The Florida Democratic Party picks its new chair tomorrow in Lake Mary -- and perhaps not a day too soon.
The race between Allison Tant and Alan Clendenin has become quite a nasty affair. Some of Clendenin's supporters say some of Tant's have engaged in fraud and shouldn't be allowed to vote.
At least one challenge was filed Friday night by AFSCME union member David Jacobsen. A Tant supporter, Susannah Randolph, issued a swift rebuke and noted AFSCME contributed money to a Republican committee that sent out a mailer suggesting a Democratic state House candidate wanted to protect pedophiles like Jerry Sandusky. Background here
Randolph, founder of the liberal group Florida Action Watch, was recently the target of an anonymous prankster who posted a "Beware of Bitches" sign on her office. She said it was related to the Tant-Clendenin race.
The battle has spilled over into warring blogs, one of which highlighted the tax returns of Randolph's group.
This isn't typical behavior for Democrats. But that's because Democrats haven't typically had contested chair races. In 2011, it was the Republicans' turn. And they, too, tore each other to shreds. It's the nature of the beast.
Democratic National Committee Chairmwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has the ear and the loyalty of president Barack Obama, and loads of influence among Democrats in Washington and across the country. Democratic activists in her home state of Florida, however, are poised to deliver an embarrassing snub to Wasserman Schultz with the heated race to lead the state Democratic party.
The congresswoman from Weston recruited longtime friend Allison Tant of Tallahassee to run for chairwoman of the Florida Democratic party, and in recent weeks has aggressively lobbied elected officials and party activists to get behind her anointed choice to lead the Democratic party in America’s biggest battleground state.
But it looks increasingly likely that those activists may ignore the entreaties by Wasserman Schultz and Sen. Bill Nelson and instead elect Tampa activist Alan Clendenin to succeed outgoing party chairman Rod Smith. A tally of announced support compiled Wednesday night by Leon county Democratic activist Jon showed Clendenin with 390 votes, 68.4 percent of what's needed to win, and Tant with 183, or 32 percent of what's needed.
Interesting high-profile endorsement for Alan Clendenin in his bid to lead the Florida Democratic Party: Alex Sink, the 2010 and possibly 2014 candidate for governor. To date, Clendenin opponent Allison Tant has soaked up all the establishment help, namely Sen. Bill Nelson and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The press release:
Gov. Rick Scott is planning to cut
taxes further for manufacturers in the coming year as a mechanism for creating
more jobs and boosting the state’s manufacturing industry.
Scott announced Wednesday that he
will seek a new sales tax exemption for manufacturers that purchase industrial
equipment and machinery.
“We have 17,500 manufacturing
companies in Florida today that employ more
than 300,000 Florida
families,” Scott said in a statement. “In the upcoming legislative
session, we are committed to building up Florida
manufacturing jobs by eliminating the tax barriers on companies who purchase
equipment.”
Currently manufacturers already
enjoy a tax exemption on machinery they purchase, but only if the machinery
helps improve productive output by 5 percent annually. In 2012, Scott and the
Legislature cut the requirement for productive output from 10-percent to
5-percent, saving manufacturers an estimated $46 million per year.
Scott is looking to eliminate the increase-in-production
requirement altogether, allowing all manufacturers to purchase new equipment
tax-free. Scott said the provision will make Florida more competitive with other states
that don’t tax manufacturing equipment, and will boost exports.
“Eliminating the barriers on
investment for our manufacturing industry will also benefit our ports and the
many small businesses that support manufacturers,” Scott said in a statement.
It’s not yet clear how much money businesses will save from this tax break, although a similar proposal last year by Sen.
Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, was
estimated to cost the state $153.4 million per year in lost revenue. That
proposal did not pass, although a smaller tax break for manufacturers did, perhaps reducing the fiscal impact of this year's proposal.
The proposal to eliminate taxes on
manufacturing equipment is part of a general trend—backed by Scott and the
Republican-led Legislature—to chip away at the taxes paid by businesses.
In the last year alone, Scott has pushed
for hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief for businesses—ranging from corporate
income tax cuts, targeted tax breaks for specific industries and tax exemptions
for businesses that move to the state.
Democrats--who generally have voted for Scott's tax breaks--have become more vocal in lashing out at Scott's more recent tax-cutting proposals, arguing that Florida should be spending more on education and less on corporate tax breaks.
