Last week, Tea Party, um, leader Doug Guetzloe was decrying the ‘culture of corruption’ in Tallahassee in a column for Florida Voices, writing about the “lack of ethical conduct” from others.

How ironic, considering Guetzloe was sentenced to sentenced to 15 months in federal prison Monday after a jury found him guilty of failing to file tax returns in 2005 and 2006, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Prosecutors alleged that Guetzloe failed to file returns on about $187,000 in income in 2005 and $188,000 in 2006. Guetzloe has been prominent, in part, because of his leadership of a group called “Ax the Tax” that has fought tax proposals.

Listen, I’ve had more than my share of ethical issues, but that’s why you don’t see me tearing down the personal lives of others.  If its in the public domain, that’s fair game, but if some junior staffer gets popped for a DUI, you’re not going to read about it here.

Obviously, Doug Guetzloe had a different standard.

Well, kettle, this is Doug Guetzloe. He’s black also.

Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.

“I am humbled by the support of the thousands of Democrats, Independents, and even Republicans across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches who signed petitions to ensure my place on the ballot,” remarked Murphy.  ”As a small businessman seeking to build consensus in Washington, I believe my candidacy offers a stark contrast to Congressman West’s extreme, divisive rhetoric.  I look forward to continuing to make my case to voters throughout the fall.”

Murphy was recently added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red-to-Blue” list, and remains among the top three Democratic fundraising challengers in the nation.  A recent poll for the campaign found the race against West a 45%-45% tie.

“He’d be an outstanding pick. It’s up to Gov. Romney but if I had to recommend a single person it would be Jeb,” Graham told The Hill via Newsmax.

Chatter is picking up on Capitol Hill that Bush could be a dark horse, according to The Hill, even though the current favorites seem to be Florida’s Marco Rubio and Ohio’s Rob Portman.

Senior political strategists think Bush could deliver Florida for Romney and help him among Hispanic and Catholic voters.

The Hill pointed out that Bush fanned speculation last month when he told Newsmax that “I’d consider it, but I doubt I’ll get a call and I don’t know if it’s the right thing for me to do.”

Bush has since tried to bury the notion that he might join the ticket.

“While the support is flattering, his decision has not changed. Gov. Bush will not be a candidate for VP,” said Jaryn Emhof, his spokeswoman.

Last Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to move forward with the Michael Maltzan Architecture “Lens” design plan to replace the current inverted pyramid pier. Most of the people speaking, before the item came up on the agenda, were against signing the contract. When the City Council members had their chance to speak, several had questions about the Lens plans and the process. Councilmen Kornell and Nurse seemed the most on the fence about the Lens contract, aside from Newton of course, who continued his one-councilman crusade to save the inverted pyramid pier. Several council members acknowledged the lack of resident enthusiasm for the Lens design, and the poor communication with the residents on the project. In the end, all but Newton voted to sign the contract.

So what does this have to do with Mayor Bill Foster? After all, he doesn’t vote on council business, since this was council’s job, but he certainly was pushing for the demolition of the inverted pyramid pier, and has been pushing for it for almost 2 years. While the council members were discussing whether to sign the Lens contract, Foster flashed his newly released brochure on “the facts” about the old pier. He condescendingly used the word “facts” at least a dozen times in an attempt to discredit everyone that was against the preservation of the inverted pyramid structure, saying they didn’t know what they were talking about, so he had the “facts” to educate everyone on why the current pier is doomed and should be torn down to make way for our glorious new 90-foot-tall bedpan, toilet-bowl, sidewalk-to-nowhere,tiara, lens walkway/pier.

As for us, other than being residents and voters in St. Petersburg, we don’t really have a horse in this race. We are not in love with the inverted pyramid pier, although it is a nice place to take visitors or go for lunch or dinner with a great view. We don’t particularly like the Lens design either(see list of unflattering crossed-out nicknames above). But when we see Mayor Foster start barking about “the facts” about the pier, we just know he had to have messed them up somehow. So being only casual observers of the pier project up to this point(other than the piece we wrote about “what we were promised and what we are getting with the new lens pier” a few months ago) we decided to immerse ourselves these last few days into all of the documents posted over the last few years by the pier task-force. In all, there are thousands of pages of documents, including meeting minutes, old newspaper clippings, new RFQs and several studies.

