In The News

Buddy’s Political Tidbits: Lobbyist Does A Good Job

Republican activist: early primary gives Florida major clout.

Florida’s plan for an early primary date is likely to big dividends, says Clarence McKee, a Broward communications consultant and lobbyist who’s active in the Republican Party.

Ex-commish: Why does Broward Health oppose state oversight of privatization?

By Michael Mayo February 24, 2011 10:31 AM

Lost in the hubbub of a busy news week, between the raid on South Florida pill mills and the fallout from the grand jury blistering the Broward School Board, let’s not forget the ongoing saga of Broward Health’s privatization push.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything about the North Broward Hospital District and the possible lease of the public Broward Health hospital network to a still-uncreated new non-profit corporation.

At its meeting on Wednesday, commissioners indicated they oppose a proposed bill in the legislature (HB619) that would give the Florida Attorney General oversight and approval duties when public hospitals try to go private.

I got this e-mail on Wednesday from Robert Bernstein, a former NBHD commissioner, about the situation:

Today I attended my first Broward Health Board of Commissioners meeting a bit over one year from the end of my term as a Commissioner.

Very little has changed.

With a bluster of self importance and arrogance at a level far more one sided then in all my four years on the commission, the Board sent a clear message to the Governor, his transition team, and the Florida house about who is in charge.

By a 6-1 vote with Clarence McKee being the only no vote, the Board voted to send a strong message to the lobbyist’s they employ in Tallahassee. The message was they are to use all of their influence to oppose HB 619-relating to the Sale or Lease of a County, District, or Municipal Hospital.

HB 619 follows the recommendation of the Governors Transition team and in its simplest form details what must be done to assure a transparent, fair, and competitive process when a Hospital Board wants to sell or lease a Public Hospital to a non-governmental entity.

HB 619 states that a Public Board like the one that runs Broward Health can not turn over its Hospital Business to a private entity without a competitive bidding process that assures the public they are receiving a fair value for the asset they are giving up.

HB 619 assures taxpayers that the elected Attorney General will oversee a process that can be fraught with insider deals and will oversee a transaction by an entity that has had more then its fair share of corruption in the past.

There is nothing in HB 619 that an honest and ethical board member would not want in place for the benefit of the taxpayers they represent.

HB 619 also reduces Board members personal vulnerability in a complex transaction by providing the stamp of approval of the AG’s office to a deal. It sends a clear message that there is no hanky panky in the transaction and that management has represented the best interest of the district that employs them.

Six Board members sent a clear message today that they do not want to be subject to oversight, that they do not want anyone looking over their shoulder, and that the new Governor better get with their program….

Please take a look at HB619.

Regards,
Robert Bernstein
Former NBHD Commissioner
Current concerned citizen

THE FLORIDA COURIER—FEBRUARY 17, 2010

Want a job in the Scott administration?

Written by Fcadmin | 17 February 2011

FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS Members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus chided Gov. Rick Scott again on Wednesday for failing to hire Black administrators and not providing dollars for Bethune-Cookman University and Florida Memorial University.

Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, said Scott has hired only two Black division directors for his administration. No Blacks have been included in the ranks of agency heads or other high-level staff brought on by the governor in his first six weeks in office, Siplin said.

Scott spokesman Brian Burgess said, “The governor will hire the best qualified applicants, period.”

No diversity

“This is not something that we are proud of, nor reflects the composition of this state,” Siplin said.  The 24-member Caucus said it has established an e-mail address to solicit résumés of Black candidates seeking posts within the administration, along with contact information for individuals and Black-owned companies interested in seeking state contracts.

The address: IMQualified@live.com

Siplin said unemployment within the Black community is far outstripping the state’s 12 percent level, and that Scott should display sensitivity to jobless Floridians even as he is seeking to overhaul Medicaid, state pensions, and other programs.

While Caucus members praised Scott for selecting Jennifer Carroll as the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, Siplin said the governor had “catching up to do.”

