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Politics

House swears in Buchanan

By ANITA KUMAR
Published January 5, 2007

WASHINGTON - At 2:30 p.m. Thursday, after Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker but before members were sworn into office, Sarasota's disputed congressional election made its way to the House floor.

New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt, a strong supporter of election reform, took a few minutes on the historic first day of the 110th Congress to call attention to his fellow Democrat Christine Jennings' battle with Republican Vern Buchanan.

The new Democrat-controlled House ended up swearing in Buchanan on Thursday, but Holt wanted to make sure that would not preclude Jennings from continuing to fight.

"May I ask for the record whether a notice of contest has been filed with the clerk on behalf of Christine Jennings ... and what effect, if any, today's proceedings have on pending contests?" Holt asked.

Republicans interrupted him with a round of boos before Pelosi responded.

Jennings can fight on and will be seated if she wins, the speaker said.

Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow, a Republican leader, then reminded his colleagues that the state of Florida certified Buchanan the winner.

And with that, Buchanan and 434 other representatives were sworn in en masse. Later, he participated in an individual swearing in with his family under the crystal chandeliers of the Rayburn Room.

"It's time to move on," Buchanan said. "I'm trying to put it behind me."

The House could have refused to seat Buchanan but chose to have the Sarasota area district represented even while Jennings disputes her narrow loss.

Jennings watched the House proceedings on television from Sarasota.

"In reality, today's seating of Vern Buchanan pales in comparison to the critical questions this nation has regarding our voting systems," she said. "With so many questions about the integrity of these machines, it's essential that we continue our fight for answers."

Jennings has taken the extreme measure of asking the House to investigate as she continues to dispute her 369-vote loss to Buchanan in a Florida court.

Two other congressional candidates from Florida who lost by large margins - Democrats John Russell and Clint Curtis - also asked the House to investigate their elections. Russell said he discovered voting discrepancies in some of the Pasco County touch screen machines used in his race against Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville. Curtis ran against Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo.

Traditionally, the House waits until all pending lawsuits are resolved before it launches an inquiry, which could take weeks to months.

Buchanan led Jennings by a few hundred votes on Election Day and in subsequent recounts.

But Jennings is challenging the result because touch screen voting machines in Sarasota County recorded that more than 18,000 people, or 13 percent of all voters, did not vote for either candidate, a rate much higher than in other counties in the district.

Buchanan, 55, was joined by about 75 family members and supporters Thursday at a host of celebrations including an open house at his office, where his nameplate was noticeably made of plastic instead of the usual permanent bronze.

The millionaire car dealer who replaced Katherine Harris said he hopes to tackle a variety of issues, from a balanced budget amendment to Red Tide and immigration to soaring homeowner's insurance. He also wants to travel to Iraq and Israel as soon as possible.

Times staff writers Elena Lesley and David DeCamp contributed to this report. Anita Kumar can be reached at akumar@sptimes.com or 202 463-0576.

[Last modified January 5, 2007, 00:42:44]