Before we get to the fact-checking of Foster’s “facts”, we wanted to share some of the details we learned after filling our brains with pier task-force information, and other related data on the pier:

- The $50 million that has been earmarked was intended to address the Pier approach and the Pier head, but the not the Pier building itself (City Council instructed the pier task force in 2008 to consider all options, including demolishing the pier.)

- “The Pier” would not be The Pier without a pier (A bit obvious we thought, but it is mentioned in several of the documents.)

- Original demolition cost estimates: $11 million(approach and collar) + $2.4 million(building and foundation)     (Maltzan Lens plans, old pier demolition costs: $4.5 million, no explanation as to why it’s one third of the original quote.)

- “(A) drop-off/front door style experience for optimizing accessibility by way of cars trolleys and/or other public transportation is important” (They seem to have ignored this important recommendation in the case of the Lens design.)

- “It is recommended that any reconfiguration of the existing Pier structure or new structure’s on the Pier or upland be planned to accommodate between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of restaurant, bar, and banquet space.” (The Lens will only have 6,000 square feet of restaurant space on the upland “Hub” and only a few hundred square feet on the pier itself for a gelato stand.)

- Performance venue like an amphitheater would only be used 12-24 days out of the year (Amphitheater included in the Lens plan for Phase II, seems like it would not be used much, not much bang-for-the-buck).

- Any new pier “will continue to require some level of subsidy support from the city” (to date, no estimate of the subsidy for the Lens Pier has been announced. But…)
 
- Closing the existing pier would still cost $650,000/year (Having the pier sit closed and unoccupied would still cost the city hundreds of thousands yearly, so a new pier can’t be any cheaper than that to subsidize.)

- Lambert Advisory: Our Goals… Mitigate future requirement for operating and capital subsidy (We believe this was their number one goal overall, looking at all of the documents and minutes together.)

- Council Member Leslie Curran raised concern that the proposed design alternatives need to be reflect what the citizens and taxpayers want. (Interesting that at one point she was actually interested in what the citizens and taxpayers had to say about the pier.)

- “(T)here is little or no negative revenue consequence we believe in bringing development closer into the upland or placing the development on the upland.” (This appears to be one of their big cost-saving measures, less building over water = less money.)

- It would be the goal to lessen the negative financial impact by ‘dumbing down’ the pier – reduce the size to where there is no economic impact. (Again, another long-term cost savings measure is to shrink the pier so it costs less to maintain. It should be obvious though that this would also reduce the positive economic impact.)

- The minutes from the last Design Subcommittee and the last two General Meetings are strangely missing (No explanation for this, we would think those would be the most important ones to put up, since they would contain discussions about their conclusions.)

- 6th floor could be used for retail/restaurant development. (Imagine the view from the 6th floor of the pier)

- 25% of the third floor is used for management offices. (The contract with the management company requires that they have office space, but why does it have to be prime real-estate with a view?)

- The current pier has an economic impact of $74 million per year. (Mentioned several times in archival videos by Councilman Wengay Newton. With reduced size and retail capabilities, the new Lens pier will not have the same long-term year-by-year economic impact on the city)

- Yearly subsidy is $1.5 million per year (That is the average, it goes up and down)

- Just in the last couple of months, the city has paid for brand new roofs on the pier outbuildings and a new ramp to the docks  (Why would you build new things for a pier that is to be demolished in one year’s time?)

- The new pier project design phase only allowed 6 weeks, when similar projects usually get one year of planning time. (No explanation was given for this, why the rush?)

