Supporters of the Obama plan claim that it will save or create 3 million jobs by doubling the production of alternative energy; weatherizing 75% of federal buildings and two million American homes; computerizing America’s medical records; updating thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities; expanding broadband access; and investing in science, research, and technology. Obama also plans to cut taxes on most middle income families and inject a massive amount of cash into the states to fund highway and other infrastructure programs. Critics charge that it’s a bad idea to try and spend our way out of the problems that have been created, in large part, by too much government spending.

The following email was send out from Mayor Peyton following the Obama address…

Dear Friends:

On Thursday morning, I had the tremendous honor of being one of a select few elected officials to hear President-elect Barack Obama present his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan at George Mason University. I was honored to be invited to Washington, D.C., along with 20 other metropolitan mayors, as the President-elect addressed the country on the importance of taking swift action to restore trust and confidence in our nation’s economy and provide jobs for millions of Americans. This visit is indicative of the ongoing work that the city is doing to ensure that Jacksonville’s message is being heard at the federal level.

As part of my time in D.C., the other mayors and I first attended a briefing with Robert Nabors, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, on the new administration’s economic stimulus plan. This was a great opportunity for the leaders of cities like Jacksonville to convey to the new administration how local governments are poised to put federal dollars to work in our communities, immediately.

Since discussion of a potential infrastructure plan first started, I have been working to make sure Jacksonville’s message is heard. Along with the city’s independent authorities and three beaches communities, we have developed a list of construction-ready projects that could break ground within 90-120 days and would pump more than $760 million into our local economy. With assistance from the federal government, Jacksonville could begin to address its own rising unemployment and foreclosure rates, do our part to help restore the nation’s economy and complete needed infrastructure projects.

As a city, we understand that we cannot rely solely on federal funds to jump-start our local economy or meet local infrastructure needs. However, supplemental investments from the federal government will assist us in staving off additional financial crises caused by the nationwide recession, and continue to help keep Jacksonville’s residents working.

As the national discussion continues to focus on the new administration’s economic recovery plan, know that Jacksonville has a seat at that table and is prepared to make good use of federal dollars as they become available. Despite the seemingly never-ending bad news regarding our nation’s economic stability, today, I am hopeful. Capital project funding is the quickest economic stimulus available, particularly if it is matched by additional local funding. President-elect Obama is committed to taking dramatic action to lift our nation to its feet so that our cities and communities may once again grow and prosper, and I am committed to working with his administration to do that for Jacksonville.

Respectfully yours,

John Peyton
Mayor

From the Orlando Sentinel…

Three veteran U.S. House members from the region are being replaced by rookies, a potentially painful loss in a system that runs largely on seniority. Among the departed: U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, whose retirement likely leaves no one from the region on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow is stepping down from his post as the third-ranking Republican in the House. And U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee, is a lame duck since announcing he won’t run for re-election in 2010.

That leaves Central Florida with no lawmakers in the top tier of party leadership — in either party — in the House or Senate.

The so-called silver lining for the region is that two of the newly elected Representatives are Democrats, part of the new majority in D.C. and more able to steer federal funds to their districts. That’s particularly true for freshmen Congressmen who are vulnerable to a challenge in two-years, such as Democrat Alan Grayson.

“Having Suzanne Kosmas and Alan Grayson taking over as part of the majority party is certainly a good thing. It will enable them to get funding for things that Ric Keller and Tom Feeney wouldn’t be able to,” said Greg Schuckman, a lobbyist for the University of Central Florida.

Schuckman said the university likely would seek federal funds for three big-ticket programs: modeling and simulation, optics and photonics and its new medical school. He estimated that since 2006, UCF has received more than $14 million in federal earmarks, a small fraction of its overall federal grant total.

Still, rookie lawmakers rarely can deliver federal dollars as well as their senior colleagues.

The exception is when party leaders view a rookie as endangered and steer earmarks so he or she can brag about new parks or roads in a re-election campaign.

Grayson falls in this category, as local Republican leaders vowed to reclaim his seat as soon as he won. The veteran attorney knows it too. Soon after winning, he vowed to bring more federal dollars back to Central Florida and used the Orlando phone book as an example.

“There’s only one page for federal [services],” he said. “If you look at Chicago, it would be a dozen pages. People in Orlando need more from the federal government. . . . I want to try and increase the amount.”

One has to wonder if the people of Orlando really want to be able to open their phone book and flip through page after page of government hand-outs. Then again, their attitude may be “if it’s good enough for the auto companies… why not me?”

Representatives Adkins and Carroll…

Representative Lake Ray with members of his family…

Representative Adkins with Lt. Governor Kottkamp…

Representative Ray with his wife Brenda…

Representatives Weinstein, Carroll, Ray, McBurney, Adkins, and Renuart…

From the Florida Times-Union…

Weinstein was elected Nov. 4 to represent House District 19, which includes Mandarin. He aspires to become House speaker.

Corey said Weinstein will be in charge of her office’s administrative and budgetary functions, the same position he held under former State Attorney Ed Austin before Austin was elected mayor in 1991.

Weinstein, who is volunteering with Corey’s incoming administration, will begin work after the 2009 legislative session, she said.

