Bachmann’s spokeswoman Alice Stewart confirmed late last night that Bachmann will not take part in the Dec. 27 debate – the last before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses meet on Jan. 3 – but did not give a reason. Bachmann has met at least four times with Trump since she entered the race, most recently in New York on Nov. 21.
Thus far, only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have agreed to field questions from “The Donald,” although Newsmax executives have said three candidates have confirmed but would not identify them. Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry and Ron Paul have also refused to join the debate.
As recently as two weeks ago, Trump, who once flirted with running in the GOP primary, said he hasn’t ruled out running as an independent.
The possibility of the real estate mogul and reality TV show host entering the race prompted some GOP leaders, including Karl Rove and Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, to condemn the debate.
“We appreciate what Mr. Trump has done, but if you’re still talking about potentially running as an independent candidate, I think that’s a problem,” Priebus said on Fox News last night. “I think that would be malpractice for me as an RNC chairman to not believe that that is an issue.”
The debate is slated to air on another Palm Beach institution – Ion Television, the former PAX TV, which is based in West Palm Beach and reaches more than 99 million households nationwide.
A reporter with Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” came up empty-handed when he asked Gov. Rick Scottfor a urine sample yesterday.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi was ready when Aasif Mandvi demanded the same of her Thursday afternoon. The former FOX News legal analyst handed Mandvi a small plastic cup labeled with her name containing an amber liquid.
“Wow. That’s very interesting. Well, that’s very interesting that you should say that. Because as attorney general, I’m always prepared,” Bondi told Mandvi after he asked her to fill a pee cup. The exchange took place inside the basement Cabinet meeting room in the Capitol after Bondi participated in an anti-casino press conference.
“You have a sample of your urine?” an apparently surprised Mandvi responded. “How do we know it’s your urine? How do we know it’s not just apple juice?”
“Thank you. Have a great day. Have a great day. My name’s on the top,” Bondi said before heading back to her office.
Outside the conference room, Mandvi uncapped the clear plastic container and discovered the AG had pranked him.
“Yeah. It’s apple juice. She gave me apple juice instead of urine,” Mandvi told a gaggle of Capitol reporters. “So I guess she’s saying that her drug habit is more important than the Florida tax payer…knowing where their money goes.”
Bondi spokeswoman Jennifer Meale said Bondi’s staff knew the Comedy Central crew were crawling the Capitol.
“We certainly tuned in to Gov. Scott’s press conference yesterday announcing the budget and when we knew Comedy Central was here we anticipated they would be interested in attending our press conference as well and planned accordingly,” Meale said.
On Wednesday, Mandvi interrupted Scott’s budget unveiling in the same meeting room to ask him to take a drug test. Mandvi was referring to drug testing Scott wants to require of all state employees and welfare recipients.
Scott didn’t comply with Mandvi’s request, but a few House members did, including Palm Beach County’s Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, according to The Daily Show crew. Other lawmakers who provided urine samples include Democratic Reps. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg and Scott Randolph of Orlando and Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami.
Both of the drug-testing laws are being challenged in court. Scott’s administration is defending the law requiring state workers to get tested and appealing a federal judge’s injunction against drug testing of welfare applicants.
Count Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi among anti-gambling forces fighting a proposal to allow three casinos in the state.
Bondi will join a noon press conference hosted by “No Casinos” today, her office announced in a press release this morning.
Even without Bondi’s opposition, the “destination resorts” bill sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff and Rep. Erik Fresen is facing an uphill battle.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee wound up its second workshop on the proposal (SB 710) yesterday, logging nearly six hours of testimony in the two meetings.
Near the end of yesterday’s discussion, committee chairman Dennis Jones, who supports the plan conceptually, expressed frustration.
“It seems like more questions are arising every week that we don’t have answers to,” Jones, R-Seminole, said.
Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, whose committee has to sign off on the bill before it heads to the Senate floor, blasted the measure during yesterday’s meeting.
“I think this legislation is a major change in the culture and brand in the state of Florida and frankly I think it expands gambling to the point where I am concerned about it,” Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, said during yesterday’s meeting.
Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, insists that her bill allowing the three high-end casinos and creating a statewide gambling commission won’t grow gambling in the state but will enable the state to establish a “strategic vision” for gambling.
But she acknowledged she’s got her work cut out for her. Bogdanoff, whose district includes part of Palm Beach County, compared her goal to overhaul gambling in Florida to former Gov. Jeb Bush‘s education reforms.
