Rich Crotty

Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty said Wednesday that he has avoided working with the anti-poverty group ACORN on a housing foreclosure campaign, and does not expect to work with them in obtaining an accurate 2010 headcount for the U.S. Census effort he’s helping lead in Florida.

The advocacy group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is in hot water because ofsecretly-taped interviews appearing to show multiple organizers condoning or encouraging prostitution and the laundering of earnings from it. The group responded with reform proposals today.

Crotty said he specifically made it clear during a senior staff meeting months ago that the group should not be included in any plans Orange crafted to spend $28 million in neighborhood stabilization funds to deal with foreclosures. “In a very out-loud voice, I said I didn’t want that word [ACORN] to come up,” Crotty said.

Crotty also discussed the fact that U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has been one of the group’s most prominent supporters, and that any Republican who ran against the freshman Democrat next year could point out that Grayson is often referred to as the “Congressman from ACORN.”

“It’s always been an arrow in the quiver,” said Crotty, who for several months has flirted with the possibility of challenging Grayson. To that question, Crotty said an answer should come soon.

Crotty pointed to the start of the next federal campaign donation reporting period, which begins in October, and said “that’s when serious candidates get serious.”

So is he the one?

“I’m not saying anything,” Crotty said. “But I expect Congressman Grayson to have a Republican opponent in the next fund raising period, and a strong one at that.”

Original Post

Alan Grayson

WASHINGTON — As a member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Alan Graysonalready is among exclusive company. But the Orlando Democrat ranks high in those ranks too, as the 12th-richest member of the U.S. House and Senate, according to a new Roll Call analysis of financial disclosureforms.

The freshman lawmaker listed $31 million in assets, not a surprise given that Grayson spent at least $2.5 million of his fortune during the 2008 campaign. So far, his personal stash has helped keep high-profile Republican challengers at bay for the 2010 election, as Grayson likely would outspend any challenger.

Here’s what Roll Call had to say (analysis here):

“The Florida lawmaker’s largest asset stems from an apparent financial mistake. Grayson lists a claim valued at $25 million to $50 million against Derivium Capital.

The now-bankrupt firm managed a Ponzi scheme in which investors, including Grayson, could turn over stock to Derivium in exchange for cash loans and redeem the value later if the stock prices increased. A South Carolina court ruled earlier this year that Derivium shareholders were collectively owed about $270 million in lost profits and that Grayson’s share would be about $34 million.

In addition to that claim, Grayson, an attorney who founded the telecommunications company IDT Corp. in 1990, lists a trust valued at $5 million to $25 million. The same trust was previously Grayson’s largest asset, with a value of $25 million to $50 million when he filed a candidate disclosure form in November 2008.”

House speaker Larry Cretul will not run for Congress.

The Ocala Republican, whose district stretches from Marion to Orange counties, was reportedly thinking about launching a bid for the seat held by freshman Democrat Alan Grayson.

Cretul told the Ocala Star-Banner that he made his decision after consulting with family and friends.

Cretul was reportedly recruited by the Republican National Committee.

Orange County mayor Rich Crotty and former state senator Daniel Webster are said to be considering a run, but haven’t formally announced they’re intentions.

State Representative Stephen Precourt of Orlando is also rumored to be considering getting in the race

Joe Biden

Freshman Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson announced today that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would headline a luncheon for him later this month, a clear sign that Democrats are preparing for a tough fight in Florida’s 8th District.

The Aug. 19 luncheon for Grayson features Biden, Sen. Bill Nelson, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and other local figures.

Grayson instantly became a top election target when he defeated Republican incumbent Ric Keller in 2008 in the competitive Orlando-area district.

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.

Credit NewsServiceFlorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 1, 2009 – Without major changes to the deal that would allow the Department of Transportation to purchase tracks from CSX Corp. to build the proposed SunRail Orlando commuter train, an extra six months granted by the company to hammer out details is “manufactured news,” the woman credited with derailing the train said Wednesday.

Sen. Paula Dockery told the News Service of Florida that she was unsurprised that the company extended the period to negotiate the SunRail liability agreement, which the freight rail company has tied to the sale of the track. The current agreement – a “no fault” indemnification agreement that would have the state and CSX each responsible for its own equipment, workers and passengers no matter who causes an accident and third party damage being split – was voted down by the Senate this spring despite being changed from a broader immunity plan the chamber balked at in 2008.

