Morning Coffee Reading for September 2, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Sweet. I'm number one again on the list of "Florida's Top Political Tweeters." Well, technically I'm tied for first with Progress Florida, but I think they have several people working that account and I'm just little ol' me, so I'm going to go ahead and declare victory. High five to State Representative Scott Plakon, who improved his score an amazing 27 points, making him the 2nd highest ranked politician, right after Allen West.

Saint Petersblog | Florida's Top Political Tweeters for September

• The Jim Greer situation continues to slog on through the courts and the media, causing nightmares for a number of Florida politicians, including Florida Senate candidate George LeMieux:

Miami Herald | Jim Greer TV Tell-all is bad news for George LeMieux 

And that's bad news for LeMieux as he runs in a crowded Republican primary where he's trying to shake the legacy of calling himself and acting like a "Charlie Crist Republican." Judging by the first night's installment, the TV piece won't have much new in it. But it raises the issue of Greer and it specifically highlighted LeMieux, thereby making the old story news again. And campaigns are all about examining a candidate's past to help determine his future. 

LeMieux has tried to distance himself from his old boss (and Greer) by saying that Crist drifted left after he left the governor's office as chief of staff. But Greer told us a while back that he inked a little-known $10,000 monthly Republican Party of Florida contract — ultimately worth $150,000 — to pay LeMieux to continue giving Crist advice through a company called MTC Strategies. 

Greer owes a measure of his chairmanship to LeMieux, who was Crist's top campaign and gubernatorial advisor early on and therefore rounded up the votes on the Republican Executive Committee of RPOF to help make Greer chairman.

Just in case you aren't sick of post-election commentary yet

Wow, Tuesday, wow.  I'm still pretty excited about the results.  I've been spending this week relaxing, hanging out with family, cleaning out my car (it is amazing how many palm cards can hide under a car seat), and enjoying all the post-election commentaries. Just thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on Tuesday's results and what it all might mean moving forward...if you're not sick of all the endless election rehashing yet, read on...

Mayra Uribe caught lying about her endorsements

Mayra Uribe is running against Jennifer Thompson for Orange County Commission, District 4. Apparently Uribe has realized that she can't outwork Jennifer Thompson - Jennifer's been working hard to earn the votes of District 4 residents for years and almost won the four-way primary outright - and so Uribe has resorted to desperate and dishonest tactics in an attempt to save her floundering campaign:

Mayra Uribe endorsements questioned: Orange commission candidate Mayra Uribe endorsement claims questions - OrlandoSentinel.com

The short story is that Uribe has made claims, in print advertisements, and in speeches and press interviews, that she had the endorsements of Belle Isle Mayor Bill Brooks and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, even though neither elected official actually endorsed her candidacy.

Uribe's excuse is that she made a "mistake" and that she "misunderstood" about the endorsements.

Ummm...no.  Sorry, dahling, but that is not how it works.

Florida law is simple and clear on this issue. Chapter 106 of the Florida Statutes requires that candidates not only get their endorsements in writing but that they get specific permission to mention the endorsement in an advertisement. The law even explicitly states that a contribution to a candidate's campaign is not authorization to claim that the contributor has endorsed the candidate.

Mayra Uribe is either running her campaign in deliberate ignorance of the elections laws, or she knew the law but deliberately violated it.  Or maybe she's just amazingly stupid.

Cool updates from my endorsed candidates

Here's some updates from some of my endorsed candidates:

Jason Brodeur, running for State House District 33, Lori Halbert, running for State House District 31, John Horan, running for Seminole County Commissioner, Teresa Jacobs, running for Orange County Mayor, David Simmons, running for State Senate District 22, and  Jennifer Thompson, running for Orange County Commissioner, have qualified for the ballot by petition.  This is a showing of true grassroots support and a well-organized campaign.  Congrats!

Karen Diebel, running for Congress (District FL-24), and Mike Horner, State House 79, both announced this week that they had received the endorsement of Mike Huckabee and Huck PAC.

A.A. Ladan, a former prosecutor running for Seminole County Judge, received the endorsement of Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Lawson Lamar.

Karen Diebel, Mike Horner, Marco Rubio, and Jason Brodeur all won the Orange County Young Republican straw polls held in the past two months.