RPOF hits Ausley on property tax votes

The Republican Party of Florida is out with another installment of its "Costly Ausley" website, this time hitting CFO candidate Loranne Ausley for her votes against Republican plans in 2007 and 2008 to provide property tax relief.

The legislation allowed homeowners to take their "Save Our Homes" property tax savings with them when they moved to a new house. (You know, back when home values were spiking and people were getting higher property tax bills instead of lower ones.) A second bill to cap property tax rates passed the House but died in the Senate.

"Even in the toughest of economic times, costly Loranne Ausley refuses to give Floridians tax relief," RPOF Executive Director Ronnie Whitaker said in a statement. "With 11.7% unemployment, Floridians simply can't afford Ausley's tax-and-spend policies in the CFO's office." (We should note that the votes didn't occur exactly in the toughest of economic times...)

Here's the response from Ausley's press guy Kevin Cate: “Jeff Atwater has once again retreated to the comfort of the disgraced Republican Party of Florida. Floridians deserve a CFO who will speak up and hold politicians like Jeff Atwater accountable, not hide behind political parties and hoard money. This is a JV political hit job by a JV, and soon to be out-of-work politician.”

Atwater: Ausley has a free lunch problem

Only a day after Loranne Ausley called for the Legislature to follow the law and audit lobbyist expendiature reports, Jeff Atwater's campaign is hitting Ausley for a bill she sponsored that they say would undermine the lobbyist gift ban. The bill in question would have allowed lobbyists to pay for up to $19 in meals for a lawmaker at a meeting where governmental issues or items in the public were being discussed.

“That reform (requiring the lobbyist audits) included a very matter-of-fact gift ban,” said Atwater spokesman Brian Hughes. “Just a few years after that, she sponsored this legislation which undermined the gift ban. That’s hypocrisy.”

Ausley spokesman Kevin Cate e-mailed over a response that did not address her bill: “It’s nice to welcome Jeff Atwater to the campaign, if only to defend his refusal to follow the law and audit lobbyists. Now if only he had a platform, or a defense of his $2 billion in tax hikes, or his votes for the $48 million Taj Mahal, or the $110 million private prison to nowhere, or his RPOF AmEx card. I’m sure this will all be explained in detail at the debate that he refuses to have with the real fiscal watchdog in the campaign, Loranne Ausley. ”

Ausley: Follow the law and audit lobbyist reports

CFO candidate Loranne Ausley is once again hitting opponent Jeff Atwater for decisions by the Legislature on his watch. This time, it's the Legislature's failure to audit annual lobbyist disclosure reports -- as required by law. Passed in 2005 (and supported by both Ausley and Atwater), the law requires lobbyists to say how much they are getting paid, and by whom. The law also requires audits, but as the Sarasota Herald-Tribune noted, none have been performed.

“There is absolutely no excuse for not following the law,” Ausley said. “Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in this building influencing legislators and legislation in Tallahassee, and Floridians have a right to know the whole story.”

Senate staffers have said there aren't enough Florida auditing firms without ties to lobbyists and that the audits could cost between $750,000 and $1 million. Atwater campaign spokesman Brian Hughes noted that lawmakers submitted a request for proposals calling for 10 auditing firms to compete for the job -- one firm replied.

Hughes also hit on the cost in a statement: "Where does Ausley want money for this new bureaucracy to come from? Is she ready to cut $1 million from our schools or services for our most vulnerable kids or seniors?"

Poll: GOP up in Cabinet races, Amend 8 DOA, Hometown Dem might pass

The Republican candidates in the three races for Florida Cabinet are gaining traction with independent voters and slightly leading their Democratic rivals, according to a new poll that suggests 2010 is shaping up to be a good year for conservatives.

But it’s not a cakewalk.

The leads of Pam Bondi for attorney general, Adam Putnam for agriculture commissioner and Jeff Atwater for chief financial officer are well within the 4-percentage point error-margin of the Mason-Dixon Research & Associates survey of likely Florida voters.

The poll shows far clearer results when it comes to the Legislature’s plan to scale back a constitutional limit on classroom sizes. It appears headed for certain defeat at the Nov. 2 polls. Another proposed Constitutional Amendment, which would give citizens a vote in growth management plans, has a fair chance of passing.

While the Cabinet races are far tougher to predict, the poll indicates Republicans are enjoyed the support of voters with no party affiliation – the crucial swing vote in Florida.

“It’s a subtle sign that this is looking like a Republican year,’’ said Brad Coker, Mason-Dixon pollster. “I don’t think there’s a Democratic pollster out there who isn’t seeing this and who isn’t worried about it.”

Ausley wants Atwater to look into DLP issue

Democratic CFO candidate Loranne Ausley called on her Republican opponent, state Senate President Jeff Atwater, to investigate the connection between Senate Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla and a disgruntled contractor with the Department of Corrections.

Standing outside Diaz de la Portilla's office minutes before a torrential downpour in Miami Thursday, Ausley also called on Atwater to produce any records of any meetings he or his staffers may have had with representatives of the Miami Beach-based Orion Medical Enterprises, a kidney dialysis company.

"The most important and critical challenge facing this office and the entire state of Florida is putting an end to the pay-to-play culture of corruption that is crippling our state and our economy," Ausley said, citing the Diaz de la Portilla letter as "what looks to me like a classic example of pay-to-play politics."

Last week, Atwater's spokesman said he could not find any records of the company meeting with anyone on the Senate president's office, and added that Atwater did not know about Diaz de la Portilla's letter on behalf of the company to DOC. Diaz de la Portilla sent the letter a week after his brother Miguel received a $15,000 campaign contribution from the contractor.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla and the company have denied any link between the campaign cash and the letter.