Weinstein said he will be paid about $100,000 annually, but he and Corey are still working out the details. He’ll also be paid about $30,000 a year as a state legislator.

“It’s a great pick,” former Mayor John Delaney said. “He’s a wonderful manager.”

Delaney, who worked side-by-side with Weinstein in the Mayor’s Office and State Attorney’s Office, said Weinstein is uniquely qualified because he understands both budgets and case flow.

Weinstein, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003, said the job is a return to his first love of public safety. He said he and Corey spent several hours Friday touring the State Attorney’s Office.

“Angela’s going to really try to beef up the prosecution, and we’re going to try to help her do that, particularly during these difficult economic times,” Weinstein said.

Dan Quiggle is the State Chairman of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax group that recently took on the mayor over a proposed property tax hike to fund the Jacksonville Journey. Quiggle was a candidate for U.S. Congress in 2000, running against Ander Crenshaw in the Republican Primary. He recently took a few moments to answer some questions for JaxDaily…

——————–

JaxDaily: First off, what is Americans for Prosperity?

Dan Quiggle: Americans for Prosperity is the nation’s premier grassroots organization with over 280,000 members nationwide. AFP members advocate limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. We work to advance public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.

Americans for Prosperity was founded by David Koch. Mr. Koch is the same individual who helped found the Cato Institute and the Institute for Justice. In addition, David and his brother Charles Koch own Koch Industries, the largest privately owned business in the United States. Koch Industries has over 20,000 employees and $90 billion in revenue annually.

——————–

JaxDaily: How many members does AFP have in the Jacksonville area?

Dan Quiggle: Americans for Prosperity has over 13,000 members in Florida, including over a thousand here on the First Coast. In addition, our state office is based right here in Ponte Vedra Beach. AFP is unique in that we are probably one of the only grassroots organizations that will get involved in federal, state and local issues. We have the ability to use our national resources and some of the best policy analysts, political strategists, and media consultants in the country on any issue that we choose.

——————–

JaxDaily: How did you first get involved with the group?

Dan Quiggle: I was honored to be asked to serve as State Chairman by my good friend and National President of AFP – Tim Phillips. We both share a passion for fighting for lower taxes and less government.

——————–

JaxDaily: What role did AFP play in regard to the proposed Jacksonville Journey tax hike that has now been abandoned?

Dan Quiggle: Americans for Prosperity led the fight against Mayor Peyton’s proposed $250 million property tax increase. AFP members sent countless emails, wrote letters, held signs, spoke at meetings and attended rallies against the unnecessary tax hike. In addition, AFP members showed up at every meeting that the Mayor used to promote his plan and distributed literature pointing out how unnecessary and excessive his plan was.

Most compelling was when we obtained a copy of a poster from John Peyton’s mayoral campaign. The poster had a picture of the Mayor and said, “I am a strong fiscal conservative who will oppose any tax increases…” and had his signature beneath it. This was pretty surprising considering he was pushing a $250 million tax increase. We turned this poster into a flyer and distributed it at meetings around town. I firmly believe that we should hold politicians accountable.

——————–

JaxDaily: What is the Taxpayer Protection Amendment and how has AFP been involved in promoting it?

Dan Quiggle: The Taxpayer Protection Amendment is the best method of insuring that the taxpayer is receiving fiscal responsibility and priority budgeting from their government. It also prevents the excessive growth of government spending and taxation.

Essentially, the Taxpayer Protection Amendment limits government spending increases on the state and local level to a combination of inflation and population growth. Any excessive revenue must be put into a rainy-day fund or credited to the taxpayers. If government wishes to grow at an even faster rate it will need to gain voter approval from the taxpayers. Essentially, the Taxpayer Protection Amendment prevents government from growing faster than the citizen’s ability to pay for it.

The Taxpayer Protection Amendment would prevent cuts from necessary services. Currently, we experience boom-bust budgeting. During times of economic growth, politicians spend all of the tax revenues that they receive. However, eventually the economy slows down leaving government with significant shortfalls. At this point government must either cut services or raise taxes. Neither of these are easy options.

With a Taxpayer Protection Amendment in place the growth of government is smoothed out. This forces governments to use priority budgeting. Also, with excess revenue in a budget stabilization fund, budget cuts become less necessary during times of economic decline.

——————–

JaxDaily: Does Americans for Prosperity take a position on the Fair Tax?

Dan Quiggle: While many AFP members personally support the Fair Tax, AFP as an organization has no specific stance on this issue.

——————–

JaxDaily: What is your position on the off-shore drilling proposals that have been floated as of late?

Dan Quiggle: Americans for Prosperity members are working hard to advance environmentally-safe offshore drilling. We support Senator Martinez’s proposal to allow drilling more than 50 miles off the coast. Technology has advanced significantly in drilling and oil companies have reduced their spill rate to .001% of all oil drilled. In addition, Hurricane Katrina proved that today’s oil rigs are able to withstand tremendous storms without causing any significant leaks.

If we drill now prices will lower instantly. A large amount of the price increase that we’ve seen in gasoline is due to speculation. The impression among speculators is that the U.S. will never allow drilling. Once we change that impression prices will lower instantly. Florida is on the front lines of this important issue and we need to act now.

