Palm Beach County’s Republican Executive Committee tonight will consider a resolution to censure Gov. Charlie Crist for bucking the GOP on a variety of matters.

Crist has been criticized by members of his own party for appearing with President Obama at a Fort Myers rally to promote the $787 billion economic stimulus plan. He’s been faulted for not campaigning for some local Republican candidates in 2008 and for appointing Democrats to various posts — including Priscilla Taylor to fill a Palm Beach County commission vacancy last month.

Across Florida. Republican executive committee members tend to be more conservative than the average GOP voter, just as Democratic committee members tend to be more liberal than the average Democrat. Crist has been censured by the Volusia County GOP and lost straw polls of GOP committee members in Highlands, Pasco and Lee counties to Marco Rubio, his rival in the 2010 Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein and other local GOP leaders oppose the motion to censure Crist. But there’s no telling how the entire committee, which has roughly 120 members, will vote.

Crist shrugged off the Volusia censure earlier this month, saying it had “not much” meaning to him.

This story was printed Aug. 12 on page 1A of The Palm Beach Post.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist’s plans for a third high-profile climate summit have been indefinitely postponed as the Republican weighs the political cost of the event’s expensive price tag.

But Crist’s reluctance to appear out of touch with financially frustrated Floridians — and perhaps his party’s conservative base — has not stopped him from asking the event’s sponsors to help fund his U.S. Senate campaign.

Campaign finance reports show Crist has collected $106,500 from individuals and companies tied to past sponsors of his climate summits. That total is 40 percent of the costs of his 2006 summit and nearly 20 percent of the expenses of last year’s event.

Postponing the summit has also raised questions about whether Crist, who is facing an aggressive primary challenge and a restless base in the state GOP, is backing away from the environmental issues that marked his first two years in office.

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Prominent lobbyist and former Florida Supreme Court justice Wade Hopping died today from complications from a stroke and esophageal cancer.

Hopping died a day before his 78th birthday and on the 30th anniversary of founding the Tallahassee law firm Hopping Green and Sams.

Hopping served as a Cabinet aide to Gov. Claude Kirk, who appointed him to fill an opening on the Supreme Court in 1968 but he lost reelection the following year. Supreme Court justices are now appointed by the governor and remain in on the bench by a merit vote.

Kirk, the first Republican governor elected since Reconstruction, credited Hopping and environmentalist Nathaniel Reed with helping to create both the state and national environmental regulatory agencies.

“I didn’t know how to spell conservation or environment but we learned about it,” Kirk, who lives in West Palm Beach, said. “Wade was in the middle of all of that with Nat Reed. With Wade’s help and Nat’s help we got (former President) Nixon to create the President’s Council on the Environment.” The council was the basis of what later became the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kirk said.

The white-haired, white-bearded lobbyist was an institution in the halls of the Florida Capitol throughout his thirty years of working on behalf of businesses including Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida and the Florida Marine Industries Association.

Recently, Hopping was instrumental in the state’s $310 million purchase of the 74,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preservation Area in Southwest Florida. The 2006 deal was the largest conservation lands purchase in Florida history.

He frequently drew swords with environmentalists but was a willing and capable compromiser, said Audubon of Florida policy director Eric Draper, who frequently worked against Hopping in issues before the legislature.

“Wade has been a fixture at the capitol for as long as I can remember. He was always pushing firmly with his clients’ agenda but always in a friendly and good-humored way. He was one of the business lobbyists that conservationists were most willing to work,” said Draper, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner. “It’s hard to imagine working on environmental issues without him on the other side.”

Hopping is survived by his wife of 38 years, Mary Hopping of Tallahassee. He is also survived by children Hank and Margaret Hopping of Chattanooga, Jud and Jackie Hopping of Fort Lauderdale, Kiff and Lynn Mendoza of Tallahassee, and Beth Mendoza and Maureen Murphy of Atlanta.

A funeral service is scheduled Thursday at the Faith Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee.

