Williams lines up in defense of Ammons, says he should remain as FAMU prez

Tallahassee Democrat Alan Williams is the first to stand up in defense of FAMU president James Ammons today, who received a 8-4 vote of no confidence from the school's board of trustees because of his handling of the hazing death of a band drum major.

Williams said in a statement:

 "As a state lawmaker and a graduate of Florida A&M University, I am very proud of my alma mater and recognize that tremendous challenges face the university during this era of reform. 

Jim Norman qualifies, sets up three-way fight for Tampa-based district

Though his status on the state elections website hasn’t officially switched to “qualified,” state Sen. Jim Norman, R-Tampa, has submitted his final paperwork to make the ballot. That includes his financial disclosure form, which discloses his wife's infamous property in Arkansas. Sort of.

Norman said he included the home out of an “abundance of caution,” though he denies he is required to include the home on his list of assets.

“This is in no way an admission that this is my asset or that I have any ownership interest in the investment property or that I have received any reportable gift,” Norman wrote in an attachment to his disclosure.

PolitiFact Florida examines whether voter purge is a "backdoor poll tax"

Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings recently appeared at a news conference bashing Gov. Rick Scott's noncitizen voter purge with Bill Internicola, a Brooklyn-born World War II vet who appeared on a list of potential noncitizens.

Before it started, Hastings asked Internicola if the Broward Supervisor of Elections had mailed him a stamped envelope to send back his proof of citizenship.

Internicola, who had voted for decades and is a Democrat from Davie, answered no.

Hastings responded, "There is also a backdoor poll tax. In the letter that he (Internicola) received I asked him a moment ago he did not have a prepaid envelope to send it back meaning he had to buy a stamp. Don’t tell me how little it is -- that stamp is a cost. And the state should not be about the business of emaciating voter rights. They should be in the business of causing people to participate."

Was Hastings correct to compare the requests from elections officials to Internicola and others on the list to a "backdoor poll tax"?

Read PolitiFact Florida's fact-check.

PPP: Connie Mack leads Republican rivals; Bill Nelson leads them all

PPP Florida:

Dave Weldon's late entry has had little initial impact on the Republican contest for the Senate in Florida. Connie Mack IV continues to be the clear leader with 34% to 13% for George LeMieux and 10% for Mike McCalister, with Weldon starting out at only 6% in the polls.

Mack continues to be the only candidate with any sort of name recognition. 53% of Republican primary voters have an opinion about him. LeMieux's at 31% and McCalister and Weldon are both known to less than 20% of the likely electorate.

Mack is winning easily with every segment of the electorate. He's pulling in similar numbers with men, women, moderates and conservatives, and is especially strong with seniors.

Winning the Republican primary in this race may prove to be a shallow victory anyway. Bill Nelson continues to lead all of his opponents by double digits, as has consistently been the case in PPP's polling on the contest. He's up 13 on both Mack and LeMieux at 49-36 and 48-35 respectively, 47-33 on McCalister, and 47-31 on Weldon.

What makes Nelson an unusually strong candidate is his appeal to Republicans. 23% of them approve of him, unusual in this highly polarized political climate. And he gets anywhere from 13-17% of the GOP vote in head to heads against his potential opponents. He's also strong with independents, leading the Republican candidates by anywhere from 20-24 points with them.

This race is likely to tighten once the GOP gets unified around its eventual nominee. There are almost twice as many undecided Republicans as Democrats in every possible match up for the fall, and once the candidate's been chosen that person's likely to see the party base unify around him some.

One thing to keep in mind though is that Nelson has pretty consistently run about 10 points ahead of Barack Obama in the state, largely because of his ability to peel off Republican votes. That means Obama would likely have to not only lose Florida, but lose it by a wide margin to bring Nelson down with him. That seems unlikely.

Our polls on this race have been pretty consistent- Mack's a strong favorite to win the primary, and then Nelson's a strong favorite to defeat him for another term in the general election.

Weatherford names Mears as chief of staff

Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has confirmed that Kathy Mears will be his chief of staff.

The announcement confirms a May Times/Herald report that Mears, who held high-level advisory posts for Gov. Charlie Crist and Senate presidents Tom Lee and Ken Pruitt, was a top pick for the position. Mears was also communications director for former House Speaker Dan Webster when he ran for Congress in 2010.

“Kathy is a true professional with invaluable experience in the highest levels of state government and the private sector,” Weatherford wrote in a press release. “As my chief of staff, she will play a central role in helping the Florida House develop solutions to address the many challenges facing our state."

Weatherford also announced that Ryan Duffy will be his chief spokesperson.

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Allen West moves out of Broward

It's official: Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West no longer lives in Broward. West is now a resident of Palm Beach Gardens. His spokeswoman wouldn't say whether West bought a home or is renting.

"We do not discuss the personal details of his residence," Angela Melvin wrote in an email.

We didn't find any home purchase in Palm Beach County online records.

West had been living in Plantation just outside his Congressional District 22 which spans Broward and Palm Beach. Due to redistricting, West is now running in District 18 which is to the north of his current district and more favorable to a Republican.   

West is expected to face Democrat Patrick Murphy who is renting a residence in Jupiter.

 

Attorney General Pam Bondi defends Florida’s voter purge on Fox News

It took us a couple days to get our hands on the video, but we finally were able to track down Attorney General Pam Bondi’s interview from Tuesday with Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly. The topic was the Department of Justice’s objection to the timing of Florida’s voter purge. Foreshadowing Gov. Rick Scott’s defiant response, Bondi defended the state’s actions and criticized the Department of Homeland Security for refusing to share its immigration database.

 

Here is a transcript of Bondi’s interview, with Kelly’s questions and comments (paraphrased in itallics):

Why does the Department of Justice care enough to weigh in on Florida’s actions? “You know, Megyn, that’s a great question because wouldn’t you think despite what party we are, what ethnicity, what race, we should we all want fair elections? Because every single person who votes illegally nullifies a legal vote.”

Obama campaign ramps up South Florida Jewish outreach with Lew visit

President Obama's chief of staff, Jack Lew, is in South Florida today to participate in the campaign’s Jewish community outreach, the campaign says: "Lew, an observant Jew who is actively involved in his own community, will speak to participants about how to turn out Jewish voters in their respective neighborhoods through the campaign’s Jewish Community Leadership Council program. Lew will also speak about the President's staunch support for Israel and other domestic issues important to him personally and to the Jewish community."

Efficiency task force recycles ideas, offers new promise to save billions

If Florida government truly were efficient, universities would offer a full complement of classes all summer. Judges would be given more flexibility when sentencing offenders. Inmates would get vocational training and literacy skills in prison. And legislators would not pass laws that tie the hands of state officials when negotiating contracts.

These are just some of the recommendations offered up Wednesday by the constitutionally-created Government Efficiency Task Force, a 15-member panel required to meet every four years to make money-saving recommendations to the governor, Legislature and the Florida Supreme Court.

Many of the ideas — such as year-round universities — have been on the rule books before but have been whittled down by the Legislature.

Indeed, Florida’s 160-member Legislature, and its practice of allowing monied special interest to dictate its policies, became the indirect punching bag of many of the task force recommendations.

The task force is appointed by the governor, House speaker and Senate president. Tucked in its 250 pages of recommendations are numerous examples of barriers that prevent the state from saving billions of dollars. Those barriers are erected by legislators and often grow out of turf battles between agencies and industries. More here.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/06/2836405/task-force-faces-big-hurdles-to.html#storylink=cpy

Connie Mack: I don't need to debate Republicans in Senate primary. It's over

Basking in high poll numbers and the major endorsement of Gov. Jeb Bush, Connie Mack has declined an invitation to participate in a statewide prime-time televised debate, effectively declaring the GOP U.S. Senate primary over.

"It’s clear the race for the U.S. Senate in Florida is now between Connie Mack, the Republican, and Bill Nelson, the Democrat," Mack campaign manager Jeff Cohen wrote in a letter to Jeanne Grinstead, deputy managing editor of the Tampa Bay Times.

Grinstead is organizing the July 26 debate with co-hosts Bay News 9 and Florida PBS and its member stations. The primary is Aug. 14. But Florida voters won't have an opportunity to hear from Mack, who has a big lead in the polls.

"A primary debate among Republicans would only serve to benefit Bill Nelson," Cohen wrote adding that a debate between Mack and Nelson "makes all the sense in the world."

Mack has faced aggressive questions over his credentials by rival George LeMieux. Other candidates include Mike McCalister and Dave Weldon.

Posted by Alex Leary, Tampa Bay Times