“He’s behind, way behind” in minority hiring, Siplin said. Scott also has drawn criticism for recommending elimination of traditional state funding for private colleges and universities.

Historically Black Bethune-Cookman University and Florida Memorial University were zeroed out of Scott’s spending plan, although one institution – Edward Waters College – would draw $1.8 million. The Jacksonville college is near the legislative district formerly represented by Carroll, although caucus members said the lieutenant governor had lobbied for full funding of all HBCUs.

Caucus role ‘misplaced’

Broward County-based Republican consultant Clarence McKee criticized the Caucus, essentially saying they blew their chance to give early input.

“Did the Caucus respond to any of the Scott transition teams’ recommendations about their concerns (before he was sworn in as governor)? In the two-month period when Gov.-elect Scott’s team was putting together their recommendations, did the Caucus give any input?

“As members of the state legislature, do they have support of their leadership in the House and the Senate for their agenda?

“It’s the Florida Legislature – of which they are all members – that has the last word. The governor’s budget is a recommendation and a starting line; the Florida Legislature is the finish line. The Black Caucus has misplaced their role in the process,” he told the Florida Courier

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Big welcome for Carroll at King service in Miami   MIAMI — When newly elected Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll would give her first major address as Florida’s highest ranking black official in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. at the Church of the Incarnation in Liberty City, she was on very familiar territory.The church, in the heart of the black community, is familiar ground for Carroll, though a Republican in the heart of a mainly Democratic community. Her husband of 27 years, Nolan Carroll Sr., was baptized at Incarnation and grew up attending service there with his parents and siblings. His father, the late Charles Whitfield Carroll, who was one of the first black Miami police detectives, and his aunt, Jean Carroll Morley, formally joined the congregation in 1958.  Now 77, she has been a faithful member for more than five decades.A new generation of Carrolls got their beginnings at the Episcopal church. Nolan Sr. and Jennifer Carroll’s daughter Nyckie, 22, was  baptized there as an infant by the Rev. J. Kenneth Major, who recently retired as rector.Major fondly recalls the christening of the couple’s only daughter — and of giving his blessing for the couple to marry in New York 27 years ago. So Jennifer Carroll was at home Sunday when she went to the church and was greeted by hundreds of people, including politicians, most of them Democrats, along with dignitaries and a who’s who among Miami’s black elite. The worshipers also included a host of family members whom she greeted by name, telling them she was proud to carry the Carroll name.  Her husband was absent due to a prior commitment  but he joined her the following day to observe the King Holiday in Tallahassee. The notables in attendance included her husband’s uncle, Earl Jackson Carroll, who served as the first black Miami-Dade County commissioner from 1968-72. Now 79 and in frail health, he rarely makes it to such events. He has said he is incredibly proud of Jennifer. Major acknowledged him during the service as a trailblazer among African Americans in Miami.  During a reception in the church’s Parish Hall, where Jennifer Carroll greeted guests and signed autographs, Earl Carroll and other family members posed for pictures with her. Earl’s son Steven, a Miami resident, was not surprised at the size of the gathering or that many people, including many Democrats, have embraced Jennifer Carroll, who formed half of Republican Rick Scott’s successful gubernatorial ticket. “She is just the most compassionate, understanding, willing …a born humanitarian,” said Jean Carroll Morley, a retired educator school administrator. The world, she said, is now getting a glimpse of someone who has impressed the family from the beginning. “She is quite the young lady to be proud of. She knew her priorities when I met her and she knew exactly how to go about attaining her goals and now God has blessed her to attain those goals.  We’re just so proud of her success and look forward to her going even further,” Morley said. It was also fitting that Carroll would speak at the King service, considering that she was  the state representative who, in 2004,  created the “Live The Dream” specialty license plate in honor of the civil rights leader. Part of the proceeds goes to research, care and treatment of sickle cell disease.  Carroll showed one of the license plates during her speech and encouraged the congregation to support the effort by requesting it. She told the gathering that she was fascinated and inspired by King as a child growing up in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. The year he was assassinated, 1968, was when she came to the United States. She was struck, she said, by the overwhelming sadness of so many people who had never even seen King in person. “I thought to myself this man must have been so special that he impacted the lives of so many that never even touched him but his words so penetrated everyone and his actions inspired so many,” she said. “Little did I know that his movement and his work, his passion for justice would pave the way for me to achieve the successes that I have achieved today,” she said. She said that she is so inspired by King and his legacy that she has tried to live a life pleasing to him. “I have come into such an appreciation for him that I have tried to pattern my life in ways that he would be proud,” she said.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Hospital district changeover may cost less than feared

Higher costs would be millions below early projections

By Bob LaMendola, Sun Sentinel

5:39 PM EST, January 10, 2011

Changing the tax-assisted North Broward Hospital District into a nonprofit organization would cost tens of millions less than earlier estimates but would still be expensive, officials said Monday.

Two outside consultants gave reports to the district’s board, which has been agonizing over a staff proposal to turn over the $1.1-billion-a-year public health system to a nonprofit group that has not yet been formed. A decision is not expected for months.

One consultant, Aon Risk Services, reported that the cost of covering the health system for medical malpractice — now $3.4 million a year — would rise by $8 million to $15 million a year over the next five years. That’s because the district would lose lawsuit protection enjoyed by governmental agencies, if it became a nonprofit.

An earlier estimate from the district’s auditing staff had said malpractice costs could increase by tens of millions per year.

A second consultant, Milliman Inc., reported that the district could save $6 million a year on an employee pension plan by taking advantage of different regulations that would apply if the district made the change.

The pension savings would fade over time and vanish after a decade, but initially, the money could help offset the higher malpractice cost and make the district’s proposed change more attractive, district Chief Executive Frank Nask said. He and his top staff favor converting to a nonprofit group to open the door for more private business deals that would increase profit and lower the need for property taxes.

But one skeptic on the board, Clarence McKee, said the new figures are preliminary and don’t ease his fears that changing to a nonprofit may hurt some patients, doctors and nurses.

SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES:  BLACKS FACE POLITICAL IRRELEVANCE FOR UNSWERVING DEMOCRATIC LOYALTY

Jennifer Carroll’s historic election should send a message to all black voters and black elected officials. The first black person to be elected lieutenant-governor in the Deep South since Reconstruction, she is one of the highest-ranking black Republicans and state-wide elected officials — black or white — in the United States.

In addition to the historical aspects of her election, the Trinidad-born immigrant epitomizes the American Dream: an adopted child who rose to become a decorated naval officer, businesswoman, legislator and now number two in state government. Her accomplishments are something every young black child, especially girls, should strive to emulate.

When in the House leadership, Carroll gladly assisted many members of the Florida Black Caucus. When she ran for lieutenant-governor, not one of them supported her, even though three endorsed Charlie Crist over Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senator. Now that she will be Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s partner in governing the state, they no longer refer to her as the “Black Republican;” she is now “Our Sister.”

Black Republicans understood the historical implications of this election. Unlike the Jewish community and voters who never forget the horrors perpetrated against them, black voters seem to have foggy memories. Such was the case on Nov. 2.

Throughout most of the 20th century, Florida, controlled by Democrats, was a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1900 to 1930, Florida had the highest per-capita lynching rate of any Deep South state. On Christmas day 59 years ago this month, Harry T. Moore, the founder of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, was murdered when his house was bombed. Although Moore might not have been proud of how blacks have become pawns in the hands of the Democratic Party that historically enslaved and brutalized them, I am sure he would be very pleased with Jennifer Carroll’s election. On Nov. 2, while black Democrats apparently forgot that history, black Republicans rallied to her side.