- Councilman Newton said about the pier design process, “input” is different than “approval”. There was no public hearing about condemning and demolishing the inverted pyramid pier. (This is the part that bothers us the most)

- August 18, 2010 Pier Workshop: Mayor Foster would like to get a consensus of the Council on removal of the inverted pyramid. Council Member Dudley feels that they need to do something to enhance the current structure; and asked if anyone had done a survey as to whether or not to keep the Pier. The straw poll on Demolition of the entire Pier including the approach. Ayes. Curran, Danner, Polson, Kornell. & Nurse. No. Kennedy, Newton & Dudley. Motion passed. (This meeting, with no public comment allowed, is where the current pier was condemned to destruction by a straw vote at the urging of Mayor Foster. It was non-binding, but it set the stage for the “official” vote which came later)

- Unsolicited bid from Archer Western(AW) and Architectural Design, Inc. (ADI) shows demolition of the pier approach, collar and gutting of the inverted pyramid to it’s frame, encasing the pier head in a seawall and rebuilding a more narrow approach would cost $50 million. (No response from the city on the details of this plan, it has effectively been ignored, even though it is on budget)

- “It is estimated that the MMA(Lens) concept is currently over budget by a range of 15% to 24%… Our current estimated overage for Maltzan and the “Lens” is approximately $10.9 million.” (Maltzan’s response was to say they would shrink the lens pier concept and move it 100 feet closer to land to save money)

We know, that was a lot to wade through, but it is important to know how we got to where we are now, and the above facts do a pretty good job of summing it up. After taking in all of this information, it’s pretty easy to see how we ended up as the Lens plan being the replacement for the inverted pyramid pier. The most important goal for the task-force was the reduction of the subsidy, which would necessitate the smallest footprint over the water, with almost all amenities on land, and the Lens is the only option that fit that bill, the others didn’t stand a chance. That is also why renovating the existing pier was never really considered as a viable option.

Now on to Foster’s “Get the Facts!” Pier Brochure click here to see the brochure: 

Pier Bridge and Head: 
- Structural maintenance program no longer cost effective
- Structural elements continue to deteriorate
- Has exceeded useful service life
- Load carrying capacity continues to diminish

(No arguments here, in fact nobody we’ve heard has debated that the 90 year-old approach is going to last that much longer, this is what the $50 million was originally intended to be used for, this replacement is also addressed in the ADI proposal)

Inverted Pyramid Market Study & Logistical Facts:
- Inefficient floor plans
(Imagine that, an upside-down pyramid has inefficient space planning, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the floor planning on the Lens pier, just look at those elevations, it’s even worse of a mess)

- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors unusable with limited potential to generate revenue
(They seem to be plenty usable to us, first and second floors are occupied, third is 25% full with management, and no efforts to lease it after Great Explorations moved out. We can’t find anywhere in the pier task-force documentation that agrees with this “Foster Fact”)

- Lacks of substantial entertainment program to activate the Pier
(Well, that’s what happens when you take away their marketing and event budget, the same thing as when you see a drop in attendance at city pools when you reduce their hours. In the past, there were major concerts with tens of thousands of people on the pier, but since there is no money for those events, they can’t happen now. What do you expect Mr. Mayor?)

- Restaurant space is the only retail oriented use, which might perform reasonably well on upland Pier
(It seems the Mayor is ignoring the retail-sales, boat-tours-and-day-trips, bike rentals and fishing that happens now at the pier. He is most likely referring to the task-force’s conclusion that non-restaurant retail doesn’t make enough money to reduce the subsidy, which is all the Mayor cares about)

- None of the existing ground floor retail will be added back to a renovated pier
(Sounds like Mayor Foster already has plans for a renovated pier if he knows this, we sure would like to see his plans)

- Back-of-house spaces serving 4th floor tenant require demolition
(No mention of this in the CIP report or the PSI report, we can find no document that makes reference to this)

- Logistical complexity of reconstructing a new pier head, below overhang of the inverted pyramid, will increase cost of both the demolition and new construction
(This was one reason the ADI quote builds a seawall around the pier building. Yes, the demolition of less than half of the pier-head only would cost 40% more for that small section only, but all you need to do to cancel that out is find the demolition company that the Maltzan Lens group plan to use, and the total demolition cost will be one third of the Moffatt Nichol demolition quote, so you still save money, if the Maltzan demolition figure is real that is)

- Renovating the inverted pyramid does not solve the design inefficiencies requiring significant annual taxpayer subsidies
(As long as you have a pier, you will have a subsidy. The less impressive of a pier, the lower the subsidy. You get what you pay for Mr. Mayor. Is cutting the yearly subsidy in half for the Lens really worth losing more than ten times the retail space, the great restaurant views and the great economic impact that you have in the inverted pyramid?)

