Gov. Rick Scott had a change of heart -- about 51 times.
Scott promised to review hundreds of patronage appointments to boards and commissions after the Senate did not confirm them, and when the new list emerged Monday, a total of 51 names were missing (out of more than 400).
The most notable appointments that were revoked were Roderick Jones of Redington Shores to the Board of Chiropractic Medicine and Pinellas County Clerk of Courts Ken Burke to the St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees. Jones is the son of Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, who had antagonized Scott and his chief of staff, Steve MacNamara, for refusing to meet with the governor to hear his pitch on privatizing prisons in South Florida during the legislative session that ended March 9. (Jones, who has a high-level job at St. Pete College, also supported Burke's appointment).
Scott's press secretary, Lane Wright, did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation for the decisions.
Scott also revoked the appointment of George Robbins to the board of the South Florida Water Management District and Kathleen Rooney to the Governor's Mansion Commission.
On one of the state's most prestigious boards, three trustees at the University of Florida were not reappointed: Carlos Alfonso of Tampa, Susan Cameron of Fort Lauderdale and Charles Edwards of Fort Myers. In most of the cases, replacement appointments have not been made.
Scott also withdrew the appointments of six trustees at the University of Central Florida, five members of the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers, three University of North Florida trustees, three members of the Investment Advisory Board and two members of the Florida Keys Community College board.
-- Steve Bousquet
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