State Sen. Dan Gelber and attorney general candidate nailed down another big-name Democratic endorsement, this time from Buddy McKay, who served as lieutenant governor under the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and briefly served as governor after Chiles’ death.

Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat and former House member, is trying to trade up for the Cabinet post just a year after he won election to the Senate.

He and colleague Dave Aronberg, a Democratic senator from Greenacres, are in a battle-of-the-endorsements.

Post On Politics had erroneously reported that the sheriffs were split on the candidates.

They are not.

Aronberg has the support of 10 Democratic sheriffs, including Palm Beach County’s own law enforcement rock star Ric Bradshaw.

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, former state education commissioner Betty Castor and former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis have all thrown their support behind Gelber.

Republicans have lined up Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and Holly Benson, a former House member who also served as secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, in a GOP primary race that’s been virtually silent compared to the Aronberg/Gelber contest.

They’re all vying to replace Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican who is running for governor in a primary against another senator - Paula Dockery.

Gelber’s latest political aspiration has opened up the door for yet another former senator, Gwen Margolis, to return to the chamber.

Margolis, a former Senate President, left office before being termed out to make room for Gelber. If she wins, it would be the Miami Beach-area Democrat’s second return trip to the Senate. After serving in the state House, she switched to the Senate from 1981-1992 before making a losing bid for Congress. Margolis was reelected to the Senate in 2002.

Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson resigned from her post this morning, the day after meeting with Gov. Charlie Crist who appointed her to the post in Feb. 2008.

“I had a meeting with the Governor the other day to talk about some opportunities that lie ahead, and I regret that because of those opportunities I will no longer be able to serve as your Secretary,” Benson wrote in an e-mail to AHCA workers this morning.

Benson, a former state representative from the Panhandle, is expected to jump into the attorney general’s race next month, according to sources close to the Pensacola Republican. That could elevate interest in a GOP primary against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who’s already announced his candidacy to replace Bill McCollum. Democratic state Sens. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres and Dan Gelber of Miami Beach are already engaged in a heated battle for the state’s top law enforcement chief.

Crist tapped Benson, a bond lawyer, to head AHCA in 2008. Before that, she left her Pensacola House seat to head DBPR, again at Crist’s bidding.

In the House, Benson was the force behind a model Medicaid reform project that has had mixed results. (more…)

State Sen. Dan Gelber is pushing a constitutional amendment aimed at cracking down on the kind of secret budget deals that got former House Speaker Ray Sansom in trouble.

Gelber, who is running against Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres in a Democratic primary for state attorney general, and Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, want lawmakers to put the constitutional amendment on next year’s November ballot.

The amendment would require that appropriations bills be written in plain language and that all budget conference meetings between two or more lawmakers be conducted in a publicly noticed meeting.

The state budget is usually crafted in a much different manner, going through a series of conference committees until the Senate President and the House Speaker ultimately resolve their differences behind closed doors.

In Sansom’s case, he was the House budget chairman when he slipped in a $6 million item to build an airport at a college where he later became a high-paid executive on the day he was annointed Speaker.

Sansom, Okaloosa County developer Jay Odom and former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg have been indicted on official misconduct charges regarding the airport.

Sansom and Richburg each face an additional perjury charge for allegedly lying to a Leon County grand jury. They are scheduled to stand trial at the end of this month. (more…)

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno endorsed state Sen. Dan Gelber for Florida attorney general today.

“Dan has the gumption and spirit to make the Attorney General’s office a vital force in the lives of Floridians,” Reno said in a press release issued today, saying Gelber would make a “splendid” AG.

Gelber, a former federal prosecutor from Miami Beach, is running in a primary against fellow Democratic state senator Dave Aronberg of Greenacres to replace Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is leaving office after one term to run for governor.

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp is the leading GOP candidate in the race so far.

Reno, a Miami native, served under President Bill Clinton as the first female U.S. Attorney General.

Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish today will endorse state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, in the Democratic primary for attorney general, an Aronberg campaign adviser says.

Aronberg and state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, are the only announced Democrats in the AG race, which means both have similar South Florida bases for their statewide campaigns. That could be a problem for them if former state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua enters the Democratic primary.

Gelber recently ventured into Aronberg’s turf to pick up an endorsement from Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon. Aronberg returned the favor by snagging an endorsement from Miami Beach City Commissioner Noah Wolfson, who’s hosting a fund-raiser for Aronberg this month.

State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, just issued a statement saying he’s very interested n running for attorney general. Reading between the lines, it seems he’s a tad disappointed by fellow Democratic Sen. Dave Aronberg’s announcement today that he’s running for AG.

Gelber

Gelber recently dropped his U.S. Senate bid in the name of party unity and said he hoped that he, Aronberg and Rod Smith could avoid a messy Democratic primary for attorney general.

“My hope was that there would be time for all of us to be thoughtful and to unify, but given Senator Aronberg’s decision, I will my announce my plans soon,” Gelber said.

Read Gelber’s full remarks after the jump…..

(more…)

Not so.

“I’m still very much considering getting into the attorney general’s race,” Smith said this afternoon.

(more…)

Casting himself as a consumer advocate

Aronberg

Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, is running for governor in 2010. Several Democrats and Republicans have been eyeing his job.

(more…)

Power lawyer George LeMieux, former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist and former deputy attorney general when Crist was AG, notes in his latest online political newsletter that he’s a potential candidate for AG now that incumbent Bill McCollum is poised to run for governor.

He also notes that Dems Dave Aronberg, Dan Gelber and Rod Smith are potential AG candidates (Read more about the looming Democratic battle here).

LeMieux lists Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and state Rep. Tom Grady as potential Republican candidates, then notes: “Yours truly has also been mentioned as a contender, having served three years as Deputy Attorney General – the number two legal officer in the state.”

LeMieux’s prediction: “The AG’s race will be wide open.”

State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and former Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith are pals who both have shown interest in a possible run for attorney general next year. Read more about it here.