Kendrick Meek, in the final two weeks of a tough Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Senate, has reserved a room at the North County Senior Center in Palm Beach Gardens on Friday afternoon for “a non-campaign event” to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Social Security.

The Post‘s eagle-eyed county government reporter Jennifer Sorentrue spotted an e-mail from Assistant Palm Beach County Administrator Jon Van Arnam to county commissioners this afternoon informing them of Meek’s planned use of the meeting room.

“A non-campaign event….sure,” responded Commissioner Steven Abams, one of two Republicans on the board.

Meek spokesman Adam Sharon, via e-mail, says that “no campaigning will take place within the complex – no campaign signs, no literature, no sign up or volunteer forms.  The event will simply focus on celebrating Social Security’s ‘birthday’ with SEIU.  Any political or campaign talk will happen I am sure, but off grounds.” 

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The deadline for candidates to qualify for the 2010 ballot in state and local races — from the governorship to the Jupiter Inlet Commission board — is Friday at noon.

Democrats don’t have a candidate in Palm Beach County Commission District 4 to challenge Republican Steven Abrams, despite a slight Democratic registration edge in the district and county Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel’s declaration last year that “we believe it’s our seat.”

Siegel now says Abrams is a pretty decent guy for a Republican.

Read about it in this week’s Politics column.

While much of Gov. Charlie Crist’s Palm Beach County campaign operation is expected to abandon him if he abandons the GOP this afternoon to pursue an independent Senate campaign, some members of Crist’s local team say they’ll stick with Crist.

Former school board member and former Republican Palm Beach County Commissioner Bob Kanjian, one of 11 honorary co-chairs of Crist’s campaign in the county, says he’ll remain behind Crist. Attorney Bill Berger and county Housing Authority Chairman Dwight Spence, who were among about 20 other people with the title “co-chair,” say they’ll continue to support Crist as well.

Berger said the governor asked his thoughts on a possible independent bid Monday but didn’t reveal his own plans.

Said Berger: “I expressed to Charlie that I’m behind him 100 percent.”

Most of the approximately 30 members of Crist’s local campaign leadership team are Republican activists who are expected to choose the GOP over Crist if the governor goes the indie route. Crist’s top local campaign operative, Beth Kigel, hasn’t commented, but is expected to quit Crist’s campaign if Crist leaves the GOP.

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Boca Raton attorney Robert Weinroth is considering a challenge of Republican Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams and spent $5,000 on a poll with questions linking Abrams to Fort Lauderdale Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, whose imploded law firm employed Abrams in its Boca office.

Read about it this week’s Politics column.

Our Jennifer Sorentrue reports that Palm Beach County commissioners this morning approved a one-year moratorium on approving new pain-management clinics amid concerns that drugs are being dispensed with insufficient controls.

A recent Palm Beach Post investigation found that more than 30 such clinics have opened in the county since 2007. Among the people running pain businesses are convicted drug dealers, serial criminals and former addicts, according to a review of county, state and federal records.

Libertarian commission candidate Karl Dickey blasted this morning’s 6-0 vote, saying commissioners are “punishing the many for the actions of a few. Whereas we understand some pain-management clinics have abused the system, it is outrageous for the county government to ban the ability of legitimate clinics from opening.”

Dickey is the only announced challenger to Republican Commissioner Steven Abrams.

Read Dickey’s entire statement after the jump…..

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Boca Raton Councilwoman Susan Haynie was edged out by former Boca Mayor Steven Abrams this year for Gov. Charlie Crist’s appointment to fill a Palm Beach County commission seat.

Haynie concedes Abrams has an “impressive resume,” but suggests he had an edge because of his connection to disgraced Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein.

Rothstein, a friend and major money-raiser for Gov. Charlie Crist, was Abrams’ employer and was listed by Abrams as a reference on his application for the appointment.

Says Haynie: “Going into the interview process, I knew that Steve Abrams’ employer was a close personal friend of Gov. Crist as well as one of his major contributors. And it didn’t feel like a level playing field.”

Attorney Steven Abrams listed his boss, Scott Rothstein, as one of three references when he applied this year for Gov. Charlie Crist’s appointment to fill a Palm Beach County commission vacancy. But Abrams, who got the appointment in March, says he and Rothstein weren’t very close and he’s confident he won the job based on his record as mayor of Boca Raton and his own lengthy ties to Crist.

