Sink to Crist: oil drilling "doesn't sound very green"

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink joined the chorus of Democrats, and some Republicans, sounding off in opposition to Gov. Charlie Crist's call for oil drilling off the coast to offset rising fuel prices. She noted that, unlike his climate change push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, his turnabout on oil drilling "doesn't sound very green to me.''

"Florida needs protection from Washington politics,'' Sink declared at a hastily called news conference. She said she was "stunned" when she learned of the news of the governor's reversal today by reading news accounts, including a piece in the Wall Street Journal which she said left the impression that if the governor supports oil drilling, the rest of Florida does.

"The more I thought about it, the angrier and angrier I got,'' she said. "We can't be ruled by polls...The governor is one person, he's one public official and I'm another statewide public official and I'm presenting the countervailing position.''

She said drilling could take as much as 10 years to even recover one drop and "will do nothing to reduce the pain we're feeling'' from $4 a gallon gas prices. "The future is not in destroying our coast,'' she said. "We need long-term solutions now.''

Crist: "I am defeated."

Gov. Charlie Crist said "I am defeated" on Tuesday morning, moments after his two fellow members of the State Board of Administration refused to go along with a Crist suggestion to bar two high-profile investment firms, Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan Chase, from joining a financial team being put together by the SBA to obtain backup financing to Florida's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Crist said he was concerned about hiring two companies who right now are under investigation for their role in the near collapse last fall of the Local Government Investment Pool. Both companies sold securities to the SBA for the pool that would up getting downgraded as the credit crisis shook Wall Street.

"I just don't want to be put in a difficult situation,'' said Crist.

But Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum said it would be wrong to target the two companies until there was proof that they may have done something wrong. Sink also said she was concerned that removing Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan would leave just two other companies as the leaders of the team that will try to figure out how to secure as much as $2 billion to $3 billion in backup financing for the CAT Fund, the state's large reinsurance program that will be on the hook if another big hurricane hits Florida.

"We're penalizing them today without knowing, I think it's premature,'' said McCollum.

Sink has reservations about House autism plan

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who is the chairman of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the public-private entity that administers Florida's KidCare program, said she has concerns about the new proposal on autism and other developmental disorders that is expected to be approved on Tuesday morning by the House Healthcare Council.

Sink's biggest worry is that the proposal, which would expand eligibility in the Healthy Kids program and expand the services offered, has a fiscal impact that no one has yet figured out. Even the analysis drawn up by the House says the change will have a "significant but indeterminate fiscal impact" on Healthy Kids and that it may impact the number of children who get Healthy Kids coverage.

"There has been no fiscal analysis,'' said Sink. "They need to slow this train down until we see the impact."

Does Alex Sink want to fire Kevin McCarty?

Florida's insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty has been on the job since 2003, but does Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink want him out?

A Senate panel on Thursday inserted a provision in an insurance bill that would force Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet to vote on whether to retain both McCarty and Don Saxon, who heads the office of Financial Regulation, by October. The new provision states that there must be a vote of "reaffirmation" every two years and that McCarty and Saxon must win support from a simple majority from the governor and Cabinet in order to keep their jobs.

The amendment sponsor was Sen. Mike Bennett, but the Bradenton Republican said he did it as a courtesy to Sen. J.D. Alexander, chairman of the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee. Alexander said the idea came from Sink. A spokeswoman for Sink said it wasn't the CFO who suggested it, but that Sink was in favor of the proposal.

When Crist took office, he never moved to reappoint McCarty, who has since championed the insurance reforms touted by Crist and has crossed swords with Allstate. Current state law says that the insurance commissioner can only be appointed or removed with the yes votes of both the governor and chief financial officer.

Alexander said Friday that he didn't know if "anybody was unhappy with anybody" but he said that he supported the idea because top regulators should have their performance periodically reviewed. He said that "I do think that some additional accountability of those people if appropriate." Alexander, for example, openly questioned why Saxon had not done more to warn Florida lawmakers about the problems in the financial industry, including the subprime meltdown.

Sink warns tax panel: tax cap will hurt bond rating

On the eve of an historic vote by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink fired off a letter to the panel warning them that if they put the proposal to cap government revenues on the ballot and it passes, it will "negatively impact our state's bond ratings and hamstring our ability to govern."

Read Sink's letter here: Download alex_sink_tabor_letter.pdf

Sink to pitch Cat Fund proposal to Rubio

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink will spend an half-hour today with House Speaker Marco Rubio. Sink said her main objective during the meeting will be to talk about insurance, including pitching her ideas on reforming Florida's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which she first proposed last fall.

Sink, concerned that Florida has assumed too much risk for reinsurance under the legislation passed by lawmakers a year ago, wants to give the Florida Cabinet the power to set the reinsurance levels and pricing of the CAT Fund. Sink said this would give the state more flexibility and ability to respond to changes in the marketplace. Her proposal also called for having the CAT Fund administration report directly to the Cabinet, instead of keeping it folded inside of the State Board of Administration.

Sink says gov's trust fund raid = tax increase

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is joining the chorus of criticism of Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed budget. While she commends him for proposing to increase KidCare by $60 million, she blasts him for raiding the workers compensation trust fund. Her statement, emphasis added:

"While I understand the current challenge to find resources in this year’s budget, I am concerned about
the recommendation to sweep $129.5 million from the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund.  Through efficient management and reform of the Workers’ Compensation system, our state has been able to reduce Workers’ Compensation Administrative Trust Fund assessments from 2.75 percent to 0.25 percent, which is a 91 percent reduction over an eight-year period.  A trust fund sweep of
this magnitude will require the state to raise Workers’ Compensation assessments—taxes—on Florida businesses as early as January 2009.  I look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to prevent assessment increases on Florida’s business owners, many of whom are struggling to balance their own budgets.”

Sink comes under fire from legislators over SBA mess

No one directly named her, but Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink became one of those now coming under scrutiny by state lawmakers as they try to untangle the debacle over the Local Government Investment Pool and the State Board of Administration.

Both Rep. Susan Bucher, a Democrat, and Sen. Ronda Storms, a Republican, had pointed questions for SBA interim director Bob Milligan, as well as Sink's chief of staff Jim Cassidy, and Melinda Miquel, the chief inspector general for Crist who sits on the SBA audit committee. Bucher wanted to know why an audit released last March, and which questioned some of the SBA investment policies, had not been completely responded to by SBA officials. She also asked who's responsibility it was to keep an eye on the SBA while problems unfolded.

"Who was minding the store?" asked Bucher.

Storms was more blunt, noting that some elected officials had run for office on their "financial expertise" and yet had not begun to ask questions about what was happening in state-held investments until November. She said that was after members of the public had already begun to hear about the meltdown in the subprime mortgage market and after the "house was burning down."

"It's easy to say, 'oh yeah I sent a letter in November and I demanded a meeting about this in November, but where were you in July?'' asked Storms.

Tara Klimek, a spokeswoman for Sink, said the questions asked lawmakers are similar to ones that Sink has been asking since November and "underscored the need" for an "independent investigation" that will be undertaken by an outside auditor.

Crist and Sink urge Milligan to hire "outside counsel" to look at state board

Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink have released a somewhat cryptic joint statement that says that they have suggested that Bob Milligan, interim director of the State Board of Administration, to hire "outside counsel" to assist the SBA.

The joint statement says: "It is essential that we examine recent events with the Local Government Investment Pool.  In the interest of our government investors and to restore confidence, all investments sold to the state of Florida must be reviewed."

Sink has already pushed for auditors to review what happened at the Local Government Investment Pool - which nearly collapsed when investors rushed to take out billions they had in the account run by the SBA.

What's not said on the release: No mention of Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is the third trustee that oversees the state board.

The release comes on the heels of an annoucement earlier today that the SBA has secured a AAAm rating from Standard and Poor's for the good assets left in Fund A of the Local Government Investment Pool.

A positive day at SBA

The State Board of Administration has reported that on Monday - the battered Local Government Investment Pool - actually took in more money than it paid out. Thanks largely to the City of Sunrise, the pool reported receiving deposits of $43 million and withdrawals of $9 million today. Sunrise officials deposited nearly $37 million, according to the SBA. Sunrise remains one of the biggest investors in the fund, with total deposits worth $233 million in the pool.

The pool, which is now being managed by BlackRock Inc., was drained of billions during the month of November until the trustees of the board - Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink - halted withdrawals. Those investors with money left in the pool can only take out 15 percent of their money, or $2 million, whichever amount is greater without paying a 2 percent redemption fee.

