Our Jennifer Sorentrue offers this report on the Palm Beach County commission’s latest Jess Santamaria drama…..

WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria may have turned down the chance to serve as vice chairman of the county’s Solid Waste Authority two years ago, but he says the move doesn’t mean he never wanted a shot at a leadership post.

The day before the commission was slated to name its new chair and vice chair, Santamaria issued a memo to County Administrator Bob Weismam and his counterparts on the board claiming there was a “false rumor floating around” that he was not interested in the ceremonial positions.

“I am not sure how this rumor got started, however, I am correcting this error by ‘unequivocally’ stating that I would consider the position of chair or vice chair of the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners if the majority of the County Commissioners asked me to serve,” Santamaria wrote in the memo, which included a copy of his resume.

But the push fell flat.

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“It’s an underhanded political tactic. He is a third-party weak candidate and the only chance he has is to spread rumors about me. We’re in the race til Nov. 2. Our surveys show this is going to be a very close race and we have an excellent chance to win.”

The above quote is not from Democratic Senate nominee Kendrick Meek accusing indie Charlie Crist of trying to undermine his campaign. It comes instead from Republican Palm Beach County commission nominee John Carroll, who says he’s had to bat down rumors he might drop his challenge of Democratic incumbent Jess Santamaria.

Carroll says the rumors are false, and he accuses no-party candidate Andrew “Andy” Schaller of spreading them.

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When candidates filed qualifying papers for office last week, they submitted financial disclosure statements estimating their net worths. Naples businessman and ubiquitous TV presence Rick Scott blew everyone away with the $218.6 figure he submitted as a Republican candidate for governor, but state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, and other locals posted big numbers as well.

Read about it in this week’s Politics column.

John Carroll, the Republican who got 36 percent in 2006 against Democrat Jess Santamaria, says he’ll run again this year for the western District 6 seat on the Palm Beach County commission. Carroll recently retired as a captain in the Palm Beach County sheriff’s office.

The qualifying period for state and county candidates began at noon Monday and ends at noon Friday. To see who has made it onto the 2010 ballot so far, click here.

Santamaria already faces a Democratic primary challenge from Michael E. Jackson.

At least four local candidates have secured spots on the 2010 ballot by collecting signatures rather than paying a filing fee.

Democratic Palm Beach County Commissioners Jess Santamaria and Priscilla Taylor and state House candidates Tami Donnally (R) and Lori Berman (D) turned in valid signatures from at least 1 percent of voters in their districts to qualify for the ballot.

The deadline to turn in signatures was noon Monday. Elections staffers are still checking on petitions submitted by five other candidates: Democratic county commission hopeful Michael E. Jackson, state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and state House candidates Mark Marciano, Francisco Rodriguez and Bill Hager.

The period for state and county candidates to submit final paperwork and filing fees to qualify for the 2010 ballot is June 14-18.

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In this week’s Politics column, find out where GOP state Senate primary rivals Lizbeth Benacquisto and Sharon Merchant stand on the abortion ultrasound bill. Find out what motivated disgraced former Palm Beach County commissioner Warren Newell to break out the typewriter. Also, Mary Brandenburg on the West Palm Beach mayor’s poll and Michelle Damone on why she hasn’t filed against Commissioner Jess Santamaria.

Ending one of the longest drumrolls in Palm Beach County political history, County Commissioner Jess Santamaria announced he’s running for a second term this year.

The 72-year-old Democrat said he originally intended to serve only one term, but was besieged by requests from “complete strangers” to run again. Santamaria ally Michael E. Jackson, who opened a campaign for the seat last week believing Santamaria wouldn’t run, said he’s “surprised.”

Only a few weeks ago, Santamaria said he was torn over whether to run again, describing his job as half rewarding and half “waste of time.”

Michael E. Jackson, the runner-up to eventual Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria in a 2006 Democratic primary, said today he’s planning to run for Santamaria’s District 6 seat this year whether or not the incumbent decides to seek reelection.

Jackson, 44, is a former South Bay commissioner and city manager and former regional service director for the South Florida Water Management District. Now a consultant, he was tapped by Santamaria as a “liaison” between the county government and Glades and received $184,485 from the county over three years for his services.

