South Florida AFL-CIO political director Deborah Dion walks Marcel Thomas, a cook a Jackson Memorial Hospital, through the steps of applying for an absentee ballot on Thursday. Dion said that in the past two weeks, she has made similar campaign visits to 45 other local work sites. During that same time she said volunteers have made campaign calls to 18,000 local union members and mailed flyers to 8,000 members identified as supervoters.

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While local unions do most of the heavy lifting in the property tax fight — visiting work sites, mailing fliers, calling members — a handful of state and national ALF-CIO officials are traveling the state to size up operations in advance of the November elections, when presidential candidates might actually be campaigning in Florida.

National AFL-CIO officer Carlos Carillo, who is based in Pembroke Pines, said the property tax campaign has revealed a well-oiled machine that he expects to be a force in November. But he said the organization needs to do a better job signing up members to receive absentee ballots.

South Florida AFL-CIO political director Deborah Dion agreed: “Our goal is to get every member signed up for an absentee ballot by November 2008.”

Gov. Charlie Crist watches the road while his campaign bus heads from Orlando to Tampa this afternoon. Crist has taken the reins of the property tax amendment, which, after a year of false starts in the legislature, largely resembles the changes he campaigned on during his gubernatorial election in 2006.

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TAMPA — Hoping for a huge property tax cut, Dennis Lopez wasn’t too excited about the constitutional amendment Gov. Charlie Crist was offering.

Then the 51-year-old Tampa native attended Crist’s rally Tuesday.

“After hearing him speak, I’m going to vote for it and tell everyone I know to vote for it,” Lopez said.

Crist, entering his second year as governor, has put passage of the constitutional amendment squarely on his own shoulders — his face graces all of the green, yellow and orange campaign literature and at least three “Yes On 1″ billboards along the Interstate 4 corridor. He’s donated $10 to the campaign and helped raise $3.3 million more.

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AP
House Speaker Marco Rubio skipped out on Gov. Charlie Crist’s visit to Miami this afternoon, instead opting to participate in a “long taping on property tax reform, especially the 1.35 percent amendment drive” for Telemundo, according to his office.

Crist was in Little Havana to highlight the plight of Gislet Matos, who said she wants to sell the 3 bedroom home she paid $85,000 for in 1988, as a reason to approve Amendment 1 in two weeks. The home has been on the market for seven months and marked down twice to $389,000.

Rubio wasn’t the only property tax leader missing on Crist’s tour: Sen. Dan Webster and Rep. Dean Cannon, who spent most of 2007 negotiating property tax deals between the chambers, didn’t attend the Orlando stop.

Lawmakers who did show were Rep. Dorothy Hukill in Edgewater; Rep. Steve Precourt and former Rep. David Mealor in Orlando; Reps. Kevin Ambler and Faye Culp in Tampa; and Reps. Rene Garcia and Marcelo Llorente in Miami.

As Gov. Charlie Crist readies a coast-to-coast tour through Central and South Florida to support his Yes On 1 push, the campaign released its second web ad late Tuesday.

This one features Anselmo and Teresa Bonilla of Hollywood who say portability will help them move into a new home two years sooner than they hoped. Says Crist in the ad: “I think it gives you a sense of how important this is to real Floridians in a real way.”

Crist will be joined today by Lt. Gov. Jeff Kotkamp, state Sen. Mike Fasano and incoming Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson at scheduled stops at Volusia, Hillsborough and Miami-Dade homes and an early voting site in Orange County.

As early voting starts Monday on a potentially historic property tax cut in Florida, political strategists say that a pair of extraordinary circumstances could give opponents a leg up heading into the home stretch.

More here.

Correction: The tour is being sponsored by Florida AFL-CIO, not Florida Is Our Home.

As Gov. Charlie Crist prepares his one-day I-4 tour next week in support of the property-tax-cutting Amendment 1, opponents are pulling together their own six-day event.

The “Tell The Truth” tour, as its being called right now, will hit hot labor sites across the state, starting with the 7 a.m., Monday morning shift of workers at Bell South in Jacksonville. From there its on to the Orlando bus system plus stops in Coco Beach, Clearwater and Tampa.

