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Political Calendar July 25 — Campaign finance reports due. July 28 — Last day to register to vote in the August primary. August 8 — Campaign finance reports due. August 11-24 — Early primary voting. August 22 — Campaign finance reports due. August 25-28 — Democratic National Convention, Denver. August 26 — Primary election. Sept. 1-4 — Republican National Convention, St. Paul. Sept. 13 — Campaign finance reports due. Oct. 3 — Campaign finance reports due. Oct. 6 — Last day to register to vote. Oct. 17 — Campaign finance reports due. Oct. 20-Nov. 2— Early voting for general election. Oct. 31 — Campaign finance reports due. Nov. 4 — General Election Dec. 15 — Electoral college convenes in state capitals and District of Columbia. State Constitutional Amendments No: 1 Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to delete provisions authorizing the Legislature to regulate or prohibit the ownership, inheritance, disposition, and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship. Sponsor: The Florida Legislature No. 2: This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized. Sponsor: Florida4Marriage.org No. 3: Authorizes the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit consideration of changes or improvements to residential real property which increase resistance to wind damage and installation of renewable energy source devices as factors in assessing the property's value for ad valorem taxation purposes. Effective upon adoption, repeals the existing renewable energy source device exemption no longer in effect. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission No. 4: Requires Legislature to provide a property tax exemption for real property encumbered by perpetual conservation easements or other perpetual conservation protections, defined by general law. Requires Legislature to provide for classification and assessment of land used for conservation purposes, and not perpetually encumbered, solely on the basis of character or use. Subjects assessment benefit to conditions, limitations, and reasonable definitions established by general law. Applies to property taxes beginning in 2010. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission No. 5: Replacing state required school property taxes with state revenues generating an equivalent hold harmless amount for schools through one or more of the following options: repealing sales tax exemptions not specifically excluded; increasing sales tax rate up to one percentage point; spending reductions; other revenue options created by the legislature. Limiting subject matter of laws granting future exemptions. Limiting annual increases in assessment of non-homestead real property. Lowering property tax millage rate for schools. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission No. 6: Provides for assessment based upon use of land used predominantly for commercial fishing purposes; land used for vessel launches into waters that are navigable and accessible to the public; marinas and drystacks that are open to the public; and water-dependent marine manufacturing facilities, commercial fishing facilities, and marine vessel construction and repair facilities and their support activities, subject to conditions, limitations, and reasonable definitions specified by general law. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission No. 7: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to provide that an individual or entity may not be barred from participating in any public program because of religion and to delete the prohibition against using revenues from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. No. 8: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to require that the Legislature authorize counties to levy a local option sales tax to supplement community college funding; requiring voter approval to levy the tax; providing that approved taxes will sunset after 5 years and may be reauthorized by the voters. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. No. 9 Requires at least 65 percent of school funding received by school districts be spent on classroom instruction, rather than administration; allows for differences in administrative expenditures by district. Provides the constitutional requirement for the state to provide a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools" is a minimum, nonexclusive duty. Reverses legal precedent prohibiting public funding of private school alternatives to public school programs without creating an entitlement. Sponsor: Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission
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Buchanan prepares for Jennings rematch WASHINGTON — It's not a surprise to find Rep. Ron Klein listed in the top 10 fundraisers among House incumbents. Klein, a Democrat, who defeated incumbent Republican E. Clay Shaw for the seat a year ago, has raised $1.8 million so far, with $1.4 million still in the bank. Republican Vern Buchanan also made the list at No. 10, collecting $1.4 million so far, with about half that on hand. Buchanan is preparing for a rematch with Democrat Christine Jennings for the seat formerly held by Katherine Harris. Buchanan won a year ago by less than 350 votes. CQ Politics.com. Dems top GOP incumbents in city elections VENICE — Three challengers beat three incumbents in a nonpartisan city election here. Doesn't sound like much, but the three challengers happened to be all Democrats and the three incumbents all Republicans, and observers are taking it as a sign of Donkey resurgence in a region where the GOP had a strangle hold. Sarasota Herald Tribune. Crist could see his popularity slide TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist promised tax relief when he ran for the office, and he delivered. He promised insurance relief, and he delivered. Question is, did he deliver enough? Tampa Tribune. Republicans blast Dems but silent on Bush ORLANDO — Democratic presidential hopefuls might be boycotting the Florida convention but their Republican counterparts were out in full force at the state party meeting. They blast the Democrats but don't mention their president. Tampa Tribune. Web site spoof seeks support for Harris bid If you're a Republican and you're not satisfied with your party's presidential contenders, the Democrats may have a solution for you: Draft Katherine Harris.com. Really. Voting machine sale gives Florida a headache The New York Times says the decision to scrap touch-screen voting machines is costing Florida counties, including Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, millions. Attempts to sell the machines are attracting few buyers. Florida meet to highlight Veep candidates? The Des Moines Register is reporting that Jon Ausman, a Most presidential candidates won't attend the convention because of the flap over Florida's early primary. Getting vice presidential candidates to attend might add some energy to the meeting, Democratic Chairwoman Karen Thurman says. The convention is Oct. 26-28 in Lake Buena Vista. Buchanan holds slight edge in the 13th DELRAY BEACH — The Rothenberg Report rates Tim Mahoney’s chances of winning a second term a “pure toss-up.” Mahoney, a Democrat, won the seat in the 16th district formerly held by Republican Mark Foley. Three Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination to challenge Mahoney. Republicans hold an edge in registration in the district. Meanwhile, Rothenberg rates Sarasota Republican Vern Buchanan a slight edge to win a second term from the 13th district. Buchanan defeated Democrat Christine Jennings by less than 400 votes in the most controversial House contest of the 2006 elections. Site to score truthfulness of canidate claims ST. PETERSBURG — The St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly are launching a web site designed to help voters separate fact from falsehood in the claims made during the 2008 presidential campaign. The site, called PolitiFact.com, is to launch Sept. 4. The site features a "truth-o-meter" that scores the truthfulness of specific claims by the presidential candidates. New findings will be published every weekday. PolitiFact will declare whether a claim is True, Mostly True, Half True, Barely True, or False. There is a special category for the most ridiculous claims called "Pants on Fire." The Times Publishing Co. owns both the Times and CQ. Some call it a 'political miscalculation' First, Republican presidential hopefuls bypassed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials which met in Orlando last month. Now, it's the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, which is meeting this weekend in Miami Beach. Some are calling it a political miscalculation, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "They need to understand that the Latino vote will made a big difference in this election," said La Raza president Janet Murguía at a recent news conference. Their absence, she added, "sends a message that we're not important now." The two top Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and . Barack Obama of Illinois are scheduled to speak Sunday.MORE. Klein's total take tops $1.26 million DELRAY BEACH — If money is any indication, Rep. Ron Klein intends to stay in Washington for a while. Since the beginning the of the year, Klein, the Boca Raton Democrat who ousted Clay Shaw for the seat from Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, has amassed $1.26 million for the Nov. ’08 election. According to Federal Election records, he has $1.01 million on hand, with debts out standing of $18.294. That’s of June 30, by the way. Klein was among the top House candidates in terms of fundraising during the quarter ended March 31. Other notable numbers: Ben Graber received $214,340 for his bid to unseat fellow Democrat Robert Wexler. Of that total, $200,100 came from his own pocket. He has $159.000 in his treasury. Wexler has received $698,932 in contributions since the beginning of the year, with cash-in-hand totaling $988,788 and debt of $8,305. In the 16th district, Gayle Harrell, a Republican member of the Florida House, has