Jeff Atwater's 'Budd' still drawing $150k Senate salary

Outgoing Senate President Jeff Atwater is running almost full time for Chief Financial Officer, has cleaned out his office in Tallahassee and appears to have turned the reins of the Upper Chamber over to his successor, Mike Haridopolos, who has hired a few Senate staffers and fired many more.

Except for one: Budd Kneip, Atwater's longtime friend and Senate chief of staff who is continuing to draw his $150,000 annual salary at a rate of about $12,500 a month. That's more than Gov. Charlie Crist ($130,273) earns.

But there's another chief of staff doing all the staff chiefing these days: Steve MacNamara, hired by Haridopolos to be his right-hand administrator and part-time chief legal counsel for $175,008, or about $14,500 monthly.

So is Kneip working?

"Sen. Atwater has a district office and I was informed Mr. Kneip is working out of it," said Senate spokesman David Bishop.

We checked the district office in West Palm Beach and were told Kneip wasn't working out of there, but was "in the district." But then, when we noted this to Bishop, he clarified that Kneip was in the district office in the state Capitol. When we checked (c. 4 p.m.), Kneip wasn't there. Two aides were and insisted Kneip had been there earlier.

Bishop noted the Senate has saved a bottom line dollar figure of about $657,000 (including benefits) due to recent resignations and terminations.

The latest: Marta Hardy, a longtime health appropriations staffer who earned $109,356 and is one of the only Hispanic women in the Senate's upper management. Here's the tally from last week. Meantime, numerous staffers are preparing to get fired or are looking for work elsewhere because they feel they'll be in the unemployment line. Not Kneip. Assuming Atwater continues to cruise in his race, Kneip's a likely pick to be the top administrator for the CFO, where he stands a good chance of being paid more than his boss again.

Atwater says he didn't know about DLP's letter to DOC

More fallout from our story today about the connection between a disgruntled contractor with the Department of Corrections and Senate Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla. (You'll remember that the senator wrote a letter to DOC on behalf of the contractor just a week after his brother received a $15k check from the contractor.) The contractor, Dr. Allan Jacob, said his staff met with Diaz de la Portilla's office, as well as staffers with the governor's office and Senate President Jeff Atwater's office.

Atwater's official spokesman David Bishop said he could not find records of Jacob's employees meeting with anyone in the office -- though the office is in transition and many old staffers no longer work there. But he said Atwater did not know anything about the letter until we wrote about it: "It was totally done by the majority leader."

We are trying to find more information about Atwater's reaction to the letter. From a statement from CFO opponent Loranne Ausley: "If Jeff Atwater had an ounce of courage, he would stop the pay-to-play culture and influence peddling running rampant in his chamber— but I won’t hold my breath.”

Rubio, Atwater to RPOF: Release the audit

UPDATE: RPOF Chairman John Thrasher has agreed to release the audit: "The Executive Board of the Republican Party of Florida unanimously voted today, during a conference call, to release the forensic audit of the party’s finances detailing the gross mismanagement of the Party under Gov. Charlie Crist and his hand-picked chairman Jim Greer. The audit by Alston & Bird LLP will be released Friday.”

The Tampa Tribune reported earlier that Marco Rubio supports releasing the long-awaited forensic audit of the Republican Party's finances. Now, Senate President Jeff Atwater is saying he too supports the release. That means both Republican statewide candidates who had Amex cards have called for the audit's release.

"Jeff Atwater supports the release of the RPOF audit and has consistently called for transparency and public disclosure in the audit process," said Atwater campaign spokesman Brian Hughes.

New party spokesman Dan Conston said the party "will have an update" regarding the audit on Friday, but did not say whether the audit will be released.

RPOF attacks Ausley for opposing TABOR-like bill

The attacks are stepping up in the CFO's race. The Republican Party has just set up a new website to attack Loranne Ausley for her record in the Legislature. First up is an attack on her 2004 vote against a TABOR-like measure or "smart cap" that would restrict state spending to the previous year's budget plus inflation. The party says that makes her "Costly Ausley." (An eagle-eyed reader notes that the site adds an extra "r" in Ausley's name.)

The proposal went nowhere in the House in 2002. It passed that chamber 74-43 in 2004. Her CFO opponent Jeff Atwater was in the Senate at the time, but he never got the chance to vote on it -- it died in committee in the waning days of session. (Another one of those "just ran out of time" bills?) The late Jim King was leading the Senate at the time.

Most Republicans are a big fan of the proposed constitutional amendment, but they just can't seem to get it passed in the Legislature, even with huge majorities. Whose fault is that? (Here's more on a similar proposal in 2009, during Atwater's tenure as president.)

Ausley spokesman Kevin Cate e-mails this in response to the site (without directly addressing the bill in question): "Senate President Jeff Atwater's latest attack is pathetic, and just shows Floridians how hard he is trying to hide from his tax-raising, big spending record. Floridians know that Jeff Atwater has a reputation for being weak, but for him to throw punches from behind the shelter of the scandal-riden Republican Party of Florida, tell us everything we need to know."

Atwater to Feinberg: Don't compound problem with ineptitude

In a harshly worded letter to the federal government's BP claims czar Kenneth Feinberg, Senate President Jeff Atwater bascially tells him: don't screw up.

"I have become increasingly troubled by reports of delays in the claims process, artificial and capricious deadlines on filing, and an apparent insensitivity to the very real, long term impacts of this tragic accident on the families and small businesses of Florida,'' Atwater wrote. He then went on to say that he hopes he'll keep the victims in mind.

Yesterday, several members of the governor's oil spill recovery task force expressed similar frustrations.

Here's the letter: