Taylor

Gov. Charlie Crist set the special primary date and a general special election for Sept. 22 to replace the West Palm beach Democrat, whom he appointed to replace Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene.

Democrats Mack Bernard and Hank Harper, a former state representative, have already filed to fill Taylor’s seat next year, when term limits would have forced Taylor out of office.

Taylor’s appointment runs through November 2010, when an election will fill the District 7 seat for the next two years. Taylor recently opened a 2010 campaign, saying she planned to run for the seat regardless of whether she was appointed by Crist.

Taylor will be the county’s only black commissioner, as was Greene. District 7, which runs from Lake Park to Delray Beach, is about 48 percent black and 40 percent white.

“This particular District 7 needs representation…I’m just ready to get in and get to work,” said Taylor, who said she was “grateful” that Crist chose her from more than 20 applicants.

Commissioners now are trying to craft a 2009-10 budget at a time when plummeting real estate values have made it more difficult to reap big property tax revenue windfalls.

“I don’t know everything” about the county budget, Taylor said, but she said he hopes to quickly get up to speed.

In District 7, Democrats outnumber Republicans by roughly a 4-to-1 margin.

Many Republicans publicly urged the Republican governor to name a GOP appointee to the seat. County GOP Chairman Sid DInerstein was among those calling for a Republican appointee, but he conceded Republicans probably would not be able to hold the seat in an election.

Some Republicans said privately they would not object to Taylor because she has maintained cordial relations with the business community.

Taylor, 59, owns an insurance agency and was a Port of Palm Beach commissioner before winning election to the state House in 2004. A special election will fill the final year of her current state House term.

Greene was reelected to a new term in November 2008, but announced in March that she planned to step down because of health concerns. Her last day in office was April 30. Greene wanted Crist to name Taylor as her replacement and recently expressed disappointment that the seat had remained open for two months.

Today, however, Greene was pleased.

“Boy, what a beautiful Fourth of July,” Greene said. “I told her (Taylor) I never did give up on the governor even though it took him so long.”

Gov. Charlie Crist will appoint a replacement to fill Greene’s seat through November 2010. He has interviewed four finalists for the job: Riviera Beach Councilwoman Billie Brooks, retired educator Vincent Goodman, businessman Randy Johnson and state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach.

It took Crist 64 days to name a replacement for former commissioner Mary McCarty, who resigned Jan. 8 under a federal corruption probe. Crist named Steven Abrams to the seat on March 13.

In 2007, when Warren Newell resigned from the commission under a federal corruption probe, Crist needed 31 days to name Bob Kanjian as his replacement.

While Greene’s seat has been vacant for nine weeks, she announced her intention to resign in early March and Crist interviewed the four finalists in April.

Democratic state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, one of four finalists for the gubernatorial appointment to fill a Palm Beach County commission vacancy, will make “a significant announcement regarding her political plans for 2010″ at a news conference Thursday at the county governmental center, according to an e-mail from her political consultant.

Gov. Charlie Crist does not expect to announce an appointment this week, said Eric Eikenberg, the governor’s chief of staff. Crist has interviewed Taylor, businessman Randy Johnson, Riviera Beach Councilwoman Billie Brooks and retired educator Vincent Goodman for the seat.

Regardless of whom Crist appoints, the commission seat will be on the ballot next year, so it’s possible Taylor will announce the opening a 2010 campaign.

Taylor wasn’t immediately reachable this afternoon.

Stay tuned.

Find out how after the jump…..

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Gov. Charlie Crist will interview four finalists next week to replace Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene, who’s stepping down April 30 for health reasons.

Click here to find out who’s in the running.

With Gov. Charlie Crist’s office accepting applications for the second time this year to fill a vacant Palm Beach County commission seat, the list of would-be commissioners is looking very familiar.

Eight of the 19 people applying to replace Commissioner Addie Greene (who’s leaving April 30 because of health concerns) also applied to Crist after Mary McCarty resigned in January.

Two wannabes rate special mention. Former Boca Raton mayor Emil Danciu and former Belle Glade and Pahokee city manager Vincent Finizio have applied for both the Greene and McCarty vacancies as well as the 2007 opening when Warren Newell stepped down.

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When a veteran politician leaves office, what happens to all those plaques, ceremonial keys to cities and other commemorative hardware?

Find out here.

State Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, is willing to give up her state House seat to represent Palm Beach County commission District 7 when Addie Greene steps down April 30.

Taylor is one of at least 11 applicants who have filled out paperwork with Gov. Charlie Crist’s appointments office. Former Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Henderson TIllman has applied, as have four people who applied for the District 4 appointment that Crist just filled with former Boca Raton mayor Steven Abrams.

Read about it here.

Former Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams will be Palm Beach County’s newest commissioner, replacing the resigned Mary McCarty, Gov. Charlie Crist announced today.

The announcement comes more than seven years after the 2001 anthrax attacks brought Abrams praise for his calm and leadership under fire, and amid an ongoing double crisis for the county - the perilous economy and the stain created by a three-year spate of corruption cases.

More here.

From left: Addie Greene, Burt Aaronson, Shelley Vana

Our Jennifer Sorentrue reports that three members of Palm Beach County’s corruption-tarnished commission will decline State Attorney Michael McAuliffe’s invitation to testify before a state grand jury trying to uncover more wrongdoing. McAuliffe characterized the probe as a general, information-gathering exercise that isn’t targeting specific individuals or transactions. He didn’t offer immunity.

Read about it here.

The decliners: Burt Aaronson (”no need” to testify), Addie Greene (”I don’t have anything to hide”) and, according to an aide, Shelley Vana.

Ending a week of speculation about her future, Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene will announce today that she is resigning from the seat she has held for more than eight years.

Greene will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. outside the county’s headquarters in West Palm Beach. She confirmed Thursday that she is resigning but declined to comment further.

More here.

Remember this bunch?

Since this picture of the Palm Beach County commission was taken in 2003, three of seven commissioners have resigned. Commissioner Addie Greene (back row, second from right) confirmed today that she will become the fourth. Greene, who has said she’s concerned about the effects of job-related stress on her health, is scheduled to publicly discuss her plans Friday.

Her resignation will probably take effect at the end of April or early May, knowledgeable sources say.

The already departed commissioners are Mary McCarty (back row, left), Warren Newell (front row, left), and Tony Masilotti (front row, right). Unlike Greene, who appears to be leaving entirely on her own terms, the other three resigned after being targeted in federal corruption probes.

(Yes, there are eight people in this picture. In addition to the seven commissioners, that’s County Administrator Bob Weisman in the back row on the far right.)

Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene discussed her possible resignation with Gov. Charlie Crist this morning and says she will announce her plans by the end of this week.

Greene, who said she is considering stepping down because of health concerns, described her 10- to 15-minute meeting with Crist in Tallahassee as “wonderful.”

Crist would name a replacement if Greene steps down. Greene, a Democrat and the only black county commissioner, wants the Republican governor to name a black Democrat to fill the seat if she leaves. State Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, said Greene has talked to her about the possibility stepping down and having Taylor replace her on the commission.

Taylor said she probably would apply for the vacancy if Greene resigns, but stressed that the decision would be up to Crist.

If she resigns, Greene is entitled to a lump-sum retirement payment of more than $300,000 and an annual pension of more than $53,000, according to state retirement administrators. Greene, 66, has been part of the state retirement system more than 37 years. She was a teacher and state House member before getting elected to the commission in 2000.

If Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene decides to resign for health reasons, knowledgeable sources say she wants assurances that Gov. Charlie Crist will choose state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, or another black Democrat to fill her seat in heavily Democratic, minority-dominated District 7.

The Palm Beach Post’s editorial board this morning says Crist shouldn’t allow Greene to “anoint” her successor.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene, who’s considering resigning because of health concerns, is heading to Tallahassee today for the county’s annual day of lobbying state lawmakers.

If Greene decides to step down, Gov. Charlie Crist will appoint a replacement.

Knowledgeable sources say Greene, a Democrat who is the only black member of the commission, wants assurances that, if she resigns, her replacement will be another black Democrat. She has talked to state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, about the possibility of Taylor succeeding her on the commission.

Greene’s District 7 is 63.5 percent Democrat and 15.9 percent Republican. Voters are 48.4 percent black, 5.4 percent Hispanic and 40.1 percent white.

Will Greene try to get in a word with Crist while she’s in town? Greene wasn’t commenting Monday and Crist’s office said it had no record of any scheduled meetings with Greene.