One minute after Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer ended his conference call, where he announced he would resign effective next month, an e-mail from House Republican Leader Adam Hasner popped into the inbox of Charlotte Chairman Republican Chairman Bob Starr.

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – HASNER: THRASHER CHOICE A POSITIVE MOVE FOR RPOF; FULLY SUPPORT CHOICE***

“I was shocked,” Starr said. “There should have been a mourning period. Greer deserved that – he did the honorable thing. But not one minute after that, the controversy starts all over again.”

The controversy is the anointing from Hasner (who was discussed as a possible replacement for Greer) and a list of other elected Republicans, including Attorney General Bill McCollum and his gubernatorial campaign, of state Sen. John Thrasher’s as Greer’s replacement.

For Starr — who is chairman of the RPOF Chairman Caucus — and other party activists, this is 2007 all over again. At that time, many were unhappy after feeling like Greer was pushed on them by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. Now, the list of Thrasher supporters looks eerily similar to the Greer camp from three years ago.

Enter Sharon Day, who is contemplating a run for the office herself.

“I’m considering it,” she told The Palm Beach Post.

Florida’s committeewoman on the national Republican Party and the national party’s secretary earned respect from many grassroots activists in the state when she stopped Greer’s attempt to invoke the party’s “Rule 11″ on behalf of Crist. The move would have essentially denounced Crist’s primary rival, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, as an unfit to run.

One of Day’s biggest fans, Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein, is urging her to reconsider until 2011.

“She’s like my hero in Republican leadership,” Dinerstein said. “She stood up at the right time. She has courage, energy, I just love her. Having said that, yesterday was the time to fight and today is the time together. I would like us to come together.”

Developing…

We caught up with Republican Gov. Charlie Crist on his walk Tuesday afternoon from the Capitol to a training session for new circuit, county and appellate judges to get his thoughts on Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer’s resignation. Here’s the rough transcript:

(Also, here’s our story about Greer’s resignation, the audio from Greer’s conference call and some reaction from Palm Beach County Republicans.)

CRIST: “I’m sorry to see him go because I know how hard he worked particularly in the area of minority outreach and I’m very proud of that. Having said that I think that Sen. Thrasher will do an extraordinary job as chairman. And I have great respect for John. And I think it’s very important to have a unified party as we enter into this new year and a very important election year. So, those are my thoughts.”

Q: Were your thoughts about Greer affected by the letter from the 12 fundraisers? Could Greer have remained in his job after that?

CRIST: I think that was a decision Jim wanted to make. And I respect that. You know, he’s got a family to think about, things like that. It’s been a little rough and tumble, obviously. And, you know, I supported him up to the end, but ultimately it’s a decision he and his family have to make.

(more…)

In announcing his resignation Tuesday, besieged Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer accused his critics of sowing dischord and said he “cannot be a participant in the shredding and tearing of the fabric of the Republican Party.”

But Palm Beach County Republican State Committeeman Peter Feaman — one of only two state executive board members to cast a vote of no confidence in Greer last month — says Greer had been stressing the GOP fabric since November, when Feaman said the chairman resisted calls to resign from executive board members at a closed-door meeting in Lake County.

“We said to him at that time, ‘Do what’s good for the party and step down.’ And he refused until now,” said Feaman. “So my question then is, who is it that’s tearing at the fabric of the Republican Party of Florida?”

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer said this afternoon he will resign effective Feb. 20. Some background on his recent troubles here.

“This distractions and attacks on each other within the party is not what we should be doing. These individuals who have turned their guns on fellow Republicans instead of focusing our efforts on defeating Democrats have done nothing to serve our party. But at the end of the day the future of the party must come first.”

Listen to the conference call here. (Questions start at the 11:10 mark)

Public Service Commission Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano began her first day as head of the utility regulatory panel by suggesting that her colleagues conduct themselves like judges.

Argenziano, a former state legislator, took over as chairwoman this morning and Panhandle accountant Benjamin “Steve” Stevens was sworn in as the newest commissioner as the panel prepares to vote on nearly $2 billion in power rate hikes next week.

Argenziano kicked off this morning’s meeting by handing out the code of judicial conduct to the other four members of the PSC in an effort to place more distance between the commissioners and their staff and the utilities they oversee.

She wants all communications placed in writing and entered into the public record in cases pending before the PSC.

The quasi-judicial panel is considering imposing changes to its own ethical standards while awaiting possible legislative changes to how the commission operates regarding communications between the utilities and the PSC.

But Argenziano, a Republican from Dunedin appointed to the PSC by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007, wants broader changes in the way potential commissioners are selected by a committee comprised largely of legislators. Those suggestions are then given to the governor, who makes the final decision.

Argenziano objects to the legislature’s influence on the selections because, she says, House and Senate leaders are dependent on campaign contributions from the utilities.

She wants the panel to become part of the court system and have commissioners appointed by either the Cabinet or the attorney general or a smaller group that would be more accountable to consumers, she said.

But lawmakers are unlikely to cede their power over the PSC, Argenziano admitted.

(more…)

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer is preparing to resign, sources told The Palm Beach Post. He will be replaced by Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville. The party has confirmed Greer will hold a 1:15 p.m. conference call with reporters.

“Jim has long been a loyal servant to the Republican cause, and I appreciate the many sacrifices the Chairman, his wife Lisa, and their four children have made to ensure our Party’s continued success in the Sunshine State,” Gov. Charlie Crist said in a statement.

“I call on Florida Republicans to unite behind our common values of less government and more personal freedom and sincerely hope that we can move forward together to ensure statewide Republican victories in 2010.”

Greer has been negotiating his exit since a letter
from party fundraisers last week saying he had to go. In addition to Thrasher, other names discussed included former House Speaker Alan Bense of Panama City and former Senate President Ken Pruitt of Port St. Lucie.

