Former Democratic state Rep. Kevin Rader today announced he’s challenging state Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Boca Raton, in a Democratic primary.
“I am running because I believe we need an unwavering Democrat in the state Senate and, simply put, Maria Sachs is not a real Democrat,” a Rader press release says. He notes that Sachs contributed to George W. Bush (she made $500 contributions in 1999 and 2000) and says Sachs “steadfastly praised Governor Jeb Bush.” Rader also notes that Sachs voted in December for a Republican redistricting plan. Sachs said that was a “procedural vote” to move the process along; her explanation was accepted by Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel.
Sachs wasn’t immediately reachable for comment this afternoon.
Rader served in the state House for one term, leaving in 2010 to make an unsuccessful state Senate bid against Republican Lizbeth Benacquisto.
The future of a prison privatization plan remains uncertain as GOP senators remain divided even as the chamber prepares to debate the outsourcing of dozens of prisons in an 18-county region in southern Florida.
Supporters of the measure, including Senate President Mike Haridopolos, need at least 21 votes for it to pass. One of the 12 Senate Democrats – Gary Siplin of Orlando – split with the minority caucus who voted to oppose the measure. And another Democrat, Larcenia Bullard, is absent today, if the proposal (SB 2038) gets a vote today.
At least 11 Republicans say they will vote against the plan or have not yet made up their minds as lobbyists for the two largest private prison corporations – Boca Raton-based GEO Group and Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America – meet with the undecided senators prior to the 1 p.m. session start.
The uncommitted GOP senators say they’re concerned about the real cost savings – estimated by budget chief JD Alexander to be about $22 million to $44 million annually – and the impact on the thousands of prison workers now employed by the state.
“We probably need to have a study and joint meetings where we lay it all out for everybody as to why this is a good thing,” Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said, predicting “a very, very close vote.”
A pair of greyhounds did the marketing this morning for activists in the Capitol pushing an animal-friendly agenda.
Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, and Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, had “Johnny” and “Twiggy” on hand at a press conference for their proposal to allow dog tracks to keep their card rooms and other gambling activities but put an end to greyhound racing.
Sachs, whose district is home to the Palm Beach Kennel Club, said the state needs to quit subsidizing the dying industry and allow the pari-mutuels to stop the dog races that have become just an excuse to offer more lucrative poker games.
And, the bipartisan pair said, their “decoupling” bills (SB 382, HB 641) will put an end to the inhumane treatment of some greyhounds at smaller tracks. The pari-mutuel industry also supports the measures.
“It’s just not where we’re at as a people anymore,” Sachs said.
A similar proposal died on the last day of last year’s session over a dispute about tax breaks for the dog tracks, including PBKC.
The Humane Society of the United States, the ASPCA and GREY2K USA are also backing a measure (SB 488, HB 527) that would allow counties to charge an extra $10 for animal cruelty fines and let the money be spent on spay and neuter programs.
The animal rights groups are opposing a proposal (SB 1184, HB 1021) dubbed the “ag gag” bill that would make it a crime to take pictures or video of agricultural property.
Trying to fix what they call a glitch in a state gun law that went into effect in October, two Delray Beach Democrats are pushing a measure that would make it illegal to bring firearms into child care centers and public buildings.
Sen. Maria Sachs and Rep. Lori Berman filed bills that would change a new law approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott that went into effect in October. The new law, which includes civil penalties and removal from office for local officials who ignore it, forced state agencies, municipalities and counties such as Palm Beach to scrap hundreds of measures dealing with guns.
After the law went into effect, state police were also forced to reverse their policy and allow firearms to be brought into the Capitol although weapons are still barred from legislative committee meetings. The same law applies to local government meetings – guns are permitted in the building but not where officials are publicly gathered.
Rep. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach
“The same rule should apply to the building where the meeting is taking place,” Berman said.
Under the new law, people are allowed to bring guns into child care centers but are still barred from bringing them into public schools or college and university campuses.
Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach
“If you’re not allowed to carry a gun into a school where children are five years old, I’m sure the law should extend to those who are four, or three or two,” Sachs, a former prosecutor, said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
The Palm Beach County Commission, which unanimously voted to support the bills (SB 1340, HB 1087), last month filed a lawsuit against Scott and others over the law, arguing that it is unconstitutional and that the sanctions “are simply a form of political bullying that serves no governmental purpose” and have a “chilling effect.”
Commissioner Shelley Vana, a former state representative, stood beside Berman and Sachs at a press conference announcing the proposals this morning.