“It was a holistic view and everybody bought into it,” she said. “I don’t have a popular governor advocating at that level. I’m just a lowly senator from Palm Beach and Broward County.”
Gov. Rick Scott has not said whether he supports the proposal, but has said he does not want the state to be dependent on taxes generated by the casinos.
Gingrich is the preferred candidate of 35 percent of Republicans in the poll. Romney is favored by 22 percent. Ron Paul is a distant third at 8 percent. The poll, conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 5, has a 4.3 percent margin of error. A month ago, Herman Cain topped the GOP field in Florida with 27 percent, followed by Romney’s 21 percent and Gingrich’s 17 percent.
At the same stage four years ago, Quinnipiac’s polling showed Rudy Giuliani with an 18-point lead in Florida while eventual Florida winner and GOP nominee John McCain was a distant fourth.
The newest poll suggests Romney is a slightly stronger candidate than Gingrich in a general election matchup against President Obama. Romney holds a 45-to-42 percent lead over Obama among all Florida voters, while Obama tops Gingrich by a 46-to-44 percent margin. The general election poll of Floridians has a 2.8 percent margin of error.
Fifty-four percent of Floridians disapprove of the way Obama is doing his job, with 41 percent approving. Gov. Rick Scott has a 52 percent disapproval score, with 33 percent approving.
Al Sharpton took state Rep. Dennis Baxley to task over Florida’s new election law on Sharpton’s Politics Nation show on MSNBC tonight.
The sharp-tongued Sharpton, a Democrat, lambasted Baxley, the former head of the state’s Christian Coalition, over changes to the election laws, similar to changes GOP-dominated legislatures approved in more than a dozen states this year. Critics, including Sharpton, say the new laws make it more difficult for minorities and college students – who helped President Obama move into the White House three years ago – to cast their votes. At the urging of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and some of fellow Democrats, a Congressional hearing in Florida on the election law is in the works.
Baxley and others contend the new laws are aimed at preventing voter fraud. But Sharpton challenged Baxley over the fraud issue, saying Florida had only 31 cases of election fraud since the 2008 election.
“You didn’t have laws after hanging chads and other means disrupted this country in 2000…Is it really because young people and minorities started voting and registering in big numbers and this is the new way that you’re going to try and restrict people’s voting rights?” an incensed Sharpton demanded.
“I don’t see why you have to impugn other people’s motives. You may not like some of the content…but I think it makes…people more secure,” a relaxed Baxley, R-Ocala, said. (Baxley later corrected Sharpton – Florida lawmakers enacted a slew of new voting laws in the aftermath of the protracted 2000 election.)
“If it wasn’t broke why are you fixing it other than this is some political game?” Sharpton persisted.
Baxley said the new laws will protect elections from “from mishap and mischief” and pointed out that “Mickey Mouse” had registered to vote in Florida.
That only provoked Sharpton.
“If you’ve got to get Mickey Mouse to make your case…then believe me you’re trying to take all of us to Disney World for a ride,” he said.
Watch the the two tangle over the League of Women Voters, which stopped registering voters in Florida because of the new law, before the clip ends. Sharpton interviewed Florida LOWV president Deidre MacNab before Baxley came on.
The most controversial portions of Florida’s elections law are now under review by a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C. The League and other groups are asking that the court reject the changes.
A push in the Florida House to do away with physical education in middle schools will be a heavy lift across the hall.
A House committee on Tuesday approved a measure (HB 4057) by a 9-6 vote that would strike the requirements that middle school students take P.E. The American Heart Association is trying to beat back the proposal, saying that more than 30 percent of Florida children are obese and more than 62 percent of all Floridians are fat.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos hadn’t heard about the bill when we asked him this afternoon what he thought about doing away with PE in public schools.
“Who said that? Who filed that one? I love P.E.!” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said.
The bill doesn’t have a Senate sponsor, and, judging by the president’s comments, may not get one.
“That’s not on my to-do list at this point. My wife’s a doctor and I was a high school and college athlete. I believe P.E.’s a good thing,” he said.
Wednesday’s actions are the latest twist in the ongoing drama since Champion’s Nov. 19 death, which detectives say may have been caused by hazing.
Two weeks ago, FAMU president James Ammons put White on administrative leave with pay and said he intended to fire him. Last week, Ammons told the state university Board of Governors that four students were expelled in relation to Champion’s death.
