Jeff Kottkamp

It’s fitting that Jeff Kottkamp’s political rise involved an airplane trip.

On the morning of Sept. 13, 2006, reporters filed onto Charlie Crist’s campaign plane without being told where we were going. “Undisclosed location” was the official line.

We resented it. It was media manipulation at its best, but it was either that or miss the announcement. Only when the plane was out of reach of reporters to use cell phones and BlackBerry units did Crist spokeswoman Vivian Myrtetus utter these words: “We’re headed to southwest Florida,” where Kottkamp lived.

The 48-year-old lawyer and former House member from Cape Coral has been encased in Crist’s shadow for the past 21/2 years, his obscurity shattered only by his own frequent use of state planes to commute to Tallahassee.

Nobody knows who the lieutenant governor is. The idea is to be seen and not heard, to avoid controversy at all costs.

For Kottkamp, the bad news is that what most people know about him is that he flew on the state plane a lot.

The good news is that the two candidates for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, have their own frequent-flier controversies that are, like Kottkamp’s, fodder for investigations by the Commission on Ethics. Once again, Kottkamp may find himself overshadowed by others — to his advantage.

This week, for the first time, Kottkamp began to emerge from Crist’s shadow as he attempts to become the first lieutenant governor in state history to win higher office.

Cast adrift when his meal ticket, Crist, opted to run for the U.S. Senate, Kottkamp now must stand on his own two feet and try to win office independently.

He now must walk a delicate line, balancing his fealty to Crist with his need to establish an independent identity. He will be forced to re-address his own record, such as his support (as a legislator in 2001) for flying the Confederate flag on public grounds.

Kottkamp wants to be Florida’s next attorney general — the state’s chief legal officer, arbiter of public records disputes, and member of the Cabinet on major policy issues ranging from the environment to investing pension funds.

“I feel very excited about this campaign,” he said, “and I wouldn’t run if we weren’t going to run to win.”

He shaved off his mustache. He hired campaign consultant Rocky Pennington, long aligned with the influential trial bar.

He launched a Web site, www.jeffkottkamp.com, where you can watch a four-minute video in which he vows to get tough with the “vile thugs” preying on innocent Floridians.

Kottkamp is well liked, and the trial bar is comfortable with him — a rare thing for a Republican candidate. It was telling that neither of his two Democratic rivals, state Sens. Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber, would poke him this week when given the chance.

Skittish about reading about more plane-trip stories, Kottkamp now largely travels by car. In the past few weeks, Kottkamp has logged 3,000 miles, according to the state trooper who’s at his side 24/7.

Those travels in a state-owned SUV surely will increase as he works to boost his visibility as a candidate for attorney general. This week alone he was in Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and Miami, ending the week Friday on familiar turf — his home base of Fort Myers.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

Jeff Kottkamp

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, a former North Fort Myers legislator, confirms that he intends to take the plunge Monday morning and file his papers to run for attorney general.

When he does, the Republican who at one time was eyeing the governor’s race, becomes the immediate frontrunner for the Cabinet post.

The only other Republican officially in the race is Fort Lauderdale attorney Jim Lewis.

Kottkamp, 48, will likely face one of two Democratic legislators in the general election, Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres, whose district also includes Lee County, and Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach.

Look for Kottkamp to tout his sponsorship of anti-crime measures when he served in the House from 2000 to 2006, and his current role overseeing the governor’s office of adoption, his chairmanship of the quasi-governmental economic development arm, Space Florida, and the newly created Children’s Cabinet.

He’ll also seek to downplay his use of state aircraft and an ongoing ethics investigation. The same formal complaints also cloud the campaigns of Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the two leading candidates for governor.

One of the reasons Gov. Charlie Crist chose Kottkamp as a running mate was his solid credentials with Christian conservatives, who were skeptical of Crist’s moderate, bipartisan reputation. Kottkamp was also valued for his low-key style, one that makes him unlikely to upstage his boss.

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Republican from West Miami who is running in the race against Crist for the U.S. Senate, has denied Washington beltway reports that he is considering switching races and challenging Kottkamp in the primary.

Since elected officials don’t really get it, let’s review SunRail.  The project has been voted down by voter referendums 3 times.  It has been voted down in the State Legislature twice.  So why don’t these elected officials give up?  Easy! SPECIAL INTERESTS!!!!

Orange County already has several problems with elected officials including Rich Crotty who sits on the Expressway Authority board and has been deemed part of a Culture of Corruption. This is another story in itself.  Right now I will stay on track.

The Orlando Sentinel had an online poll yesterday dealing with SunRail. ——–

SunRail: What do you think?

Backers say SunRail will create thousands of jobs in Central Florida, but critics decry its cost, say it will jam Lakeland traffic and is a taxpayer gift to CSX. What’s your take?

