Silence in the Competition for Staub's Commission Seat?

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS THE FOURTH IN A SERIES DEALING WITH THE SUCCESSOR TO COMMISSIONER SHANNON STAUB. As mentioned in a previous blog posting on Shannon Staub’s successor, the Englewood Sun called for “someone with a strong South County background and a strong voice.” So I have to ask, is it just me, or has the silence been deafening?

Everyone seems to know and expect that applicants for the District 3 seat will be working back-channel access to the Governor, trying to narrow six degrees of separation to one or two. And any contenders that may have the Governor’s number on their cell phones can be expected to place a call. This sort of behind the scenes jockeying is part of our political process and is actually somewhat explicit because the gubernatorial appointment form (Question 27) asks for three persons who have known you well for the past five years. This is not the place where applicants list two neighbors and their favorite barista (unless a neighbor or the barista knows the Governor). Which happens.

But is that it? Everyone keeps their head down, seeks out contacts that might put in a good word in Tallahassee, but otherwise tries to stay out of sight? What about the strong voices? The Republicans held auditions that I believe afforded everyone present three minutes to test their voices. But since then, what has been heard?

If any readers are aware of any blog postings, interviews, letters to the editor or any other public pronouncements from others vying for the seat, please use the comment section to let me know. Because I am not hearing or seeing much.

As promised I’m attaching my responses to my own form below. Please read the previous blog entry if this seems perplexing.

Yes, I know it is small. It's a pdf and if you click on it you should be able to enlarge and read it. If you are reading this on Sarasota Speaks, the pdf may not be visible. If not, click on FULL ARTICLE to go to the original blog entry.

RE: Shannon Staub's Successor --The Missing Page in the Appointment Form

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS ONE IN A SERIES DEALING WITH THE SUCCESSOR TO COMMISSIONER SHANNON STAUB.

At a recent Tiger Bay luncheon the Governor apparently referred to his practice of interviewing all candidates that apply for a gubernatorial appointment. Now that more than two dozen Sarasotans have applied to fill the remainder of Commissioner Staub's term, he would seem to have a lot of work to do.

He is aided by the staff in the appointment's office who receive the applications, and vet applicants. The application is fairly extensive (six pages of content) and asks for a lot of detail on some matters. But it is a general appointment form and doesn't actually deal with a number of important questions the Governor (and Sarasota citizens) would probably like to have answered before a decision is made.

For instance: the form doesn't ask if an applicant lives in the District in question, whether they intend to run for the District 3 seat in 2012 if appointed, or if they have ever done anything for the County or District.

In order to simplify the work of the Governor and staff, I've created a supplemental page that addresses many of the shortfalls. In the next few days I will answer the questions, forward my responses to the Governor's Appointment Office and post my responses online here.

If all the applicants would do the same, it might be a service to both the Governor, the media, and Sarasota citizens.

Of course, since I am applying to complete the term, some will no doubt accuse me of preparing a biased or leading form that plays to my strengths. I actually feel it is fairly neutral on that score, but I'll concede the point.

In response, here's my proposition to other applicants -- a possible way to balance any bias:

You design your own one page supplemental form, fill it out and send it to me. I will answer the same questions you posed and submit my response to your form to the Governor's office and post it online. The only caveat is that I reserve the right to forward your completed form to the Governor's office and post it here as well.

Below you'll find the page I think is missing from the form. Yes, I know it is small. It's a pdf and if you click on it you should be able to enlarge and read it. If you are reading this on Sarasota Speaks, the pdf may not be visible. If not, click on FULL ARTICLE to go to the original blog entry.