Sink: Audit state's investment administration

State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is calling for an audit of the State Board of Administration, citing (among other things) "inadequate transparency" as one of the causes for troubles with the SBA's local government investment pool.

Download Sink.pdf 

Sink to meet with angry investors

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who pushed last week to freeze the state's battered Local Government Investment Pool and hire an outside company to manage it, could be in for a cool reception this morning. Sink has agreed to go to the joint conference of the Florida School Boards Association and Florida Association of District School Superintendents in Tampa and talk to elected officials about what the State Board of Administration has done with the pool _ which was reopened on Thursday to limited withdrawals.

"She feels it's very important to talk to investors,'' said Tara Klimek, a spokeswoman for Sink. "She wants more communication, especially from the SBA going to investors."

School officials also extended an invitation to Attorney General Bill McCollum, but he does not plan to go to the meeting said his office.

Some school officials, including Jackie Pons, the school superintendent for Leon County, are angry that they cannot withdraw all the money that have invested in the pool without paying a 2 percent penalty. Pons said on Thursday that he's gone over the agreements between his district and the SBA and he cannot find any legal authority to charge a fee.

Blackrock report on state fund: separate high risk

Blackrock, the financial consulting firm, completed its emergency analysis of the state's Local Government Investment Pool to the State Board of Administration and presented it to the state late Monday. The conclusion: six percent, or $867 million, of the funds are securities in default, 8 percent or $1.2 billion are "under stress" and 86 percent or $12 billion are in high quality money market funds.

Their recommendation: the high risk should be contained in a separate fund. The governor and Cabinet is meeting now to discuss the details.

Here's Blackrock's report: Download black_rock_report.pdf

CFO: Investigate state investments for vulnerablity to bad mortgage stocks

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink says she wants an in-depth analysis of the state’s Treasury investments to determine how vulnerable the mortgage-based securities are to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Sink said she made her decision after meeting with senior executives from several Wall Street investment management firms in New York City last week.

"I want to ensure we are safeguarding the taxpayers' money,'' Sink said in a statement. "I have ordered a thorough reivew of the state Treasury investments to uncover and idenity any previously unknown risk to help us protect Floridians' tax dollars.''

Cabinet appoints new revenue director

The former general counsel and long-time legislative director of the Department of Revenue, Lisa Echeverri, 42, was named the agency's new director by Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet today.

Echeverri replaces Jim Zingale, a 34-year veteran of state government, who is becoming the interim head of the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology. The newly-created agency will focus on IT development between agencies in state government and provide coordination for large-scale, multi-agency projects. Zingale will retire in February.

Sink calls for PIP fixes as leaders near deal

With a PIP deal possibly imminent ,State CFO Alex Sink just sent a letter to the governor and legislative leaders, calling for some type of fix that includes more anti-fraud efforts and limits on what medical procedures can be bill for and in what amounts.

Download SinkPIP.pdf

** Update: State Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, says there's no deal yet on no-fault auto insurance as it prepares to end Oct. 1

CFO says developers making too much money off state

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink was the lone no vote today against a proposal to lease state-owned submerged lands for a proposed 104-slip dock in Volusia County. Sink complained that the state is not charging enough to developers who stand to make millions off their use of state-owned land.

Sink pointed out that 76 of the 104 slips proposed for the facility in New Smyrna Beach would be on state-owned land and that if the developer charges $200,000 for each slip he will make in excess of $15 million, or a net of $14.2 million after paying the state lease fees.

"We're not getting the correct share of the enormous profits these developers are making,'' said Sink.

Her arguments didn't sway Gov. Charlie Crist or the other Cabinet members. Attorney General Bill McCollum noted that the state is already looking into raising its lease fees and that any changes would be applied to the Volusia County lease. Crist asked if the developer had pre-sold the leases. When he was told no, Crist said the developer is taking a "risk" and in the end the project will "create jobs."

Sink spreading post-PIP fears, not solutions

Dem. CFO Alex Sink, who has predicted the loss of no-fault insurance will lead to "mass confusion" for drivers and more lawsuits, has launched a new Q-and-A web feature, called "Life without No-fault," at MyFloridaCFO.com.

