The Political Whore

By George Niemann
PoHo contributor and R-LAND and UCAN activist

It looks like Commissioner Ken Hagan has decided to become the first point of contact for all county residents with problems.

As you may recall, Wayne Garcia reported that Hagan (District 2) has been distributing fliers in District 1 in what the Hillsborough County Commission chairman calls a public service gesture.  As it turns out, the distribution of these fliers is heralding a new method of operation for the county,  which is the brainchild of Hagan. During these hard economic times, Hagan has decided to singlehandedly re-engineer the way the county does business.

Interestingly enough, the flier says that Hagan wants to know about any issues that county residents have. He also encourages everyone to contact him saying, “Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of service.” Well, I decided to ask the commissioner if he really meant that. Is he going to work on anyone’s issue, regardless of which district they’re in? Does that mean that he intends to be the first point of contact for all of the districts??? I got some surprising answers when I called his office.

I spoke with Hagan’s senior aide, Rich Reidy by telephone on Monday. Reidy emphatically supports his boss’s idea of being the first point of contact for any inquiries, on a countywide basis. Here’s how Reidy responded to my questions: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll put the disclosure right up front: I worked with Rich Reidy in my political consulting firm before returning to journalism in 2004. Today, Reidy (who is an aide to Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan) announced he will run for the Florida House in District 47, a seat that could see him match up against former HIllsborough Commissioner Brian Blair.

If you recall, Reidy was surprised late last year when Blair let slip that he would seek the seat, since Reidy thought he had Blair’s blessing (if not, at least, tacit understanding). Republican Tom Aderhold has also submitted preliminary campaign papers to start campaigning for this seat as well. Blair has discussed the race and is believed to have interviewed a campaign consultant but has not publicly announced or filed his campaign paperwork yet.

The full text of Reidy’s announcement after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the endless cycle that has become the modern campaign seasons, we’re already hot and heavy into the next go-round for the 2010 elections (skipping entirely the marquee St. Pete mayor’s race for now). Here are some early observations on local, state and national races of importance:

• Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman is trying to move up to the Florida Senate, and he will face state Rep. Kevin Ambler in a Republican primary. This is the Hillsborough-Pasco seat now held by Sen. Victor Crist of Tampa, a Republican.
  Norman has already raised more than $215,000, according to state records; Ambler has raised just $750, as most of his 2008 contributions went to his House re-election campaign.
• Speaking of Crist, it is expected that he will seek a seat on the County Commission. Most think that it will be Norman’s vacant seat (Crist lives in the district), but it’s possible Crist could run for the seat now held by Commissioner Ken Hagan and Hagan could run for Norman’s seat, gaining additional years on the commission (Hagan would be term-limited in 2012 without such a switch).
• Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair surprised local politicos when he all-but-announced late last year that he would seek Ambler’s House 47 seat. Lining up for that race was Rich Reidy, a Republican aide to Commissioner Hagan who was not expecting Blair to get into the race. Neither possible candidate has opened a campaign account yet, but word is that Blair is trying to line up Doug McAlarney, a Republican political consultant who helped get state Rep. Ed Homan, R-Temple Terrace, elected.
• Ronda Storms? The rumor mill is rife with the idea that, having given birth to a second child in 2008, she would opt out of the 2010 elections and stay home. But she has opened a campaign account for re-election and was “incensed” when the Times asked if her future plans included leaving the Senate.
  Read the rest of this entry »