Santamaria has described himself as torn over whether to seek a second term. He says he loves half his job, but “the other 50 percent is a total waste of time on a lot of nonsense, minutia, insignificant issues, having to listen to people who love to (hear) themselves talk during meetings, too many social events, ribbon cuttings, etc., etc., etc.”

Indian Trail Improvement District President Michelle Damone, also a Democrat, appears to be leaning toward a run as well. Democrat Elissa Pearl opened a campaign for the seat last year but hasn’t been visible on the campaign trail and has said she won’t run if Santamaria does.

Santamaria won a four-candidate Democratic primary in 2006 with 42.1 percent. Jackson got 24.9 percent to finish second. Santamaria then won the general election with 58.5 percent over Republican John Carroll and no-party candidate Penny “The Acreage’ Riccio.

Jackson said he picked up candidate papers today and plans to file them Monday.

If Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria decides to run for reelection despite his complaints that half his job is a “waste of time,” he could face a Democratic primary challenge from Indian Trail Improvement District President Michelle Damone.

Damone was among the elected officials who attended last week’s Tallahassee meeting on cancer concerns in The Acreage — a meeting Santamaria skipped because it didn’t include face time with Gov. Charlie Crist.

“He should have been here. It was disappointing,” Damone said of Santamaria.

Read more in this week’s Politics column.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, wrestling with a decision on whether to seek reelection this year, says half his job is interesting and rewarding, but the other half is “a total waste of time.”

Santamaria, who represents western-county District 6, came into office saying he was focused only on a single term. But he never unequivocally ruled out seeking reelection, and Santamaria now says he and his wife are “seriously discussing my serving a second term.”

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TALLAHASSEE — Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria won’t be here this afternoon to talk with Gov. Charlie Crist’s staff about elevated childhood cancer rates in his commission district.

Santamaria said he wanted an extended sit-down with the governor himself to discuss the cancer cluster in The Acreage. Instead Santamaria was told he’d be one of several people talking to Crist aides with the possibility the governor might briefly drop by.

“There’s going to be eight or nine people in the room with the assistants of Gov. Crist and sometime in the 20 or 30 minutes, he’s going to drop in. That’s not the type of meeting I hoped to have,” Santamaria said this morning.

Instead, Santamaria said he’s been working with Sen. Bill Nelson’s office to try to assure more testing in The Acreage.

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Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, a Democrat who represents the western part of the county and has frequently railed against candidates who open campaigns and raise money early, said today he’ll decide “in the next 30 days” whether he’ll seek reelection this year.

“I’m starting now to give it some serious thought,” Santamaria said. “It’s a big decision for me. Four years is a major commitment and I want to make sure I give it my whole heart and soul.”

Only one candidate — Democrat Elissa Pearl — has opened a campaign for Santamaria’s seat. Others have expressed interest if Santamaria decides not to run.

Attorney Rob Ostrov, a Democrat who lost a 2008 state House challenge to Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, has opened a campaign for the Wellington village council seat of Lizbeth Benacquisto, who’s term-limited in March 2010 and running for state Senate.

Ostrov’s also interested in Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria’s seat if Santamaria decides not to seek reelection next year. Santamaria has said he’ll announce his 2010 plans shortly after the new year. Democrat Elissa Pearl has opened a campaign for Santamaria’s seat.

A majority of Palm Beach County school board members likes the idea of bringing the $2.7 billion school district under the eye of a proposed county ethics watchdog — but not if county commissioners have the final say on filling the position.

After watching five local elected officials go to prison on federal corruption charges since 2006, county commissioners this summer endorsed the concept of an independent inspector general’s office with subpoena power to monitor public officials and government contracts.

But who would hire and fire and approve the budget of the inspector general remains an open question.

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After casting a preliminary vote earlier this month to boost the countywide property tax rate from $3.78 per $1,000 of appraised value to $4.34, Palm Beach County commissioners made it official Monday night.

The vote for the 14.9 percent rate increase was 5-2, with Commissioners Steven Abrams and Shelley Vana opposed.

Click here to read an account by our Jennifer Sorentrue.

