Crist's Senate Candidacy Undercut by Claims, Power Grab

As the open U.S. Senate race in Florida heats up, the record of incumbent Governor Charlie Crist is rightly being examined by the news media, conservative activists and Florida voters.

The deeper one digs into his record, the more skeptical they become.

While Crist once rode sky-high approval ratings, today he’s facing fire from all sides as unemployment in Florida has reached 11 percent, the housing bubble burst in South Florida, and the state faces a bleak economic picture.  Meanwhile, the state’s Chief Executive has his eye on another office.

With the surging candidacy of Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio (R-FL), Gov. Crist recently moved his Gubernatorial Chief of Staff over to manage his U.S. Senate campaign.  With this decision, it’s clear where Gov. Crist’s priorities lie.

Conservative columnist Reihan Salam recently wrote in Forbes magazine that Gov. Crist may be “America’s worst Governor.”

In recent weeks, we have seen two important examples of Crist’s dubious claims and self-dealing.

First, in an attempt to shore up his conservative credentials, Crist utilized his huge cash advantage to air radio advertisements 11 months before the primary.  In the ad, Crist claims to have cut government spending by 10 percent ($7 billion) is his first term.

But a fact check by the St. Petersburg Times called Crist’s claims “barely true,” given that the State Constitution requires a balanced budget and with the Florida economy contracting Crist had no choice and little to do with the cuts.

About Crists’s claims, Florida TaxWatch CEO Dominic Calabro said, “This is not a concerted effort on the part of our Governor and Legislature to cut the budget.  It’s because of the worst economy Florida has had since the Great Depression.”

Second, apart from the Florida economy, Gov. Crist has also clumsily attempted to stack the deck of an independent regulatory body to overturn a likely agency decision that he disagreed with.

Gov. Crist announced on October 1 that he was denying a request for re-appointment of two members of the five-member Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversee the public utilities in Florida, and instead deciding to “clean house” and appoint two new members of the board in the middle of complicated hearings.

This announcement, viewed independently, falls within his powers as the Governor.

But the PSC was in the midst of considering rate requests, the first in two decades, from two utilities, which they claim will increase efficiency and result in cleaner, stronger and smarter energy infrastructure in this rapidly growing state.  Also at stake are the credit ratings of both utilities if their cash flow is not maintained through their rate increase proposal.

The notification of the proposed rate appeal, which requires approval from the PSC to take effect, was first made in late 2008 as the existing rate term expires at the end of 2009.

With explosive population growth and the need to foster economic development, Florida should be particularly sensitive to ensuring that their infrastructure is meeting their needs.  But at the heart of this case is the long and combative relationship Gov. Crist has with the Florida utilities.  In 2005, as Attorney General he challenged a rate hike for new power plants and maintenance.  In 2006, at the last minute, he made known his opposition to a utility request for customers to cover storm costs, which resulted in a partial denial from the PSC and reduced earnings.

One reasonable question to ask: why did the Governor appoint two new members in October for board seats that would not be available until Jan. 1?

It appears that Gov. Crist, who publicly opposes the proposed rate changes, attempted to sideline two current members of the PSC with the hope that it would affect votes set for Nov. 19 and Dec. 21, before their terms expire.  One of the board members resigned immediately and now Gov. Crist put his selected applicant in place before the November vote.

On Oct. 2, Gov. Crist even asked the PSC to delay their rate case decision until his appointees took office in January.  On Oct. 27, the PSC agreed to Crist’s demand and will delay the rate decisions until at least Jan. 4.

Besides the suspicious timing of the appointments and the delay sought, Gov. Crist then tried to claim that the question of rate increases was never brought up before he announced his two new appointees, David E. Klement and Benjamin “Steve” Stevens.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Gov. Crist said he did not pose any rate-increase litmus test questions to Klement or Stevens, though he has clearly and publicly signaled his desired outcome. "I did not pose that question," he said.  Such a statement requires willing suspension of disbelief.

This case may have a chilling effect in Florida.  Government officials, even those at independent regulatory bodies, must toe the line of the Governor or risk being professionally embarrassed, undermined or passed over.

"I think it's no accident that all these shenanigans and sideshows are happening because we have these two rate cases," PSC Chairman Matthew Carter has said.

In choosing to run for the U.S. Senate seat before completing his first term as Governor, Charlie Crist has brought scrutiny, pressure, and examination onto his record of public service.

And while many Washington Republicans initially backed Crist for political reasons, they now have cause for worry about the Governor’s political prospects.

Matt Mackowiak is an Austin and Washington, D.C.-based GOP political and communications consultant and founder of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC, and was Press Secretary to two U.S. Senators from 2005-2009.

 

Follow Matt Mackowiak on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MattMackowiak

Comments

[prusso]

View the change in Florida Unemployment Trends over the last six months using Heat Maps:
Florida Unemployment this month (BLS data):
http://www.localetrends.com/st/fl_florida_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=curr_ue
versus Florida Unemployment levels siz months ago:
http://www.localetrends.com/st/fl_florida_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=m12_ue

[AgnesBankhead]

' This case may have a chilling effect in Florida. Government officials, even those at independent regulatory bodies, must toe the line of the Governor or risk being professionally embarrassed, undermined or passed over.'

this is nothing new -
bush did it for 8 years and drove this country to the brink of ruin in the process -
i'd say "chilling" is a bit of an understatement ...

[AgnesBankhead]

... tow the line ...