While Sink raises some valuable concerns about what will happen when personal injury protection lapses Oct. 1, neither she nor any other state leader has yet stepped up, proposed legislation and put pressure on the Legislature to act in advance of the Sept. 18 special lawmaking session.

Said Sink spokeswoman Tara Klimek: "We are providing Q&A for consumers who have questions and are calling our offices looking for answers.  We are advising homeowners to purchase sufficient insurance to protect themselves and their families, because now they will be liable for injuries they cause in an accident.  That is proposing solutions on how consumers should act in what will most certainly be a post-PIP environment. No other governmental entity is advising consumers right now and the sunset is 6 weeks away."

"Mass confusion," lawsuits and the end of PIP.

State CFO Alex Sink said that if no-fault car insurance goes away, "mass confusion" might not be far behind. 

''We're going to a tort system. You will be subject to more lawsuits,'' said Alex Sink. 'It may be the lawyers' employment security act.''

Sink, whose office oversees insurance, wouldn't say what system she would favor, but she said she's preparing for the Legislature to do nothing about the fact that no-fault Personal Injury Protection is about to lapse Oct. 1.

Story here

Sink: Stupid gift ban has led me to steal

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink remembers when she first got in office, she met with a lobbyist and asked for a cup of coffee. After fumbling for a moment, he said she'd have to leave $1 due to the lobbyist gift ban that prohibits state elected officials from accepting anything of value.

"This the stupidest damn rule," she joked today to the audience of the Capital Tiger Bay Club. "Now, I just steal stuff."

Budget cuts may claim a Capitol perk

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has come up with one way to trim some of the budget from her agency: Save $139,030 by laying off the three employees who work in the basement of the state Capitol and spend their day cashing checks for state workers.

This is a nice little perk for state employees especially since there is currently no ATM machine anywhere in the main Capitol complex. But Sink's office says that cashing checks for state employees is not an essential service for the Department of Financial Services. Sink, a former bank executive, said she remains surprised that there is not an ATM machine located in the Capitol and has acknowledged that she has already asked her staff about it.

Crist lashes out at insurance industry

Gov. Charlie Crist today suggested that insurance companies may be working in concert together to thwart insurance reforms passed last January and he said he's ordered lawyers in the governor's office to investigate whether or not that could be happening.

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty also expressed frustration at the fact that companies are not filing rate decreases as was originally forecast by analysts. McCarty said his office intended to vigorously examine all rate filings - pointing out for example that the Office of Insurance Regulation on Monday had directed State Farm to file new filings that show an additional four to five percent decrease on top of the 7 percent decrease the company showed. McCarty also said that OIR has sent out subpoenas to State Farm executives asking them to show up at a hearing to explain why they decided to drop 50,000 coastal policyholders.

But Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink told Crist and her fellow Cabinet members that if insurance companies do not pass on savings to consumers as predicted then the Legislature should go back and remove the extra risk in the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund that the state assumed as a way to lower rates. Sink also said she wants to question the experts hired by OIR and the Legislature who had predicted the average 24-26 percent rate decrease in the first place.

Lawyers to Sink: Pay paralyzed teen now

Bruce Rogow, the Fort Lauderdale attorney hired to represent the Schlesinger law firm, has sent a letter to lawyers representing Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and demanded that Sink release $6 million of the $8.5 million awarded by the Legislature to Minouche Noel and her family. Minouche Noel is the former Fort Lauderdale teenager who has been paralyzed ever since a botched operation performed on her by state-paid doctors.

In a Broward County court filing, Rogow has also asked a judge to order the state to release the $6 million, saying there is no dispute in that portion of the claims bill over how much everyone is supposed to receive. Included in the $6 million is $1.1 million for the lawyers and lobbyist who represented the Noel family.

In the filing Rogow repeats the position of the Schlesinger law firm that nothing prevents the firm from asking Jean and Flora Noel from paying the lawyers additional compensation out of the $2 million the couple are slated to receive.

Tara Klimek, a spokeswoman for Sink, said attorneys for the CFO are reviewing the documents and will address these matters in court next week.

Read Rogow's letter to Sink lawyers here: Download letter_to_sink_lawyer.pdf

Read the court filing: Download memo_in_support_of_lien.pdf

CFO Sink to become "aggressively involved" in Noel case

State CFO Alex Sink plans to become involved in the court case in which a Fort Lauderdale law firm is seeking more money in Minouche Noel's wrongful-injury suit than the Legislature says is permitted. More here.