Blacks remain the only voter group that  consistently gives 90 percent of  its vote to virtually any Democrat and demands and receives little, if anything, in return. Bill Clinton, once called by many Blacks the “first black president,”  tried to convince Kendrick Meek to drop out of the Senate race and not try to become Florida’s “first black U.S. Senator.” Would Clinton have urged a Jewish or Hispanic candidate to drop out in favor of a non-Jew or non-Hispanic?
Probably not. Both are respected and feared voting blocks. Blacks, however, in a turn-the-other-cheek gesture of political masochism, gave Democrats an estimated 92 percent of their votes.

On Sunday, many blacks go to church, praise God, say “Amen” to messages of faith, family, sanctity of life and individual responsibility. On Tuesday, they go to the polls and vote for the political party which, in most cases, represents the polar opposite of what they said “Amen” to on Sunday.

Blacks constitute 26 percent of registered Florida Democrats — over 1.2 million strong — yet they and their elected leaders are rarely consulted on party and campaign strategies. They typically have low turnout, especially in mid-term and local elections. Consequently, they are fast becoming politically irrelevant.

Majority black cities and districts, solidly behind the entire Democratic slate, are now faced with a Republican house, senate, cabinet, governor and lieutenant-governor. They will find it even more difficult to plead their case in Tallahassee.

So, who were the big losers in this election? Black voters. This must be very disturbing to the spirits of Harry T. Moore and many others in Florida who gave their lives for freedom and the right to vote.

Are there lessons to be learned? The Florida Black Caucus could shake up the Democrat party by making its voice a bullhorn. It is time black Democratic leaders demand respect. They need to put their party on notice that the days of taking the black vote for granted are over.  The black press and black clergy should support them in that regard.

It is time to rethink the one-party strategy that has left them in the political outhouse. All politics is local, regardless of the color or Party of the occupant of the White House.

Jennifer Carroll was not the only big winner in the election. Other black Republicans also scored. They are often called “Uncle Toms,” “turncoats” and worse by black Democrats, journalists and white liberals for exercising the rights for which Moore and many others died.  Black and white Republicans rallied to support Carroll, while most of those who talk about “black empowerment” deserted her.

They also worked hard to elect black Republican women to the Marion County School Board and the Duval County Soil and Water Conservation District.  In Broward County, Rick Scott named Levi Williams his county campaign chairman.

Furthermore, just recently, longtime loyal Republican worker Carolyn Kennedy, in her initial bid for party executive office, came within 43 votes of becoming the first black vice chairwoman of the Broward GOP — the second largest in the state.

The message: Black Democrats appear to be in the twilight of political influence in Florida; Black Republicans appear to be in the dawn. For that, they will be respected in the morning.

Clarence V.  McKee, an attorney, is president of McKee Communications Inc., a government, political and media relations consulting firm in Coral Springs that coordinated black media outreach for the Scott-Carroll gubernatorial campaign.

GOP Lobbyist Clarence McKee, second from left

With fellow new members of Broward Health’s
politically-appointed District Board of Commissioners

When it comes to staying on top of the obvious, few newspaper’s can match the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Like this past Sunday, the newspaper’s rotund political writer Anthony Mann reported on page one:
“With reputations as Florida’s two big Democratic bastions, Broward and Palm beach counties could now be forced to scramble like never before to get what their leaders and residents want in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.
“Lawmakers and lobbyists agree that voter’s decisions to increase Republican ranks at the state and national levels – and the addition of tea party-backed candidates on a mission to rein in government – makes action on any local agenda especially difficult.
“’I believe that we will be hurt,’ said state Rep. Elaine Schwartz, D-Hollywood. ‘It’s going to be difficult’.”
True enough.
Plus there’s an equally good chance tomorrow morning will bring daylight.
That said, the political story yet to be reported is the virtually total estrangement between Broward’s Republican leadership (read that major political cash cows) and Florida’s newly-elected ultra-conservative Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
How so?
Check out the recent Republican primary battle between Scott and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, and you’ll find virtually every Broward GOP biggie gave mega contributions to McCollum’s campaign and belated pocket change to Scott’s.
Which is how and why ALL the various Transition Teams Scott created to lay the groundwork for his new administration are devoid of any political heavy weights from Broward’s Republican party.
Oh yes.
For serious students of inside political baseball, the impact of the Scott Team’s political payback here in Broward is why the Sun-Sentinel’s Mann chose to quote local GOP lobbyist Clarence McKee as his key Republican insider for his 1-A Sunday story.
McKee, of Coral Springs and a politically-appointed member of the North Broward Hospital District, has very up close and personal ties to Scott”s Lieutenant Governor-elect Jennifer Carroll, a PR flack and state Representative from Jacksonville.
Which means, as a long-time GOP flavored lobbyist, McKee’s influence is strong and growing. JKdeG