On Wednesday, university officials said the students have returned to classes because state police ordered that no disciplinary action be taken until criminal investigations are completed. And a university attorney said White will remain on administrative leave with pay but dismissal actions have been dropped.
“This continues to be a sad time for the entire FAMU community, but each day, I see that Robert Champion’s death was not in vain. A dialogue of healing has begun, and I’m encouraged to see students, faculty, alumni, administrators and trustees taking steps to get rid of hazing. Robert’s parents are starting a hazing hotline. Today I joined ministers and community members at a prayer service for the Champion family, the Marching 100, and for the FAMU Nation. I ask people to continue praying for the Champions and for the Rattler Nation, and I look forward to working with these groups to eradicate hazing on and off campuses throughout the country— in Robert’s name,” White, fighting the dismissal, said in a statement.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Champion’s death, also being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and hazing practices at FAMU. FDLE asked the university to back off on any disciplinary action until the criminal investigation is complete.
West making one of his many national TV appearances.
Conservative U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, is routinely branded an extremist by Democrats. But Politico.com weighs in today with an article citing West’s departures from tea party orthodoxy on the debt ceiling and other issues as evidence that he has “discovered nuance in politics” and “proved to be more ideologically dynamic and flexible than any of his caricaturists imagined.”
The article also quotes fellow Florida Rep. John Mica describing freshman West as “like a rock star. I’ve been here 19 years, and nobody knows who the hell I am. But everybody knows who he is.”
West apparently likes the article. He posted a link to it on his Facebook page.
“Don’t get too nuanced, Allen,” said one commenter.
Gov. Rick Scott today will call for a $1 billion increase in dollars for public schools – blunted by deep reductions in health and social service programs — in his 2012-13 budget proposal to the Legislature.
Scott touted the increase in a conference call Tuesday with school superintendents, saying he sees education as key to his goal of creating 700,000 jobs in Florida over the next seven years.
The fragile economy, though, has left Scott and lawmakers facing a $2 billion budget shortfall. And boosting money for classrooms will erode the amount of cash available for such big-ticket programs as Medicaid, which already absorbs close to one-third of the this years’s $69.1 billion budget.
“That’ll help schools,” Vern Pickup-Crawford, lobbyist for the Palm Beach County School Board, said of the proposed increase. “But we’ll have to see how he makes it work.”
Florida schools struggled this year after lawmakers cut funding by $1.3 billion, bringing poor-pupil spending to its lowest mark in six years. Scott’s proposal would help bring school districts out of that hole, but even the governor’s staff acknowledges the $1 billion boost would hike the average $6,267 per-student spending by no more than about $100.
Florida schools face a 30,000 student increase in the coming year, forcing whatever dollars are approved to be stretched further.
Educators, though, say they are buoyed by Scott’s focus on schools. In presenting his first budget proposal as governor in February, Scott recommended that lawmakers slash $3.3 billion from education — a dramatic reduction that lawmakers eventually softened when completing the budget in May.
The Palm Beach County Commission has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Florida House and the Florida Senate today over a gun law that that went into effect on Oct. 1. Local officials who violate the law could be removed from office and face a $5,000 fine.
The sanctions “are simply a form of political bullying that serves no governmental purpose” and have a “chilling effect,” the lawsuit reads.
The commission’s lawsuit complains that the new law, sponsored by Sen. Joe Negron, is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers because it gives the governor the ability to remove local officials from office and strips local officials of immunity from lawsuits.
Under current law, the governor is only allowed to suspend local officials and the Florida Senate has the power to remove them or reinstate them.
“Threatened removal of individual commissioners in a matter that is consistent with the terms of the Florida Constitution is political overreaching and political bullying that serves no legitimate governmental purpose,” Amy Taylor Petrick, an attorney for the county, wrote in the lawsuit filed in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court today.
The lawsuit asks the court to find that the law is unconstitutional, stop the governor from being able to remove local officials from office and order that they can’t be fined for breaking the law.
Negron said the penalties are necessary because city and county commissioners have ignored a law that gives the legislature the discretion to regulate gun laws.
After the law went into effect, municipalities, counties and state agencies were forced to scrap hundreds of measures dealing with firearms and could no longer bar people from being guns into government buildings, including the state Capitol.
“Political disputes should be resolved in the elected government arena rather than in courtrooms. So we’ll see where it goes from here,” said Negron, who had not seen the lawsuit Tuesday evening.
