Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Out of the Running

House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, won't have to worry about losing one of his most trusted advisers. Chief of Staff Bob Ward announced at a staff meeting Tuesday that he has taken himself out of the running for the vacant Secretary of State's job, overseeing Florida's elections apparatus as well as cultural and historical preservation and corporation records.

"He's going to stay put," said Bense's spokesman, Towson Fraser, who was at the meeting. "He took his name out of consideration."

Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to announce a replacement shortly for Glenda Hood, who announced her resignation Nov. 1. Ward's decision to pull his name out of consideration may point toward Dave Mann, the deputy secretary of state for state records and a long-time agency employee.

posted by Steve Bousquet @ 11/22/2005 11:02:00 AM    

5 Comments:

  • At 10:59 PM, November 22, 2005, Anonymous said…

    I don't know if Ward is already susceptible to the 2 year preclusion against lobbying the Legislature should he leave the Speaker's office. However, if he became Secretary of State and that job were to end after the next election, he would then begin a 2 year preclusion against lobbying the executive branch. At that time, if he were in the middle of a 2 year Legislative prohibition, he effectively wouldn't be able to lobby either branch for a year until that Legislative lobbying prohibition ended. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

    On the other hand, this might be the first sign that Bense is reconsidering the US Senate race and Ward is being loyal to the Speaker.

     

  • At 10:32 AM, November 23, 2005, Anonymous said…

    Asa a staffer he isn't under the 2 year rule. HE could leave the House today and start lobbying tomorrow. Seen a lot of staff do just that.

    IF he had taken the SOS job he would have had to sit out 2 years....course, he could accept a lobbying job as long as he didn't lobby the executive branch where the SOS job would have been.

     

  • At 3:51 PM, November 23, 2005, Anonymous said…

    1 - Ward is being loyal to the Speaker - no hidden agenda.

    2 - Bense is not running for anything except Best Speaker

    3 - If he were to leave, Ward would have to wait 2 years to lobby the Legislature - senior staff are under the 2-year rule

     

  • At 5:44 PM, November 24, 2005, Anonymous said…

    Dave Mann would be a solid choice . He ran the place while Katherine was out shopping for scarfs and shoes . He deserves a shot.

     

  • At 10:20 PM, November 29, 2005, Anonymous said…

    Mann's a cook, so he's perfect to fill the high heels of Glenda, Sandy, and Godess Katherine. Yeah, that's the ticket....Mann's a cross dresser...

     

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