keep the victims in mind.

Yesterday, several members of the governor's oil spill recovery task force expressed similar frustrations.

Here's the letter:

September 2, 2010

 Kenneth R. Feinberg, Esq.

Feinberg Rozen, LLP

The Willard Office Building

1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Suite 390

Washington, DC 20004-1008

 Dear Mr. Feinberg:

Along with many of my fellow Floridians, I was relieved to hear that on June 16, President Obama finally appointed an administrator to oversee the claims process for the Deepwater Horizon accident, and that you, as administrator, had been specifically charged with fairly and equitably disbursing BP funds to the victims of this catastrophe. After many weeks of uncertainty, we took great comfort from the fact that there was now to be an impartial adjudicator in place to address the needs of Floridians impacted by this disaster.

In the intervening weeks, however, I have become increasingly troubled by reports of delays in the claims process, artificial and capricious deadlines on filing, and an apparent insensitivity to the very real, long term impacts of this tragic accident on the families and small businesses of Florida. I was shocked to hear you quoted as suggesting that pictures on television were the best indication that circumstances here in Florida are “fabulous.” Not only do the residents of Florida have to bear the ongoing pain of an uncertain future, but they have now been dealt the further indignity of having their legitimate concerns publicly and cavalierly dismissed by the very individual in whose hands their future economic viability has been placed. The citizens of Florida deserve far better. 

To that end, I would respectfully call upon you to commit to three overarching principles as you move forward with this process. First, you will do everything in your power to avoid adding needless layers of bureaucracy to the claims process, providing greater opportunity for Floridians to receive what is rightfully theirs due to the negligence of BP or any other party. Secondly, that there will be no interruption of the claims paying process, nor will you restrict the liability of any claimant, until the full and complete ecological impact of the oil release is understood within the larger scientific community. Finally, the end of the claims process will be determined by the needs of Floridians, not prematurely closed simply for the sake of expediency or to accommodate the wishes of BP. If Floridians are still making legitimate claims, there should be an ongoing and consistent process that recognizes the fluidity of the situation and grants claimants a fair hearing without surrendering any future rights to redress wrongs committed against them.

We cannot afford to compound the magnitude of the BP nightmare with ineptitude by the Federal government. I would expect to hear shortly that you have redirected your efforts towards the victims of this disaster, and that new policy changes will shortly be announced that are designed to quickly and efficiently deliver much needed aid and assistance to deserving Floridians.

 Sincerely,

Jeff Atwater

President

Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent U.S. Senate campaign has landed its most prominent Democratic endorsement so far — from state Sen. Al Lawson of Tallahassee, who for the past two years has been the Democratic minority leader in the Florida Senate.

It’s almost certainly no accident that Lawson waited 10 days after his narrow defeat by U.S. Rep. Alan Boyd of Monticello for the Democratic nomination to the District 2 congressional seat. Still, the veteran state senator — he’s the “dean of the Legislature,” having first been elected to the House in 1982 and then to the Senate in 2000 — may give Crist a boost in parts of the Panhandle. Lawson, the only African American to serve in the Senate from North Florida, has always run well among black voters in Gadsden County and points west. But the fact that Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Kendrick Meek is also African American may diminish Lawson’s impact with those voters.

Still, it can’t hurt Crist to be praised by what passes for a “big-name” legislative Democrat, especially compared to his previous legislative endorsees — Sen. Maria Sachs and Reps. Ari Porth and  Darryl Rouson.

“Florida desperately needs an independent Senator in Washington who will fight for good jobs and economic opportunity, a quality education for every child, and Social Security for all of our seniors regardless of what the political party bosses want,” said Lawson. “Charlie Crist will be exactly that Senator, and I am proud to endorse his candidacy.”

Charlie Crist just picked up an interesting endorsement in his bid for U.S. Senate: state Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee. Lawson, who just narrowly lost a primary race against Congressman Allen Boyd, would be the most high-profile Democrat to endorse Crist's independent bid over Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek.