Dockery said that with the company slated to receive more than $600 million for the sale of the tracks that would be used for the proposed train and improvements to existing rails that would be used by rerouted freight trains, CSX has much to gain by giving the state more time.

“This deal was cut between the Florida DOT and CSX over two years ago and this arbitrary date of June 30 was set,” Dockery said. “The extension of the contract seems like a no-brainer (for CSX).”

Dockery said that she would have liked to see the DOT be more aggressive in trying to reconfigure the deal, as opposed to focusing solely on extending the deadline for the existing one. Dockery said she would like to see more flexibility from CSX on the liability, which backers said Monday the company was willing to revise. She also said she’d like to see more flexibility on the cost of the tracks, which was not mentioned as a change.

“The DOT should have said ‘let’s negotiate a better deal,’ but instead they were the ones putting pressure on CSX to extend,” she said. “They should have said that we need legislative approval about the spending of taxpayer money and where it’s going to go. They ought to put the price tag to the taxpayers on the table.”

But DOT spokesman Dick Kane said the deal was negotiated because Orlando area lawmakers wanted more time, not because the state transportation agency was eager for it.

“We understand the locals have been meeting with CSX,” Kane said. “Commuter rail is probably their biggest priority, so we are working with them to provide it.”

CSX spokesman Gary Sease agreed, telling the News Service that the freight company’s objective in the extension was “to determine if there was a way to complete the transaction.”

Hailing the extension earlier this week, SunRail backers said the new deadline would allow supporters to continue addressing concerns that were raised in the lengthy Senate debate and said opposition to the measure was not based on the concept itself, but the details of the plan.

Dockery, says she supports the development of commuter rail in Orlando despite being the bill’s primary opponent in the Legislature, said she hoped that was not just lip service.

“I hope that this is truly a good faith effort to renegotiate and not an effort to repackage the same deal and go back for round three,” she said.

But Sease said the deal was unlikely to be completely restructured during the extended negotiation period.

“We have an agreement with FDOT that was discussed pretty thoroughly during the most recent session,” he said

7/1/09

Detailed context on Florida transportation issues is available on the NSF Transportation Backgrounder at http://www.newsserviceflorida.com/transportation/transportation.htm.

Independent and Indispensable

http://www.newsserviceflorida.com

Matthew Falconer

An email went out today from the Matthew Falconer campaign.  Below is the email.   Falconer has announced that he will be running for Orange County mayor. —————-

I have determined our public policy has decimated our local economy and jeopardized our future. I have seen high taxes, fees and regulations put thousands of small businesses out of business.  They in turn have laid off one million Floridians. Without structural reforms to the way we govern I see no short term improvement in our economy and way of life.

For these reasons I have decided to run for and be the next Orange County Mayor. I plan to take the reforms outlined in our Orange County Taxpayer Budget Review Board report (www.TaxpayerBudgetReviewBoard.org) and reform local government. Quite simply I plan to rebuild local government.

A leader today needs to have the basic belief that government as usual is not sustainable. Our local government has the same business model as General Motors, and our economy shares the same fate. Change is never easy, and reform is even more difficult. But I believe I was born for this storm. I have dedicated a thousand hours to research and I have a plan, not a dream.

I will put principle over politics, taxpayers over special interests, and help bring our local economy back to health one job, one small business at a time. If we push aside the social issues that divide the taxpayers on a federal level, we all share the same struggles and dreams. In local politics, it is no longer left versus right. It is taxpayer versus government. And the government is winning.

I have a plan to correct this injustice, but I will need all of the help I can get. Please visit my web site, www.MatthewFalconer.com and see my plan. Please email me your ideas, suggestions, and encouragement. I am taking this step to ensure the future of my children and yours. Let’s fix our broken government together and give our children the same chance we had at the American Dream.

Join the fight to save your job, your business, and your future. Please join me at my annoucement party July 1st, 5:30 p.m. at the former Village Tavern on Conroy Road next to Friday’s.

Congressman Alan Grayson on Tuesday appeard on the Guetzloe report to discuss the letter he issued to the Orlando Expressway authority. HERE IS A LINK TO THE LETTER

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio is provided by the Guetzloe Report & Ax The Tax