Delray Beach City Commissioner Mack Bernard has raised $22,500 and put in $15,000 of his own money for his Aug. 25 special state House race against Riviera Beach Councilman Cedrick Thomas. Thomas has raised $12,651, according to reports of activity through last Thursday.

Bernard has spent $13,198 — with $10,215 of that going to the Patriot Games consulting firm. Thomas has spent $1,460.

Bernard and Thomas, both Democrats, are running to replace Priscilla Taylor, who stepped down last month when Gov. Charlie Crist appointed her to a Palm Beach County commission vacancy.

Officials in Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration responded to a report showing the state last in highway transportation spending by saying that states spend the money in different ways.

“We believe that all state DOTs are doing an outstanding job in implementing the Recovery Act funds,” Crist’s stimulus adviser Don Winstead and state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos wrote in a letter to U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn.

Oberstar wrote to Crist on Thursday urging him to speed up highway spending. Crist’s likely U.S. Senate opponent, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, issued a press release today saying Crist is responsible for a series of missteps with the stimulus money that has delayed potential relief for thousands of out-of-work Floridians.

(Crist was also targeted today by his GOP primary opponent, Marco Rubio, who mocked Crist for supporting the stimulus money in the first place.

Winstead and Kopelousos wrote that the report from Congress was “outdated and does a disservice to the tireless efforts of the Crist administration.”

To read the entire letter, click here

In case Republican primary voters have forgotten that Gov. Charlie Crist stood with Democratic President Obama in Fort Myers to promote a $787 billion Democratic stimulus package, Crist’s GOP Senate primary rival Marco Rubio notes that today is the half-year anniversary of the event.

Rubio plans to campaign in Fort Myers and Naples today “to highlight the stimulus’ failure to stimulate Florida’s economy, to address the culture of reckless spending in Washington and to discuss solutions he will pursue in the U.S. Senate to control federal spending.”

Supporters and opponents of a Democratic health care overhaul bill and at least one member of Palm Beach County’s congressional delegation will converge next week for a public forum sponsored by a labor-backed retiree group.

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, plans to attend the Aug. 20 event at 1 p.m. at the South County Civic Center west of Delray Beach. The event is sponsored by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and supports the Democratic bill.

Other local members of Congress were invited but it wasn’t immediately clear today whether any others would attend.

Opponents of the legislation plan to show up as well.

“We’ll be there with signs but, more importantly, we’ll be there with questions,” said Everett Wilkinson, the state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots group.

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U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, criticized Republican Gov. Charlie Crist this morning for a report last week from Congress showing the state is last in spending its share of stimulus money for road projects.

Meek and Crist are expected to face each other in a US Senate race next year.

See Meek’s full release after the jump.
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Don’t expect any YouTubed confrontations when U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, hosts a town hall meeting later this month to discuss the 1,018-page House Democratic health care bill.

Klein is planning a “telephone town hall” that he says will reach far more constituents than an in-the-flesh event.

Republican challenger Allen West says Klein’s a chicken.

“The unwillingness to stand in front of your constituents can only be called cowardice,” said West.

Klein dismissed West’s claim. He said the teleconference has been planned for weeks and was not a reaction to the recent transformation of town hall events from soporific C-SPAN affairs to shout-fests that go viral on the Internet.

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As he seeks the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2010, Gov. Charlie Crist is riding high in polls of GOP voters. But it’s a different story with many of the party’s grass-roots activists around the state.

Read about it here and see how Palm Beach County’s GOP fits in.

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This story was printed Aug. 8 on page 1A of the The Palm Beach Post.

By MICHAEL C. BENDER and DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

ORLANDO — U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, the instigator of the most chaotic year in the past century of Florida politics, threw the state another curveball Friday by resigning 17 months before the end of his first and only term.

The announcement surprised many of the state’s top politicos, despite eight months of rumors that this was coming, and provided another dramatic moment in the buildup to an historic election day in 2010.