"On election night, the people of Florida sent a clear message that they have rejected Gov. Rick Scott's failed priorities and policies which have slashed funding for our public schools while giving hand outs to the corporate special interests who epitomize the broken politics of Tallahassee," said Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Arcenaux in November. "But Governor Rick Scott apparently didn't get the message."
“We are together on this call today for one reason – we must
help the Florida families whose jobs and
livelihoods depend on our Florida
ports,” Scott said. “A shut down of Florida
ports is simply not an option for Florida
families.”
Scott wrote a letter to Obama last week asking for the
president to invoke presidential powers to halt a strike by the International
Longshoremen’s Association. He said he “hoped” the president had read the
letter, indicating that Obama had not yet responded.
The national strike is scheduled to go forward on Saturday
if there is no agreement for a new contract. It could have
a multimillion-dollar impact in Florida, where the massive port of Miami is located.
A top Democrat in the Florida Legislature was quick to react
to Scott’s mention of “families,” pivoting to other state issues that affect
families—namely, healthcare and education.
House Minority Leader Perry
Thurston, D-Plantation, blasted the governor’s move to intervene in the
labor dispute while other state issues linger.
“President Obama will determine what is best regarding the
looming strike at the nation’s East Coast ports,” said Thurston, in a statement
that asked Scott to focus on implementing healthcare reform and addressing
education issues. “Governor Scott can turn his attention to Florida and begin correcting all that he has
managed to dismantle.”
Scott’s press release and the response release from Thurston
are below:
Looks like we've got a liberal blog war over the race for Florida Democratic Party chair, pitting Allison Tant vs. Alan Clendenin.
Tant was hit first, by The Political Hurricane blog, which backs Clendenin. It noted that Tant once lobbied in 2000 for Choice Point, the parent company of DBT, which was hired by then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris to purge voter rolls of suspected felons. Many Democrats and minorities who were lawful voters got purged as well.
When the story came out, Tant said she had nothing to do with the felon purge issue. And now a former partner, Martha Barnett, backs her up. Barnett said the two and others worked at the Holland & Knight law firm, which was hired to represent a host of clients. ChoicePoint bought a company they were already representing, Barnett said, and Tant's involvement with the company concerned identity-theft issues.
"Holland & Knight, nor Allison Tant who was an employee of the firm at the time, was not involved in any way in the Florida Secretary of State voter purge issue you referenced in your article," Barnett said in an email.
The Progressive Dems United blog (which looks like it's written by an anonymous political consultant) fired back today against Clendenin for heading up a 2010 political committee called Committee for a Better Tampa. It took $10,000 from a committee linked to U.S. Sugar, a boogeyman to some liberals/environmentalists.
But U.S. Sugar gives to almost everyone. For instance, the Democratic Party has taken in at least $755,105 from U.S. Sugar and a subsidiary since the 1990s. Add in other sugar growers, and the party has taken in at least $841,000 (and probably far more if all the subsidiaries are included). Big sugar also helped Rod Smith wage a failed campaign for governor in 2006. He's now the Democratic Party chair.
The vote for party chair is Jan. 26. For both Clendenin and Tant, that day can't come soon enough.
Allison Tant, the insider's pick to be Democratic Party chair, was a lobbyist in 2000 for ChoicePoint, the parent company of a database firm hired by the state of Florida to purge its voter rolls of felons, many of whom happened to be Democrats and minorities.
Reached by phone, Tant tells us she didn't actually lobby for the subsidiary involved in the felon-purge work, called DBT. Instead, she said, she lobbied for ChoicePoint, a data-mining company. The company sought to ensure that the financial-services industry had adequate identity-theft protections in place so that the personal data was misused, she said.
Even though she didn't work for DBT (another lobbyist handled that line of work, she said) the mere association with the company can be politically toxic in some liberal circles.
Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lawful voters might have been unfairly removed and blocked from voting in an election that George W. Bush won by just 537 votes. The voter purge has been part of Democratic lore ever since.
"Allison Tant was lobbyist for firm that purged African-Americans from voter rolls before, during and after 2000 recount," says The Political Hurricane blog headline.
Ouch.
The felon purge is still fresh in the mind of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson as well. He mentioned it during testimony at the Senate's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as an example of how Republicans allegedly game the election system. Turns out, Nelson also is the driving force behind Tant, who's also backed by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair.
