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Senator absent, but votes are cast
By STEVE BOUSQUET TALLAHASSEE -- Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla's absence from his duties Monday left his South Florida constituents with no representation, and history might never have known the difference. In a violation of Senate rules, fellow senators pushed Diaz de la Portilla's button all day, showing him as voting for new security laws, a tax break delay, and even reducing his salary. But he was never there. Diaz de la Portilla's Capitol office was locked at midafternoon, with the morning's Miami Herald on the carpet outside his door, untouched. He could not be located, and his district aide in Miami, Anabel Castillo, said only that he was in Tallahassee. Senators sometimes push each other's buttons as a courtesy, but it's supposed to be done only when a lawmaker is elsewhere on the floor and can't reach the button in time. On most votes, Diaz de la Portilla's helpers were three Democrats who sit near him: Steve Geller, Kendrick Meek and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. None of the votes was close enough that a Diaz de la Portilla vote altered the outcome. Wasserman Schultz said she pushed his button "as a courtesy" and was not aware of any "hard and fast rule" on the subject. She said her office got a call from Diaz de la Portilla earlier Monday, asking that she record him as being present for a quorum call. She said she assumed he was running late. Diaz de la Portilla, 37, a political consultant elected last year, faces $311,000 in fines for election law violations. Diaz de la Portilla has called for eliminating the Florida Elections Commission, the agency that fined him. Senate President John McKay's office had no record of an excused absence from the Miami lawmaker, and McKay said he was unaware Diaz de la Portilla was gone all day. "It was brought to my attention a little while ago that he had not been there, so I'm going to look into that," McKay said. -- Times researcher Deirdre Morrow contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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