The news also inspired immediate speculation that Gov. Charlie Crist, who was already running to succeed Martinez, might name himself to fill the seat. But Crist shot down the notion, saying he would appoint a temporary replacement instead.
A key Republican source said the replacement is expected to be former Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith. Crist said he had not yet decided.

Martinez, 62, an Orlando Republican and Cuban exile, had insisted he would not leave his office early, even though was not seeking re-election. His staff constantly reminded the media that there would be no political benefit for him or his potential successors from an early resignation.

But he changed his mind, saying Friday that he wanted to return home to his family. He will remain in office until he’s replaced, so his resignation won’t affect the Senate’s balance of power.

“This is a free country,” Martinez said. “This is only about my desire to move on with the rest of my life.”

He was vague about what he plans to do next, except that it “will be in the private sector.” Last month, Martinez rejected the possibility of seeking to become president of Florida State University.

In 2007, Martinez had made a similarly abrupt resignation as the Republican Party’s national chairman, after just 10 months.

Friday’s announcement left some disappointed.

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This story was printed in the Aug. 8 edition of The Palm Beach Post.

By MICHAEL C. BENDER and DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

ORLANDO — By ending an already brief U.S. Senate career Friday, Mel Martinez risks being remembered for little more than just getting elected.

“You don’t get an opportunity to leave a big footprint in the sand unless you’ve been there a while,” said former state Republican Party Chairman Tom Slade.

History will remember Martinez, a Republican, as the first Cuban-American elected to the U.S. Senate, a feat he achieved in 2004 by obliterating his primary opponents with record-setting fund raising and outlasting Democrat Betty Castor in an election night nail-biter.

Several politicians and strategists said Martinez, whose announcement comes a day after his vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice, will always be held in high esteem among the state’s critically important Hispanic voters.

Hispanics account for one of the fastest growing groups of swing voters in the state.

“When he ran for the U.S. Senate, the conventional wisdom was that a Hispanic could not get elected statewide in Florida,” said Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Marco Rubio, the first Hispanic Florida House speaker. “He dispelled all of that.”
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Even though he wants the job, Gov. Charlie Crist says he won’t appoint himself to replace Mel Martinez in the U.S. Senate.

It’s a wise choice. Of the eight governors who did just that, seven lost their election bid to hold the seat.

See the list of the jump.

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This blog has been updated since it was originally posted at 3:10 p.m.

By DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

ORLANDO — U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez just told reporters at Orlando International Airport that he is indeed stepping down — of his own free will, and not under duress from anybody.

“This is a free country,” he said. “The people of Florida elected me. This is only about my desire to move on with the rest of my life.”

He described his departure as “a return to Florida and a return to my family.” He said he will not seek any other public office. And he said he would not reopen the possibility of become president of Florida State University; he had taken himself out of the running in mid-July.

He said he’s in good health, “thank God.” And he added that the next phase of his life “will be in the private sector.”

“There’s going to be a 60-day gap where I won’t be doing much of anything,” Martinez added, talking about spending time on Lake Eola with his wife, Kitty. And he said he would remain an outspoken member of the Cuban exile community, and would speak out against the island’s communist regime. “That has always been my passion. I will continue that lifelong passion.”

Martinez said he informed Gov. Charlie Crist of his decision by telephone, but the senator offered no hints of who his successor should be. He referred all such questions to Crist.

By the way, the resignation of a U.S. senator from a major state wasn’t apparently very fascinating to some of the big TV networks. CNN showed footage of Martinez speaking, but anchor Rick Sanchez kept talking the entire time. CNN Headline News actually allowed some of Martinez’s words to make it on the air before cutting away to other news.

Fox aired more of the news conference, including Martinez’s response to several questions. But they, too, broke away.