Sink's spokeswoman, Tara Klimek, said her office will be "aggressively involved" in trying to stop Sheldon Schlesinger's law firm from seeking about $700,000 more from Noel's family. Klimek said the suit will come down to legislative intent.

But Schlesinger's lawyer, Bruce Rogow, said the state Legislature capped attorney's fees for her portion of the $8.5 million settlement -- not from the settlement reached with the parents. He said the family has agreed to pay the money. The family couldn't be reached.

Sink pulls the plug on massive computer system project

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced today that she is suspending work on Project Aspire, the ambitious project to put in place a new accounting system designed to keep track of the billions spent each year by the state.

"We need to stop spending the people's tax dollars until we have a clear strategy in place to make the project a success,'' said Sink in a statement.

The project was behind schedule and over budget. Sink today estimated the state has already spent $89 million on the project that was initially projected to cost $100 million. The main vendor initially on the project, Bearing Point, walked off the job in late December.

The suspension of the project leaves unanswered what the state will do about its current cash management system that is more than two decades old now.

Sinks office to send out “oops” letter.

At least 3,000 homeowners who might have thought the state wasn’t going to make good on a promise to pay up to $5,000 in grants will be notified by mail or by email this week that they’ll get the full amount promised under a new homeowner hurricane-hardening program run by state CFO Alex Sink’s Department of Financial Services.

Starting last month, a number of homeowners received a letter from the My Safe Florida Home Program that suggested they wouldn’t get a dollar-for-dollar match for up to $10,000 in state-approved hurricane-hardening work. The letters, received by the parents of Miami’s Ben Weitzner, said people could receive far less. Weitzner wanted to know why.

Sink’s spokeswoman, Tara Klimek, said the letter were an error. Said Klimek: “The letter wasn’t as clear as it should have been. Our department has heard from a number of homeowners. Here’s the facts: 50 percent of actual mitigation work up to $5,000 will be paid. There’s no cap per item. We understand things might be more or less expensive in different regions. If people paid the money, they’ll get the grant.”

Familiar face returns to capital

Former Republican comptroller Bob Milligan started his new job as insurance consumer advocate on Monday, a post he was given by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Milligan last fall endorsed Sink over former Senate President Tom Lee, a Republican.

Both Milligan and Sink told the press that one of their top priorities will be to go to the Florida Legislature and ask to beef up the powers of the consumer advocate, including giving the advocate subponena power and the ability to intervene in regulatory hearings. They also announced that the consumer advocate would have a new website intended to let more Floridians know about the office.

But Sink remained mum about the fate of Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, who reports to the Financial Services Commission, which is made up of the governor and the Cabinet. Sink said she wants to hear from Crist before deciding what to do. When asked about it on Monday, Crist said "I guess I'd better give her a call."

Crist postpones clemency vote on felons rights

Gov. Charlie Crist postponed efforts Thursday to have the Florida Board of Executive Clemency vote on a plan to allow most felons automatic restoration of voting rights after they have served thier prison time.

   The governor appeared to have the votes necessary to have Florida join all but two other states and end the Jim Crow-era law that disenfranchises felons from voting, serving on a jury or obtaining many work-related licenses, but he wanted to avoid isolating fellow Republican, Attorney General Bill McCollum, as the lone vote.

Crist seeks compromise on felons rights on eve of clemency board meeting

On the eve of his first clemency board meeting as governor, Charlie Crist stepped up efforts to work out a compromise between his Cabinet colleagues on how to provide automatic restoration of civil rights to most felons. More here.

McCollum says meet more often to reduce clemency backlog

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has weighed in today with his answer to the backlog of felons awaiting approval from the Clemency Board for the restoration of their civil rights: meet more often.

In a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist, McCollum acknowledges that the backlog is "unacceptable'' and proposes as a solution to have each member of the Cabinet commit two people from their staff to help work on eliminating the clemency backlog and require the Cabinet to meet at least monthly -- and perhaps more often -- as the Clemency Board until the waiting list is gone.

