Gelber tells Crist Florida 'coastline is no political chit'

The Democratic pile-on over the oil drilling debate continues, this time with House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber sending a letter to Gov Charlie Crist urging him to reverse his reversal on oil drilling. Here's the letter:

Governor Crist,

You and I have worked together on many, many issues. While we don't always agree, I have always respected you for your willingness to engage an honest debate and avoid the rank partisanship that has defined our state for too long.

So it is in that spirit that I urge you to reconsider your support of Senator McCain and President Bush's position to lift the moratorium on drilling off the shores of Florida. Although I am confident that we will disagree on who to support for President, we both should be able to agree that Florida's pristine coastline should not become just another chit in presidential politics.

Champagne with George or chicken wings and fries with Joe?

Touchdown is hours away, but South Florida Dems are already poking fun at President Bush's trip to Naples this afternoon to raise money for Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.

Democrat Joe Garcia, who is challenging Mario, is taking advantage of the trip to raise some $$ of his own, while casting the GOP'er as Bush's "favorite South Florida rubber stamp."

Noting the attendees are paying top dollar for the private presidential luncheon in Naples, Garcia plans to hold a $25 per person "chicken wings and fries" lunch Saturday at the Sports Grill in Kendall.

"Dozens of Bush contributors are eager to toast champagne and reward Mario for his Bush-policy rubber stamping," his campaign said in a fundraising appeal. "Of course, we do things a bit differently."

More bad news: Florida's jobless rate surges up

Florida's unemployment rate jumped up 10 percent in the month of May, bringing the state's unemployment rate to what it was in January 2003, the state announced on Friday morning.

The jobless rate is now 5.5 percent, an increase from 5 percent in April, which means that Florida now matches the national unemployment average. State officials estimated that there have been more than 74,000 jobs lost in the last year.

Environmental administrator to challenge Lois Wexler

The administrator of a little known environmental agency who has a colorful past in Cooper City politics will challenge County Commissioner Lois Wexler.

Russell Setti qualified to run Thursday. He will face Wexler Nov. 4 unless other candidates qualify by noon today which would lead to an Aug. 26 primary.

Setti is the administrator of the Broward Soil and Water Conservation District. In 2006, voters approved his proposal to turn the little known agency into a taxing authority.

He served three terms as  Cooper City mayor in the 1970s at a time when meetings stretched so late commissioners would see the sun rise. The Florida Commission on Ethics found him guilty of failing to disclose conflicts twice while he was mayor and in 1983  he was fined for letting vines grow on his home.

Setti will face an uphill battle against an incumbent who already has $107,000 in her account and will benefit from the visibility of serving as mayor this year.

Lots of lawmakers headed to victory on Friday

With qualifying set to end on Friday at noon, a large chunk of lawmakers - as many as eight in the 40-member Senate - and 30 out of the 120-member Florida House - appear headed to another term in office.

That's how many incumbent legislators right now do not have opponents for the fall 2008 elections. The eight senators include two Miami-Dade Democrats, Larcenia Bullard and Frederica Wilson, as well as Garrett Richter, a Southwest Florida state representative who appears to be waltzing into an open Senate seat without a fight.

The 30 incumbent House members with no opposition include incoming House Speaker Ray Sansom
and incoming House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands. Several South Florida lawmakers, including Reps. Anitere Flores, Marcello Llorente, J.C. Planas, Perry Thurston, Jim Waldman, Joe Gibbons, Yolly Roberson and Ari Porth are on that list as well. On top of the 30 incumbents in the House, there are two newcomers - John Wood and Tom Grady - who right now also appear headed to victory on Friday.

Garcia vs. Diaz-Balart heats up

The Cook Political Report says today the Mario Diaz-Balart vs. Joe Garcia race is looking increasingly competitive -- moving it up a notch to "likely Republican" from "solid Republican."

"If his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, faces the most serious challenge of the three Cuban-American Republican incumbents in Florida, Mario Diaz-Balart faces the second most serious challenge," House editor David Wasserman writes.

He says that Garcia notes that the district is less Republican than Lincoln Diaz-Balart's neighboring district.

"Garcia's profile as a party official may hamper his ability to portray himself as an outsider this year," Wasserman said. "Still, his sizable network of local supporters also makes this a race to watch."

Cook last month similarly bumped up the Lincoln Diaz-Balart vs. Raul Martinez race to "likely Republican" from "solid Republican."

President Bush is in Naples tomorrow to raise money for the brothers' re-election.

Obama's chance to slam McCain on oil drilling

Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama is scheduled to talk to reporters tomorrow afternoon before a private fundraiser in Jacksonville. He's likely to hammer Republican rival John McCain for proposing offshore oil drilling.

On Saturday, he addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami.

Skip Campbell: I'm in and I can win

With hours just left before qualifying ends for the 2008 elections, Skip Campbell, the former Fort Lauderdale state senator, has still not officially made the ballot to challenge presumptive Senate President Jeff Atwater in the District 25 contest.

But Campbell on Thursday afternoon said all his paperwork has been sent to Tallahassee and that he's definitely running for the seat that includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, despite Atwater's huge fundraising edge. Campbell said any rumors that he might not run are "all false."

"I am totally committed to this campaign,'' said Campbell.

Campbell, who said he enjoys the state Senate because he gets a chance to help people while at the same time maintain his day job as a lawyer, said he's seen too many polls that show him this will be a big year for Democrats.

"I've got to try to at least make sure that if this is a Democratic year, we have an opportunity to win this race,'' said Campbell, who lost to Bill McCollum in the 2006 race for attorney general.

Campbell said he's girding for a mean, tough race where he expects to be outspent "five to one." Atwater has already raised $1.62 million, compared to the nearly $170,000 Campbell has on hand, which includes $100,000 that Campbell lent to his own campaign.

House Dems to oil companies: "Use it or Lose it"

Accused by Republicans of blocking efforts to find new sources of oil and gas, House Democrats today unveiled legislation they say will help lower gas prices by demanding that oil companies use what they say are 68 million acres of land onshore and offshore that they currently lease.

"Before we put Florida's economy and families at risk, I want to know why the major oil companies have yet to drill on more than 68 million acres of federal lands that are already under lease," said Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, a co-sponsor of the legislation and opponent of plans to lift a drilling ban off the coast.

The act would bar companies from obtaining any more leases until they demonstrate they are producing oil and gas, or developing the leases they already hold.

Republicans have scoffed at the measure, saying oil companies already have time limits to explore and tap leases. They held a dueling press conference of their own, poking fun at two of the Democrats' more liberal members who earlier this week raised the possiblity of the government controlling gas prices.

"Apparently," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow. "They went to the Hugo Chavez school of goverment enterprise."

George Will backtracks on the China-Cuba connection

Columnist George Will, the source of vice president Dick Cheney's mistaken assertion that the Chinese are drilling off Cuba's coast, has acknowledged his mistake.

"In a previous column," Will said at the bottom of a Tuesday column printed in the Washington Post, "I stated that China, in partnership with Cuba, is drilling for oil 60 miles from the Florida coast. While Cuba has partnered with Chinese companies to drill in the Florida Straits, no Chinese company has been involved in Cuba's oil exploration that close to the United States."

Cheney repeated Will's claim last week, but was forced to backtrack after several reports and a Senate floor speech by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, a fellow Republican, who called the China-Cuba drilling report "akin to urban legend."

The GOP -- eager to drill off Florida's coast and elsewhere -- has seized on the image of China drilling so close to Florida to push their point. The claims even caused a ruckus in Ohio.