South Florida lawmakers bring back congressional 'Everglades Caucus'

For all the partisan bickering that cripples Congress these days, there is one thing that Florida lawmakers have generally been able to agree on: the need to restore the Everglades.

With a new congressional class coming in, two South Florida representatives — Miami Republican Mario Diaz-Balart and Miramar Democrat Alcee Hastings — announced they are reintroducing the “Everglades Caucus” in the U.S. House. The goal is educate members and staffers about the Everglades and, of course, foster support for the projects and money still needed to complete the $12.4 billion restoration effort.

In a joint announcement, Diaz-Balart and Hastings said they would co-chair the caucus.

“The Everglades is one of the true ecological wonders of the world, and we must do everything we can to keep it thriving and healthy,” Diaz-Balart said. “We will work together with other members of Congress to support restoration efforts of this unique ecosystem.”

Hastings called the Everglades “a national treasure that provides Floridians with clean drinking water, and is home to many endangered and unique species. It makes up a large portion of my Congressional district, and therefore I am acutely aware of the vital need for its restoration.”

--CURTIS MORGAN

Lois Frankel, Joe Garcia sworn into Congress

WASHINGTON -- Lois Frankel, the former mayor of sunny West Palm Beach, had to buy her first pair of winter boots in decades. Joe Garcia, who represents southern Miami-Dade County and the Keys, found a temporary room at University of Miami President Donna Shalala’s home in Georgetown.

As Garcia and Frankel joined their colleagues being sworn in Thursday, the two newest Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Florida have already found plenty of ways to get comfortable in Washington, D.C.

Both have spent time in Washington before. Frankel attend law school at Georgetown University and Garcia ran the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Minority Impact early in the Obama administration.

And both are ready to make their mark. Frankel, whose district stretches from Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County to Fort Lauderdale and Plantation in Broward County, vows to be a champion at constituent services, as well as fighting for women’s health care issues, Medicare and Social Security. But she also said she sees transportation as her No. 1 area of focus.

She’ll be sitting on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where she hopes to remind fellow members that there are two ports, a railroad, the Intracoastal Waterway and plenty of other transportation needs in her stretch of Florida.

“I think being on the Transportation Committee will allow me to focus on economic issues that are very very important back home,” she said. “These are issues that will drive the economy, that will drive issues back home. If I can’t do my part in giving a boost to the South Florida economy, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a congressperson.”

More from Erika Bolstad here.

Miami-Dade, Broward ports on edge as strike looms

PortMiami administrators are on edge as the nation’s 14,650 longshoremen threaten to shut down the giant gantry cranes used to ship containers at 15 major East Coast ports at midnight Saturday. The job action portends a potential blow of tens of millions of dollars a day to Miami-Dade County’s economy.

PortMiami, the nation’s 11th-largest shipper of containers, does almost $20 billion a year in container business. Any shutdown is not expected to affect cruise ships.

“It’s not a good thing,” said PortMiami Director Bill Johnson, who gathered with staff Friday to discuss the looming shut down. “Ninety-percent of what Americans consume arrives by water. Within a few days it could mean a major disruption throughout the entire U.S.”

At Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy said the department is stepping up security and preparing First Amendment zones in anticipation of picket lines.

“We’re very concerned about it,” she said. “We want to make sure operations continue for those not affected.”

A strike would have far less impact in Broward, which has only two container transport companies that employ longshoremen. Miami has several more, including world leader Maersk. All together, they employ “hundreds of workers” — though local International Longshoremen’s Association offices and PortMiami officials could not give an exact figure.

Johnson said a strike would affect far more than the 6,000 workers at the port, putting a virtual halt to one of the largest economic engines in the county. His office has little in the way of a contingency plan should the longshoremen walk out Saturday night.

More from Charles Rabin here.

U.S. Rep.-elect Patrick Murphy hires Eric Johnson as chief of staff

Patrick Murphy, the Democrat who beat U.S. Rep. Allen West in the Treasure Coast's District 18, has hired his campaign consultant Eric Johnson as chief of staff. Erin Moffet,  who also worked on Murphy's campaign and has worked for U.S.  Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Miramar), will serve as Murphy's spokesperson.

U.S. Rep.-Elect Lois Frankel hires chief of staff

A couple of familiar faces will be working for Lois Frankel when she is sworn in as a member of Congress Jan. 3 to represent Broward/Palm Beach District 22. Frankel has hired Jonathon Bray, her campaign manager, as chief of staff. She has also hired Sarah Rothschild as communications director. Rothschild, a former Miami Herald sports reporter, now works for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and was a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Ron Klein who held the District 22 seat until he was ousted by Allen West in 2010.

Longtime BSO spokesman as well as undersheriff stepping down

Add two more big names at the Broward Sheriff's Office who plan to submit resignations next week: Undersheriff Thomas Wheeler and Jim Leljedal, head of media relations, Leljedal said today.

Leljedal has been with BSO for 29 years. He said that he had gotten word back indirectly that the newly elected sheriff,  Democrat Scott Israel,  doesn't want him.

"I could dig in my heels and stay on as a deputy I suppose but under these circumstances it is probably best to move on," he said.

Israel beat Republican Al Lamberti in November. Israel is at FDLE's sheriff's school this week and could announce some important new hires next week.

 

 

 

BSO resignations include head of detention and external affairs

The Broward Sheriff's Office responded to our record request this morning related to post-election resignations. We didn't interview these departing employees to see if they are  leaving due to Democrat Scott Israel beating Sheriff Al Lamberti, but that is the likely reason for most if not all of these departures. Here is what we received, in no particular order of importance:

*  Mila Schwartzreich, assistant legal counsel (She is headed to the Broward Property Appraiser in a switcheroo -- property appraiser attorney Ron Gunzburger who helped run Israel's campaign is headed to BSO)

* Capt.  Stanley Hodgman

* Roy Vrchota, director of the professional standards committee

* Chief Scott Gooding (worked at the courthouse)

* Capt. Andrew Koerick, child protective investigative services

* Capt. Cynthia Adamsky

* Arthur Santucci, executive director of external affairs

* Capt. Robin Larson, Department of Law Enforcement

* Col. James Wimberly, Detention and Community Control

* Major John Nesteruk, Department of Law Enforcement

 

New Broward GOP chair says he won't get paid

The Broward Republican Executive Committee chose Rico Petrocelli, who had served as the paid executive director, to serve as chairman Monday night. Petrocelli had recently floated the possibility of making the chair position paid but he has ditched that idea.

"None of the [Broward] chairman have  gotten paid," said the former Planation city council member in an interview Thursday.  "I am not getting paid."

Petrocelli said he has no immediate plans to hire a new executive director. He says his goals for 2013 include outreach to minorities and young voters, growing clubs and assisting local candidates. He faces the challenge of energizing GOP activists in an overwhelmingly Democratic county after an election in which Republicans suffered notable local losses including Sheriff Al Lamberti who was ousted by Democrat Scott Israel.

Petrocelli ended up without a challenge after Karen Harrington, who lost two landslide races in a row to U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston), pulled out. BREC banned the media from the internal election -- two years ago a close divisive chair contest featured some shouting from the floor. The group will also continue the policy of not allowing the media or others to videotape the meetings (sometimes BREC posts their own videos of a portion of the meeting -- and so do candidates.)

Petrocelli replaces Richard DeNapoli who decided not to run again due to job opportunities outside of Broward.

 

 

PolitiFact checks claim by Broward GOP about League of Women Voters guide

It’s not easy being a Republican in Broward County -- home to the largest number of Democratic voters in Florida and a county where registered GOP voters are outnumbered two to one by Democrats.  

Beyond the numbers, Broward’s liberalism often makes amusing headlines -- from a 2002 gay mayoral candidate in Wilton Manors who said he was attacked for not being "gay enough," to a county commissioner in 2007 who questioned airing emergency warnings on the station that ran Rush Limbaugh’s radio show.

It wasn’t a surprise that Democrats swept Broward and helped re-elect President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. But the Broward GOP also suffered the loss of two of their most prominent local Republicans: state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale who lost after redistricting, and Sheriff Al Lamberti, who lost to Democrat Scott Israel. (They also had the blow of Fox News favorite U.S. Rep. Allen West moving out of Broward to the Treasure Coast and then losing.)

Richard DeNapoli, chairman of the Broward Republican Executive Committee, or BREC, wrote amemo to the group listing accomplishments of the past year. Most of those accomplishments were nothing surprising, such as lining up volunteers and distributing thousands of Romney bumper stickers. But one accomplishment caught our eye:

"We had the liberal League of Women Voters Guide removed from the Broward Supervisor of Election's website."

We wanted to know, did the Broward GOP get the Broward Supervisor of Elections to remove a League of Women Voters guide from its website? And was that guide or is the League itself "liberal"?

PolitiFact puts the claim to the Truth-O-Meter.

 

Soon to be ex-Broward Sheriff Lamberti shows interest in DOC job

Republican Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti who lost the November election to Democrat Scott Israel has expressed interest in the Secretary position at the state Department of Corrections. Secretary Ken Tucker recently announced that he was retiring.

"The sheriff had expressed interest to Steve Casey [executive director]  at the Sheriff's Association about the DOC job," said Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott.

Casey provided Lamberti's bio and contact information to Scott's office last week and Casey provided Lamberti's resume last night. However Scott's office hasn't asked Lamberti to interview for any position.

"We haven't had any direct contact over this issue" with Lamberti, Schutz said. 

Lamberti did not respond to a text asking him about his interest in the position. Lamberti has worked for the Broward Sheriff's Office for decades and rose through the ranks until then Gov. Charlie Crist appointed him in 2007 to replace Ken Jenne who went to prison. Lamberti beat Israel in 2008 when about 50,000 Broward voters skipped the sheriff's race on their ballot. When Lamberti lost this year, about 29,000 voters skipped that race.

The Sentinel's Broward Politics blog previously reported on Lamberti angling for the job.