Other Democrats include two lawmakers from South Florida, Ari Porth and Maria Sachs, as well as St. Petersburg Rep. Darryl Rouson.

From a Crist campaign statement: "Florida desperately needs an independent Senator in Washington who will fight for good jobs and economic opportunity, a quality education for every child, and Social Security for all of our seniors regardless of what the political party bosses want," said Senator Lawson. "Charlie Crist will be exactly that Senator, and I am proud to endorse his candidacy."

“I am honored by the support of Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson,” said Governor Crist. “Senator Lawson has been a champion for working families for his entire career, whether it be fighting for jobs, the environment, or good schools. I look forward to working with him when I’m elected to the United States Senate."

The Democrats are likely to lose 47 seats and control of the House of Representatives in November's elections, a top political analyst says in a new forecast Thursday.

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, also says that the Democrats are likely to lose eight or nine seats in the Senate, eight governors' offices and 300 to 500 seats in state legislatures.

"The numbers are eye-catching. Republicans are dramatically gaining in all categories," Sabato said in an interview. "It's generated by a rotten economy and a strong conservative reaction against President (Barack) Obama." More here.

Yeah, I know, it's a pretty stinky pun. But Kendrick Meek's lackluster, unimaginative campaign put's me out of sorts.
Steve Schale recently wrote a column (and followup) explaining that since Meek won the US Senate Democratic primary it was now impossible for Gov. Crist to win the three way race between the two of them and Marco Rubio.

The on-line Weekly Standard (along with others) quickly pointed out that this was a bit of wishful thinking by FDP true believers.

Their argument is that if right before the election Rubio and Crist are polling close together in the 30's and Meek is still down around 20, then you're going to see a shift in support going to Crist in order to stop Rubio from winning.

Meek seems to think that all he has to do is expose Crist's voting record and show that he's the real Democrat and everything will be hunky-dory.

This is ridiculous. We all know that Crist doesn't have a principled bone in his body, but his populist good manners still make him an appealing choice to stop Rubio.

What it comes down to is "Who cares if you're the REAL Democrat?"

Look, Bill McCollum was the REAL Republican, but he lost. Why? It rained on election day and that kept his supporters from the polls.

They just weren't that motivated.

Compare this with 2008 when people waited in line for hours in bad weather to vote for Obama. This is what I'm talking about.

Kendrick, if you don't engage people emotionally and motivate them to vote, you're gonna lose.

Quit talking about issue positions. Hire someone who understands marketing.

A recent poll showed support for Healthcare Reform dropped to 43%. In a two-way race that percentage is a disaster. In a three way it's a landslide!

But just saying you support healthcare reform isn't going to get that 43% to walk out the door and vote for you.

For that, you have to engage them emotionally. Or to put it in Rovian terms, you've got to get them pissed off!

How? This is what you say:

In 2008 we voted for Change. But rich billionaires want to keep their tax cuts and special favors. These thugs use their money to spread LIES about OUR president.

They have invested in fighting against the change that President Obama has been working to bring us, with Healthcare Reform and new Financial Regulation laws.

We can't let these fat cat bullies drag us back into the mess that the Republicans left us with. Don't let these goons mug OUR president. He needs people in Washington who've got his back!

Send a REAL Democrat to congress.

And stay off the Sunday morning news shows until you've got your new talking points down. Get out of your comfort zone. Go on Jon Stewart's show, inspire young people.

It's great you've got Alan Grayson supporting you. But YOU need to start acting like him. Don't forget, Jeb Bush's charisma couldn't save McCollum.

Don't just post HIS testimonials -- speak like that yourself!

Maybe then YOU can receive million dollar money bombs too.

Connect up with the MoveOn.org people. It's the activist white liberals you need to reach. Use some imagination.

Bill Clinton was fine for the primary, but for the general you need to get out from under his shadow and become your own person.

You don't want people to still be talking about your mother. You want them talking about YOU.

The way to do that is be BOLD. Develop an emotion filled, market driven campaign that engages and excites people.

Don't be another career politician chump who loses simply because the weather's bad on election day.