The group is hoping for a West Palm Beach stop at the end of the week. For a list of stops…

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From Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Deana Poole:

On the same day early voting starts, Gov. Charlie Crist will be in Palm Beach County to promote his property tax amendment.

Crist is scheduled to speak to members of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on Monday during a luncheon at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $30 for members and $55 for the general public.

Gov. Crist said tonight that internal polling for the Yes On 1 campaign showed the amendment had more than the needed 60 percent approval. Crist’s comments came after he finished up a conference call with supporters (see previous blog post) and reporters then dialed in for a 15-minute follow-up press conference.

If Crist is right — he didn’t say he would hand over polling documents — it would be a huge boon for supporters less than three weeks from Election Day. Several recent polls from The Palm Beach Post and other Florida newspapers showed the amendment falling below the threshold.

A statewide swing from the popular Crist would presumably push the approval rating higher, but the Republican has yet to fully unleash his campaign.

During the call Crist was asked why the campaign hadn’t revealed its polls and he responded that, “It’s over 60, so now it’s shared with you.”

Gov. Charlie Crist held a one-way conference call tonight with supporters to announce a bus tour next Wednesday that will hit Volusia, Orange and Lee counties in support of the property tax amendment.

During the call, which lasted about four minutes and sounded like it could be taped for a future robo-call, Crist asked supporters to return their absentee ballots, tell family members to vote, contribute to the campaign and attend upcoming rallies.

“I appreciate your support of the past couple of years,” Crist said. “And I look forward to all of us having a very bright future for the Sunshine State by cutting property taxes, continuing to keep Florida affordable and doing what’s right for the people of this great state.”

From Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Deana Poole:

Sponsor: Yes on 1 – Save Our Homes NOW Inc.;

Run time: 30 seconds;

Airing: Started airing Wednesday in a couple of markets in Florida, but exact areas weren’t specified.

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Gov. Charlie Crist took the day off from his official duties to drum up support for the proposed constitutional amendment dealing with property taxes on the Jan. 29 ballot.

Crist met with business leaders in Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, according to Yes on 1 campaign spokeswoman Vivian Myrtetus.

Crist’s trip to Jacksonville comes after city officials there, including Mayor John Peyton, is set to begin campaigning against the amendment this week.

The governor will ask business leaders to lend their assistance through financial contributions and by sending e-mails urging a “yes” vote on the amendment, Myrtetus said.

That’s the message this morning from Gov. Charlie Crist, who is asking supporters to donate $10 to help his push for Amendment 1 on the upcoming Jan. 29 ballot.

Crist has raised $2.6 million so far, according to campaign documents, including $1 million from the Florida Association of Realtors and $500,000 from Florida Power & Light.

Some notable local donations include $125,000 from Communications International in Vero Beach; $100,000 from West Palm Beach home builder Dwight Schar; $25,000 from Lawrence DeGeorge of Jupiter; and $10,000 from Riviera Beach Serta Mattress Co.

The Markowitz family from Orlando lends their story and baby girl to the first web video for the Yes On 1 campaign.

In addition to getting some nice exposure for their home — listed for sale at nearly two-and-a-half times what they paid for it in 2001 — Keith Markowitz says Save Our Homes portability will let him “afford more house” for his family. The 46-second ad ends with baby Jordis telling voters to, “Vote yes.”

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The Florida Education Association sent out a release this morning calling Amendment 1 a “dangerous proposal.” Gov. Charlie Crist, of course, has called the changes “simple and fair.”

The FEA’s press release referred questions to its PAC, the Public Education Defense Fund. The committee has a warchest of about $230,000.

Gov. Charlie Crist held up portability this afternoon during another staged event with a Florida homeowner who, presumably, wants their taxes cut. Crist sent out a letter to supports afterwards insisting the amendment was a “fair and simple solution to rising property taxes and a diminishing housing market.”

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Gov. Charlie Crist lends his mug to the first direct mailer from his Yes On 1 campaign. The mailer is scheduled to hit mailboxes next week.

In the advertisement, Crist asks voters to Double It! (the homestead exemption) and Take It! (Save Our Homes portability).

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A coalition of unions will formally announce their opposition to the property tax amendment this afternoon. The group, known as Florida Is Our Home, claims the amendment “provides minimal property tax relief while endangering essential community services such as education and public safety.”

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