- All existing ground floor, retail and support spaces must be demolished
(This “fact” is a bit redundant, since he already mentions they won’t be added back)

- Images show current state of concrete and re-bar deterioration underside of Pier
(This is for the approach and the collar again, not the five caisson supports for the pyramid building and elevator. Again, these are 90 years old and need to be replaced, nobody is debating you on that Mayor Foster)

Building Deficiencies:
(This is just a list of all of the things that do not meet codes on the existing pier buildings(windows, doors, alarm, plumbing, etc…). The inverted pyramid building needs to be gutted and refinished, and the ADI quote accounts for that within it’s budget)

So there you have it, several of Foster’s “facts” seem to have no factual support that we could find, big surprise, we know.

Now knowing how challenging it is to put together a morning email program, I have a newfound respect for the team at Politico.

Here’s what James Hohmann wrote this morning:

“Congratulations to Alex Burns, who conceived of and launched this email at the start of 2010. The POLITICO ethos is constant reexamination, innovation and adaptation. One of Score’s mantras is: Remember that Hotmail was once hot. So, please, never hesitate to let me know how I can better serve you as a reader. What do you like? Dislike? What’s missing? What’s there too much of? Email me anytime at jhohmann@politico.com or call me at 703-647-7697.”

I might just email Hohmann, if only to congratulate him and his colleagues on a job well done.

Still, there were interesting developments in several local races.  Here’s where sh*t stands.

One of the most significant developments was Joe Wicker dropping out of the race for District 57, an open State House seat in East Hillsborough. Wicker then turned around and endorsed Jake Raburn, who was already considered the front-runner in the race. But Raburn’s not out of the woods yet.  Brandon Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Reynolds is said to be eyeing the race.

Why do I sense Will Weatherford’s influence in Wicker’s decision to drop out? Rep. Weatherford has been working behind the scenes, where he can, to eliminate divisive primaries, as exemplified in Rep. Brad Drake’s and Rep. Eric Eisnaugle’s decisions not to challenge their Republican colleagues.  Perhaps Weatherfordleaned on Wicker to drop out of the race for District 57.  I would not be surprised.

Weatherford certainly had a role in Chris Sprowls’ decision to drop out of the race for District 65.  Sprowls had been challenging Rep. Peter Nehr, an ally of Weatherford.  Sprowls’ made the right decision here and has set himself up for later success.  By re-filing to run in 2014, Sprowls earned the good will of the party leadership and, after a little paperwork, he gets to keep the money he’s raised so far. Pencils Sprowls’ name in now as Nehr’s successor.

While Republicans have been working to avoid primaries, the Democrats will have an interesting primary for the newly drawn State House District 66 seat.  The party had recruited the well-liked Mary Lou Ambrose to challenge Rep. Larry Ahern, but then Cookie Kennedy was recruited by former Rep. Frank Peterman (yes, that Frank Peterman).  We even hear that Gershom Faulkner (yes, that Gershom Faulkner) is running Kennedy’s race.  That will be an interesting race to watch.

Speaking of staffing decisions, the cavalry is coming for Dwight Dudley and his campaign for District 69 (don’t ask me whether Jeff Brandes is going to run for re-election or take the leap to the Florida Senate).  Obama for America veteran Franco Ripple has crossed Alligator Alley to go to work for Dudley.  Just as I believe Dudley is about as good a candidate the Democrats could hope for in this district, so is Ripple about as good a staffer the Democrats could hope to hire for this race.

