Syndicated columnist and conservative talking head Star Parker wowed a group of tea partiers in the Capitol this afternoon on the opening day of session before making a recruiting stop at Lt. Gov Jennifer Carroll’s office.

Parker finished her half-hour informal speech with high praise for Carroll, a former state House member and retired Navy office whom Parker said she’s met once before.

“I’m hoping that she is in agreement with all of the ideas of limited size and scope of government because if she is I wanted to rumble out her name as we’re going around the country thinking that we need to find somebody ethnic to be the vice president – Republicans are going to win and all. She would be a better pick, would be my opinion,” Parker said, who met with Carroll for about five minutes, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s staff. Parker was in town briefly and flew into Tallahassee for a South Georgia meeting, she said.

“This is a quality person, decorated military, worked her butt off to get to the state House and now as lieutenant governor is the first in the country. We’ve never in this country had a black, conservative, female lieutenant governor. I think that is worth a couple of news stories,” said Parker, a syndicated columnist and FoxNews pundit.

As an added bonus, Parker said, “she’s from one of our critical states.” Florida, of course, is a key swing state in this year’s presidential election.

ORLANDO — The Republican Party of Florida tonight elevated Vice Chairman Lenny Curry to replace the late Dave Bitner as chairman of the state party through the 2012 elections.

With widow Wendy Bitner, Gov. Rick Scott and Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll on hand, Curry was the only candidate nominated at a meeting of the party’s 257-member executive committee. Curry, 41, is a Jacksonville business consultant and a former chairman of the Duval County GOP. His term runs through January 2013.

Bitner, 62, was elected chairman in January and diagnosed a few months later with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He died this month, shortly after announcing his intent to resign and his wish to be succeeded by Curry.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll will lead a “Team Florida” trade mission to South Africa in the fall, part of a global effort by Gov. Rick Scott’s administration to lure companies to the Sunshine State.

Carroll, a former state representative from Jacksonville, and the public-private Enterprise Florida economic development agency are hoping to expand the state’s exports during the nine-day junket that kicks off on Nov. 4.

The items the state sells to South Africa include airplane parts, machines, earth-movers, “coin,” and water, according to an Enterprise Florida press release announcing the trade mission.

Scott has traveled to Panama and Canada on similar missions and is headed to Brazil in the fall.

Paul Clark, aka “The Library Guy,” was a familiar presence in the Capitol last year as he stood silently in busy hallways holding a sign urging lawmakers to fully fund the $21.2 million in state aid to libraries to keep federal funds flowing.

Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, credited Clark with the last-minute addition of the complete funding and advised other advocates to take a tip from the soft-spoken librarian. Clark’s efforts also won him a national “I Love My Librarian” award in December, and he was recently named Florida’s “Librarian of the Year.”

Clark was back in town on Wednesday, accompanied by his sons Jacob, 11, and Joseph, 10, who handed out bookmarks to lobbyists and lawmakers trekking along the bridge connecting the Capitol with the Knott Building, prime real estate according to the Clay County systems librarian.

Clark said he positioned himself at the top of the long hallway so that he’d be in plain sight as budget conferees made the long walk down the bridge as they headed into meetings during the harried final days of the 2010 session. And he stood at the opposite end when the meetings were over.

“You have to be noticed. You’ve got to be approachable, but you have to know your facts,” Clark said. That shows lawmakers “you’re not a total nut case.”

With a $3.8 billion budget deficit, there’s no money in the Senate spending plan for libraries right now, and Clark won’t be around to plead with lawmakers to put it in. He used up all his vacation time last year and has to (apologies to Gov. Rick Scott) get back to work.

Wednesday morning, Clark met briefly with Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, a visit he’s been trying to nail down for months, he said.

Carroll expressed a great deal of interest in his fact sheet, Clark said, giving him hope that libraries may not be forgotten this year, even in his absence.

FOX News anchor Greta Van Susteren will be the keynote speaker at Gov.-elect Rick Scott‘s inaugural event honoring women, his inaugural team announced this morning.

Van Susteren will headline the “Salute to Women in Leadership Breakfast” on Monday, the day before Scott is sworn in as Florida’ 45th governor.

The breakfast will “honor the contributions of many great Florida women, including the historic election of Jennifer Carroll as Florida’s next Lieutenant Governor and Pam Bondi, the state’s first woman elected to serve as Attorney General,” according to a press release issued by Scott’s inauguration team.

Bondi, a former Tampa prosecutor, is no stranger to Van Susteren. She frequently appeared on Van Susteren’s “On the Record” show as a legal analyst and got a shout-out from the FOX News host after defeating former state Sen. Dan Gelber in November.

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Gov.-elect Rick Scott was flying high at the second stop on the opening day of his inaugural celebrations before taking office on Jan. 4.

Scott, his wife Ann, their daughter Jordan and her husband Jeremy climbed aboard the popular “Soarin’” ride at Epcot accompanied by Arianna Davis and Mike Laelante, two children from Frontline Outreach, a program for inner city youth.