She said their effort will make Floridians, especially children, safer and called it “another major step in rectifying a tremendous wrong and helping local governments keep their citizens safe.”
The measures are unlikely to gain traction in the GOP-dominated legislature, especially in an election year. The National Rifle Association pushed the new law last year.
But Sachs said the issue is one of public safety, not partisanship.
“I know Palm Beach is a pretty progressive county…but I know that every other county will follow us,” she said.
Two animal-loving groups are pushing a bill that would allow greyhound tracks to stop racing dogs but allow the tracks to keep operating the more lucrative card rooms.
Dog racing attendance has declined, as have revenues, and most people who go to the tracks ignore the greyhounds in favor of placing their bets on poker.
The ASPCA this morning released a poll showing that a majority of voters view the dog racing industry unfavorably. And GREY2K released a report documenting abuse and neglect of the dogs since 2004.
And the attendance and revenues have dropped dramatically at the tracks since 2004, according to data provided by state agencies included in the report.
Since 2004, the total amount gambled on racing at Florida’s 13 greyhound tracks, including the Palm Beach Kennel Club, decreased by 35 percent, paid attendance went down by 69 percent, and state tax revenues declined by 72 percent, the report found.
At many tracks, the dogs are forced to live in small cages and state regulators have written up at least nine cases of severe neglect associated with the kennels over the past seven years, the report found.
“Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane and must end,” GREY2K USA president and general counsel Christine Dorchak told reporters at a press conference outside the House chambers this morning.
Forcing dog track operators to run the greyhounds so they can keep their card rooms open “is a mandate for cruelty,” ASPCA director of government relations Ann Church said.
PBKC owners won’t stop racing the dogs and support the measure, as they did earlier this year, in part because it will make their races more lucrative. Only three of the state’s existing 13 dog tracks, including PBKC, are expected to continue to keep running the dogs if the bill becomes law. Supporters of the bill say it was not intended to end dog racing but to allow struggling tracks to stay open with other betting options.
Senate Democrats tapped Delray Beach’s Maria Sachs today to serve on Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich’s leadership team. Sachs, a lawyer, will serve along with Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, as one of the caucus’ two minority whips. Sachs replaces Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, who yesterday completed his last day in the Senate after serving for 17 years as a legislator.
“I am honored to serve as the new Senate Democratic Whip,” Sachs said in a press release. “I will bring energy and a strong voice in fighting for Democratic principles for our state.”
Sachs, a lawyer and former prosecutor, was elected to the Senate in 2010 after serving four years in the state House.
“Senator Sachs has distinguished herself as a passionate voice on behalf of Floridians from all walks of life,” Rich, D-Weston, said. “She’ll bring that same dedication to her new leadership position as an advocate for Democratic priorities.”
Dog tracks would no longer have to run dog races but could continue to operate the more lucrative card rooms under a measure passed by the Senate and awaiting secondary House approval.
Sen. Maria Sachs, the bill sponsor, said the bill is needed so the state can stop bailing out the dying greyhound racing industry while keeping the tracks alive.
Palm Beach Kennel Club owners support the measure in part because fewer races will make their dog races more valuable when broadcast over simulcast at other tracks. Only three of the state’s existing 16 dog tracks, including PBKC, are expected to continue to keep running the dogs if the bill becomes law.
The measure would also benefit PBKC because it is one of the seven tracks that now purchase tax credits from other tracks who are eligible for the tax breaks but don’t generate enough revenue to use them.
Critics of the measure include the dog owners and breeders, who claim that doing away with the races will put thousands of workers out of a job.
But Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said the state would no longer have to subsidize “a business model that’s no longer profitable” through tax breaks as public interest in the races – and revenues from them – decline. Revenues generated for the state from dog racing have plummeted by more than half over the past 10 years, from about $40 million in 2000 to about $5.2 million last year.
The measure created a stir on the floor as some Republicans tried to amend the bill to accommodate the state’s thoroghbred industry. (more…)
In the digital age, should local governments still be required to use newspapers to get the word out to the public about what they’re doing?
Some conservative lawmakers object that it’s a mandate from Tallahassee and want to do away with it. They say it should be up to the local governments to put the information about zoning changes, meetings or other activities on the Internet.
But others, including former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, argued that doing away with the print notices would leave many Floridians, especially senior citizens, in the dark.
“I don’t think this is an optional issue. This is one that goes to the fabric of our society,” Kottkamp told the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee this morning.
Committee Co-chairman Jim Norman pressed him on whether he “believes in the mandate.”
Kottkamp didn’t waiver: “On this issue, absolutely, yes.”