raised $230,000 for her bid to win the GOP nomination and the right to challenge Democratic incumbent Tim Mahoney. She has cash on hand of $182,000, with debts of $18,000. Fellow challenger Hal Valeche, a Palm Beach Gardens councilman, has $258,000, with cash in hand of $225,000. Records for Tom Rooney, the third Republican in the race, were not yet available. No names attached, just phone numbers linking Florida to Washington sex scandal Tidbit from the DC Madam scandal: DCPhoneList.com, which maintains a searchable database of calls made to Pamela Martin Associates, says the sixth-most frequent area code to show up on the list of calls made to the escort service is 407. That’s the Treasure Coast and Central Florida. Deborah Palfrey, the alleged madam, grew up partly in Orlando and graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park. The web site’s database, by the way, is just the phone numbers. No names are attached, so if you’re wondering who might have made the calls, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Flagg raising Marc Flagg, the Boca Raton Republican who is bidding to take on incumbent Democrat Ron Klein for the House seat from Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, raised $46,193 for his campaign during the quarter ended June 30. According to Federal Election Commission reports, Flagg kicked in about $29,000 of his own money into his campaign fund. He’s spent nearly $14,000. Klein, who defeated longtime incumbent Clay Shaw last November, raised more than $500,000 during the first quarter. His second quarter numbers were not available on the FEC site. Flagg, 45, might not be able to match Klein’s money, at least not yet, but he does have a compelling back-story. He is a Naval Academy graduate who is a pilot for UPS. He’s also a member of the Passenger Cargo Security Group. His parents, Rear Admiral Wilson Flagg and Darlene Flagg, were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when terrorists took it into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Flagg launched his campaign in April. Democratic presidential candidates are prospering in the Sunshine State With a Republican legislature, a Republican governor, Republicans holding two of three cabinet seats and one Senate seat, you might think Florida is securely Republican. Maybe not. According to Federal Election Commission figures, Democratic presidential candidates by far raised more money during the first quarter than their Republican counterparts. Dems pulled in $3.9 million; Republicans $3 million. Hillary Clinton led all candidates, picking up $1.9 million. Barack Obama was second at $1 million. Mitt Romney led the Republican side at $996,000. Interestingly, Palm Beach County and Northern Broward, usually thought of as Democratic territory contributed more to the Republicans than Democrats by a margin of $1.05 million to $750,000. Overall, Florida ranks fourth among the states, contributing $6.9 million to all candidates. California was No. 1 at $20.4 million, followed by New York at $19.6 million and Texas $8.9 million. Illinois was fifth, contributing $5.9 million. The deadline for candidates filing second quarter financial reports is July 15. Florida still seen as key in '08 elections The Rothenberg Political Report includes Florida among its eight battleground states to watch for the 2008 election: "Even though Bush won the Sunshine State by 5 points in 2004, Florida must still be considered a battleground state with its 27 electoral votes. Rep. Tim Mahoney (D) is a top Republican target in the 16th district after his 49 percent to 48 percent victory with ex-Rep. Mark Foley’s name still on the ballot. Democrats are making an effort in the 8th district against Rep. Ric Keller (R)." Young voters more likely to favor universal health care, gay marriage, liberal immigration NEW YORK — A New York Times/CBS/MTV poll finds 17-to-29 year-olds more likely to identify with Democrats than Republicans. Most say voting is important and most plan on voting in the next presidential election. Democrats say GOP is snubbing Hispanics ORLANDO — More than 1,000 hispanic officials will gather in Orlando this week for a meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The only Republican presidential candidate to address the group is Duncan Hunter. The other candidates invited — Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, McCain, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson — all cited scheduling conflicts. Democrats, meanwhile, are calling it a snub. Golfing trip with Abramoff triggers problems WASHINGTON — Former Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney has formed a legal defense fund. The problem seems to be a golfing trip to Scotland that Jack Abramoff arranged in 2003. Feeney, then and now a member of the U.S. House, made the trip along with Reps. Tom DeLay and Bob Ney. MORE. House Committee sets July deadline for GAO report on Sarasota County's voting machines WASHINGTON — The House Administration Committee, which is investigating the disputed election of Rep. Vern Buchanan in