Get your people FIRED UP, and READY TO GO.

By William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau

The unofficial word in Washington is that the Obama administration plans to relax limits on travel to Cuba for professional, educational and artistic purposes.

Some travel promoters are gearing up to handle potentially hundreds of thousands more visits.

Cuba Education Tours, a Canadian outfit, is urging Americans to start booking trips before the anticipated rules change.

“There is no need to wait for changes from Washington and be left out on account of overbooked tours and too few rooms and services,” the group says in an e-mail message touting their licensed services.

The tour group promotes a Boomers Whole Cuba Tour, a Havana International Jazz Festival Tour, a New Years Teachers Introduction to Cuba Tour and others detailed at http://CubaFriends.com/

“Cubans are eager to meet you and make friends with their northern cousins,” says Marcel Hatch, education director for the group.

Canadians have long traveled to Cuba without restraint.

The administration has not announced the change, but sources say it will come later this year, perhaps after the mid-term elections in November.

The new rules would not undo the U.S. embargo, nor would they open the floodgates to American tourists. They would ease restrictions on visas for selected purposes — business, educational or artistic — that were imposed by former President George W. Bush.

Essentially U.S. officials would return to the policy of the Bill Clinton administration, which encouraged people-to-people encounters with Cubans.

Most Cuban-American leaders in South Florida support limits on travel to try to isolate Cuba and deprive the Castro regime of tourism dollars. But many in Congress are pressing to remove the travel ban for all Americans, saying more contact and communication would encourage reforms in Cuba.

President Barack Obama last year fulfilled his campaign promise to allow Cuban-Americans to visit their families and to send unlimited amounts of money to Cuba.

Relaxed rules that make it easier for special groups to visit the island is the next incremental step toward closer engagement with Florida’s estranged neighbor.

The National Journal Group, in the middle of a big expansion of its blogs, weekly magazine and other media ventures, lately has been on a hiring spree, hauling in reporters from newspapers and bureaus all over Washington, D.C. Today, the Journal announced it’s dipped into the Florida reporting corps, announcing it’s hired veteran Miami Herald political writer Beth Reinhard as its chief political correspondent.

“For twelve years, Beth has been a leading political writer for one of the largest newspapers in an ultra-battleground state,” said National Journal Group Editor-in-Chief Ron Fournier.  ”During that time, she has proven herself to be both an old-school story-breaker and a writer of of uncommon authority and grace.  We’re thrilled to have her taking on such a critical role in our newsroom.”

The release said Reinhard will be moving to Washington along with her husband, Herald investigations and government editor Ronnie Greene, and their two daughters. It doesn’t say whether she’ll remain in Florida until after the election.

In the last several weeks, National Journal Group has announced a slew of new hires, including former Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett, Newsweek’s Michael Hirsh, veteran magazine writer and editor Matt Cooper, political analyst Matthew Dowd, The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, USA Today’s Aamer Madhani, the Wall Street Journal’s Yochi Dreazen, Sue Davis, and Fawn Johnson, Politico’s Josh Kraushaar, Coral Davenport, and Tim Alberta, the Tribune Washington Bureau’s Jim Tankersley.

National Journal Group includes publications such as National Journal, CongressDaily, Hotline, The Almanac of American Politics, and Global Security Newswire.

Metro editor Jay Ducassi just announced this, Florida's loss but the nation's gain: Beth Reinhard, a Herald veteran whose stellar performance as our political writer for the past four years has earned the respect of her peers nationally, has decided to take a job as the lead national political correspondent for the National Journal in Washington. 

Beth is a passionate political reporter who has that rare combination of being a relentless reporter and a gifted writer. She is a 24-7 blogger and a columnist with a genuine voice. Bottom line: she is a true authority on everything political in Florida. Beth began her career at The Herald in 1998, covering Broward schools. Back when Election Nights in Broward were spent at places like Rickey's and Kim's Alley Bar, a gentleman and scholar named Steve Bousquet took her under his wing and steered her toward taking over his post covering Broward politics and weekly column.