Here is McCollum's letter to the governor: Download clemency_letter.pdf

Cabinet names Bustle as new highway head

Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet today named Electra Bustle, assistant commissioner at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, to be the new head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Bustle replaces Fred Dickinson, the long-time chief of the department who resigned two weeks ago. Bustle was formerly chief of FDLE's missing child clearinghouse, the sex offender registry and was instrumental in the implementation of the child protections required under the Jessica Lundsford Act. She previously served as general counsel, captain and major at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and also worked at DHSMV 10 years ago.

The Cabinet and an audience of Bustle's co-workers from law enforcement gave her a standing ovation.

"Wow,'' Bustle said. "Together, we will be looking for ways to better serve citizens...I look forward to hitting the ground running and getting started March 7.''

 

New Highway Safety director up for vote Tuesday

Gov. Charlie Crist will ask Tuesday morning that his fellow members of the Florida Cabinet vote to name Electra Bustle, assistant commissioner at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, to replace Fred Dickinson, the long-time chief of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Dickinson announced two weeks ago that he was stepping down from the agency that he has led since 1992. Since the agency reports to both the governor and Cabinet, the selection of Bustle must be approved by Cabinet members as well.

Sink says thanks but not thanks to housing program

State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is voluntarily giving up one of the most popular programs that subsidizes the inspection and storm-proofing of people's homes.

The My Safe Florida Home program was so popular that her Republican predecessor, Tom Gallagher, touted it during his unsuccessful bid for governor. Now the man who beat him, Gov. Charlie Crist, will likely control the consumer-friendly program.

Sink, in a letter to House Speaker Marco Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt, said the program would be better suited for a grant-giving agency.

"Given these constraints, the My Safe Florida Home program will be best housed in an agency with experience in administering grants.  Thousands of Florida homeowners have signed up for help in hardening their homes against hurricanes; Floridians would best be served by a department with the core function of running and managing these types of programs," Sink, a Democrat, wrote.

Download Sink.doc

Milligan signs on as Sink's consumer advocate

In a remarkable turn of the tables, former Comptroller Bob Milligan has been hired by new Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to be his consumer advocate. Milligan, a Republican, endorsed Sink, a Democrat, in the general election race against former Senate President Tom Lee.

Now, Sink has tapped Milligan to serve as the voice for consumers in insurance matters. Milligan stepped down as Comptroller after effectively advocating for the merger of the insurance commissioner's office with the comptroller's office. The legislature ended up with a hybrid set-up, preferred by former CFO Tom Gallagher, that allows the Office of Insurance Regulation and the Office of Financial Regulation to be housed under the CFO but report to the governor and Cabinet for hiring and oversight.

Said Milligan of his new job:

“I’m looking forward to working on behalf of Floridians as their Insurance Consumer Advocate. Together, the CFO and I want Floridians to have a stronger voice when it comes to insurance matters in this state.”

Sink said in she wants the consumer advocate to be more proactive in aggressively challenging insurance rate requests and focus on investigating bad practices by insurers, banks, securities companies and other financial advisors.

New traditions at first Cabinet meeting

Gov. Charlie Crist and the new Florida Cabinet held its first meeting Thursday and Crist used it to drop long-standing traditions. The governor in the past would normally field five minutes worth of questions from the media prior to each Cabinet meeting. This gaggle would occur at the bottom steps of the stairs leading from the first floor of the Capitol. Crist, however, has nixed this tradition and instead  has decided to do a 15-minute availability in his large conference room.

During his first pre-Cabinet briefing, Crist was asked about his thoughts on whether the insurance consumer advocate post should remain under the control of Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, and whether discussions to move it were a result of fears that Sink may run against Crist. Crist's response: "I don't know if I plan to run for re-election."

At the Cabinet meeting, Crist, Sink, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Attorney General Bill McCollum voted in favor of Crist's choices to lead the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Veterans Affairs. They also voted to reaffirm Coleman Stipanovich as the head of the State Board of Administration.

Crist and Cabinet also took time to meet with a group of roughly 100 Brevard County residents angry about their insurance rates. All four elected officials thanked the group and said they were more important than anyone else in the Capitol right now.

"We've got plenty around of lobbyists around. There the guys with the suits. We pay more attention to the people in the tee-shirts,'' said Sink.

Sink tells Charlie she won't run against him

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is a bright new star for Florida's Democrats, but she has already told Gov. Charlie Crist that she doesn't plan to run against him in four years. A day after her election, Sink told Crist that she expects him to be a "popular incumbent governor" in 2010.

