Peter SchorschWill Gwen Graham’s announcement that she’s “seriously considering running for Governor” cause a gunning of the campaign engines?
As a website devoted to Florida politics, let’s hope so. Let’s take two examples.
On the Democratic side, contender Bob Buckhorn has played it coy. As far back as last June, the Tampa mayor wouldn’t say which way he was leaning.
“You know, I don’t know the answer to that yet,” he told the Tampa Tribune. “I’m going to spend the next year figuring out whether the message works … whether it’s something my family and I want to do. So when the day comes when I do have to make that decision, I’ll be ready.”
That year, by the way, is almost up.
And the leading Republican favorite (at least according to the lounge chatter at the Governors Club) still is Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who can avoid an answer about his political future like nobody’s business.
Here’s a classic answer, also from last year: “These things have a natural ebb and flow,” Putnam told TCPalm. “There will be an appropriate time for people to evaluate what the future will be. But the better job you do, the more options you’ll have … and I haven’t closed any doors.”
Putnam’s political committee, by the way, has about $3.3 million in cash on hand. Not bad for a guy who’s term-limited in his current position.
Yeah, we know the general election is still 2.5 years away. But now that Graham has jumped in the pool, expect more candidates (or their surrogates) to start ringing phones among the smart set.
Now, here are this week’s “Takeaway 5” — the Top 5 stories from last week:
1.Commissioner search — CFO Jeff Atwater is not giving up on his top pick for the state’s insurance commissioner, once again picking Rep. Bill Hager to interview for the job during last week’s Cabinet meeting. Atwater and Scott couldn’t come to an agreement during the last commission meeting, and decided to once again accept applications for the position.
Scott, who favored Jeffrey Bragg, was expected to meet with Hager, and was scheduled to interview four more candidates by phone on Friday. Current Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty plans to leave his post later this year.
2. No violation — The Florida Commission on Ethics said a former Washington law firm didn’t violate Florida’s lobbying laws when it appealed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and her staff on behalf of corporate clients.
The investigation started in January 2015 after a series of articles in The New York Times looking at efforts by corporations to influence state attorneys general. According to The New York Times, the commission concluded the firm’s top partner could not be formally defined as a lobbyist.
3. Back to school — Senate President Designate Joe Negron took the ultimate college road trip last week, hitting all 12 state universities in just four days.
The Stuart Republican has made improving the system a priority during his two-year term as president, and spent the week talking to students, faculty and administrators.
Negron was joined by his colleagues at stops along the way, with Sens. Lizbeth Benacquisto and Anitere Flores joining him for the majority of the road trip. Negron said he plans to announce specific action items later this summer.
4. Skip ahead to 2018 — Graham announced Thursday she wasn’t running for re-election, but instead she was considering a 2018 gubernatorial run. While the announcement wasn’t entirely a surprise, it did open the floodgates to discussion about who else might run.
Jeremey Ring said he was also considering running for governor; while Buckhorn said he’s waiting until after November to make a decision. Why November? Don’t forget, there’s an election this year too.
5. Going green — Florida citrus growers said as many as 80 percent of their trees are infected by citrus greening, according to a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services survey. According to the Southeast Farm Press, surveyed growers said that on average 90 percent of citrus acreage and 80 percent of their trees have been infected. Florida has lost $7.8 billion in revenue to citrus greening since 2007.
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Peter Schorsch is a new media publisher and political consultant based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Reporters Jim Rosica and Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster contributed to this report. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
