Republican congressional hopeful Ed Lynch, one of three candidates in a special Feb. 2 GOP primary, has more than $1.3 million in federal tax liens against him and his contracting business has been socked with $143,618 in court judgments since 2008.
The liens are the result of a long-running dispute in which Lynch contested the IRS’ valuation of a business he sold, says Lynch, who says he has prevailed in the matter and won’t owe any back taxes.
“It looks like we settled it. I’m just waiting for them to send me the paperwork,” he said last week.
He blamed the court judgments on a separate dispute with the federal bureaucracy.
ORLANDO — While many Floridians watched Saturday for rarely seen snow flurries, state Republicans contemplated the unusual winds blowing through their party.
After dominating state elections for 15 years, Florida Republicans are suffering a rare identity crisis.
They’re part of a national losing streak over the past two election cycles. And despite controlling the governor’s office and Florida Legislature since 1996, many Republicans are frustrated with the results: Unemployment, food stamp applications and foreclosures have all increased. But taxes and fees have, too.
“Look at the crap we’ve been pulling,” Bob Starr, chairman of the state Republican county chairmen caucus, said in an interview at the party’s annual meeting Saturday, the first major political event of 2010.
“We haven’t acted like conservatives.”
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Republican Gov. Charlie Crist came out swinging with his speech today at the Republican Party of Florida, signaling a new enthusiasm for a U.S. Senate race that seems to have confounded him for the past couple of months.
In the 12-minute address, basically the first major speech since announcing his 2010 campaign, he acknowledged supporting the stimulus money and “being nice” to President Obama. He said he would not apologize for either. “Let’s put it out there,” he says a couple of times.
It’s an interesting shift in strategy for the governor. For one, he was caught in some pretty blatant exaggerations last year about his position on the stimulus money. Now, he’s taking some responsibility – a trait that voters don’t often see in their politicians. Whether it’s enough to trump the anger in his party remains to be seen.
He explains his support for the stimulus saying he needed to help Florida. His said he was raised to treat the president with respect (although he does refer to Obama as “that guy” several times).
Crist, who delivered the speech from memory, also reminds Republicans that he campaigned for many of them, a subtle reminder that he could use the same help now.
You could say its been a tough week for Jim Greer. The Republican Party of Florida chairman resigned Tuesday (effective Feb. 20), a casualty of the war between conservative and moderate members of the state party.
But tonight — the start of the annual meeting in Orlando — he strolled up to the podium in a ballroom at the Rosen Plaza hotel, and graciously welcomed some 400 Republicans. (Sorry in advance for sub-standard audio.)
Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson wants Sen. John Thrasher stripped of two important committee assignments if he is annointed chairman of the state GOP as expected.
Lawson asked Senate President Jeff Atwater today to remove Thrasher as chairman of the Ethics and Elections Committee and off the powerful reapportionment committee if he is also chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
“The conflict is evident: Senator Thrasher’s primary job as RPOF head is to see that Republicans win and maintain office through the elections process – a process in which his committees – one of which he controls – play a critical role,” Lawson, D-Tallahassee, wrote Atwater this morning.
Thrasher, a former House Speaker, returned to the legislature in a nasty special election to replace the late Sen. Jim King of Jacksonville. The trial lawyers’ association political arm targeted Thrasher in a racially-charged mailer that resulted in a shake-up at the Florida Justice Association leadership and forced former executive director Scott Carruthers to resign.
Thrasher’s special election drama was one of the reasons why Atwater appointed him to chair the committee, Atwater said at the time. Campaign reforms are at the top of Thrasher’s agenda this session, the Jacksonville lobbyist said late last year.
Along with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, I was deeply troubled by the announcement earlier this week that Republican Senator John Thrasher may take over as head of the Republican Party of Florida, while maintaining his seat in the Florida Senate.
“As you know, the task of the committee he chairs is to set public policy on maintaining fair and unbiased elections. The task of the second of which he is a member is to oversee the drawing of legislative districts. To allow Senator Thrasher to remain in dual chairmanship roles and/or as a member of a committee holding sway over fair representation would threaten the integrity of the process as a whole,” Lawson wrote.
