Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam told Florida reporters and editors Wednesday that the most important long-term policy issue facing the Sunshine State is quantity and quality of water. A rational long-range water policy is needed, he said, and, if done properly, it can also create jobs the state needs. For example, he said, water desalinization plants should be co-located with two recently permitted nuclear power plants.
Under no circumstances, Putnam said, should the state consider sale or transfer of water use rights from one region of Florida to another. "It would put us on the brink of a civil war," Putnam said.
He reiterated his opposition to a sweeping Arizona-style law to curb illegal immigration, and he expressed his opposition to a money-saving proposal by Gov. Rick Scott to merge the Department of Citrus with Putnam's agency, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Because the citrus agency is self-supported by a tax on citrus, not general tax dollars, "You don't save any money by eliminating that department," Putnam said.
The boyish 36-year-old is without question the wittiest and most articulate agriculture commissioner in Florida history, effortlessly discussing topics as varied as renewable energy, rural economic development and land conservation, while sprinkling his talk with references to small-town, ag-rich places such as Palmdale, Clewiston and Perry.
The former GOP congressman said he's glad to be "out of the circus that is Washington, D.C.," and brushed aside a question about whether he plans to run for governor, saying: "I don't spend any time thinking about that," which brought gales of laughter from the press gallery.
-- Steve Bousquet
That guy is SOLID. We are lucky to have a man like him in that position. Stop bugging him about running for governor. Let's just let him do his very important job.
Posted by: adam | January 19, 2011 at 03:23 PM
When Putnam was in Congress last year he sponsored a bill to give Amnesty to 2.5 Million AG workers like Reagan did.
The cost of that program worked out to cost the govt $78 Billion from 1986 to 1996.......today a similar program would cost perhaps $100 plus BILLON......
The amnesty bill proves he cares only about the citrus industry...screw the public.
By the way H-2A is the visa for temporary seasonal workers.......there is no cap but farmers like Putnam don't want to follow the rules that cost them money..they want to use illegal labor...
If you think he is agreat guy then you must like amnesty and illegal aliens...
Posted by: George Fuller | January 19, 2011 at 08:39 PM