The head of the state's social services agency was co-chairing a friend's campaign in Oklahoma.
By Associated Press
Published August 1, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's social services chief resigned Thursday as co-chairman of a friend's legislative campaign in Oklahoma after angry words from Gov. Jeb Bush and other criticism that the role could be an ill-timed distraction from his efforts to clean up the troubled agency.
Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier insisted his involvement in the campaign of Oklahoma state Senate candidate Denise Crosswhite was intended to be minimal and was being blown out of proportion. But he said his state job was his main focus.
"Protecting Florida's children and the most vulnerable in our communities is my top priority," Regier said in a statement.
Regier's resignation came hours after his role in out-of-state politics surfaced in a newspaper article Thursday morning and drew a sharp reaction from Bush. Bush first learned of Regier's plan to help lead Crosswhite's campaign from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel article.
"His focus needs to be on vulnerable children and vulnerable citizens of our state," Bush said.
Others said Regier's job in repairing DCF's spotty record of protecting children in its care and dealing with its budget problems required his undivided attention.
"I think he's done the right thing" by quitting the campaign, said Senate Minority Leader Ron Klein, a Boca Raton Democrat.
DCF is in the midst of an overhaul after several high-profile tragedies, including the unsolved disappearance of a 5-year-old girl from a foster home. It faces a backlog of investigations and continues to suffer from cases of child abuse or deaths in homes it has supervised.
"I think all the secretaries should be above partisan politics," said Jack Levine, president of the advocacy group, Voices for Florida's Children. "This is a 24-7 job. It's a concentrated job."
Crosswhite said she was surprised at the reaction Regier's role in her campaign had in Florida. "It was very much an honorary position. He has helped me maybe a total of 30 minutes," she said.
She said all of their contact has been by telephone.
Crosswhite, former aide to U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., said she met Regier through church and that she was involved in his gubernatorial campaign last year in Oklahoma. Regier dropped out of the governor's race, saying he didn't meet a residency requirement. He was named by Bush to his present role last Aug. 15.
Regier left Florida Thursday to attend a family reunion in Oklahoma. He is believed to retain political aspirations in that state.
A check of records by the Associated Press found that Regier still has not registered to vote in Florida, while he still owns a home in Oklahoma City and is registered to vote in that state. He also owns a home in Tallahassee.
Regier replaced Kathleen Kearney, who resigned amid a series of mishandled DCF cases that shook confidence in the department, particularly the disappearance of Rilya Wilson, who was missing for 15 months before the agency realized it. Rilya is still missing.
Kearney said she was astonished to learn of her successor's intent to work on a political campaign, even in an honorary capacity.
"It was a rare day I didn't work 14, 15 hours and that was seven days a week," Kearney said.