Negotiators were far apart over the weekend, but found had a breakthrough late last night.

The transition is a hit to Gov. Charlie Crist, whose U.S. Senate campaign has benefited from his close relationship with Greer.

Thrasher, meanwhile, is more closely aligned with the Jeb Bush-wing of the party, which has always had a rivalry with the Crist team and given significant support to Crist’s primary opponent, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

News of Thrasher replacing Greer was first reported by the Times/Herald.

Former President Bill Clinton will appear at a fund-raiser for Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch’s congressional campaign on Jan. 19 in Boca Raton, Deutch’s campaign said.

The late-afternoon event will be at St. Andrew’s Country Club. Clinton is scheduled to speak that evening in Palm Beach at a dinner for major Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County donors at The Breakers.

Deutch was a prominent supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 Democratic presidential bid. He and former Broward County mayor Ben Graber are running in a special Feb. 2 primary for the seat of former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, who resigned to head a Middle East think tank. Three Republicans are also running. The general election is April 13.

A consumer-friendly former legislator with a reputation for bucking the system takes over as head of the panel that sets billions of dollars in utility rates, including a pending $1.2 billion Florida Power & Light Co. rate hike request, today.

Public Service Commissioner Nancy Argenziano will become chairwoman of the agency that will now bear the brand of Gov. Charlie Crist who selected four of the five members of the panel and reappointed one previously picked by his predecessor Jeb Bush.

Also new to the regulatory panel: Benjamin “Steve” Stevens, a Panhandle accountant and co-owner of a bar catering to the college crowd.
Stevens, Crist’s latest appointment, joins the PSC just a week before the regulators are set to make two important votes: the FPL rate increase and a $500 million Progress Energy Florida rate hike request.

Commissioner David Klement, a retired newspaperman who spent more than three decades as an editorial writer, joined the panel late in October.

Argenziano, a former legislator with a reputation as a feisty maverick unafraid of defying the status quo, has vowed to clean up the embattled agency blackened by allegations of improper communications and relationships between agency staff and representatives of the utilities they oversee.

(more…)

UPDATE: Florida Democrats are giddy about this news. They’re not claiming they’ll collect more money than the RPOF this year. Instead, they say their analysis shows that “the Florida Democratic Party has never been in better financial shape entering an election year.”

The Republican Party of Florida announced today it raised $4.5 million for the final three months of 2009.

That would be the largest quarterly total of the year, and slightly more than the $4.3 million the party collected in the same time in 2007 – the last non-election year. For the year, the party collected about $1.6 million less than it did in 2007.

2009 RPOF fundraising:

1Q: $3.9 million

2Q: $1.3 million

3Q: $3.8 million

4Q: $4.5 million

The announcement comes just days before the party’s annual meeting in Orlando, where party Chairman Jim Greer’s job is expected to be a main topic of discussion. Last week, a dozen of the party’s top fundraisers signed a letter calling for Greer’s removal.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist’s U.S. Senate campaign announced today Amanda Henneberg was hired as press secretary. Henneberg most recently was a communcations adviser for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

“We are thrilled to welcome Amanda to the campaign,” said campaign manager Eric Eikenberg. “Her previous campaign experience coupled with her work on Capitol Hill will truly be an asset to this campaign as we spread the message of Charlie Crist’s common sense conservative record.”

Henneberg specialized in television work for McConnell and other Republican senators and worked on Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign as a television and radio specialist.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work for Gov. Crist,” said Henneberg. “Coming from the Senate, I know firsthand that the governor will be a great, needed addition and will ensure that conservative principles are upheld during these important times.”

The son of a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard is renewing his effort to be seated on the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee.

Derek Black, now 20, won a 2008 election to one of 111 executive committee seats. But the party disallowed the election because Black hadn’t signed a party loyalty oath on time.

Now Black is disputing that decision and citing a court ruling on a similar dispute in Miami-Dade.

(more…)

From The Palm Beach Post editorial board this morning:

Mr. Sargeant’s role in Gov. Crist’s life raises a question no politician wants to hear: Did Gov. Crist and other beneficiaries of Mr. Sargeant’s largesse finance their campaigns on the strength of war profiteering? They don’t want to hear the question, but voters need to hear the answer.

Find the link to that editorial and more headlines from today’s Post in the “Today’s Paper” box on the right side of this page.

Attorney Gen. and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bill McCollum will keynote next month’s Palm Beach County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner.

McCollum’s primary rival, state Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland, is also welcome — if she buys a $195 ticket.

Find out why in this week’s Politics column.

Today is the final day in office for “fire-breathing liberal” U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler. On Monday he begins his job as head of the nonprofit Center For Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, a post in which Wexler says he’ll try to convince wary Israelis to support President Obama’s policies in the region.

Read about it here.

An Orlando attorney’s effort to run candidates under the “Tea Party” label is panned by many of the conservative activists who have organized Tea Party rallies around the state.

Fred O’Neal, who has an anti-tax background but hasn’t been involved in Tea Party rallies, registered Tea Party with the Florida Division of Elections and says he wants to recruit candidates who favor low taxes and limited government.

South Florida Tea Party Chairman Everett Wilkinson is among those vehemently opposed to O’Neal’s idea. Says Wilkinson: “We already have problems with the two-party system and the deals being made. A third party is a third problem.”

Read all about it here.

Ok, so it was more of a “Quote Every Few Days” than a “Quote of the Day,” but cut us a little slack.

We started this daily-ish feature (unique to Florida political blogs) back in March and compiled nine months worth of pithy, insightful or otherwise unbelievable quotes.

Click here to relive the memories.

And Happy New Year! from the bloggers at PostOnPolitics.com.