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The Buzz: Florida politics

Judge panel gets the word: Mel is the man

By Times staff writers
Published May 29, 2005

The last time Florida had U.S. senators from both parties, Republican Connie Mack and Democrat Bob Graham worked closely and cooperatively in nominating and confirming Floridians to the federal bench. We should soon see how well that tradition holds with Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson.

Members of Florida's Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends judicial candidates, recently received a letter signed by Gov. Jeb Bush and the two senior members of the state congressional delegation, Reps. C.W. "Bill" Young and Clay Shaw.

The letter informed them that Martinez would soon "reconstitute" the commission, for which Nelson used to have a say in appointing members. Commission members are supposed to direct all suggestions and questions to Martinez's state policy director, Nilda Pedrosa (formerly of the State Department and a leader of the Miami chapter of the conservative Federalist Society) or state director Matthew Hunter (formerly one of Karl Rove's top aides).

"As you know, federal judicial appointments historically have fallen within the primary responsibility of a U.S. senator of the state from the same party as the president," they wrote May 18. "The recent election of Sen. Mel Martinez has provided Florida the opportunity to return to that tradition."

A Republican freeze-out of Nelson? Not at all, said Martinez spokeswoman Kerry Feehery. The accommodating Mack-Graham approach to judicial nominations would remain the model for Martinez.

"This is in no way slighting Sen. Nelson," she said.

But the process will be led by Martinez, who controls just how much say his Democratic colleague will have.

Said Shaw: "Now that we have a Republican senator, it's his call."

BIG NAMES FOR DAVIS: Former Sen. Bob Graham and his wife Adele are the biggest names hosting a Jim Davis fundraiser at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables next Wednesday. But plenty of other prominent South Florida Democrats are helping the Tampa Democrat seek the gubernatorial nomination.

Among those hosting the fundraiser with Graham: former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas; Rep. Alcee Hastings of Miramar; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston; former state Rep. John Cosgrove of Miami; former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey; and former Miami-Dade Democratic chairman Charles Dusseau.

BUSY PARTY CHAIRMAN: Some Democratic activists were surprised to read in the St. Petersburg Times recently that just before the presidential election, then-state Democratic chairman Scott Maddox was busy trying to help a developer win approval for a controversial project in Leon County. Well, that's not the only side work Maddox took on as party chairman.

Months before he stepped down as party chairman run for governor, Maddox signed on as an attorney for a class-action lawsuit against Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-created insurer for people who can't get policies from private companies. Maddox is one of several lawyers representing Panhandle homeowners who want Citizens to pay for all the damage to their homes from Hurricane Ivan, even when much of the damage was caused by flooding, which was not covered under the policy.

A judge last week ruled in favor of the homeowners, though Citizens will appeal. On this issue at least, Maddox appears not far apart from a fellow gubernatorial candidate, Republican Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher.

"I applaud (the) ruling and urge Citizens and all insurers to immediately comply with the ruling," Gallagher said in a statement.

CONTROVERSIAL CONTRACT: Maddox's former party spokeswoman caused a miniuproar among Democratic insiders the other day when she seemed to suggest in an e-mail that Maddox had committed the party to a fat contract with a company connected to him.

It was a misunderstanding of the word "subsidiary," said Maddox's former party spokeswoman, Allie Merzer. Before stepping down as chairman, Maddox signed a contract paying her new company, Big Production Inc., $8,300 per month to produce the party's Jefferson-Jackson fundraiser in June, state convention in December and next year's J-J dinner.

Though her company shares office space with Maddox, Merzer said, he has no financial connection to her company except receiving rent, and she should not have called Big Production a subsidiary of Maddox's own consulting firm. Nor did she appreciate some party activists taking shots at the deal.

"I'm a 30-year-old woman who's just starting her own business. It's hard enough," she said.

Adam C. Smith and Bill Adair contributed to this week's Buzz.

[Last modified May 29, 2005, 01:04:12]