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek held a roundtable with the Capitol press corps this morning and came out swinging at Gov. Charlie Crist.
Meek, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, slammed Crist, a Republican who’s losing traction in a GOP primary against former House Speaker Marco Rubio, for his turn-around on abortion and his failed health care program that has been ignored by uninsured Floridians.
“Overall I think the governor’s a very nice person,” Meek, a former state legislator who is in his fourth term in Congress, began. “I don’t think he’s prepared to lead this state in the United States Senate. One, he doesn’t like to make a decision. Two, he’s very vague. And three, I believe he’s more politician than leader.”
After two weeks of bad publicity over its handling of a Nigerian jihadist’s attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day, the Obama administration will try to shift the focus to the economy today, Politico’s Mike Allen reports.
Toward that end, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s lunchtime speech today to the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches is expected to lay out an administration initiative to “prevent, prosecute, and punish financial fraud.”
After the massive Ponzi schemes of South Floridians Bernie Madoff and Scott Rothstein, West Palm Beach is a natural backdrop for Holder’s announcement.
Today is the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth. He did not invent rock and roll, or the jumpsuit, or the often-cringeworthy melding of politics and pop culture — but he contributed mightily to these and many other fields. Check out our Leslie Gray Streeter’s appreciation here.
Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican running for U.S. Senate:
“The attempted terror attack on Christmas Day was a somber reminder that we are a nation still at war. The facts surrounding the failed bombing plot are alarming. It is troubling to hear that this attempt was not stopped long before the plan was enacted.
“As more details emerge on who knew what and when, it is important that all facets of our homeland security redouble their efforts to protect the American people as we fight the ongoing war on terror.
“While I appreciate that a review has been conducted, it is much more important that our entire intelligence community proactively works to make sure this type of attempt doesn’t happen again.”
Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican running for governor:
“I am thankful President Obama is fully engaged on national security issues and the business of keeping Americans safe. Our approach must not be reactionary and it must not be passive. We must successfully execute a coordinated and proactive intelligence and counter-terrorism strategy to ensure the safety of our citizens. (more…)
Ten of the 12 Republican fundraisers who helped push out Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer are now lining up behind state Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville.
The joint statement includes Boca Raton fundraisers Mark Guzzetta and Ned Siegel. Missing from the group this time are Seth Bernstein of Orlando and Earl Durden of Panama City.
UPDATE II:A response from Rubio’s campaign, too: “No one should be fooled by Charlie Crist’s latest attempt at an extreme makeover. President Obama is now in a position to execute an expensive government takeover of our health care system because Charlie Crist helped him achieve an early big government, big spending victory on the failed stimulus package. Charlie Crist has about as much credibility on health care and fiscal restraint among Republicans as President Obama does. After all, there are plenty of reasons Charlie Crist is Barack Obama’s favorite Republican governor.”
Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is asking for your help to “stand up to President Obama and his back-room health care deals” on his re-designed campaign site. (Press release here.)
UPDATE:The Crist campaign argues that none of the three examples Florida Democrats give qualify as “backroom deals.” And they make some good points, including all of the documents from the gambling deal are subject to the state’s open records law. For now, we’ll save most of the back-and-forth for a deeper story on this issue a little later.
The new CharlieCrist.com site — which prominently features an embarrassing video of his primary opponent, former House Speaker Marco Rubio — also includes an “On the Issues” page that outlines his positions on a dozen topics. We haven’t had a chance to comb through them yet, but feel free to leave a comment if you see anything interesting…
Republican congressional hopeful Joe Budd moved to Florida after a business failure left him $600,000 in debt. That information comes not from an opponent’s attack ad but from Budd himself in his first 30-second spot before the Feb. 2 special GOP primary.
Budd, who often brings up the the business setback on the campaign trail, says he does so to highlight character issues and to let voters know he understands tough economic times.
“Instead of filing bankruptcy, I worked hard and sacrificed to pay it off,” he says in the ad. “…I understand your fears and concerns, having lived through them myself.”
Sounds like Feb. 20 is going to be a big day for the Florida Republican Party.
State party Vice Chairman Allen Cox informed Republicans today that’s the day he’ll step aside, joining his adversary, Chairman Jim Greer, in retirement. No word yet on any other changes to the state party structure, but there’s sure to be talk about that this weekend at the party’s annual meeting in Orlando.
Cox, who could not be immediately reached for comment, helped lead the coup against Greer, who announced his resignation on Tuesday. (More on the posturing to replace Greer here.)
Cox’s resignation means that a grievance filed against him (the one that sought to remove his vice-chair position) has been dropped and the hearing for tomorrow is canceled.
For Greer’s letter canceling the grievance committee meeting, continue reading.
The seminar will include bank officials, lawyers and real estate brokers who will be available to talk with homeowners and condo association officers about foreclosure, state Rep. Maria Lorts Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said in a press release today.
“It is time to shed light on how foreclosures are impacting condominium and homeowners associations,” Sachs said. “We need to alleviate the heightened fees that remaining residents are facing, which are being imposed by associations to make up for lost revenue from foreclosures.”
Sachs said she has hosted five foreclosure workshops.
The details of the event:
Time: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Date: Friday
Place: Sachs’s Delray Beach Office, 203 NE 1st Avenue Delray Beach, 33444
Democratic St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft, who’s challenging U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, in a Republican-leaning district, said Wednesday he’s “deeply concerned” that President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders might bypass a formal House-Senate conference on health care and hash out a private deal.
Craft is running as a “moderate and independent voice” in a district that voted for Republican John McCain in 2008. So he raised some eyebrows in the fall when he said he supported the House health care bill. That bill passed on a 220-to-215 vote in which most Dems from McCain districts voted no.
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley floated the rumor on his Facebook page this afternoon. But Gov. Charlie Crist says there’s no truth to speculation that he’s thinking about abandoning his U.S. Senate campaign.
“There’s nothing to it,” Crist said.
Crist is the first Florida governor to decline a bid for re-election since 1968, when a rewrite of the state Constitution included a provision to let governors seek a second term.
The speculation about Crist is most likely a result of the big news from Tuesday that his handpicked state party chairman, Jim Greer, was resigning under pressure. Crist denies there is any impact for his campaign, but supporters of his primary rival, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, say Greer’s resignation gives them some momentum.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, a Democrat who represents the western part of the county and has frequently railed against candidates who open campaigns and raise money early, said today he’ll decide “in the next 30 days” whether he’ll seek reelection this year.
“I’m starting now to give it some serious thought,” Santamaria said. “It’s a big decision for me. Four years is a major commitment and I want to make sure I give it my whole heart and soul.”
Only one candidate — Democrat Elissa Pearl — has opened a campaign for Santamaria’s seat. Others have expressed interest if Santamaria decides not to run.
Former Florida Christian Coalition leader Dennis Baxley confirmed he is running for re-election to the state House.
Baxley, a conservative Republican from Ocala, served in the state House from 2000-2008 and as the executive director of the Christian Coalition until May.
The funeral director raised eyebrows prior to the presidential election when he told The Miami Herald how he and other Christians perceived then-candidate Barack Obama: “He’s pretty scary to us.”
Baxley is running for his old District 24 seat because incumbent Rep. Kurt Kelly has jumped into the race against incumbent U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a liberal Democrat who defeated a four-term incumbent Republican in his election to Congress last year.
Grayson catapulted to national fame with his tongue-in-cheek characterization of the GOP health care reform as “Don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.”
Republicans are hoping to win Grayson’s seat back and the race for Congressional District 8 seat is likely to be one of the most closely watched in 2010.
“It’s a big challenge. Congressman Grayson’s become very visible and very positionable. I’m very proud that Kurt’s willing to take on that challenge to try to win that seat back for the Republicans,” Baxley said in a telephone interview this afternoon. “If he can go and accomplish something that difficult I ought to go back to work and try to help our economy again.”
Baxley said his main priority will be job creation to help the state’s out-of-work residents like the 18,000 in his district.
“We really need a primary focus on making an economic climate change for Florida,” he said.
Republican Gov. 
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