People in Florida and national politics reacted today to reports of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’s impending resignation:

“Mel Martinez’s life is a testament to the boundless promise that exists in America, where a young Cuban exile can come to the United States without his parents and rise to become a Cabinet secretary and U.S. senator. As he looks ahead towards the next phase of his life, I wish him and his family all the best.
“As Governor Crist considers who he will appoint as Florida’s next U.S. senator, I urge him to take great care in his selection. Florida deserves an interim senator who will go to Washington and serve as a true check on President Obama’s push for more wasteful government spending, government-run health care and cap-and-trade. The last thing Florida needs is a U.S. senator that will stand with President Obama instead of challenging the wrong direction he is leading our country and offering constructive conservative solutions moving forward.”
— Republican former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a 2010 candidate for Martinez’s seat

“Senator Mel Martinez made history when he was elected to the U.S. Senate and I wish him only the best in his future endeavors. It is fitting that one of Senator Martinezs final votes was to confirm a history-making Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor and I am so pleased that he cast this vote one that I wholeheartedly support.”
— Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a 2010 candidate for Martinez’s seat

“Mel has been a good Senate colleague of mine, as well as a personal friend. He also has been a dedicated public servant for Florida. I look forward to our continued friendship — and to having the same bipartisan working relationship with his successor.”
— U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida

“I have a great deal of respect for my good friend Mel Martinez. I know this decision was a difficult one for him, but I think he is doing what he believes is right for him and his family. We will immediately begin the process of selecting an appropriate replacement to serve the remainder of Senator Martinez’s term and I look forward to making an announcement in the coming weeks.”
— Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican candidate for Martinez’s U.S. Senate seat
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Jim Smith is Gov. Charlie Crist’s likely pick to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, a key Republican source has told The Palm Beach Post.

Smith, the FSU Board of Trustees chairman, is a former state attorney general and secretary of state. He sided with Crist’s GOP opponent, Tom Gallagher, in 2008, but his son-in-law, Brian Ballard, is a close ally of Crist’s.

Smith and Ballard were not immediately available for comment. Reasons the pick would make sense: Smith would not be likely to run for re-election and has an “elder statesman” profile that could earn Crist points for making a solid pick.

In 2002, Smith was appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to fill the vacancy of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who left the position after being elected to the U.S. House. Smith served in the same office from 1987 to 1995. He was also state attorney general from 1979 to 1987.

Developing….

This blog has been updated since it was originally posted at 10:37 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., announced today that he will resign his office more than a year early.

“My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly twelve years of public service in Florida and Washington, it’s time I return to Florida and my family,” Martinez said in a letter sent to family and friends today. “So today I am announcing my decision to step down from public office, effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term.”

Martinez announced in December that he would not seek re-election in 2010. Since then, there have been rampant rumors that he would resign before the end of his term. His communications team has repeatedly denied those rumors and successfully questioned the motives of such a move.

One of the rumors is that Martinez would replace T.K. Wetherell as Florida State University president. Wetherell is stepping down, but Martinez has indicated that he was interested in spending more time with his family in Orlando.

Martinez has scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference in Orlando.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, a candidate to replace Martinez, told Central Florida 13 that he will not appoint himself. Crist is in Tampa today to tour the MacDill Air Force Base.

The likely replacement is FSU Chairman Jim Smith, The Palm Beach Post has learned.

“The governor should appoint a caretaker,” Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said, “someone who specifically is there for the year and a half and is not going to seek the job next year.”

From the letter sent to Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday from U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn.

Florida is falling behind other states in putting to work its Recovery Act highway formula funds. … I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts to implement the Recovery Act and use available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs.

Read the full letter here.

Here’s one of many video clips available on the Internet from Thursday night’s shout-and-shovefest on health care in Tampa, which was originally billed as a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa….

And here’s an account of the evening from the estimable Adam Smith of The St. Pete Times.

In Palm Beach County, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, has scheduled a town hall meeting on health care for Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. at the South County Civic Center west of Delray Beach.

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, is planning a “telephone town hall” later this month, but hasn’t set a date. (Here’s an account of a Wednesday health care dustup between protesters and Klein’s staff.)

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, has no town hall meetings scheduled. Plans for U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, were not immediately available.