Florida's 13th Congressional District, has set July 27 as the deadline for the GAO to present its findings on Sarasota County's electronic voting machines. The GAO, formally known as the Government Accountability Office, wanted to report back in September, according to CQPolitics.com. There were 18,000 undervote in Sarasota County, Democrat Christine Jennings, who lost the race by about 350 votes, contends the machines malfunctioned. A state probe blames poor ballot design. Meanwhile, Sarasota County has decided to scrap the paperless voting machines and go with optical scanners made by Diebold. That should calm conspiracy theorists. Yep. AFSCME runs ads praising Mahoney and nine other freshmen Democratic congressmen By DAVID SEDORE, Palm Beach Business.com Staff DELRAY BEACH — If you thought we’d have a longer respite from television electioneering, you’d be wrong. After all, there are only 16 months or so until the next election. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
Florida voters still wild about Charlie Notes of interest from Strategic Vision’s latest Florida poll: Rudy Guiliani tops the list of Republican presidential hopefuls, and Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic field. No surprise on either side. Republican respondents picked Guiliani (32 percent) over John McCain (20 percent). Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney received support from only 5 percent of Republicans. On the Democratic side, Clinton received support from 37 percent of respondents to 20 percent for Barack Obama and 19 percent for John Edwards. Interesting numbers: Only 24 percent of Republicans were satisfied with their field of candidates, while 62 percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with their field. Gov. Charlie Crist got a approval rating of 69 percent (can you say honeymoon). Only 10 percent of Republicans said they viewed George Bush as “a conservative in the mode of Ronald Reagan.” Only 28 percent said they approved of George Bush’s handling of the Iraq War; 51 percent favored withdrawing from Iraq within six months. Curtis claims irregularities cost him election TITUSVILLE — Give Clint Curtis this much: He doesn’t give up easily, even if giving up is the logical choice. Curtis is the Democrat who challenged Republican incumbent Tom Feeney for the seat from Florida's 24th Congressional District during last November’s election. He got his clock cleaned, losing by 16 percent. Not surprising since the district was carved out to favor the former Florida House Speaker. Curtis, however, has to concede the race, and is calling for an independent investigation into election irregularities of some sort caused by electronic voting machines. This, again, despite losing by 16 points. His evidence: A Zogby poll taken weeks before the election showed the race within a few percentage points. In that context, losing by 16 points doesn’t make sense, he claims. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, who chaired the House Committee on Administration, which reviews federal elections, created a task force to investigate the possibility of irregularities in the race between Christine Jennings and Vern Buchanan for Florida’s 13 Congressional District. Millender-McDonald, a Democrat from California, died over the weekend. Buchanan won the race by about 350 votes. Klein tops $600,000 in first quarter It looks like Rep. Ron Klein wants to stay in Washington for at least two more years. Klein, the Democrat from Delray Beach who defeated incumbent Republican Clay Shaw last November, ranks among the top fundraisers in the country, collecting $611,000 in contributions during the first quarter, according to the Swing State Project. Tim Mahoney, the Democrat who holds the seat from Florida’s 16th congressional district, raised $458,000 during the quarter, and has $439,000 in hand. Two Florida incumbent Republicans have raised rather paltry sums. Ric Keller, in the 8th district, has raised $27,000, and Bill “C.W.” Young in the 10th has raised $15,000. Both Keller and Young won in November with comfortable margins and have Republican-leaning districts. Swing State, however, says Young figures to be a top target for the Democrats in ’08. He will be 78 on election day.
Florida's leaders... .From left: Sen. Bill Nelson; Comptroller Alex Sink; Senate Minority Leader Steven Geller; House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber; Gov. Charlie Crist; Senate President Ken Pruitt; House Speaker Marco Rubio; Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson; Attorney General Bill McCollum; Sen. Mel Martinez.
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better known as AFSCME, is running TV ads for 10 freshmen congressmen, including Tim Mahoney, the Democrat from Florida’s 16th Congressional District. Mahoney, if you recall, defeated Republican Joe Negron for the seat Mark Foley formerly occupied. The ads are essentially the same, praising each candidate for their support for increasing the minimum wage, health benefits for veterans and reforming congressional ethics rules.