Beth covered her first session in Tallahassee while in the third trimester of pregnancy, and she has a bag of hanging chads to prove that she covered the 2000 recount before her baby girl was eating solid foods. She was on a campaign bus in the 2004 Senate race when her second daughter took her first steps. She became the Herald's political writer in 2006 and helped inaugurate the Naked Politics blog. She soon discovered that covering candidates campaigning at Cuban-American senior centers in Miami was exactly the same as covering Broward retirement condos, only with heavier accents and food. She covered the presidential election in 2008 and is now covering the equally eventful Senate and gubernatorial races of 2010.

We will miss her. Yet, at the same time, we are thrilled to know that others recognize her talent. In a chat with Sergio, the National Journal's Ron Fournier said he sought out Beth because of her writing and reporting chops, her outstanding coverage of Florida politics and the fact that she's not a Washington insider. Beth won't be leaving right away. We are grateful that she has committed to staying through this year's elections on Nov. 2.

Please join us in wishing her all the best.

UPDATE: As the two CFO candidates try to make an issue out of the courthouse, it's worth noting that Jeff Atwater voted for the bill and Loranne Ausley voted against it (she acknowledged to the Times that she didn't know the courthouse was in the large bill.) Statement from Jeff Atwater's campaign is below the jump.

On Monday, Alex Sink -- in her role as chief financial officer -- ordered an audit of the famed "Taj Mahal" courthouse for the First District Court of Appeals. But the Republican Party of Florida claims Sink's hands aren't entirely clean, noting that back in 2008 she approved the bonds to pay for the construction in a unanimous vote on the Cabinet. The party claims that once the bonds were approved, the project became the responsibility of Sink's office.

“It looks like the Florida Democrats have done a pretty good job pointing out the failure of CFO Sink to run her agency and protect tax dollars,” said RPOF Executive Director Ronnie Whitaker.

Sink's campaign spokeswoman Kyra Jennings (who earlier spent time in the CFO shop) said lawmakers made the public policy decision to spend the funds on the courthouse and the Cabinet essentially checked to see if the financing was in order, like it does for numerous other projects.

“Only the governor can veto appropriations by the Legislature,” Jennings said. “Once it gets to the Cabinet, they’re just voting on the financing of a bond.”

As for why Sink only called for an audit now, Jennings said the Department of Management Services approved individual expenditures for the project and didn't raise any red flags. The red flag, she said, was Lucy Morgan's article.

From Jeff Atwater spokesman Brian Hughes:

The record is clear, and Alex Sink confirmed it today with her campaign's statements.

Sink rubber stamps expenditures rather than force the bureaucracy to be accountable to the taxpayers of Florida. Now, her fellow liberal Loranne Ausley tries to point a finger at Jeff Atwater in a feeble attempt to hide Sink's failures.  Sink needs to do her job, accept responsibility for her failures, and stop assigning blame where it doesn't belong.

At the end of the day, Sink's signature has been on every state check that has gone to pay for the courthouse construction.

As the next CFO, Jeff Atwater will stand up to the bureaucrats who waste our tax dollars. He won't wait for reporters to call before he does the job of auditing and managing state contracts, and he won't sign the checks until he ensures the taxpayers' investment is protected.

After three months of being rivals, Bud Chiles and Alex Sink are on the same team. Chiles endorsed Sink this morning at a press conference in Tallahassee.

In a quick speech, Sink said she and Chiles shared common goals, including children's issues, renewable energy and ethics reform. Chiles said he "would be delighted" to help on her campaign, though no events have been worked out yet.

As for a future role in a Sink administration, Chiles said, "I have not idea at this point whether that will come together or not." Sink also denied that she offered him a job, saying that would be improper.

Chiles said that not all, but a majority, of his backers would move to the Sink camp: "I'm confident that the Bud Chiles supporters will be supporting Alex Sink."

The two politicos danced around the question of 527 funding. Just last week, Chiles railed against Florida's soft money system, essentially equating the political committees with money laundering. Sink today said that if her campaign did set up an outside group, all of the finances "will be fully transparent."