On the Republican side of this race, again, don’t ask me about what Jeff Brandes is doing.  Obviously though, others expect him to take the plunge for the Florida Senate.  Former Rep. Frank Farkas has told anyone and everyone that he will get into the race if Brandes is out, while political activist LJ Govoni is preparing to move into the district, write a big check and take a shot at the seat.

Dudley on one side, Farkas or Govoni on the other. It’s scenarios like that that first motivated me to launch this blog.

Still, Dudley, Farkas and Govoni are all better qualified candidates than one of the candidates running in District 58.  Last week, Jose Vazquez filed for the seat.  Three years before that, Jose Vazquez qualified as a write-in candidate. In papers then filed with the state, Vazquez listed his address as a prison facility near Lake Okeechobee, where he was serving time on a felony conviction for driving with a revoked or suspended license in May 2007, reported Janet Zink. He was released in early 2009.

It’s rather difficult to segue out of that blurb, so I’ll just mention that it should be a busy week on the fundraiser cocktail circuit.  There’s an event on Monday for Neil Brickfield, Dave Aronberg comes to the St. Pete Yacht Club on Wednesday to raise money for his State Attorney race and Rep. Jamie Grant has an event at the Tampa Club on Thursday.

In reality, of course, what would not be cost effective would be to try to survey every single American on such a frequent basis. By making the sample random the Census Bureau is able to make scientifically valid inferences about the state of the overall population. It’s a little bit sad that any member of congress doesn’t understand this, but effective representative democracy (thankfully) doesn’t require members of congress to be well-informed about every subject under the sun. It does, however, require members of congress to try to be well-informed about the sub-set of issues they choose to become active on. Webster is badly, badly failing that test here.

A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.

NEW SUNBURN FANS: “I love your news service” – Gail D. Cordial, Executive Director, Florida Partners in Crisis; ”This is a great read!” — Sonya Dean, VP, JM Family Enterprises; ”It’s a great way to start the day! Sunburn cuts through the clutter and gives you what you most want to know” — climate and energy advocate Susan Glickman 

SHAMELESS ATTEMPT TO MAKE IT INTO SUNBURN: “The only way Sunburn could be more helpful in launching my day is if it served breakfast in bed.” — Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director of Progress Florida. 

TWEET OF THE DAY ‘BOUT SUNBURN: @Aronberg: Congrats on Sunburn…SPF 20/20! 

ROMNEY CAMPAIGN UNVEILS DONOR PERKS

With all eyes on the general election, the Romney campaign sent out an 11-page fundraising document today outlining its major giving and bundler programs. The document details what high dollar donors and fundraisers get in exchange for cutting checks, including his bundling program. The highest contribution for donors called “Founding Partners” is $100,000. The first 500 contributors to hit that level receive several perks, including a summer retreat in Park City, Utah, as well as “green room level” access during debates, the Republican National Convention, election night and finance event general receptions. The booklet also released its highest level bundling program. Romney Stripes and Romney Stars pledge to raise $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. The “stripes” bundlers receive access at debates, the convention and election night, as well as dedicated briefings and their names being published in the Stars and Stripes commemorative book. Click here for full story.

HILLSBOROUGH, PINELLAS NAMED TWO MOST IMPORTANT COUNTIES IN U.S. FOR ROMNEY’S CAMPAIGN

Number one and two on Campaigns and Elections’ list of “10 counties Romney needs to win” are  none other than Hillsborough and Pinellas. About Pinellas: “Every precinct could make the difference between winning and losing.” About Hillsborough: “Whoever wins Hillsborough County in November is most likely the next occupant of the White House.” 

I’m thinking: Lord help the Obama Campaign if its fate rests in the hands of the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee. 

MEET THE RUBIOS

In case you missed it, Politico profiled Marco Rubio’s family.

MORE MARCO

Marco keynoted Saturday’s South Carolina Silver Elephant dinner in Columbia. The smart money is on him getting passed over for VP and then running outright in 2016, assuming Romney loses. The Palmetto State will be a linchpin of Rubio’s nominating strategy, so he’s laying the groundwork early. 