But while Sink is ruling out for now, a shot at the governor's mansion, she has her own challenges she needs to deal with, including how to untangle the mess with Project Aspire, the replacement of Florida's accounting system with new technology. The project is behind schedule, likely to go over budget, and the main contractor is no longer working on the job. To read more about what Sink faces, go here.

Sink has raised $31k for party

Alex Sink, the incoming chief financial officer, has raised $31,000 for her Jan. 2 inauguration party, according to her new website. The donations include $5,000 from Dixiana Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, $5,000 from Tower Hill Partners, a holding company with links to Tower Hill Insurance, $5,000 from Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida, and $2,500 from the Miami law firm of Lydecker, Lee, Behar, Berga & De Zayas and $2,500 from the Tallahassee law firm of Radey, Thomas, Yon, Clark and $2,500 from the Tallahassee accountant firm of Thomas Howell Ferguson.

Sink has also disclosed how much she spent so far: $7,222, which covers $2,500 for the band that will play at the party and nearly $3,000 for legal advice.

Sink will post names of donors

Richard Swann, the Orlando fundraiser heading up efforts to raise $150,000 for Alex Sink's inaugural party on Jan. 2, said Thursday that the chief financial officer-elect has in fact set up a 527 committee, the Alex Sink Inauguration Committee, to accept donations for the event. Because she is setting up a 527 committee, Sink also plans to launch an inauguration website where she will disclose the names of those who are helping out. Sink has capped donations to her inaugural party at $5,000 each.

Sink's party has become the big event on the night of Jan. 2 since Governor-elect Charlie Crist abruptly canceled his inaugural ball that he planned for the same evening. Sink's event will be held at the University Center at Florida State University and will feature a cash bar, coffee, coffee drinks and desserts only since the party does not start until 9 p.m.

Here's one party that's still on

Governor-elect Charlie Crist may have canceled his inaugural ball, but Chief Financial Officer-elect Alex Sink still plans to hold a inauguration night shindig at the University Club on the campus of Florida State University. Sink's inauguration celebration is expected to cost about $150,000 said Richard Swann, who is leading the fundraising efforts for the party. Sink has already capped donations to her inaugural fund at $5,000 per donor. But Sink does not plan to report these donations until after the event.

Organizers have set up Sink's party as the "wind down" from a full day's worth of events. It's not scheduled to start until 9 p.m. and will feature just coffee, coffee drinks, dessert and a band, said Ruth Wagner, who is the head of the inauguration efforts. As of right now, neither Attorney General elect Bill McCollum or Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson have filed the required paperwork with the state to say that they plan to hold their own inauguration events.

Gallagher says never again

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher made it clear Monday that his Sept. 5 loss to Charlie Crist in the GOP primary for governor was the end of his political career. Gallagher emphatically said he would never seek office again. Gallagher has spent more than three decades in Florida politics and won elections as legislator, Treasurer, Education Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer but he was unable to take the top prize of governor.

"I'm not going to be on the ballot again.....Ever,'' said Gallagher. "I'm retired."

Florida's Cabinet to have new faces

Republican's lost their four-year dominance of the state Cabinet Wednesday with the election of Democrat and Alex Sink as chief financial officer. Republicans Bill McCollum and Charles Bronson will round out the rest of the panel and sit aside a new Gov. Crist.

Debate broadcasts

Political junkies: Start your TIVOs.

At 7:30 a.m. Sunday, the first broadcast will be made of Tuesday's debates between attorney general candidates Bill McCollum (R) and Walter "Skip" Campbell (D), and CFO candidates Alex Sink (D) and Tom Lee (R).

The debates, hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and The Miami Herald, were held Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Key Biscayne.

The broadcasts will be shown again at 8 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.

You can find the local channel for your area by going to this web page, and scrolling down: http://www.fcta.com/programming.html 

Cabinet races tighten up

A new poll shows that the battle for two spots on the Florida Cabinet--Attorney General and Chief Financial Officer--have tightened up as Election Day moves closer. "I think it's safe to say they are very close,'' said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. Read more about the poll here.

Cabinet candidates to debate

Republican and Democratic candidates for Florida attorney general and chief financial officer will gather Tuesday on Key Biscayne for a pair of debates hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and The Miami Herald.

