By Chris Ingram
PoHo contributor

My prediction has now come true. Mel Martinez is resigning his senate seat. Give it a couple of days, and I expect you’ll be reading about our oh-so-tanned governor announcing he is appointing himself to Martinez’s seat because (sorry to John Morgan), he’s “for the people.”

Yes, this is legal.

For the record, our spineless governor has stated he won’t appoint himself. This is the same guy who said he wasn’t going to run for the senate, said he wasn’t interested in being McCain’s running mate, and said he was going to make our taxes “drop like a rock.” You get the picture? His word is no good.

While certainly a political backlash will occur if Mr. For the People appoints himself, it will be brief. A couple of weeks of criticism, slams from the editorial pages, and letters to the editor from people outraged at the selfish opportunism (not that anyone should be surprised at Chuckles’ political opportunism) and that will be it.

Voters have a short attention span, and an even shorter memory. Barring Marco Rubio winning the Power Ball lottery and self-financing his campaign with his new-found millions, he won’t be able to run enough TV ads before next September’s Primary Election to remind voters about Mel and Charlie’s end-around to get Chuckie to the U.S. Senate.

In short, there is very little downside to the Chuckster taking advantage of the opportunity his pal Mel has handed him. Politics 101 dictates being an incumbent rocks when it comes to getting reelected. I’ll bet a case of Starkist Tuna Charlie realizes this and appoints himself.

I expect Too-tan Charlie will argue that in these serious times we need someone who will be the “people’s senator.” He’ll point out that it is in Florida’s interest for him to be senator before the election because he will have a leg up on the seniority ladder compared to the other freshmen senators elected in November.  He’ll get others from the establishment wing of the GOP to help him make his case that “better committee assignments will improve the lives of the people of Florida,” and “Florida needs Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate.” Blah, blah, blah…

The voters may smell a rat, but the real question is will they bring rat poison to the ballot box? Call me a cynic, but I doubt it.

On a related note, someone ought to look into when “Smel” Martinez becomes eligible for the very generous federal retirement benefits graced upon our esteemed former members of Congress. I think we’ll find it is strikingly close to his resignation date.

But regardless of Mel’s pension benefits, it looks more and more likely Charlie Crist will fulfill his life-long dream of being a U.S. Senator. So we’ll be saying “Senator Crist” real soon — instead of “Sorry Charlie” if the people had gotten their chance to have a truly fair opportunity to make the choice themselves.

I’m ready to burn my voter ID card because if what I suspects will happen happens, the casting of a vote in this race will be nothing short of a sham.

At least now maybe Marco Rubio will see fit to drop his longshot candidacy against Chuckles and will take on Bill “Howdy Doody” McCollum for governor. He ought to consider it because the fat lady just walked on the stage.

Now if I’m wrong about all this and Charlie appoints someone else as a “care-taker” senator who might it be? Admiral LeRoy Collins who ran against Katherine Harris in the GOP U.S. Senate Primary in 2006 would be a great call. Collins is intelligent, thoughtful, capable, and competent. I worked on Collins’ longshot campaign and I can say he is one of the greatest public servants I have ever known. And Charlie knows this. Admiral Collins is the governor’s appointed director of the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs.

I’d be happy to eat some crow, and what they heck, I’d even eat a case of tuna if I’m wrong should Charlie do the right thing and appoint LeRoy Collins. But I don’t think it will happen and either way, Charlie will still remain sorry.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.net.

This time it is a Senate bill (SB 956) that is the target of just about every voting rights and civil rights group in the state. The bill would make it harder for older voters to cast ballots (by outlawing two alternate forms of ID they often use to register and vote), make it harder to gather petition signatures for candidates and referenda, force people who move within 29 days of Election Day to cast provisional ballots and install other vote-blocking reforms in the name of voting security.

From the Times:

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday strongly hinted that he would veto a proposed rewrite of Florida’s election laws as a broad array of grass-roots groups launched an all-out assault on the legislation.

“What is it we’re trying to cure?” Crist asked in a Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau interview. “The more opportunity you give people to vote, the better it is for democracy. So that aspect of it concerns me.”

“It always seems to me that when there may be legislation that attempts to sort of make it harder for people to do something — the people we work for — generally that’s not good,” Crist said. “I don’t look on that in a favorable light and that is true of this particular part of this legislation.” Asked if he would veto it, Crist said: “I don’t like to use the V word … but I’m not fond of that provision. It concerns me.”

“County Election,” by George Bingham

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

That quote is some pretty heady stuff from Mr. Samuel Adams (who, I believe, fought the British for the right to distribute Octoberfest beer here in America), and it may be a little over-the-top for such provincial matters as elections in Gulfport, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Seminole and other Pinellas beachcombers, but elections have consequences, even small-town races for mayor or city commissioner. So I urge any gentle reader of this blog who lives in a city with an election today to not only head to the polls themselves, but to bring at least one friend with them so they may cast their own ballot.

