Sen. Bill Galvano named chairman of Senate education appropriations subcommittee

Education funding in Florida next year will have to pass muster with newly elected Sen. Bill Galvano.

Galvano, who was elected earlier this month, has been named chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

Senate President Don Gaetz made the announcement on Wednesday.

Galvano was also named to the Senate committees on Gaming, Agriculture, Education, Health Policy, Rules, Regulated Industries and Appropriations; and the subcommittee on Health and Human Services -- all areas he had experience with while in the Florida House from 2002 to 2010, when he was term-limited from running for re-election.

The Senate is blessed to have Senators whose  talents reflect the experience and abilities of the Floridians each senator represents," Gaetz said in a memo to senators. "In determining the attached committee assignments, each senator’s subject area expertise and interests were considered, as well as the work we need to accomplish over the next two years."

Committee assignments for Manatee's delegation to the Florida House -- Jim Boyd, Greg Steube and Darryl Rouson -- were announced earlier this week.

Rep. Jim Boyd to chair Ethics and Elections subcommittee

Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton,  was named Monday as chairman of the House Ethics and Elections Subcommittee -- which could give him a big say in any efforts to change Florida election law in the wake of complaints about changes made last year.

The panel, which has been dormant for six years, is under the House State Affair Committee, of which Boyd was also named a member by Speaker Will Weatherford.

The major election law change last year was the compression of the early voting period, which critics charge was designed to suppress the votes of some Florida residents; and was responsible for long lines at some locations during early voting and on Election Day.

Boyd, who was re-elected this month to a second term, will also be a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee, also under State Affairs; the Civil Justice Subcommittee, under the Judiciary Committee; and the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Parrish, also re-elected to a second term, was named vice-chairman of two separate subcommittees, Health Innovation, under the Health and Human Services Committee; and Business and Professional Regulation, under Regulatory Affairs, of which he also is a member.

Steube was also named to the Appropriations Committee and the Rulemaking Oversight & Repeal Subcommittee, under the Rules and Calendar Committee.

Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, whose district includes part of Manatee, was named to the

Appropriations Committee, the  Business & Professional Regulation Subcommittee, the  Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, the  Regulatory Affairs Committee and the State Affairs Committee.

Newly elected state Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, has not yet received his committee assignments for the new Legislature, which will convene March 5.

Vice President Joe Biden campaigns in Sarasota on Wednesday

Vice President Joe Biden is set to campaign in Sarasota on Wednesday.

Doors for a Obama-Biden "grasssroots event" open at 9 a.m. at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 291 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

Free tickets, which are required, can be picked up from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Payne Park, 2050 Adams Lane, Sarasota; or Newtown Estates Park, 2800 Newtown Blvd., Sarasota. Both locations are across the street from early voting sites.

Parking for the Wednesday event is available at the Van Wezel lot behind the auditorium. Carpooling is encouraged. voting sites.

In new ad, Congressional candidate Keith Fitzgerald promises 'a new tone'

Keith Fitzgerald has gone to air with a new television ad offering what he says is a "positive" message about the need to reform Congress -- starting locally with electing him over U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.

Here's the ad:


An accompanying news release from Fitzgerald's campaign was harsher:

Sarasota, FL — The Fitzgerald campaign is on the air with a new positive ad: Let’s Clean Up Congress. Now. 

To reduce the debt, cut the deficit and strengthen the middle class we need to reform Congress — and changing Congress starts by changing your Congressman. 

This is the second television ad from the Fitzgerald campaign. The first was a minute-long spot comparing Buchanan’s history of investigations for ethics violations to Fitzgerald’s reputation of supporting bipartisan reforms. 

