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The Buzz: Florida politics

Contractor under inquiry helped Harris' campaign

By Times staff writers
Published June 26, 2005

A defense contractor under federal investigation gave Rep. Katherine Harris, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, about $42,000 during the 2003-04 election cycle.

MZM Inc., a Washington company that does millions of dollars of work for the federal government, has been in the news for its role in a deal with Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. Cunningham sold a house to MZM founder Mitchell Wade, who lost money on it after putting it back on the market almost immediately.

Harris, R-Sarasota, got $10,000 from the MZM political action committee, and another $32,000 from MZM employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign money.

The $32,000 came in 16 checks for $2,000 each - 14 of them written on one day, March 23, 2004.

Harris' congressional staff referred a reporter's questions to Adam Goodman, Harris' political consultant in her campaign for Senate next year. He said he couldn't comment because he didn't know anything about it.

HE'S NO BASHFUL BILL: Sen. Bill Nelson, in his many trips to the Senate floor lately, has never missed a chance to explain how terrible offshore oil drilling would be for Florida.

The issue has been politically kind to him, and the timing is right, with Republicans targeting Nelson in next year's election.

Nelson appears well positioned to ride this gusher while he can. Last week, he visited Panama City to launch an online petition, called Hands Off Florida's Coast. The nonbinding petition keeps his name associated with the issue.

With Florida apparently safe for the time being, the drilling debate likely will fade, and with it Nelson's platform. But that doesn't mean the end of his summer fun. As a former astronaut and one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's best friends in Congress, he plans to attend next month's scheduled space shuttle launch. His office is already taking interview requests - first come, first served.

"DON" JEB BUSH: Here's another sign that Gov. Jeb Bush is anything but a lame duck: He has quietly set a personal record for legislative vetoes.

As of Friday, the man some call "Veto Corleone" vetoed 34 bills, equal to a tenth of the 348 bills that passed the 2005 Legislature.

In 2003 and 2004, Bush vetoed 22 bills each year. The 2005 total could increase before the July 6 deadline. Several bills are pending.

RARE PRAISE: Democrats don't usually go out of their way to praise Jeb Bush, so it's worth noting what state Rep. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, said last week. He thanked Bush on Friday for vetoing a bill that would have jacked up tuition rates for college students who don't graduate on time.

Justice, an academic adviser in the business school at USF St. Petersburg, was one of five House members who voted against the bill (every other lawmaker from the Tampa Bay area voted for it).

"As I said on the floor, this bill was just plain wrong," Justice said. "I am glad the governor agreed."

GRANDFATHER CLAUSE: A bill that Gov. Jeb Bush signed this week bars lobbyists from serving on the boards of Florida's public universities. That should mean that powerhouse lobbyists such as former state House Speaker John Thrasher, a Florida State University trustee, can't hold his seat on FSU's board.

But not so fast.

The governor's office has issued a legal opinion that says the new law does not apply to incumbent trustees like Thrasher. It also does not apply to FSU board of trustees chairman Jim Smith, a lobbyist and former attorney general. Also spared are Al Cardenas, former head of the Florida Republican Party, who serves on the board of Florida A&M University, and Barney Bishop, president of Associated Industries of Florida and FAMU trustee.

Many on FAMU's campus were hoping the new law would lead to Bishop's exit. He's an outspoken critic of FAMU interim president Castell Bryant. HELP WANTED: One of the best-paying, most prestigious jobs in the Florida Legislature is up for grabs. Secretary of the Senate Faye Blanton plans to leave as early as November 2006, and the Senate has posted the job on its Web site. The salary range is $77,000 to $170,000 (the governor's salary is $129,060).

The secretary, the Senate's chief administrative officer, is a constitutional officer elected by the 40-member body. Blanton has held the job for nine years and says she plans to stay until her successor is ready to take charge.

Times staff writers Wes Allison, Steve Bousquet, Anita Kumar, David Karp and Adam C. Smith contributed to this week's buzz.

[Last modified June 26, 2005, 00:33:18]