Stung by a narrow defeat in a governor's race she says she never expected to lose, Alex Sink is retiring from public office, but not from public view.
The departure of the chief financial officer and Democrat, who lost to Republican Rick Scott by 62,000 votes, leaves Tallahassee with no Democratic statewide officeholder left standing. Dozens of Sink's employees must either leave government or seek work with Republicans, who control the Legislature and all three Cabinet posts.
To fill a void, and continue the policy work begun by her campaign, Sink told The Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times that she wants to establish a nonprofit, nonpartisan, Brookings Institution-style think tank to advance the policies she focused on during her campaign and to keep herself in play for her next political move.
``I'm not closing any doors,'' said Sink, 62. ``I'm at the stage of my life when I've learned never to say never.'' Story here.
In recent memory, the state of Florida has always been a major political battleground. The size of its population and its reputation as a "swing state" give it paramount importance.
Posted by: Jay Butler | December 30, 2010 at 12:48 AM