——————–

JaxDaily: Back in 2000, you were a candidate for U.S. Congress. Do you see yourself ever seeking public office again in the future?

Dan Quiggle: Timing is everything. If I believe there is a need, I will run. If we really care about these issues we must eventually work to effect change. I truly enjoyed the campaign experience because I was able to highlight these important issues.

——————–

JaxDaily: Thanks very much for giving us a few moments of your time, is there anything else you would like to add?

Dan Quiggle: One of my favorite quotes is “things may come to those that wait, but only what is left from those that hustle.” I believe we have to out hustle and out smart our opponents if we are going to achieve success. Life is too short to sit on the sidelines.

Americans for Prosperity is currently hosting a series of town hall meetings around the state. These meetings will be an excellent opportunity for individuals to learn more about issues facing taxpayers today, like gas prices and property taxes.  We will also do some training to teach people how to more effectively advance their beliefs.  In addition, we will be inviting local elected officials to attend and answer your questions. A Jacksonville town hall will be held on July 31st from 6:00 – 7:30pm at the Southeast Library near Gate and JTB. Duval County Tax Collector Mike Hogan will be in attendance and we will be discussing Mayor Peyton’s new fees.

For more information, please visit www.afpfl.com

From the Sun-Sentinel…

Under Butterworth’s leadership, the department settled more than 900 pending lawsuits, increased adoptions and reduced by 22 percent the number of children in foster care. Instead of imposing dictates from Tallahassee, Butterworth moved more decision-making to county and regional levels. And he ushered in a new openness in the state agency responsible for handling some of Florida’s most difficult human and social issues.

Butterworth, 65, conceded that not all the department’s problems have been solved but called the 13,000 DCF employees, whose jobs may involve danger when they confront abusive parents, the “unsung heroes” of state government.

“This agency will never be able to say ‘mission accomplished’,” said Butterworth, the DCF’s first secretary to leave office of his own accord in a decade and a half. “We can only look at the accomplishments of these past 19 months and say, ‘keep it going.’”

The article continues, strangely, goes on to describe some of the recent scandals that have plagued DCF as relatively minor troubles…

Butterworth’s tenure at the agency was marked by mostly minor troubles. A spokesman hired by the former DCF secretary was accused of taking nude photos of two teenage boys, one of them a foster child in DCF care, for overseas distribution, forcing an agency-wide review of personnel records. And the department came under criticism last year for losing track of a 2-year-old foster child later found in Wisconsin.

As we have since the launch issue in January, Stephen and I have contributed an article to this issue. This time the topic deals with the difficult choices that property tax cuts have created for both state and local government.

As always, it’s an excellent issue that is worth reading from cover-to-cover!

From Jacksonville.com…

Police arrested him downtown Friday after Davis called and said Tarrer followed him and his parents from City Hall and cornered the councilman in a restaurant next to the Main Library, muttering obscenities at him. Davis, past president of the council, told police he feared for their safety.

He declined comment Saturday to the Times-Union on the incident.

Tarrer denied threatening Davis and told police he thinks the councilman and people at Trinity Rescue Mission were conspiring to harm him.

Police began investigating Wednesday after two employees in the City Council office said Tarrer came in and threatened to kill Davis.

The employees said Tarrer then removed the councilman’s picture and waved it around, saying, “You are a dead man.”

They said he then walked into the City Hall atrium and yelled that he hated Mayor John Peyton and would kill him, too.

The St. Petersburg Times reports…

This week, asked to define the qualities he’ll be seeking, Crist said: “No. 1, honest and ethical. Fair-minded, compassionate. People of great integrity, obviously, that are sharp and clearly care about people and are public service-oriented.”

Like his predecessors, Crist conducts one-on-one interviews for all vacancies on the appellate and Supreme courts. The process suggests Crist is looking for people with whom he can strike a personal chemistry, if not philosophical agreement.

After all, a truly independent judiciary is one that is bound not to always see things Crist’s way. That’s the point.

In selecting justices, Crist is limited to the pool of nominees, usually three for each vacancy, given to him by a nine-member Judicial Nominating Commission. In 2001, at Bush’s urging, the Legislature gave the governor more authority over who serves on the commission, at the expense of the Florida Bar.

Just last week, Crist appointed three people to the nominating panel: Coral Gables trial lawyer Kathy Ezell, Tampa lawyer Martin Garcia and Tampa business executive Kathleen Shanahan, a member of the Board of Education, transition-team adviser to Crist and former chief of staff to Bush. Crist lauded Shanahan as someone who “understands the value of separation of powers between the three branches of government.”

“Serving the people of Florida as a justice has been the greatest privilege of my public life,” Bell said in a release. “Indeed, I wish I could continue to serve.  However, similar to the reasons recently expressed by Justice Cantero in his resignation, my family responsibilities require that I return full-time to Pensacola.” 

Crist will select replacements from at least three and as many as six names presented to him by the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.  That commission has nine members and six of them are Crist appointees.  So it is likely the Governor will have a great deal of say in who is nominated for the posts.