Earlier, Scott hosted a lunch at the Disney Yacht Club for some of his campaign volunteers and supporters where he reiterated his campaign pledges to shrink state government (“It’s too big”) and do away with regulations.
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Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s inaugural festivities got underway this morning in his Naples hometown, a week before Scott officially takes the helm as Florida’s 45th governor on Jan. 4.

About 200 well-wishers crowded into a nippy courtyard as a Dixieland band played jazz at the Food & Thought Organic Market and Restaurant as Scott and Lt. Gov.-elect Jennifer Carroll shook hands, posed for pictures.

“Who’s ready to create 700,000 jobs? Who’s ready to get rid of all regulations that are killing jobs in this state? Who’s willing to use accountability budgeting to look at every state agency? Who’s ready to get that done?” Scott said, echoing his campaign refrain.

Scott reiterated his pledge to scrutinize state spending to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck and got in a little president-bashing as well.

“We cannot continue to go down the path we’re on. We cannot continue to go down the path Barack Obama’s taking us…We are going to make sure we change how we run this state,” Scott promised.

Scott and Carroll and the newly elected Florida Cabinet are scheduled to make stops in Orlando and Clewiston today as party of four days of inaugural partying.

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Rick Scott’s campaign took a far different tack with a videographer on GOP gubernatorial candidate’s trail than Republican Congressional hopeful Allen West.

West, who’s challenging incumbent Rep. Ron Klein, supporters were videotaped pressuring a Democratic operative to leave a rally.

But Scott and running-mate Jennifer Carroll were unfazed by the young man with a video camera who shadowed the candidates throughout the first day of a week-long bus tour and apparently has been a constant presence on the campaign trail.

Carroll pointed out the man in the crowd at a barbecue lunch stop in Inverness where she and Scott handed out pulled pork sandwiches to dozens of supporters.

Carroll identified him to the crowd as a campaign worker for Scott’s Democratic opponent Alex Sink and invited him to join in the festivities. One of the GOP candidates’ staffers even offered him a bottle of water and a sandwich.

“Hopefully, you’ll be able to take some information back so she can run a government,” Carroll quipped.

At the next stop in The Villages, Carroll recognized him again and asked him to raise his hand. The videographer obliged.

“Show Alex Sink how government should be run,” Carroll advised.

Sink’s campaign referred questions about Scott’s tracker to the Florida Democratic Party.

“We as a policy don’t release his name – but I can tell you he works for the Florida Democratic Party not the Sink Campaign,” FDP spokesman Eric Jotkoff said in an e-mail.

DELRAY BEACH — Republican lieutenant governor candidate Jennifer Carroll delivered Rick Scott’s low-tax, less-government message to about 40 supporters this morning at Ellie’s 50′s Diner.

Noting that she supported Scott’s rival, Attorney General Bill McCollum, in the bitter Aug. 24 primary, Carroll said Republicans need to put aside differences and unite against Democrat Alex Sink in the governor’s race.

“Many of you were probably on the other side. But the stakes are too high for us to stay at home just to say that we don’t know the other guy too much so therefore we can’t support him. We know that the other side is for higher taxes. We know that the other side is for more government. We know that the other side is for less personal freedom. We know the other side is not for you to have the opportunities that we will provide for you. That’s the bottom line,” Carroll said.

Rick Scott’s TV campaign in the Republican gubernatorial primary focused heavily on making Bill McCollum appear indecisive on immigration issues.

But now Scott’s own running mate doesn’t seem to be up to speed on the topic. Asked whether she supports one of Scott’s top priorities — bringing an Arizona-style immigration law to Florida — Carroll said the two haven’t talked about the “nit-picky” details. It’s also unclear whether she knew what an “Arizona-style” law entails.

Carroll also says she hasn’t read the immigration bill from state Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, who based his proposal on the Arizona law and the immigration debate that dominated the GOP gubernatorial primary and could tilt the November general election.

After winning the Republican nomination for governor, Rick Scott told confidantes that he wanted a female running mate with a strong law enforcement-type background.

He found her in state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, a Jacksonville-area Republican who is the former secretary of the Florida Veteran Affairs Department. According to her Florida House bio, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1979 and served for 20 years. (Scott is also a Navy veteran — he served on active duty aboard the USS Glover as a radar man.)

Carroll worked as a jet mechanic and retired as a Lieutenant Commander Aviation Maintenance Officer with the Meritorious Service Medal; two Navy Commendation Medals; two Navy Achievement Medals; National Defense Service Medal; Overseas Ribbon; two Coast Guard Special Operation Ribbons; and the Expert Pistol Medal.

Carroll, the second African-American woman picked as a Republican lieutenant governor nominee, helps balance the ticket for Scott. Scott is running against Democrat Alex Sink, who is trying to be the state’s first female governor.

Here’s the e-mail Scott sent supporters this morning about his pick…

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Our Mike Bender is reporting that Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott is likely to name state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Fleming Island, as his running mate today.

Carroll, 51, served 20 years in the Navy and retired as a lieutenant commander aviation maintenance officer.