ChoicePoint was recently hired by
the Obama administration to conduct criminal background checks on
possible hires. So it might not be that anathema any longer.
Tant withdrew from representing ChoicePoint in late January of 2001 -- about
two months after the famed recount was halted by the Supreme Court in the Bush v. Gore decision.
One of Bush's lawyers: Barry
Richard, a Democrat and longtime Obama supporter, who's married to Tant.
Tant's opponent, Alan Clendenin, and his backers have long noted the Richard tie. And they've resented the way party leaders have thrown their weight behind one candidate -- especially after Clendenin spent the last eight months collecting votes for the job. His supporters say he still has enough grassroots votes to pull it off.
The story by the Political Hurricane, which backs Clendenin, probably doesn't hurt his chances.
Scott Randolph, a former state representative and current Orange County Democratic Party Chair and Tax Collector-Elect Scott Randolph, said he's backing Allison Tant for chair of the state party.
It's a big-deal endorsement, further evidence Tant will likely win the post. Randolph was rumored to be a chair contender at one point and his wife, Susannah, is a hard-hitting Democratic operative and grassroots organizer.
Yesterday, Miami-Dade Democratic Chairwoman Annette Taddeo-Goldstein dropped out of the chair race and backed Tant. Hillsborough's Alan Clendenin is still nominally in the race, but for how much longer?
Today, she made it official. And she endorsed Allison Tant for the post. That leaves Hillsborough's Alan Clendenin in a tough spot.
The entire affair was needlessly complicated and, according to Democrats and insiders, underscores the poor way that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and, to a lesser degree, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Broward Congresswoman, handled the situation.
Both Democratic leaders wanted Tant for the post. But rather than proactively reach out, soothe the nerves and get the support of Taddeo and Clendenin, they started backing Tant out of nowhere, Democrats tell us. Clendenin learned of Tant's candidacy on The Buzz blog. We're not sure about Taddeo, who so far hasn't returned calls, texts or emails.
Her supporters got rightly riled up by the snub and caused a kerfuffle in New Times.
Finally, this weekend, Nelson called Taddeo and made a deal, sources say. We understand she'll get more autonomy and the ability to have at least one big fundraiser to build the party in Miami-Dade -- a county that helped President Obama win Florida.
Why any of this wasn't done sooner is anyone's guess. But, as his been said before, it's evidence that this isn't an organized political party. It's the Democratic Party.
There might be other versions of who said and did what, and who called whom and made which commitments and when. But Nelson and Wasserman Schultz aren't talking. And so far, our sources have been spot on.
Here's the press release:
Tallahassee, FL - Today, Annette Taddeo and Allison Tant have released a joint statement concerning the race for Florida Democratic Party chair.
Statement from Annette Taddeo:
“In discussions with Allison Tant it is clear that she would make a phenomenal Florida Democratic Party chair and unite our party because of her passion for Democratic values that we all share.
I am overwhelmed by the support I have received from around the state, but at this point in time I need to focus on Miami-Dade County. I have total faith and confidence in Allison as chair of the Florida Democratic Party and fully endorse her in this effort.
We share a common goal, which is bigger than any one individual, to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. Together, we will build on the victories of 2012 and keep the party moving forward.”
Statement from Allison Tant:
“Annette Taddeo is the type of leader that we need right now at the highest levels of the Florida Democratic Party. She and I will work as partners to continue the fight throughout the state. Annette’s experience with the Obama campaign will be vital to continuing our growth in Hispanic and minority communities. I look forward to working with Annette as part of our leadership team to move the state forward and keep the momentum going.”
Fresh off the president’s big win, Florida Democrats are starting to tear each other up over who will lead the state party.
In one camp: Allison Tant, a Tallahassee fundraiser for President Obama who was urged to run by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Broward Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee Chairwoman.
On the other side: Alan Clendenin, a Hillsborough County retiree, and Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, a Miami-Dade business woman recently elected to chair the county party.
Some insiders expect Taddeo-Goldstein to drop out of the state chair race soon, but she couldn’t be reached for comment on the speculation. The backers of Taddeo-Goldstein and Clendenin deeply resent the involvement of party leaders in the race.
“This is a slap in the face,” said Victor DiMaio, a Tampa Bay consultant and backer of Clendenin. “He has run for this office for months and now higher-ups in the hierarchy are trying to shove him aside."
