Governor's office

[janneke]

Posted on Thu, Nov. 09, 2006


GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
Crist picks veteran team for transition
Governor-elect Charlie Crist put together a transition team that will work on the administration that will take over from Gov. Jeb Bush.
BY NOAH BIERMAN AND GARY FINEOUT
nbierman@MiamiHerald.com

ST. PETERSBURG - Wasting little time in preparing for life after Gov. Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist took the first steps Wednesday to put together a new administration.
Many staff members who have spent some or all of the past eight years with Bush are expected to depart with the two-term governor. Bush said Wednesday he had asked all agency heads and senior staff members to turn in their resignations.
Crist, who will be sworn in as the state's 44th governor on Jan. 2, made the same sunny promises of inclusiveness Wednesday that characterized his campaign and appointed a team of advisors that will ensure a strong South Florida influence as he plans to build his staff.
''Florida needs to come together,'' said Crist, whose victory was one of the few bright spots for Republicans looking at the races from a national perspective. ``I will do everything to work with all parties, all ideologies.''
Crist will have 52 days to prepare for the Governor's Mansion. He said he spoke with elected leaders from both parties as well as the outgoing governor Wednesday morning.
'He says, `Bro, anything I can do to help you, I'm happy to do,' '' Crist said, paraphrasing his conversation with Bush.
INSURANCE CRISIS
Though Crist spoke only broadly about his policy goals, he promised that the homeowners insurance crisis would be ```mission No. 1.''
''It's not just South Florida,'' where homeowners are struggling to afford premiums, he said. ``It's all over the state.''
But Crist also must spend the next two months putting together a staff, as well as begin working on a proposed state budget that he must hand to legislators early next year.
When Crist succeeded Bob Butterworth as attorney general in 2003, he asked many long-time employees to stay and work for him. But that is not as likely to happen now: 18 top Bush staff members have agreed already to work with Marco Rubio, the Miami Republican who will be sworn in later this month as House speaker.
While most agency heads are expected to leave, there are at least three current top officials who could remain: Lucy Hadi, secretary of the Department of Children & Families; Jim McDonough, secretary of the Department of Corrections; and John Winn, the education commissioner.
Winn actually is appointed by the state Board of Education, which will remain under the control of Bush appointees. In late October, Bush named two members, Phil Handy and T. Willard Fair, to new four-year terms that will start in January. Two other Board of Education members, Roberto Martinez and Kathleen Shanahan, are helping to lead the Crist transition team.
While some insiders plan to caution Crist against tapping state legislators to top positions, former Rep. Gus Barriero already has been recommended as a potential chief of the Department of Juvenile Justice. While in the Legislature, the Miami Beach Republican launched inquiries and investigations into the troubled agency, and led the charge to shut down boot camps in the wake of the death of Martin Lee Anderson earlier this year.
FAMILIAR FACES
Former U.S. Attorney Martinez, now in private practice in Miami, will chair the Crist transition team, and former Broward County Republican Party Chairman George LeMieux will serve as its executive director.
Both men are familiar faces in state politics. LeMieux has been Crist's chief political architect and also served as Crist's top deputy in the attorney general's office. Dean Colson, chairman of the University of Miami's board of trustees and Martinez's law partner, also has a prominent role in shaping the new administration, as will Christopher Kise, who worked for Crist as solicitor general.
''We have an awful lot of work to do,'' Martinez said. ``It's 52 days.''
The selection of Martinez and Colson to help with the transition team drew praise from Rep. Dan Gelber, the incoming House Democratic leader, who said Crist ''was smart to give them prominent roles'' and predicted they ``had no agenda other than good government.''
On Wednesday, Crist promised to open his office to all Floridians and immediately set up a toll-free number -- 888-352-4681 -- and a website, www.cristtransition.com, so residents can voice suggestions on the administration.
Martinez also announced a ban on lobbying for transition team members that will prohibit them from approaching the state agency they are organizing for a year. Martinez acknowledged it will require a degree of ''self-monitoring,'' and Crist said he welcomed scrutiny from the media.