She was elected to the state House in 2003.

Her three children include Nolan Carroll II, a fifth-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins this year. Post sports writer Ben Volin recently profiled Nolan Carroll, who overcame broken legs in high school and college to become an NFL draft pick.

Florida House Economic Development Policy Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Carroll, R-Fleming Island, sent a letter Tuesday to Gov. Charlie Crist calling for an investigation into $20 million his office awarded to Wyndcrest Holdings, the parent company of Digital Domain that is attempting to open an animated movie production studio in Port St. Lucie.

“Governor, with the down turn in Florida’s economy where many businesses are in dire straits for financial assistance to keep businesses open and retain jobs in Florida, this state cannot be perceived as giving money for new business start ups,” Carrol writes in this letter. “It is very concerning for one company vice others to acquire public funds to open a new business.”

The questions Carroll wants answered and more background after the jump.

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Gov. Charlie Crist added former House Speaker Daniel Webster to the list of possible appointments to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez who announced his resignation earlier this month.

Webster is the seventh politician tapped by Crist to apply for the post, which he is leaving office after one term to pursue.

Webster served in the Florida legislature for two decades, winning election to the Florida House where he served as speaker from 1996-1998 before leaving for the state senate where he eventually became Majority Leader.

Webster, an engineer who owns a heating and air conditioning business in Orlando, is a favorite of conservative Republicans who have pressured Crist appoint him to fill Martinez’ seat. Webster actively supported Gov. Mike Huckabee in his presidential bid.

Crist has interviewed several candidates over the past several days:
- State Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Jacksonville, the legislature’s only black Republican;
- University of North Florida President John Delaney, Jacksonville’s former mayor and a long-time Crist supporter;
- Miami trial lawyer Bobby Martinez, who served as a U.S. Attorney, headed Crist’s transition team and was appointed to the state Board of Education by Gov. Jeb Bush and reappointed by Crist;
- George LeMieux, Crist’s former chief of staff who also managed his gubernatorial campaign and remains close to the governor.

He’s also considering at least two others:
- Jim Smith, a former Florida Cabinet member who served as both attorney general and secretary of state. Smith, who switched parties from Democrat to Republican, is now a top-tier Tallahassee lobbyist whose partner, Brian Ballard, is also his son-in-law and one of Crist’s chief advisors.
- Long-serving U.S. Rep. Bill Young, an Indian Shores Republican from Crist’s hometown of Pinellas County. Young is in his 20th term in Congress.

Gov. Charlie Crist is screening long-serving U.S. Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young and former chief of staff George LeMieux to fill U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’ seat. Martinez quit before his first term ends in 2012.

Crist, who is leaving office after one term to replace Martinez himself, spent yesterday and today interviewing possible candidates – including state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, UNF president John Delaney, former U.S. Attorney Bobby Martinez and LeMieux, a former deputy attorney general under Crist. They’re all Republicans who presumably have no interest in challenging Crist, who is running against former House Speaker Marco Rubio in a GOP primary, for the seat next year.

Also on the list: former state attorney general and secretary of state Jim Smith, now a Tallahassee lobbyist.

Young is in his 20th term in Congress and is from Indian Shores near Crist’s St. Petersburg hometown in Pinellas County.

Gov. Charlie Crist is meeting with former chief of staff George LeMieux today as he ponders his replacement for U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez who resigned from office earlier this month.

The hastily-added meeting with LeMieux, a close ally who headed Crist’s gubernatorial campaigns and is now the chairman of the largest law firm in the state, raises speculation about whether the governor will tap LeMieux to fill in for Martinez for the remainder of his term.

Crist is seeking the office himself, running against former House Speaker Marco Rubio in a GOP primary next year.

Last week, Crist asked for applications for the temporary post from U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, former attorney general and secretary of state Jim Smith and former U.S. Atttorney Bobby Martinez. Diaz-Balart dropped out of consideration late Monday.

Crist met with Martinez yesterday before hurriedly asking state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, a Republican from Jacksonville and the only black Republican in the legislature, and University of North Florida President John Delaney. He visited with the Jacksonville pair in their hometown yesterday as well.

Gov. Charlie Crist added two names to the list of candidates he’s interviewing to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez: state Rep. Jennifer Carroll and University of North Florida President John Delaney, both of Jacksonville.

Carroll is the only black Republican serving in the state legislature. Delaney was formerly the mayor of Jacksonville and a long-time Crist supporter.

Crist plans to interview both tomorrow in Jacksonville. Neither was among possible candidates speculated on by political insiders around the state.

Crist today met with Bobby Martinez, a Miami lawyer who oversaw his transition when the governor took office in 2007 and a former U.S. prosecutor.

The governor, who is running in a GOP primary next year against former House Speaker Marco Rubio to take the seat himself, must appoint someone to fulfill the remainder of Martinez’ term, which ends in January 2012.

Crist also asked U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Jim Smith, a former state attorney general and secretary of state who is now a lobbyist, to apply for the post. Diaz-Balart pulled out yesterday and a visit with Smith has yet to be scheduled.