Sen. Maria Sachs, a Delray Beach Democrat, agreed.
“We must never curtail the right of the people to have notice of what their government is doing. Ever. And I don’t care what the cost is,” she said.
Norman, R-Tampa, argued that the costs – in the range of $50 million per year statewide not including the amount collected some affected parties have to pay to cover the printing costs – could be better spent elsewhere.
“This is an attempt at a look at a mandated cost to make it more affordable for them to have health care. you can’t always have it both ways,” Norman, a former county commissioner, said.
When is a casino not a casino? When it’s billed as a “Destination Resort,” as Sens. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, have done in a press release announcing legislation that would expand gambling statewide in Florida.
Jones, chairman of the Regulated Industries Committee, and committee vice chairwoman Sachs, are sponsoring a bill that would allow five casinos -one in each part of the state – if local voters approve.
But their 692-word joint press release announcing the “Destination Resorts/Trade Shows” bill (SB 1708) mentions the word “casino” just twice, tucked way down in the details of the measure.
“The possibility of bringing Destination Resorts to Florida includes a host of economic benefits,” Sachs says in the release. “These benefits will manifest themselves in new jobs for our construction industry, tourism, beaches, hospitality, and trades. This new energy and excitement will bring us back to the days when Florida was a mecca for top-notch entertainment and a destination in itself.”
After more than an hour of heated discussion, the Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee voted to send a “brisk” letter of disapproval to Democrats (from left) Aaronson, Sachs and Vana for endorsing Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate race.
Carole Pollack was inducted as a Palm Beach County Democratic precinct captain Thursday night. Less than two hours later, after listening to party members shout each other down and seeing several walk out in protest, Pollack herself was storming out of a Democratic Executive Committee meeting in West Delray saying she might never return.
Pollack witnessed an intramural Democratic bloodbath over whether the party should take action against Democratic County Commissioners Burt Aaronson and Shelley Vana and state Sen. Maria Sachs for bucking the party and endorsing Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist in the Nov. 2 U.S. Senate race.
Committee members who stayed to the bitter end rejected a motion to censure the elected officials but voted to authorize a committee to send a “brisk” letter telling them of their disapproval.
Pollack didn’t stick around for the final vote.
“This is the first time I’ve been here. I’m not sure that it won’t be the last. I’m very upset by what I’m seeing here,” she told the party activists who met at Temple Emeth.
Democratic state Rep. and soon-to-be state Sen. Maria Sachs has been banned by another Democratic club because she bucked her party and endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent bid for U.S. Senate.
Democratic Senate nominee Kendrick Meek and independent Gov. and Senate candidate Charlie Crist will appear at the Sept. 15 Forum Club of the Palm Beaches lunch in West Palm Beach. Republican nominee Marco Rubio was also invited, but couldn’t make it because of a scheduling conflict, Forum Club director Gayle Pallesen said.
The Crist-Meek pairing, while not the original intent of organizers, highlights what many Dems have come to view as a second Democratic primary in the Senate race. With former Republican Crist aggressively courting Democratic votes, Meek released a primary-style radio ad today highlighting Crist’s past professions of conservatism from his Republican days and telling voters — presumably Democrats — “Don’t be fooled.”
Meek said Sachs, a Delray Beach lawyer, signed an endorsement pledge for him in December and called the switcheroo “strange” especially because Palm Beach County Democrats virtually anointed her to fill U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch’s seat when he left the state senate to go to Washington.
“She spoke very passionately two weeks ago of her support of my candidacy, felt that I should be the next U.S. Senator of Florida,” Meek said at a roundtable with reporters this morning.
He no longer has the fund-raising and organizational might of a political party to help his Senate camapign, but Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist has the ability to schedule bill-signing ceremonies before key groups.
With the help of Democratic state Rep. Maria Sachs and Sen. Jeremy Ring, Crist has been eyeing a tour of the Palm Beach-Broward Democratic condo belt to ceremonially sign a condominium reform bill. Events at Century Village of West Palm Beach and Wynmoor of Coconut Creek were penciled in last week before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill forced Crist to change plans. Sachs and Ring say the signings could be rescheduled for this week or next.
Read about it in this week’s Politics column, where you’ll also find out why one local lawmaker has earned the nickname “Joey Eleven” and where you can catch up on the congressional primary between two candidates who have been Democrats for six weeks.
With Gov. Charlie Crist making a late cancellation to attend an oil spill powwow in Louisiana with President Obama, state Reps. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, and Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, filled in as speakers at today’s Forum Club of the Palm Beaches lunch.