CFO candidates Tom Lee (R) and Alex Sink, (D) will square off at 11 a.m. They'll be followed at 12:50 p.m. by attorney general candidates Walter "Skip" Campbell (D) and Bill McCollum (R).

The candidates will discuss Amendment 3, property insurance costs and other issues that impact Florida's business climate, according to a press release announcing the event at the Ritz-Carlton, 455 Grand Bay Drive.

Each debate will last 30 minutes. After a short opening statement, candidates will be asked questions culled from chamber members around the state, said chamber political strategist Marian Johnson, of Tallahassee.

"I'm not sure we'll have rebuttal," said Johnson. "I'm trying to keep it dignified."

Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce president Barry Johnson will moderate.

A second debate debate between McCollum and Campbell has been set for Oct. 30 at Tampa's public television station, WEDU. In an interview, McCollum said the debate would be taped for later broadcast.

Alex Sink maintains narrow fundraising lead

New financial reports filed Friday show that Tampa Democrat Alex Sink has held onto her slight fundraising edge over GOP rival Tom Lee in the chief financial officer contest _ making her the lone Democrat to do so in either the governor's race or in any of the Cabinet races. Sink reported raising nearly $86,000 from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6,  while Lee raisied more than $159,000. But Sink's overall total is $2.95 million to Lee's $2.9 million. Lee has more money in the bank than Sink _ $445,000 to $116,000 _ but Sink has spent more than $2 million on television ads to run between now and Election Day.

In the Attorney General race, Bill McCollum raise nearly $118,000 while State Sen. Skip Campbell raised just more than $92,000. McCollum has raised a total of $2.34 million to Campbell's $1.67 million. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson led all Cabinet candidates this past go-round, reporting raising more than $189,000, bringing his total to $1.52 million. Democratic challenger Eric Copeland raised $6,526. Including loans, Copeland has raised nearly $223,000.

New Tom Lee ad to hit the airwaves

A day after Democrat Alex Sink launched her first television spot, the Republican Party of Florida is starting a new statewide spot touting Senate President Tom Lee for chief financial officer. Titled "Reformer" the ad says that Lee is the "independent reformer who took on special interests" and says he pushed for lower phone rates, lower utility rates and fought higher taxes. The party is using a campaign finance loophole to pay for the ad, meaning that the ad in small print also encourages voters to back the other Republican statewide candidates including Attorney General Charlie Crist. Go here to see the ad.

Sink launches her first TV spot

Democratic Chief Financial Officer candidate Alex Sink, who has managed to raise more money than her Republican opponent Senate President Tom Lee, launched her first television ad today in "selected markets," which means it will probably run in Central Florida but not South Florida.

The 30-second ad ad raps Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature for privatization scandals, while at the same time stressing Sink's experience. You can see it here. The script is as follows: "For too long, politicians have treated our tax dollars like their own free money. Outsourced state contracts with no accountability. And they just spend, spend, spend. We need a chief financial officer who cuts them off. I'm Alex Sink. As a former president of Florida's largest bank and leader in Florida Taxwatch, I'm the only candidate for chief financial officer with the experience to protect your tax dollars. Send me to Tallahassee and the spending spree stops right there."

Democrat endorses Lee

Striking back at opponent Alex Sink's endorsement yesterday from a Republican, Senate President Tom Lee announced receiving the endorsement of former Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford. Crawford, a one-time Jeb Bush supporter, was once President of the Florida Senate.

Republican endorses Sink

Maverick Republican Robert Milligan, the state’s former comptroller, endorsed Democrat Alex Sink today in her bid to become the state’s chief financial officer. Milligan, talking up Sink’s business experience as an accomplished banker, said she wouldn't be like current CFO Tom Gallagher who used his office as a “stepping stone” to run for governor.

Sink, facing Senate President Tom Lee in the CFO race, contrasted the candidates this way: “We can chose business experience or we can chose political experience. We can chose proven financial leadership or the same old Tallahassee promises.”

Cue the porn music in CFO race

What's so mesmerizing about CFO candidate Randy Johnson's new attack site, tomleeflipflops.com? Is it the spacey lounge-music? (Yup, the headline was a cheap way to bring up the race for the obscure office.) Perhaps it's the weird bouncing mug of Tom Lee, morphing between his old Tom Dewey moustache-look and his clean-shaven self.

Lee's newest televion ad is here.