Negron, R-Stuart, said he does not intend to file a bill to repeal the law during the legislative session that begins next month.
“I would consider that just as I have to follow federal law and I have to follow county laws and city laws when I’m in their counties and cities, they should follow the preemption of the state law then nobody has anything to worry about,” Negron, R-Stuart, said.
Spokeswomen for Bondi and House Speaker Dean Cannon said their lawyers are reviewing the lawsuit.
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer, who pushed the bill, called the lawsuit un-American.
“They’re using taxpayer dollars to try to keep from being punished for violating the law? That’s exactly the American way, is it?” she said.
Two animal-loving groups are pushing a bill that would allow greyhound tracks to stop racing dogs but allow the tracks to keep operating the more lucrative card rooms.
Dog racing attendance has declined, as have revenues, and most people who go to the tracks ignore the greyhounds in favor of placing their bets on poker.
The ASPCA this morning released a poll showing that a majority of voters view the dog racing industry unfavorably. And GREY2K released a report documenting abuse and neglect of the dogs since 2004.
And the attendance and revenues have dropped dramatically at the tracks since 2004, according to data provided by state agencies included in the report.
Since 2004, the total amount gambled on racing at Florida’s 13 greyhound tracks, including the Palm Beach Kennel Club, decreased by 35 percent, paid attendance went down by 69 percent, and state tax revenues declined by 72 percent, the report found.
At many tracks, the dogs are forced to live in small cages and state regulators have written up at least nine cases of severe neglect associated with the kennels over the past seven years, the report found.
“Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane and must end,” GREY2K USA president and general counsel Christine Dorchak told reporters at a press conference outside the House chambers this morning.
Forcing dog track operators to run the greyhounds so they can keep their card rooms open “is a mandate for cruelty,” ASPCA director of government relations Ann Church said.
PBKC owners won’t stop racing the dogs and support the measure, as they did earlier this year, in part because it will make their races more lucrative. Only three of the state’s existing 13 dog tracks, including PBKC, are expected to continue to keep running the dogs if the bill becomes law. Supporters of the bill say it was not intended to end dog racing but to allow struggling tracks to stay open with other betting options.
Florida’s debt level dropped this year for the first time in at least 20 years — helped along by Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of some $135 million in university construction borrowing and a two-year halt on environmental land buys, the governor and Cabinet were told Tuesday.
Florida’s debt level slid to $27.7 billion this year — down $500 million from last year’s record high. That’s a sharp contrast from a year earlier, when $2 billion in additional borrowing pushed state debt to double what it was in 2000, according to the state’s Division of Bond Finance.
Ben Watkins, head of the division, said the state still will have to spend $2.2 billion in next year’s budget just to cover payments on the IOUs. That’s actually up $100 million from last year because of timing of the state’s bond issues. But refinancing of existing debt has saved the state millions this year, Watkins told Scott and the Cabinet.
Fifty-seven percent of what the state owes stems from school, college and university construction. Scott last year, took steps to rein-in that spending with his veto of university building projects, including $3.2 million for new roofing and other work at Florida Atlantic University.
The only significant university construction work Scott allowed to become law was $35 million for work at the University of South Florida Polytechnic’s Lakeland campus, which was advanced by Senate budget chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales.
Scott, who was elected with strong tea party support, has been outspoken in his push to stem Florida’s rising tide of red ink.
Since former Gov. Jeb Bush took office in 1999, ushering in a dozen years of Republican leadership, Florida’s borrowing has climbed by $12 billion. Roughly $10 billion more debt is expected to be issued through 2019, to cover currently authorized programs, the bond finance division said.
Public school and university construction projects, roadwork and environmental land purchases have driven much of the borrowing, records show. Major tax cuts enacted during Bush’s two terms and recession-forced budget reductions also helped steer lawmakers away from a pay-as-you-go approach in many spending areas.
The economy, however, has helped change the state’s spending policies. The Florida Forever land-buying program, which formerly used to borrow $300 million annually to preserve environmentally sensitive lands, has been mostly on hold the past two years.
The state’s gross receipts tax, which supports school construction projects, also has been declining. The tax is built on levies imposed on utilities — but the economic downturn and societal shift away from land-line telephones has dramatically reduced the dollars available for campus construction.