Approve SunRail already. We need an alternative to I-4, and gas prices are only going to go back up eventually. (92 responses)
6.2%

Reject SunRail again. With Florida in a recession, we don’t need to spend $1.2 billion on a choo-choo few will use. (1388 responses)
93.8%

1480 total responses
———————-

Yesterday Ex-Banker Exec turn State CFO Alex Sink, stated that she is in support of SunRail.  I wonder if the special interests have gotten her on board because of her Gubernatorial Campaign.  This will sure cost her votes though.

Dan Gelber

State Representatives Darryl Rouson (D-Tampa), Janet Long (D-Seminole), Michael Scionti (D-Tampa), Bill Heller (D-St. Petersburg) and Betty Reed (D-Tampa) today announced their endorsement of Senator Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach) as Florida’s next Attorney General.

Rep. Darryl Rouson said, “Floridians need strong leaders who are going to fight for their rights and protect them from unscrupulous practices. I witnessed Dan’s strong leadership skills on the House Floor and as Florida’s next Attorney General, he will continue to be a voice of reason on reforming the status quo and the way business is done in Tallahassee.”

Rep. Janet Long said, “After serving with Dan for two years in the Florida House , I know he will stand up to protect Floridians who have been victims of fraud and dishonest practices. He has the mindset and courtroom experience we need in our next Attorney General. I am proud to endorse Dan in his new journey to serve the people of Florida as their Attorney General.”

Rep. Michael Scionti said, “Having served with Dan, I know he will lead the charge to protect consumers and be a real voice for everyday Floridians. Dan has fought against public corruption and wasteful spending and will put his skill sets to work as Florida’s next Attorney General.”

Rep. Bill Heller said, “I have met few individuals who share Dan’s passion and drive to bring change to Florida. Working families across our state need Dan in Tallahassee and on the Cabinet working to keep our communities safe. I am proud to stand with him because he is the type of leader we need working on behalf of Floridians. ”

Rep. Betty Reed said, “I am supporting Dan because he is never afraid to take a stand and fight for what is right. He has always been the first to demand accountability and has long been a champion of transparency and an open government.”

“Our state faces enormous challenges and we need leaders in Tallahassee that will stand up to change the status quo,” said Sen. Gelber. “Floridians need a stronger commitment to public safety and consumer protections from our state government. I want to bring about that commitment to keep Floridians safe at home and in their communities.”

Dan Gelber was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2000, serving as the House Democratic Leader from 2006-2008; and elected to the State Senate in 2008. Prior to elected life, Dan spent nearly a decade as a federal prosecutor, working mostly on public corruption, narcotics and civil rights cases, and serving as a top deputy in that office. He was then appointed chief counsel and staff director for the United States Senate’s investigations committee where he focused primarily on terrorism and domestic security. Dan is an AV rated attorney and listed in various peer review publications including Best Lawyers in America and Florida’s Legal Elite. He and his wife Joan Silverstein make their home in Miami Beach with their three children. For more information about Dan Gelber, please visit www.dangelber.com.

Holly Benson

The race for Florida attorney general may be one of the hottest contests in 2010, but the presumed Republican frontrunner has yet to step in the ring.

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, a former legislator from North Fort Myers, promised an announcement at the end of June. Kottkamp was in his Fort Myers office on Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

As his supporters wait, and the Ethics Commission weighs a complaint about his use of state airplanes, the name of a potential primary opponent has surfaced: Holly Benson, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration and a former lawmaker from Pensacola.

“She’s a bright, articulate, young woman and a lot of people are looking to her as a potential opponent for Kottkamp in that race,” Sally Bradshaw, a veteran GOP strategist and former campaign manager for Gov. Jeb Bush, said during a discussion of recent poll results on a political Web-cast sponsored by Sachs Communications.

Benson on Thursday would only say she is weighing her options.

“Folks have asked me about it,” Benson said. “They’re looking for a lawyer and the party needs some diversity.”

For a time, Kottkamp considered running for governor, but he has backed current Attorney General Bill McCollum in that race.

In May, Kottkamp said he was leaning to the attorney general race. “I’m giving very serious consideration, most likely, to attorney general,” Kottkamp said then.

He said that would allow him to emphasize his strengths from working as a lawyer, a member of the Legislature and lieutenant governor.

Both Benson, 38, and Kottkamp, 48, owe their current jobs to Gov. Charlie Crist. Like Kottkamp, Benson was first elected to the House in 2000. Both were serving in the House when Crist came calling, selecting Kottkamp as a running mate during the campaign for governor; and Benson to head the Department of Business and Professional Regulation once he was elected. Crist named Benson to her current post in February 2008.

Benson said she has no timetable for making a decision. However, she said she is hesitant to leave the agency at a time when Congress is debating a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system and at a time when her agency is about to roll out a major, electronic health records initiative.