Winners & Loosers Among Broward’s
Long-Time GOP Tallahassee Lobbyists

LOOSERS
Blosser-Sayfie - Jim Blosser’s nose was so far up McCollum’s butt during the campaign that the GOP fund-raiser suffered permanent nasal and political
damage.
The Tripp-Scott gang – Their only hope is their considerbale local clout plus the number of big their big money clients.
Bill Scherer – Following the election, Scherer has been sniffing around the Scott camp like junkyard dog chasing a bitch in heat. Trouble is, Scherer made a serious enemy of Scott’s key health care advisor when he stuck it to Alan Levine during his brief stint as CEO of Broward Health.
WINNERS
Clarence McKee – See above
Billy Rubin – Rubin and Scott have been tight since the Governor-elect launched the Hospital Corporation of America, which Rubin continues to
serve as a key Florida lobbyist.
Ron Book – The Taliban could take over Tallahassee and Ronny would survive as one of the state’s biggest political fixers from South Florida.

FLORIDA COURIER

By Clarence V. Mckee, Esq.

GUEST COMMENTARY

Last month, Florida voters elected Rick Scott and Jennifer Carroll to be our next governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. McKee Communications worked with the Scott-Carroll campaign to design and implement its Black media outreach efforts.

Since the election, many have asked our opinion on “winners and losers” from a Black political perspective. We begin our analysis with the losers.

• The liberal Democratic Party establishment – Its worst nightmare came true. Conservative Hispanic Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate; conservative Black Republican Allen West in the U.S. House; conservative Black female Jennifer Carroll elected lieutenant governor. The result – discussion of new options and alternatives on solving some of the issues impacting the Black community in education, job creation, children and families and economic development.

• Black Democrats. According to unofficial CNN exit polls, Blacks gave Alex Sink 92 percent of their votes, even though she had avoided being seen with President Obama and Kendrick Meek. Sink was not publicly enthusiastic about Meek’s candidacy and took every opportunity, including on national television, to praise Charlie Crist. She also blamed Obama for her defeat. Blacks remain the only voter group which consistently gives 90 percent of their votes to virtually any Democrat and demand and receive little – if anything – in return.

In Florida and nationally, Black Democrats are fast becoming politically irrelevant. They constitute 26 percent of registered Florida Democrats – more than 1.2 million strong. Yet, they and their elected leaders are rarely – if at all – consulted on party and campaign strategies.

Before the campaign ‘game’ even begins, the Democratic Party knows what the Black vote ‘score’ will be. A result: ‘game’ (election) day preparations are based upon putting the assumed 90-percent vote ‘on the bench,’ leaving the goal to get as many of the 550,000 (12 percent) Hispanic registered Democrats in the game, scoring as many ‘touchdowns’ (votes) as possible. This must be very disturbing to Florida civil rights heroes like Harry T. Moore and those who gave their lives for freedom and the right to vote in our state.

• Black state and congressional elected representatives and majority-minority districts – With the passage of Amendments Five and Six, Black state House, state Senate and congressional office holders may be in jeopardy. Five and Six require state and congressional legislative districts to be compact, relatively uniform and adhere to city and county boundaries when possible. Currently, districts in Florida are drawn to include or exclude certain groups of the population. A potential result: White representatives might have to respond to needs of Blacks and other minorities in new districts. Black representatives who survive might have to moderate extreme liberal views to accommodate non-minority constituents.