One of Florida’s wealthiest lawmakers again has legislation that would carve a new public records exemption into state law for donors to taxpayer-financed performing arts center.
Margate Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring’s legislation (SB 570) sailed Monday through the Senate’s Community Affairs Committee on a 7-0 vote. Ring said the measure has been promoted by the Broward County Performing Arts Center, whose leaders have told him that the idea of going public with a sizable gift has discouraged some prospective donors — who demand anonymity.
Ring has reported a $17.9 million net worth, making him the second-wealthiest member of the Florida Senate. He made a fortune as an executive with Yahoo, the Internet company.
Ring said he’s sponsored the public records exemption for several years — but has never managed to get it through both chambers of the Legislature and the governor. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, who was honored by the media-backed First Amendment Foundation for his service to the cause of open government, vetoed the measure one year, Ring said.
Legislation approved during Crist’s term also requires two-thirds approval of the House and Senate for an exemption. But Ring drew plenty of support Monday for his proposal.
“There are a lot of people who want to give, but they don’t want to get on someone’s mailing list,” said committee Chairman MikeBennett, R-Bradenton. “It’s sort of like giving to the Republican Party. They may have money they want to give, but they don’t want to be public about it.”
Ring said, “I never gave one penny to the Republican Party. But I’m on their mailing list.”
“You all are going to be seeing an awful lot of me,” Vice President Joe Bidentold Florida Democrats in October at a fundraising dinner. “I’m looking forward to working together. We plan on winning Florida. We can’t win without Florida.”
Biden will pay an official visit to Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville, on Thursday with Education Secretary Arne Duncan to discuss college affordability at Duncan U. Fletcher High School, the White House announced today.
Even before Herman Cain “suspended” his presidential candidacy, the Palm Beach County Republican Party was growing uneasy about having Cain as keynote speaker for the party’s Jan. 28 Lincoln Day fundraising dinner.
Now county Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein is scrambling to line up another big-name speaker for the dinner, which takes place three days before Florida’s presidential primary.
When the local GOP landed Cain as keynoter in October, a party e-mail blared “CAIN TRAIN STOPS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY FOR LINCOLN DAY.” But a county GOP e-mail last Thursday merely listed Cain as one of seven “invited keynote speakers” for the dinner.
“It had become clear to us before he officially dropped out that he had lost the viability that we need to have a successful Lincoln Day,” Dinerstein said. “We’ve been working on Plans B, C, D and E for more than a week.”
Plan B is to book another presidential candidate, said Dinerstein, who wouldn’t discuss plans further down the alphabet.
“We still want to take advantage of the fact that it’s three days before the primary,” Dinerstein said.
He said about 140 tickets have sold so far for the dinner at the Kravis Center. The GOP hopes to draw more than 700; it got about 600 for the February 2011 dinner with Newt Gingrich.
Just how much money three new casinos might bring to the state remains unclear after state economists spent hours struggling to settle on an amount.
The state Revenue Estimating Conference, made up of economists representing the legislature, Gov. Rick Scott and state agencies, took a second swipe at an estimate on Friday but agreed to meet again next week to try to finalize the numbers.
“I think we’re getting close to getting numbers that we could all agree to and feel comfortable with that we could end up adopting next week,” the legislature’s chief economist Amy Baker told reporters late Friday. “People want to think about a couple parts some more. There’s about 16 different piece of the bill that affect revenues and state revenues in one shape or fashion. There are a lot of moving parts behind those but I think we’re getting very close to a product that we can all agree to.”
Proponents of the “destination resorts” measure, including sponsor Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, contend the casinos will bring an economic boom to the cash-strapped state. Her plan (SB 710) requires potential casino operators to spend at least $2 billion to develop and build facilities aimed at attracting high rollers from around the world.
The state economists did agree that the three casinos would bring in at least $350 million over four years in taxes, the bulk of that coming from collections related to construction and equipment. The estimators also debated how much money visitors would spend and how many new tourists the casinos might bring to Florida.
House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has reached an accord with Senate counterpart Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, on redrawing political boundaries for the Legislature.
The Senate this week unveiled plans only for the Senate and Congress. And the House next week will follow suit with proposals that rework lines only for Florida’s congressional seats and the House.
In other words, the House will accept senators’ proposals for redrawing their own boundaries — and the House expects the Senate to accept its proposal for reshaping those districts. Only the state’s congressional lines would be subject to competing plans from the two chambers, under this approach.