Crist’s former chief of staff, Eric Eikenberg, said Abrams won the job on his own merit.

“I vouched for Steve Abrams from the beginning based on my long-time working relationship with him and the governor has known him for years,” said Eikenberg, who was chief of staff for former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw when Abrams was mayor of Boca Raton. Eikenberg is now campaign manager for Crist’s U.S. Senate bid.

Rothstein, head of a Fort Lauderdale law firm and a major political money-raiser for Crist and other elected officials, was accused by his own law partners this week of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to bilk investors. Abrams quit the firm Monday.

“Did he put in a good word for me? He was my boss,” Abrams said. “If you were to ask your boss permission to seek a job, wouldn’t you put your boss down as a reference?”

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Democrat Alex Sink’s gubernatorial campaign is returning at least $2,000 in contributions related to prominent Broward County attorney and political moneyman Scott Rothstein, who’s being accused by his law partners of misappropriating money from investor trust accounts.

Closer to home, our Alexandra Clough reports that Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams is resigning from the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm because of the controversy surrounding Rothstein.

“I think it’s best that a public official not be associated with the firm as it seeks to determine what happened,” Abrams said today.

Rothstein has been a major Republican contributor and money-raiser who raised big bucks for John McCain’s presidential bid and Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2010 Senate campaign.

He is also a big supporter of Democrat Sink and hosted a fund-raiser for her in August that he said raised about $240,000. Rothstein, his wife, his law firm and a software company Rothstein manages called AAMM Holdings gave $500 apiece to Sink in September.

Crist’s campaign didn’t have anyone immediately available to comment. Rothstein and his wife have given $4,800 apiece to Crist’s campaign.

Sink’s campaign released this statement today: “These are very serious allegations. The campaign is returning or donating to charity Mr. Rothstein’s and his wife’s personal contributions, as well as contributions from the account of his law firm and AAMM Holdings, LLC. If it becomes clear that others were involved in this matter, it’s our intention to return those contributions as well.”

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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Monday night’s Palm Beach County commission vote for a 14.9 percent property tax rate increase is already emerging as a hot political issue — but not in the way you might think.

Republican Commissioner Steven Abrams’ vote against the rate hike was called “despicable, disgusting” and “unconscionable” today by potential Democratic challenger Pamela Goodman.

Abams and Commissioner Shelley Vana voted against hiking the tax rate from $3.78 to $4.34 per $1,000 of appraised value. Abrams said he favored a rate of $4.29 or lower.

Goodman, former president of the nonpartisan Palm Beach County League of Women Voters, has been weighing a 2010 challenge of Abrams for months but today said she’s not sure whether she’ll run. Goodman said she’s been working with the county Democratic Party to recruit candidates for Abrams’ seat and for other races.

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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?

Moments after he was sworn in as the newest Palm Beach County commissioner this morning, Steven Abrams invoked another unelected Republican who came to office to replace a disgraced predecessor.

Abrams, appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist after Mary McCarty resigned in a corruption scandal, referred to Gerald Ford’s famous quote upon succeeding Richard Nixon in 1974: “I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.”

Our Jennifer Sorentrue reports on it here.

Before he’s even sworn in as Palm Beach County’s latest (but not last) commission appointee, Steven Abrams has to wonder whether fellow Republicans will give him a clear shot at getting elected next year.

He’s slated to take the oath Tuesday after being tapped by Gov. Charlie Crist to replace disgraced Mary McCarty.

Democrats, who now outnumber Republicans in Abrams’ District 4, are vowing a serious 2010 challenge by former League of Women Voters prez Pamela Goodman.

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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.

The ex-wife of Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Jose Rodriguez has weighed in with a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist about Rodriguez’s bid for a Palm Beach County commission appointment.

She strongly supports her former husband.

The letter from Sue Shumate-Rodriguez is one of more than 100 sent to Crist’s office in support of Rodriguez. In addition, more than 100 supporters of former Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams have written to the governor on his behalf, while more than 60 people have sent letters or e-mails supporting Boca Raton Councilwoman Susan Haynie for the appointment.

Read more here.