KEY QUOTE FROM RUBIO’S SPEECH

Marco Rubio: “For all the policy disagreements that we may have with the president, it is hard to understate how much he inspired people across this country four years ago, with his promises to unite America and lift it up. The man who today occupies the White House and is running for president is a very different person. We have not seen such a divisive figure in modern American history as we have over the last three and a half years. 

WHY RUBIO DOESN’T WANT TO BE VP

Walter Shapiro says the “modern history of what happens to losing vice presidential nominees is enough to make any politician recoil in horror.” … ”Since 1972, there are eight people in this camp. (There have been ten elections, but two of the losing running mates — Walter Mondale and Dan Quayle — were sitting vice presidents who were voted out of office.) Exactly one of them, Lloyd Bentsen, who ran with Michael Dukakis in 1988, had his reputation burnished by the experience. Nearly all the others would have been much better off had they turned down the invitation.”

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME READING: The Bilderberg conspiracy about Marco Rubio. Alright go ahead and read it here. The speculation holds, the Bilderberg Group is set to hold its annual meeting in the coming weeks at a Northern Virginia hotel where, among other things, they likely will select Rubio as Romney’s running mate.

GREER: LEMIEUX PRESSURED CRIST FOR APPOINTMENT TO US SENATE

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp was former Governor Charlie Crist’s top choice for the 2009 U.S. Senate appointment, not George LeMieux, according to former RPOF Chair Jim Greer, who also says LeMieux convinced Crist to reverse his decision with “a strategy that included direct pressure on Crist.” But, Greer said that he is not ready to tell the rest of the story yet. A TBO.com article reports that this account was partially confirmed by Kottcamp. What Kottkamp confirmed was that he was told he would receive the appointment, and was surprised when Crist instead appointed LeMieux. 

BUT IS PRESSURING CRIST ENOUGH TO CALL FOR AN INVESTIGATION?

Blogger Tom Tillson: “After drawing attention last week to just how fast and loose the Mack team plays with facts, the latest from the gang that can’t shoot straight is a shrill release put out Saturday that’s calling for a criminal investigation of stubborn opponent George LeMieux for… using “a strategy that included direct pressure” on former Gov. Charlie Crist to gain the U.S. Senate appointment in 2009.”

“Never mind that the article makes no mention of what this alleged pressure may have consisted of.  Whether LeMieux said ‘pretty please’ until Crist relented, threatened to take away his annual membership to the local tanning salon or twisted his arm until he cried ‘uncle’, we don’t know.”

“Yet, the leading Republican candidate feels this is enough to launch an investigation.  A candidate who, by the way, claims to be a fiscal conservative looking out for your tax dollars.” 

STILL THE QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Hey Governor, it’s Jim. I’m sure you know our friendship has ended, is over, and I’m just very saddened by that. But I wanted you to know personally from me that in the future there’s probably going to be things coming out that are going to be very hurtful to both you and Carole (Crist). But I’ll be honest with you, I don’t care anymore because I did everything that I could for you.” — part of a 2011 voicemail message that former state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer left for former Gov. Charlie Crist. 

MUST-READ FROM SUNDAY: FRED GRIMM ON ‘HOW TO STEAL AN ELECTION’

Florida seems to be spending a lot of time and effort and money trying to stomp out theoretical corruption instead of going after actual, real-life voter fraud. In 2011 the Legislature passed a 128-page election “reform” bill that cut back on early voting, put new restrictions on third-party registration groups (like that famously subversive League of Women Voters), and eliminated the long-honored practice in Florida of allowing voters who have moved since the last election to register the change of address at the polls on election day. … The Miami Herald won a Pulitzer Prize deconstructing the 1997 Miami election after Joe Carollo won a majority at the polls but lost to Xavier Suarez with his very suspicious 2-to-1 advantage in absentee votes. That ‘s how it’s really done. How elections are pilfered. With absentee ballots. Full story here. 

ADAM SMITH’S WINNER AND LOSER OF THE WEEK IN FLORIDA POLITICS

Winner, Smith says, is Connie Mack because he was endorsed by Mitt Romney. The loser, according to Smith, is Ken Detzner who “may be in a no-win situation as state leaders seek to rid voter rolls of noncitizens ineligible to vote without clean data.” 

COULD “HURRICANE GISPERT” DISRUPT RNC?

With the 2012 hurricane season now only two weeks away, state emergency responders will begin a statewide hurricane training session at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. The four-day event will follow a mock hurricane, “Hurricane Gispert,” making landfall in the Tampa Bay area during a “special event with increased population” (can anyone envision such an event this summer in say, Tampa?) and use the scenario to test the coordination of local state and federal responders. 

TIME TO PICK THE CONVENTION SPEAKERS!

Just 100 days away from the Republican convention and the Tampa Bay Times reports organizers are “starting to tackle one of the trickiest and most important elements of the convention — selecting the speakers.”

“It’s a matter of juggling monumental political egos, precious little time for maximum TV exposure, appeasing people whose help is needed, and ensuring the best message comes through to win over swing voters just starting to focus on the presidential contest.”

“The job is daunting. The networks at best will devote five or six hours over four days to convention coverage, and a good chunk of that is taken by all-but required speeches — the nominee, his spouse, the vice presidential nominee — so planners have to make the very most of the limited time they have.”

AT HILLSBOROUGH GOP PICNIC, GEORGE LEMIEUX WINS STRAW POLL; DENNIS ROSS ENDORSES CONNIE MACK

At a political picnic event on Saturday in Hillsborough County, Dennis Ross endorsed Connie Mack for US Senate, but it was George LeMieux who won a straw poll of those attending. 

DOCKERY: MACNAMARA A ‘POLITICAL CONSULTANT’ NOT A PUBLIC SERVANT

“While the governor needed experienced help to run the executive branch, he reached out to an opportunistic political insider with a questionable record, instead of enlisting the help of a proven, fiscally conservative, experienced manager with a public servant’s heart.” Read the rest of Dockery’s op-ed here.

CHRIS SMITH: BATTERED WOMEN NOT PROTECTED BY ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’

Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith ratcheted up criticism of Florida’s “stand your ground” law Friday, pointing to a loophole that could endanger some women, rather than protect them. Story here. 

DON GAETZ SCOOPS UP KATIE BETTA, LISA VICKERS

Department of Revenue Executive Director Lisa Vickers has announced her resignation as the state’s top tax collector Thursday and has been lured away to work for Florida Senate, where she will serve as incoming Senate President Don Gaetz’s senior policy advisor for government operations, Gaetz said Friday. … Gaetz also announced that his long-time aide, Chris Clark, will be his chief of staff, replacing Senate President Mike Haridopolos’ chief Craig Meyer. Katie Betta, communications director for outgoing House Speaker Dean Cannon, will play the same role for Gaetz, replacing Haridopolos’ spokewoman, Lyndsey Cruley. 

POLITICAL AD WATCH: STILL LAUGHING AT DAVE WELDON’S INTRO VIDEO

Put out your hand and meet P.A.W. —  the Political Ad Watch club coming together to offer a critical take on the soon-to-be-unending stream of political commercials.  As new commercials are released by candidates and campaigns running in the Sunshine State, a not-too-select group of political aficionados will offer their expert opinions on these ads.  First installment: Dave Weldon’s intro video, described like it “feels like a short video from ‘Saturday Night Live.’  If Lorne Michaels walked into the writers’ room and asked them to script a mock political commercial, this may be what they’d come up with.” 

ANOTHER PERSONNEL NOTE: Hogan Gidley to run Weldon’s campaign

With the announcement that Weldon was jumping into the U.S. Senate race, we also learned that he has an accomplished media guy: Hogan Gidley, who recently finished a stint as director of communications for presidential candidate Rick Santorum is the spokesman for Weldon’s campaign. Gidley has also worked on media operations for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was press secretary on David Beasley’s Senate campaign and also worked on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s campaign.

LINEUP OF POLITICAL FUNDRAISERS FOR THIS WEEK: Click here.