These municipal elections matter. Today’s city commissioner is tomorrow’s county commissioner or state legislator or U.S. Representative. County Commissioner Neil Brickfield is only a few years removed from service as a city commissioner in Safety Harbor; Pinellas state representatives Rick Kriseman, Janet Long, Peter Nehr and Tom Anderson all served in city hall before the state capitol.

What happens in your city hall is probably more important now than any other point in your lifetime. Facing enormous budgetary challenges, city leaders are on the front lines of the economic battle. Who you elect to fight for you in today’s times is a major decision. The days of part-time leadership spent mostly on Chamber of Commerce meetings and ribbon-cuttings are past, replaced by 50-hour work weeks requiring these elected officials to do more than ever with less than they have ever had.

The importance of these local elections appears to be recognized by local voters. Early voting turnout in Pinellas is so high that in some cities, the number of ballots already returned before the so-called Election Day is greater than the overall turnout of previous elections.

How important are these elections? Consider former Republican state representative Leslie Waters. She was termed-out of office two years ago, but decided to run for the Seminole City Commission this year, campaigning on the theme that what happens in city hall is now more important than what happens in Tallahassee. Remember, all politics is local, only now more so.

[William Gaskin] worked briefly as a telephone solicitor before [Johnson's chief of staff and general counsel Kathy] Harris hired him as her special assistant. He had been out of prison eight months.

Gaskin accompanied the elections general counsel to court, handled troubleshooting at early voting sites and acted as a gatekeeper for outsiders who wanted access to Harris, according to the elections staff.

“I knew nothing about his background, but I saw him during early voting at the College Hill voting site, and after early voting started, he was like a buffer between me and Kathy Harris whenever I wanted to reach her,” recalled Sharon Samek, a Tampa lawyer with the Florida Democratic Lawyers Council, a voting rights organization.

Gaskin’s employment ended Nov. 8, two days after a manual vote count determined that Johnson had lost the supervisor of elections job to Phyllis Busansky.

Neither Harris nor Gaskin would discuss his job duties, but the Times points out that Gaskin had been a CPA and had worked for Ernst & Young, the auditing firm that was checking on the office’s finances when Gaskin was hired.

From: Buddy Johnson
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 3:41 PM
To: (HaganK@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (NormanJ@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (SharpeM@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (FerlitaR@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (WhiteK@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (HigginbothamA@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); BecknerK@hillsboroughCounty.ORG
Cc: (BeanP@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (LeeR@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); (JohnsonE@HillsboroughCounty.ORG); Daniel Klein; Kathy Harris; David Parks; Stacie Poppell; Mia McCormick
Subject: Withdrawal of SOE Budget Amendment

The purpose of this letter is to formally withdraw the request for a budget amendment to the Supervisor of Elections FY 09 Budget.

As you know when we submitted the 2008 and 2009 budgets we could not predict the full impact of transitioning to a new voting system during a presidential election year.  We trusted the County Budget director and staff when throughout the budget process we were assured they understood we were submitting our best estimate. We were told by your staff we could not add a contingency to our budget but would need to request a countywide fund budget amendment when we could define the actual expenses.  As your staff is aware throughout the Election Cycle we used the required county process to adjust our 2008 and 2009 budgets several times to cover unforeseen election expenses.  We were extremely transparent in all of our dealings with the budget office and with the Office of the Clerk regarding these budget adjustments during these difficult economic times.

Our goal in submitting the budget request was to finalize the election cycle before leaving office so that the incoming Supervisor could focus on the future.  I feel it is best to withdraw the request so that Mrs. Busansky can review the budget and make her own decision about the amendment.  Any delay in making the request is attributed to carrying out the 2008 yearend audit and finalizing all expenditures related to the election cycle.  There is a very short period of time between Election Day and the end of the year.

Also, unbeknownst to me, without the knowledge of my general counsel or Sr. Chief Deputy Supervisor of Elections, I found out today that Mrs. Busansky and the County Attorney have initiated an investigation into the current voting system provider.  This matter needs to be completely transparent and reviewed by the Board of County Commissioners.  I have not been made privy to these discussions but have complete confidence in the current provider’s willingness and the current CIO and general counsel’s ability to respond to any technical or legal questions raised during this surreptitious investigation.

Finally, I want to express my appreciation to the Board for the elections partnership we shared these past years.  It was my pleasure to serve this community.

Respectfully submitted Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Buddy Johnson

• It’s a Madge and A-Rod Thanksgiving!!
• BayWalk in foreclosure.
• 27-year-old named chief speechwriter for Obama White House.
• Bush’s and Obama’s thoughts on Thanksgiving. (Bush has thoughts?!?)
• Macy’s Parade on two networks.
• Coleman extends his lead over Al Franken.
• C’mon, if a Bee Gee can’t smuggle a little doobich on the plane, who can?
• Lawyer tasered at Tamp Code Enforcement Board hearing.
• “Your corn is sweeter, your potatoes are starchier and your turkey is much, much bigger than the foods that sat on your grandparents’ Thanksgiving dinner table.” Thanks, science.
• Lawsuit about early primary date seeks class-action status.
• Elections officials sued for not offering ballot en espanol.
• Tampa Bay’s Sarah Palin defends herself.
• Al Jazeera’s citizen journalism experiment.
• Hillsborough civic leader Bob Bondi dies at 74.

So you would think that in a GOP-dominated county like Pinellas, Brickfield wouldn’t have a worry.

You’d be wrong.

Brickfield said he is running hard to the end, something you will hear from every good candidate, but he was genuinely not taking the race for granted because of the incredible wave against Republicans that seems to be hitting the state of Florida. He said he had been down campaigning at the St. Petersburg early voting site, where votes were going 10-1 against him. Barack Obama’s strategy of getting (especially African-American) voters to the polls for early voting has flooded the locations already. He then spent part of the day at the Largo early voting site and reported a much stronger pro-Republican turnout there, something to be expected in that part of the county.

With John McCain atop the ticket running double-digits behind Obama, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released today, it is starting to look like the bad news for Republicans is trickling down the ballot. Late yesterday, Congressional Quarterly moved two targeted Republican congressional seats in Central Florida in and around Orlando from the undecided column to “leans Democratic.” It wrote in the race for the seat held by Ric Keller:

• Florida’s 8th District (New Rating: Leans Democrat. Previous Rating: No Clear Favorite)

In his past races, Keller had been able to count on a consistent, though diminishing, Republican voter registration advantage in his central Florida district, which includes part of Orlando. But there have been demographic changes to the district, including a growing number of Hispanic residents, and the GOP registration lead is no more. Closing figures for voter registration in Florida were released Sunday and indicate that Democrats officially hold a registration edge in the 8th, 39 to 37 percent.

That spells major trouble for the four-term Republican incumbent, according to political scientist Aubrey Jewett of the University of Central Florida.

After winning easily in his 2002 and 2004 contests, Keller had to campaign hard to achieve a 7-point victory in 2006 over a Democratic challenger, Charlie Stuart. And this year’s Democratic candidate, lawyer Alan Grayson, is much better-funded that was Stuart, having poured millions in personal funds into his campaign. A chunk of his money has gone into a battery of TV ads. “It’s certainly starting to look like Grayson might win this thing,” Jewett said.

Keller just narrowly won his Aug. 26 Republican primary over a conservative political newcomer, lawyer Todd Long, which was widely seen as a sign of increased vulnerability.

Democrats think this is one place where Obama’s coattails could help produce a House upset for the Democratic candidate. Obama visited Orlando this week and is believed to be contributing to the increased Democratic registration in the district.

And in the bitterly fought race against incumbent Tom Feeney, CQ found:

• Florida’s 24th District (New Rating: Leans Democratic. Previous Rating: No Clear Favorite)

Democrat Suzanne Kosmas, a former state representative who once appeared a long-shot challenger to Republican Feeney, now appears to hold an edge in their race in Florida’s 24th District — a swath of the east-central part of the state which includes Orlando suburbs and part of the Space Coast.

This might have seemed a highly unlikely scenario as recently as 2004, when Bush was taking 56 percent in the 24th — and Feeney, who helped design the district in his previous role as state House Speaker, was running unopposed for re-election.

But that was before the name of Jack Abramoff, the convicted Washington influence peddler, became part of the political conversation in the district. Feeney was one of several House members who took golfing trips to Scotland that they later learned were financed by Abramoff.

After long stating that he had done nothing unethical and paying reimbursement for the trip, Feeney was unable to tamp down criticisms by Kosmas and other Democrats. So he took the unusual step of apologizing to his constituents in a paid ad this summer, labeling the trip a “rookie mistake.” Yet the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board noted the Abramoff flap in its recent endorsement of Kosmas.

“It was always almost on the front burner and it was easy to move it to the front burner,” Susan MacManus, political scientist at the University of South Florida, said of the Abramoff connection.

Republicans also now hold just a 3 percentage-point voter registration edge in the district. “I think it leans Democrat for the Feeney race,” MacManus said.

The mounting fear may have been behind Gov. Charlie Crist (continuing to slowly emerge from his post-”I-got-my-ass-whupped-by-Sarah-Palin-for-veep” isolation) yesterday headlining a conference call with reporters reiterating that John’s His Man. “It’s Florida, Florida, Florida for sure,” he told reporters.

And finally, down in South Florida, where three Cuban Republican congressmen are under heavy mortar fire, the Democrat Annette Taddeo has released a campaign-financed poll that shows her closing to within a few points of incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Take that one with a grain of salt, but still, it shows the relative strength of down-ballot Democrats as they benefit from an anti-Palin backlash and lackluster performance by McCain.

To register, you just need a picture ID and a completed voter registration form — and then pray that your spelling and name match those in a government database or you could fall victim to the “No Match, No Vote” law.

Here’s info on how to register in Pinellas or Hillsborough today. Here’s detailed instructions and the voter registration form.

simpson-campaign-announcement-hackworth.mp3