Responding to an audience question about partisan rancor, Sachs said Domino “has really become the most bipartisan Republican in the Florida House.”
Working with the other party isn’t necessarily seen as a virtue in a competitive partisan primary like the one Domino faces against state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, for a state Senate seat.
“In this political atmosphere, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Domino said of Sachs’ remark. “I’ll take it as a good thing.”
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink will be in Palm Beach County on Friday to promote her proposed legislation stiffening penalties for crooks who scam senior citizens.
It’s the third year in a row Sink, a Democrat who is running for governor, has backed legislation to crack down on investor fraud schemes targeting the elderly.
The Senate passed her bill last year but it never got heard in a House committee.
Sink’s office has had 800 complaints from seniors this year.
Rep. Maria Sachs, a Delray Beach Democrat, is sponsoring Sink’s bill this year.
Sink’s proposal would increase penalties for “churning” – turning an existing life insurance policy or annuity from one company to another – annuities to senior citizens and for other annuity or insurance-related schemes.
Friday’s event will be held at 10 a.m. at The Church of Bethesda in Palm Beach.
Those interested in attending should pre-register by calling 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) or (850) 413-3089.
Democrat Lori Berman, who out-raised Hager in 2009, dropped out of the District 87 race last week and switched to more Democrat-friendly District 86. District 86 is where Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, plans to leave to run for state Senate as part of a massive shuffle being guided by the former Robert Wexler political machine.
Sachs is banking on state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, winning a Feb. 2 primary and April 13 special election to replace Wexler, who retired this month to head a Middle East think tank. Deutch, Sachs and Berman have all been endorsed by Wexler and helped by his former consultant, Eric Johnson.
With Berman leaving the District 87 race, insurance agency owner Len Turesky, a Democrat, is considering running against Hager. Turesky plans to meet with Johnson and others to discuss the race.
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 by Michael C. Bender
UPDATE:From Rep. Adam Hasner’s House Majority Office via Twitter: Unbelievable. Incomprehensible tragedy and FL Dem Ron Saunders plays politics with Haiti earthquake. Zero class.
Saunders
If Republicans support a corporate income tax cut, they should be able to find some cash to help disaster victims in Haiti, said Florida Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West.
“They know where all the secret stashes are,” Saunders said. “I used to know where they were when I was budget chairman.”
Saunders, who hopes he can lead House Democrats to overcome a 76-44 disadvantage to Republicans this year, said he wasn’t playing politics with the tragedy unfolding in Haiti. “If I wanted to play politics, I’d say we should use the $6 million Republicans misspent on an airplane hanger,” Saunders said. “But I’m not going to bring that up.”
House budget chairman David Rivera, R-Miami, responded: “The speaker is looking at options to assist the victims of the disaster in Haiti.”
The earthquake in Haiti has hit home for a number of South Florida state lawmakers, including Rep. Mack Bernard, D-West Palm Beach, who was born in Port-au-Prince and lived there until he was 10 and moved to Delray Beach.
The seminar will include bank officials, lawyers and real estate brokers who will be available to talk with homeowners and condo association officers about foreclosure, state Rep. Maria Lorts Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said in a press release today.
“It is time to shed light on how foreclosures are impacting condominium and homeowners associations,” Sachs said. “We need to alleviate the heightened fees that remaining residents are facing, which are being imposed by associations to make up for lost revenue from foreclosures.”
Sachs said she has hosted five foreclosure workshops.
The details of the event:
Time: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Date: Friday
Place: Sachs’s Delray Beach Office, 203 NE 1st Avenue Delray Beach, 33444
Several Democrats say state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, has decided to drop his 2010 bid for the state Senate seat of Sen. and attorney general candidate Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres.
Rader didn’t return calls late Thursday and this morning.
At a Florida Alliance for Retired Americans meeting in West Palm Beach this morning, Alliance President Tony Fransetta and Senate hopeful Peter Burkert said Rader is dropping out of the race for Aronberg’s seat and will instead seek the seat of Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, who’s running in a special congressional election to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.
Burkert said Rader told him two days ago of his plans.
If in fact Rader pursues Deutch’s Senate seat, it could create internal Democratic tumult. Several big-name Dems, including Wexler and County Commissioner Burt Aaronson, have endorsed state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, for Deutch’s Senate seat if Deutch wins an April 13 special congressional election.
“I’ve urged him (Rader) to stay in his House seat,” Aaronson said this morning.
Two animal-loving groups are pushing a bill that would allow greyhound tracks to stop racing dogs but allow the tracks to keep operating the more lucrative card rooms.
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