ADAM HASNER SAYS HE’S QUALIFIED FOR THE BALLOT BY PETITION

Republican congressional candidate Adam Hasner (CD 22) announced he’s qualified by petition. “We needed 2,298 petitions to qualify and I’m happy to report that we had over 2,500 certified by county supervisors of elections, and the petitions are now on their way to the State Division of Elections,” Hasner said in an email to supporters.

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE BEV SLOUGH PROFILED

The latest of five Republicans to announce for the open seat along the northeast coast, the veteran St. Johns County School Board member is no red-meat barker. Rather, she fashions herself as a “realist” who can loosen the gridlock on Capitol Hill. … Slough sees her decade on the St. Johns School Board as a “microcosm” of the country. Where adversarial politics, union obstinance and dysfunction bedevil many public school systems, St. Johns has been the top-scoring district in the state for the past three years. Read Kenric Ward’s write-up here.

SPOTTED: Justin Day of Tew Cardenas, Denise Lasher from All Children Matter and Donna Simmons from TECO at legislative candidate interviews for Associated Industries.

STAT OF THE DAY: $24,655,654 - the total amount donated to date to the state parties, legislative candidates and statewide judicial candidates on the ballot in 2012, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

JEFF ATWATER ENDORSES AARON BEAN FOR THE FLORIDA SENATE

Republican Aaron Bean announced that Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has endorsed him in his candidacy for the newly-drawn Florida Senate District 4 seat, which includes Duval and Nassau Counties.

HOUSE CANDIDATE TRAVIS HUTSON ENDORSED BY REP. BILL PROCTOR

Republican House candidate Travis Hutson was endorsed Friday by Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine. Hutson is running for the newly drawn House District 24, which includes parts of Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia Counties “His real world business experience is just what we need in the Legislature,” Proctor said in a statement. ”He understands the policies needed to free up small businesses to create jobs and lead our economic recovery.”

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN RACE FOR HD 57: JOE WICKERS DROPS OUT, ENDORSES JAKE RABURN

Joe Wicker, former fellow candidate for State House District 57, announced today his endorsement of Jake Raburn for State House, District 57. … ”Jake Raburn and I share the same, strong family values, which are important and respected by the residents of State House District 57,” said Joe Wicker. “Jake is committed to addressing the most important issues facing residents of southeastern Hillsborough County. I support Jake as he advocates for common-sense legislation, which creates jobs and strengthens our economy.  Jake Raburn has my support and I hope you’ll cast your vote for him on Election Day.” … Raburn’s not out of the woods yet.  Brandon Chamber President Jeff Reynolds is said to be eyeing the race.

LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND

Off: Rivers Buford, from his position as staff director of the Senate Agriculture and Transportation committees.

On: Katherine Halley, who was previously a deputy chief of staff to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, takes over for Buford.

Off: Jennifer Torres, from her position as legislative aide to Haridopolos; Charlyn Thompson has left her position as a legislative aide to Sen. Evelyn Lynn.

On: Jonothan Bellamy, now working for Rep. Debbie Mayfield.

RODERICK KING NAMED DEP. DIRECTOR OF FL. PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE

Roderick King is the new deputy director of the Florida Public Health Institute, which works to develop public-private partnerships to work on public health issues. King, who has an engineering degree from Johns Hopkins, an MD from Cornell and a master’s in public health from Harvard, is currently president of Next Generation Consulting Group, an organization that works to promote health. King formerly worked for the Health Resources and Services Administration and as a Commander in the US Public Health Service.

NAT’L EMAIL I DIDN’T OPEN: From Sarah Jessica Parker — ‘I’m hosting’ for Barack Obama

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Nancy Loehr

In papers then filed with the state, Vazquez listed his address as a prison facility near Lake Okeechobee, where he was serving time on a felony conviction for driving with a revoked or suspended license in May 2007, reported Janet Zink. He was released in early 2009.

On May 15, Vazquez filed to run for State House District 58 as a Democrat.

As Patrick Manteigas suggests, “It seems that the state only checks to see that felons don’t vote.  The state couldn’t care less if they run for office, even though it’s illegal.”