Abrams is on the ballot next year. So is Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, who supported the $4.34 rate. Commissioner Jess Santamaria, another supporter of the rate hike, is up for reelection next year but hasn’t announced whether he’ll run.

Question: Will the tax vote matter in any of the 2010 races?

With Democratic Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria remaining enigmatic on his 2010 reelection plans, Republican and longtime Wellington Councilman Carmine Priore says he’d consider running for Santamaria’s western District 6 seat if it’s open next year.

That’s potentially good news for a local GOP that hasn’t been able to recruit a District 6 candidate. The bad news: Priore says he’ll cross party lines and support Santamaria if the incumbent runs again.

Santamaria says he’ll announce in January or February whether he’s running. Meanwhile, attorney Elissa Pearl has opened a Democratic campaign in District 6.

Pearl and Santamaria recently met for the first time.

“Our philosophies are similar and it appears that we care about the same things,” said Pearl after the hourlong sit-down in the commissioner’s office.

Santamaria, 72, called the 37-year-old Pearl “a good person” with “a young person’s idealism. We need people like that.” But Santamaria said a commissioner’s job is tough and complicated.

“My question is, (for) Elissa Pearl or anybody else, do they really have the background, the experience, the education, the training, the psychological framework to handle all of these variables on a day-to-day basis?” Santamaria said. “My first impression is, she’ll have a lot to learn.”

Pearl lives just outside District 6, which irks potential GOP candidate Priore. If Santamaria doesn’t run, Priore said, he’d consider the race because “I wouldn’t want to leave the door open to someone that doesn’t live in our area.”

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Pleased with the grass-roots volunteer organization for her 2010 Democratic campaign for county commission, school board member Paulette Burdick has put paid consultants Eric Johnson and Neil Schiller on hold — at least temporarily. Burdick is running against state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, in a Dem primary to succeed term-limited Commish Jeff Koons.

Burdick paid $1,000 in June for the consulting expertise of Johnson, who’s also chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and who works with Schiller on several local races.

“My idea was she didn’t need them,” said Palm Beach Democratic Club President Elna Laun, an unpaid Burdick backer and adviser. “I think I was one of many” offering that advice, Laun said.

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Both GOP District 27 state Senate candidates — Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto and former state Rep. Sharon Merchant — are from Palm Beach County, but about 60 percent of the GOP primary voters are in Lee County.

In the scramble for Lee County support, Benacquisto will be in Fort Myers Friday for a fund-raiser whose hosts include state Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, school board member Elinor Scricca and longtime Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson.

Just because Palm Beach County’s Democratic Party gave its blessing to a 14.9 percent countywide property tax rate hike doesn’t mean all Democratic candidates are on board.

“A 15 percent increase in the tax rate is unconscionable in the kind of economy we’re in right now,” said state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, who’s running next year for the District 2 commission seat of term-limited Jeff Koons.

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If Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria and attorney Elissa Pearl collide in a Democratic primary next year, expect some debate over Santamaria’s past remarks about running for reelection.

“I don’t like politics. Running for a second term is politics. … I’m only interested in serving for four solid years of public service,” Santamaria said in 2007.

But that wasn’t a flat declaration against running again.

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Elissa Pearl, a labor lawyer who was running for an open state House seat, announced this afternoon that she instead plans to run for the seat of Palm Beach County Commissioner and fellow Democrat Jess Santamaria next year.

Pearl, 37, is a relative unknown in local politics. But she is expected to hire well-connected Neil Schiller and Eric Johnson as her consultants. Attorney Schiller has handled several successful legislative campaigns and Johnson is the chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton.

Santamaria, 71, represents western District 6 on the commission. A longtime developer and businessman in Royal Palm Beach, Santamaria entered politics for the first time in 2006 and won the seat as a reformist outsider after former District 6 Commissioner Tony Masilotti resigned in a corruption scandal.

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National Democrats have been firing salvos at freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, for months.

The national GOP recently added Rooney to its incumbent-protection program in preparation for battle.

The only thing missing is an actual challenger.

That could change soon. Democratic St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft says he’s “leaning” toward entering the race in the next few weeks.

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