• Major newspapers – Rick Scott won the election without any of their endorsements.

• Majority Black cities – Now faced with a veto-proof Republican legislature, solidly Republican Cabinet and a Republican governor and lieutenant governor, they will find it even more difficult to plead their case in Tallahassee since their voters and Black representatives were solidly behind Alex Sink and the entire Democrat slate. Still, they will do their best to enlist the support of Carroll – whom they did not support and sometimes disparaged.

• The Florida Black Caucus. Already a minority within a minority in the Legislature, the Caucus will be even more outnumbered, with Republican gains in both chambers. There will be few opportunities for the Caucus – and Democrats –to block GOP legislation. Before the election, many of the Caucus considered Carroll a “Black Republican.” Now she has become “our sister.” When she was in the House leadership and chaired powerful committees, she gladly assisted Caucus members in moving legislation through the House. But when she ran for lieutenant governor, not one of them supported her – even though three endorsed Charlie Crist against Kendrick Meek.

There are individual Caucus “winners” who were appointed to key Senate positions. Notwithstanding these appointments, they will have to rely upon the goodwill of Republicans if they are to have any success.

Must become assertive

All is not doom and gloom for the Caucus. It is still the political voice of most Black voters, and potentially could shake up the entire Democrat Party by becoming very assertive. Only the Caucus has the credibility to make the Democratic Party start listening and stop taking them and their constituents for granted.

What is needed is one or two press conferences challenging Democratic Party leadership on the issue. The ultimate threat would be for some Caucus members, who are term-limited in 2012, to switch to the GOP.

Who knows what impact Amendments 5 and 6 will have on making it easier for them to win higher office in more diverse districts? Will any Caucus members think about it?

Clarence V. McKee is a political and media consultant with McKee Communications, Inc.

Republican dominance creates hurdle for Broward Democrats

NEWS FROM

FLORIDA ASSEMBLY OF BLACK REPUBLICANS

Sam Newby, Chairman

_________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                    Contact: Sam Newby

December 7, 2010                                                    904-424-0963

 

NEWBY ASKS RPOF CHAIR CANDIDATES TO OUTLINE RECORDS AND PLANS ON EXPANDING BLACK INVOLVEMENT IN STATE GOP AND FLORIDA GOVERNMENT

Jacksonville-Florida Assembly of Black Republicans Chairman Samuel Newby today asked candidates for Chair of the Republican Party to outline their records and plans for increasing the participation and involvement of Black Floridians in the Party. He also asked how they will be advocates for Black appointments in the new Administration and the Offices of Cabinet Members:  Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer and the Department of Agriculture.  Newby sent his request to former State Representative Dave Bitner; current RPOF Vice-Chair and Hillsborough Party Chair Deborah Cox-Roush; Tony DiMatteo, former Pinellas Chair ;  Sid Dinerstein, Palm Beach County Chair; and John Gruters, Chair of the Sarasota GOP.  Excerpts from his email are set forth below:

“… what programs have or did you institute to increase Black Republican voter registration, outreach and inclusion and expand black participation in your Executive Committee (REC), particularly in reaching out to Black Independent voters?

What is the percentage of Black Membership on your REC?

What are your plans and outreach efforts to expand the base of and increase involvement of Black Republicans on the RPOF staff?

Do you plan to keep and support the African American Leadership Council which Lt. Governor-Elect Jennifer Carroll Chaired?

How will you be an advocate for black appointments and involvement in the Scott-Carroll Administration and the Offices of Cabinet Members:  the Office of Attorney General, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Department of Agriculture?”

Newby asked for a written response prior to the upcoming   RPOF Quarterly meeting this weekend in Orlando. He concluded: “Should you become Chair, the Assembly looks forward to working with you in the implementation of the above…”

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