Michael Moline
If you entered an elevator in the Capitol Thursday, you might have spotted a piece of paper resembling a wanted poster bearing the pixelated photo of a smiling woman.
“Senator Kevin Rader would like to know… Where is ‘Concerned Citizen’ Mary Beth Wilson,” the letter-sized document announced.
Surrounding the photo were six red question marks — three per side. In the top left corner, the Senate seal.
The woman pictured looked an awful lot like Lisa Miller, a lobbyist with clients including Demotech Inc., a company that rates Florida insurance companies.
Rader, a Democrat from Boca Raton, asked Gov. Rick Scott in February to look into whether Miller had posed as “concerned citizen” Wilson during a conference call between Demotech and industry figures.
A number of Tallahassee lobbyists were certain they recognized Miller’s voice, as Jeff Grady, president and CEO of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, reported on his blog (password protected).
Miller and Demotech president Joe Petrelli have strongly denied it.
Asked about the elevator sheet following the Senate’s session, Rader issued a non-denial denial.
“That wasn’t Lisa Miller. It was about Mary Beth Wilson,” he said.
But he acknowledged his hand in posting the fliers.
“It’s just a reminder that I would still like the governor to take a look into it,” Rader said.
“When you have, allegedly, a lobbyist impersonating a fictitious person on behalf of her client, I think that says really awful things about that profession,” he said.
Had he received any response from the governor?
“None,” he said.
“Remember, to file a Senate complaint with the Rules Committee, you have to have first-hand knowledge. Which means you would have had to be on the phone call. I wasn’t on it, so I don’t have the ability of filing a Senate complaint.”
How many elevators got tagged?
“I think it was 12 — I’m not 100 percent. We had someone who did it.”
Any reaction?
“I haven’t had any negative reaction. Obviously, people have seen them, and are curiously interested in how this person is still operating as a lobbyist.”
Rader hadn’t heard from Miller, either.
Was plastering someone’s face around the Capitol perhaps a little extreme?
“I didn’t plaster her face. When you look it — I showed several people — most people thought it was a young boy, actually.”
But it was Lisa Miller?
“I’m not sure how it was created, but it was created.”
He added: “I don’t think any person who’s related to this process is shedding a tear on what I’m doing.”
Miller hadn’t responded to a voicemail message seeking comment as of this posting.