Weatherford made the deal known Friday in a letter to members of the House’s redistricting panels. The House proposals are slated to be showcased Tuesday.
Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon’s office said Friday it was sent more than 12,000 spam email message by Gov. Rick Scott after corresponding with his office about a resident’s issue.
Gannon’s spokeswoman, Max Sonnenschein, said the office was sent 12,658 auto-response emails acknowledging a message that a tax collector employee sent to the governor’s office on Thursday.
The auto-reply messages were sent to Gannon’s “client advocate” email address. The account normally receives about 100 messages a day.
“It is kind of funny,” Sonnenschein said. “Governor spams tax collector.”
Gannon’s staff said they contacted Scott’s office about the computer glitch this morning after the automatic messages stopped.
Lane Wright, a Scott spokesman, said technical staff at the governor’s office is trying to get to the bottom of the problem. But he conceded it may take time to resolve the cyberspace mystery.
“We’re looking into it,” Wright said. “But it may be Monday before we know what’s happened.”
Palm Beach County political powerhouses Donald Trump and Newsmax Media are pairing up for a GOP presidential candidate debate later this month in Des Moines.
Trump will moderate the Dec. 27 forum hosted by West Palm Beach-based Newsmax, the conservative magazine and online news site, a week before the Iowa presidential caucuses take place on Jan. 3.
The brash real estate mogul and reality TV host is a favorite among conservative voters, Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy told The New York Times in a story posted today.
“Our readers and the grass roots really love Trump,” Ruddy said. “They may not agree with him on everything, but they don’t see him as owned by the Washington establishment, the media establishment.”
Voters may love him, but the candidates may bristle at being grilled by the bombastic Trump, who has flirted with running for president himself and who’s still harboring White House aspirations.
Just last week, Trump told FOX News he’s considering running as a third-party candidate but won’t make a decision until next year – until after the GOP primaries are over and his reality TV show “The Apprentice” ends.
“Would I like to do something sooner? Perhaps I would. But the laws preclude me from doing anything until May,” he said on Fox and Friends.
Trump’s office referred calls about the debate to Newsmax.
Gov. Rick Scott spoke out about the death of Florida A & M University “Marching 100″ drum major Robert Champion today, saying he did not order the ouster of band director Julian White. And Scott said he supports putting FAMU’s internal inquiry on hold until other investigations are complete, likely ordered by Scott’s chief of staff Steve MacNamara.
Scott sidestepped questions about his support for FAMU President James Ammons, whom White accused of ignoring his repeated pleas for help to combat hazing.
“I think we are doing it through the most appropriate agency, which is the Florida Dept of Law enforcement. As long as we should expect that everybody cooperates,” the governor said. “Look, we cannot have another child, another student die this way. No one expects sending their child off to school having any pressure like this. I don’t have all the facts. I hope no one did anything inappropriate but…”
Ammons late last night called off the hazing task force – scheduled to meet next week – “based upon input from the Governor’s Office,” Ammons said in a press release.
Scott said he didn’t have a conversation with Ammons about the task force, headed by former attorney general Bob Butterworth and former corrections chief Walt McNeil, now Quincy police chief.
“But I think it makes sense for them to allow the FDLE investigation to happen first. I think Steve MacNamara did, though,” Scott told reporters this morning.
The university system Board of Governors is also doing its own inquiry into hazing practices at the historically black college, this time with MacNamara’s support.
“Hopefully this will alleviate the need for the ‘citizen task force’ the Dr. Ammons has appointed. In my opinion we don’t need duplication and dueling tasks forces and the Inspector General’s are much better suited to review this matter than the group assembled,” MacNamara wrote in an e-mail to BOG Chairwoman Ava Parker on Nov. 29.
Scott this week also ordered all university presidents to reevaluate their hazing policies but insisted he did not thwart the task force.
“No, what I did was ask FDLE to join the investigation, and Chancellor Brogan to join in. When something like this happens, what we should be doing is making sure this doesn’t happen again…You’d hate for something like this to happen to your own family,” he said.
Four students were expelled from the university in relation to Champion’s death. In the meantime, the Tallahassee Police Department is investigating the alleged hazing-related battery of a second band member, 18-year-old Bria Shante Hunter, who said she was injured weeks before Champion died.
Two animal-loving groups are pushing a bill that would allow greyhound tracks to stop racing dogs but allow the tracks to keep operating the more lucrative card rooms.
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