Peter Schorsch
With all due respect to Jacob Engels, he just doesn’t know what the hell he is writing about.
Engels, a whippersnapper of a blogger, wrote on his site, the East Orlando Post — and Sunshine State News foolishly cross-posted — “A Look at Contenders in Blaise Ingoglia’s Hiring Decisions” in which he “examine(s) who some of the top contenders are for executive director, deputy executive director, communications director and political director positions” at the Republican Party of Florida.
Engels might as well have written “A Look At Which Plays Bill Belichick Will Call In The Super Bowl” because he would be more right about what the famously secretive football coach may do in that game than he is about who will end up working at the RPOF.
I am not going to pick apart each of Engels’ suggestions because a) I genuinely admire Engels’ pluck; b) they’re too ridiculous to honestly evaluate. I mean, how do you disapprove a quaddruple double-negative?
For example, the Kevin Cleary for executive director/deputy executive director suggestion is preposterous. Cleary told me on Tuesday that while he is flattered someone wrote something decent about him, he has no idea where the idea of him working at the party originated. In fact, Cleary said that in addition to his current work at Andy Palmer’s political shop, he just started with former Senate President Ken Pruitt’s P5 Group.
A guy with two good gigs … does that sound like someone headed for 420 Jefferson Street?
Anyway, that’s just one example of what Engels gets wrong. Maybe Dan Dawson and his hair returns to Tallahassee to become communications director, but I doubt he’s leaving Jacksonville any time soon.
As for who might actually be in the running for executive director, here’s who is actually in contention.
Of course, Pablo Diaz’s name is at the top of the list. He’s fresh off a win for Pam Bondi and is co-leading Ingoglia’s transition, but Diaz is more likely to play a role in Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign then serve as ED.
The brilliant Frank Terraferma, the former Director of House Campaigns, is also on the short list. I was actually surprised to remember that Terraferma has never served a tour as executive director, he’s that prevalent at RPOF. But, no, he hasn’t. It’s not clear if Terraferma even wants the top job, but with his incredible skills, he has to be considered.
Another current RPOF staffer under consideration is Andrew Wiggins, the deputy director of Senate Campaigns. Wouldn’t his hiring go a long way to bringing the Senate Campaign team back into the party’s fold?
Two out-of-left-field (or is it right field?) names on the list are Christian Camara and Nick Hansen. I was surprised to hear Camara’s name bantered around, because I am not familiar with his campaign experience, but he is an outspoken conservative activist and a source very close to the staffing process says Camara is definitely on the radar. Good for him. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a guy who has been on the right side of the party’s scandals get to go inside and make sure the place stays on the right track? Hansen, who has now put together a string of impressive victories and is close to several of the bold name consultants who drive the party, is an outside-of-Tallahasssee possibility, but will he really leave what he’s built in St. Petersburg?
Finally, the name getting most mentioned in the last 24 hours is Brad Herold, who currently works in U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s office. Herold previously was the campaign manager in the U.S. Senate bid of Mike McFadden and the U.S. House race of Adam Hasner, as well as deputy staff director for the Majority Office of the House of Representatives and coordinator of Gov. Rick Scott’s transition team.
Certainly there are other names in the mix — what about an internal choice like George Riley? — but one thing is clear from my discussions with those close to the hiring process.
“This is not just the usual greased skids,” one source said. There will be interviews and discussions with all of the stakeholders at the party. Ingoglia is determined to bring all of the parties to the table, not just those in Tallahassee, but also the executive committees and other statewide interests.
Am I missing anyone?