The facts are clear on Congressman Buchanan’s history of corruption:-   Witness Tampering: The House Committee on Ethics is still probing a separate series of charges that Buchanan attempted to procure a false affidavit from a witness testifying about allegations of a straw-donor scheme. — The Hill -  Campaign Finance Felons: A Tampa real estate developer and an accountant with ties to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan pleaded guilty in federal court just weeks ago for their roles in illegal contributions to the Republican Party of Florida and Buchanan's campaign. — Tampa Bay Times -  Pay-to-Play Politics: Buchanan filed a bill to create a $400-million tax break for NASCAR after attending a fund-raising event and receiving more than $10,000 from NASCAR — Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Sen. Bill Nelson endorses Keith Fitzgerald for Congress

Here's the press release from the Keith Fitzgerald for Congress campaign:

Senate candidate Connie Mack endorsed his fellow Congressman Vern Buchanan for re-election on Wednesday. 

“Congressmen Buchanan and Mack both vote for unbalanced budgets, fight to privatize Medicare, and support redefining rape,” Keith Fitzgerald said. “They make a perfect pair.” 

Buchanan, who has been mascaraing as a moderate, votes partisan with his party more often than Mack in the dysfunctional Tea Party Congress, according to OpenCongress.com. 

Senator Bill Nelson, who in 2006 carried 57 percent of the vote in Sarasota, offered his own Congressional endorsement on Wednesday. 

"Keith Fitzgerald will be a strong voice in the U.S. House of Representatives for helping the middle class and protecting the promises we have made to our seniors,” Senator Nelson said. “I look forward to working with him to continue the fight for Florida's families." 

Nelson is the latest in a succession of moderate statesman to back Keith Fitzgerald.  On Saturday, former Senator Bob Graham and Governor Charlie Crist appeared together in Sarasota to endorse Fitzgerald.

Keith Fitzgerald disputes Vern Buchanan's claim that he is bipartisan (UPDATED)

For update, see below.

Keith Fitzgerald on Tuesday disputed Rep. Vern Buchanan's claims to be a bipartisan standard-bearer. Here is the news release from the Fitzgerald campaign:

To distract voters from his record of partisanship in the dysfunctional Tea Party Congress, the Buchanan campaign touted support from less than .001 percent of his district’s registered Democrats. 

Congressman Buchanan continues to claim he is a moderate in the extremely partisan Congress, but the facts show otherwise: 

-   Buchanan votes with his party 94% of the time - Congressional Quarterly Vote Study-   Buchanan votes with Tea Party leader Eric Cantor 89% of the time - OpenCongress.org-   Buchanan votes to the right of Tea Party hero Allen West – National Journal 

And in 2010, when incumbent Congressman Buchanan was running toward the right, he told a local Tea Party group “We pretty much agree on everything.” 

“Buchanan is part of the problem in Washington,” Keith Fitzgerald said. “Democrats and Republicans both know cleaning up our economy starts with cleaning out Congress.” 

Buchanan also touts his election (by his fellow Republicans) to co-chair the Florida Congressional delegation. But the Democratic co-chair, Congressman Alcee Hastings, was recently quoted by the Orlando Sentinel as having said, “It is apparent by their actions and inactions that our Republican colleagues have absolutely no interest in working together as a delegation.” 

Congressman Buchanan is masquerading as a moderate because his opponent Keith Fitzgerald has a proven record of working with Republicans and Democrats. More than 60 percent of the legislation Fitzgerald sponsored had a Republican cosponsor and he was recognized by the Sarasota Herald-Tribuneas a legislator who “grasped the practical aspects of politics and labored to build bipartisan coalitions while remaining true to his principles.”

UPDATED, 3:25 p.m. EDT --

The Buchanan campaign responds.

"As Nancy Pelosi's rubber stamp, Keith Fitzgerald is the last person in the world who should be talking about bipartisanship," said spokesman Max Goodman.  "He supports Pelosi's failed economic agenda including the wasteful stimulus, ObamaCare, the $700 billion raid on medicare, and amnesty -- even going so far as to say illegals often make better workers than Americans."

Conan O'Brien to Florida: The election could depend on you

With tongue firmly planted in cheek and with truth-telling that might make you cringe, late-night TV comedian Conan O'Brien pays tribute to Florida and the role it may play in deciding the outcome of the presidential election: