Florida Dems hire new political director....salary surprised some of us.

[madfloridian]

Don't get me wrong. I want to win here. This caught me off guard. One of my friends is a state committeewoman, and she did not know about it until I told her.

We just heard about it yesterday in an email. I guess I was surprised at the huge salary, as I have seen Scott Maddox pummeled for weeks unmercifully over party finances. Of course, nothing stuck, and none of it apparently was true, but his poll ratings are down...of course. Finances must not be TOO bad....read on.

Lots of green goes to turn state blue

"Tired of Republican red, Democratic chair Karen Thurman hires a strategist to lead the state party. His salary? $180,000."

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Democratic Party found itself in a fresh controversy Friday after chairwoman Karen Thurman hired a new executive director at a salary of $180,000.

Some party activists questioned the salary, which is about 40 percent more than Gov. Jeb Bush earns. Some complained they weren't consulted.

"She never notified me," said Diane Glasser, party vice-chair and member of its finance committee. "I don't know if he's worth it. I'm not trying to undermine her but there should have been some kind of conversation about this. It shouldn't have been a solo decision."

"This has all the indicators of not being good," said Jon Ausman, a Democratic national committeeman. Ausman said he wanted to see a detailed plan with specific goals for Navarro to accomplish."END SNIP

And this article from the Miami Herald, compares it with previous director's salary and shows it is far more than that of two GOP directors combined.

$180,000 for Democrats' chief

"The Florida Democratic Party, reeling from a string of political losses and financial scandals, has hired a new staff chief at $180,000 a year -- more than twice what his predecessor earned and higher than the combined salaries of both Republican Party managers."

"Paige Carter-Smith, Navarro's predecessor with the Democrats, earned $72,010 as executive director under former state chairman Scott Maddox. She left in May, when Maddox quit to run for governor and Thurman succeeded him.

The Republican Party has two state directors, Andy Palmer for political affairs and Terry Kester for party building. Records in the Secretary of State's office indicate Palmer is paid $72,287, while Kester makes $54,188 a year."END SNIP

Ok, I agree with Karen that you get what you pay for. And we do need to win. I just find myself thinking about the horrible attacks on Scott and how poorly he had handled party finances....and I wonder if he really did so badly after all.

[Rebellious Republican]

1. Hey MF, we need to do something here. I am so tired of living in

this state. The Republican party controls everything and is tearing down state government.

Here is an excerpt from his last inaugural speech...

"And if we are, we can embed in society a sense of caring that makes government less necessary. There would be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we can make these buildings around us empty of workers; silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill"

I can say it is much worse than what people really know! The is just the tip of the iceberg....

Disappointments wear away zest for state privatization
Skepticism spreads as Florida heads toward its biggest such experiment yet.
By JONI JAMES
Published February 19, 2005


TALLAHASSEE - For a governor determined to revolutionize how state government operates, the past seven months have not been the easiest for Jeb Bush.

In July, three top social service officials resigned after acknowledging they took favors from lobbyists. The same month, errors forced the state to scrap a felon voter list a company was paid millions to compile.

Two months later, the Bush Administration canceled $176-million in technology contracts after discovering a former official may have improperly communicated with a vendor, prompting an ongoing criminal investigation.

Last month, a Florida Supreme Court justice appointed by Bush blasted the private lawyers hired to defend death row inmates for performing "the worst lawyering I've seen."

But none of those problems compare to a single contract that threatens to undermine Bush's six-year legacy of hiring companies to do government work.

The rollout of the People First personnel system, run by a Cincinnati company called Convergys that had never had a government contract before, has caused paycheck and benefit problems for thousands of state employees - including legislators who sit in judgment of Bush's agenda.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/19/State/Disappointments_wear_.shtml

Money well spent if they can turn the tide of this arrogant admin and legislature, I say.

:hi:

[DaveinMD]

2. If you want to hire qualified people

we need to stop paying people poverty wages. ITs that simple. I wouldn't care what he makes as long as we win.

[whistle]

3. Hey, maybe this is a turnaround for traditionally low salaries....

...in Florida. I like it!

<snip>
Luis Navarro, an experienced strategist who worked as the political director of a labor union, in John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and for a liberal grass-roots organizing group, will take over next month.

"If you want top-notch people to come into a state of 15-million people and turn it blue, you're going to pay," said Thurman, who has watched Florida become saturated by Republican red in recent years.
<end of snip>

[mcar]

4. Why do we Dems always publicly eat each other?

If these other Democratic leaders here in FL had questions about Karen Thurman's decision to hire this guy, did they have to air them in the media? It sounds like sour grapes to me.

The Democratic Party should have been completely resurgent in Florida after the debacle of the 2000 election and the dem leadership here does nothing but infight.

This is why I won't join the party in my county -- this is all you ever see, Dems publicly criticizing other Dems, while the repukes stay on message.

Disagree, certainly. Question, definitely. But does it have to be right up front?

[snowbear]

5. Not me!

I'm not in the DLC vs. the DNC vs. the yada.. yada.. yada.. crowd..

I'd rather have a DEMOCRAT (DLC or DNC) than -A-N-Y- Republican any day of the week! :toast:

I hate in-house bickering.. :(

[madfloridian]

6. You are right not to criticize unless you are a member.

I am actually just presenting something that the St Pete Times and Miami Herald covered before at least one vice chair and a state committeeman, plus the committeewoman I know....even knew about it. It was not discussed with them.

I am not being especially critical, but I think they owe Scott Maddox a big apology if the finances are ok. I think she should have consulted her vice chairs and others.

Actually we are pretty active, and we know the rule of thumb here. It is never criticize a Democrat, but we do anyway. If we don't speak out then the people are not included in the process at all. And this time it appears they were not.

That said, we are quite active and will continue to be. We have been told not to criticize Bill Nelson, though he voted for the bankruptcy bill and CAFTA recently. We still think we need to speak up.

This may be a very good thing for us here, and I hope it is for sure.