A must-read from Kendric Ward of the Sunshine State News: Adam Goodman, a Tampa-based political consultant, had known the Hillsborough County state prosecutor for a decade. And in the summer of 2009, as he surveyed Florida’s electoral landscape during a trip up North, he saw an opening in Tallahassee.
“I figured the attorney general race could be a wide-open affair. I called Pam to discuss the idea,” Goodman recounted.
“Her response was classic Bondi. She said, ‘Me?'” Goodman chuckled.
With Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp already announced and former state administrator Holly Benson ready to jump into the race, Bondi’s self-effacing reaction was understandable. Although she had spent 18 years trying high-profile criminal cases, she had no statewide name recognition and had never run for office.
But Goodman was undaunted and, as their 90-minute phone conversation ensued, Bondi began warming to his political instincts. What followed would make history.
Goodman — along with Tampa Bay businesswoman Kathleen Shanahan and attorney Martin Garcia — would form the nucleus of a leadership team that helped Bondi win the GOP primary and blow away Democrat Dan Gelber in the 2011 general election. Continue reading here.
