~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/14/news_pf/Opinion/A_welcome_apology.shtml
A welcome apology
A Times Editorial
Published September 14, 2006
It was a long time coming, but Jim Davis did the right thing when he personally apologized to Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two black men whowere wrongly convicted of murder and spent 12 years in prison - includingnine on death row - before they were pardoned. The Democratic nominee forgovernor voted against compensating them 16 years ago as a state legislator,and he finally acknowledged he made a mistake and focused too much ontechnicalities at the time.
The Jim Davis who appeared with Pitts and Lee on Tuesday in Miami spoke more from the heart. His candor and humility better reflected his overall record as a state legislator and member of Congress from Tampa than this oneinexplicable lapse in judgment.
And there was more to this than one news conference; Davis spoke several times recently to Pitts and Lee by phone, and he met with Pitts privately onSunday.
=
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/14/news_pf/State/Proponents_of_paper_v.shtml
Proponents of paper voting trail win ruling
A judge says Sarasota County voters have a right to decide Nov. 7 whether toswitch from touch screen to paper ballots.
By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 14, 2006
A controversial charter amendment that would resurrect the paper ballot inSarasota County must be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot, a judge ruledWednesday.
The amendment, drafted by a group that distrusts the electronic, touchscreen machines used by Sarasota and 14 other counties - including Pinellas,Hillsborough and Pasco - is constitutional and has met all ballotrequirements, Circuit Judge Robert B. Bennett Jr. said in his ruling.
County commissioners, who feared the measure was unconstitutional and sought a judge's opinion, relented and voted Wednesday
=
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/14/news_pf/State/Crist_nod_for_No_2_go.shtml
Crist nod for No. 2 goes to a 'fighter'
His selection of state Rep. Jeff Kottkamp - a friend, trial lawyer and family man - gets mixed reviews.
STEVE BOUSQUET and DEIRDRE MORROW
Published September 14, 2006
CAPE CORAL - Republican nominee for governor Charlie Crist on Wednesdaychose as his running mate state Rep. Jeff Kottkamp of Cape Coral, asoft-spoken trial lawyer with deep roots in conservative southwest Florida.
Kottkamp, 45, has been in the House since 2000, and has been a reliableRepublican vote on such issues as higher phone rates and state interventionin the Terri Schiavo case, both of which Crist has criticized.
Kottkamp also survived a major health scare two years ago, when an infectionafter five heart bypasses left him in an induced coma for several weekswhile his wife was pregnant.
=
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-davis1406sep14,0,4810707.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state
Democratic nominee Davis selects Jones, sources say - The '02 gubernatorial candidate from Miami spent 10 years serving in the state Senate.
Linda Kleindienst and Bill Hirschman
Tallahassee Bureau
September 14, 2006
TALLAHASSEE -- Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jim Davis today will nameformer Miami state Sen. Daryl Jones as his running mate, sources said late Wednesday.
Davis spent much of Wednesday mulling over five choices for his runningmate. Sources said that Jones, who made his own bid for governor in 2002, got the call late Wednesday.
Davis, a congressman from Tampa, narrowed his selection to South Florida Democrats in an effort to mine the area's voter-rich counties. More than onein four of the state's 10.4 million voters live in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
Other finalists were House Democratic Leader Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale;Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle; incoming HouseDemocratic Leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach; and former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jimmy Morales.
=
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorial/sfl-edittdandrewssep14,0,653590.story?coll=sfla-news-editorial
School Board
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
September 14, 2006
ISSUE: Carole Andrews resigns seat because of poor health.
Carole Andrews has served with dedication on the Broward County School Board, but failing health has forced her to resign. It's sad to see her go.
Andrews, re-elected on Sept. 5 to serve a third term, helped create theLeadership Academy for at-risk students. She also created and supervised theSchool Resource Officer Program. She represented the School Board on thecounty's Children's Services Council and several other boards. Her concernfor the welfare of children will be sorely missed.
Andrews also performed a valuable public service by running for re-electiondespite her illness. Her only opponent had two DUI convictions and ano-contest plea in a cocaine possession case on his record, and is currentlyfacing a third DUI charge. His election would have been a disaster.
=
The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-celxdavis14sep14,0,2015928.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Davis expected to name Daryl Jones as running mate
By Linda Kleindienst and Bill Hirschman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 14, 2006
TALLAHASSEE--Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jim Davis today will nameformer Miami state Sen. Daryl Jones as his running mate during a FortLauderdale campaign stop, the first in a two-day statewide tour to introducethe new team to voters.
Davis spent much of Wednesday mulling over five choices from South Florida.Sources said that Jones, an African-American who made his own bid forgovernor in 2002, got the call late Wednesday night.
Davis, a congressman from Tampa, narrowed his selection to South Florida inan apparent effort to mine the area's voter-rich counties. More thanone-in-four of the state's 10.4 million voters live in Broward, Palm Beachand Miami-Dade counties.
=
The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15512655.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Crist taps Cape Coral lawmaker for his running mate
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
meklas@MiamiHerald.com
CAPE CORAL - State Attorney General Charlie Crist rounded out his ticket for governor Wednesday, tapping a state legislator who brings with him what Crist doesn't have: a wife, a child, home ownership and a solid conservative pedigree that appeals to the Republican Party's traditional base.
Jeff Kottkamp, a Cape Coral state representative and trial lawyer, is the right choice for lieutenant governor, Crist said, because ``he's a great man, a great leader, a man of great integrity.''
The camera-friendly pair said they have been friends since 1998, but first worked together in 2003, when Kottkamp sponsored a Crist-backed measure to increase the attorney general's ability to file civil rights complaints.
Kottkamp, 45, is a rising star in the House who has made his name as a staunch defender of the courts and an opponent of radical litigation reforms. But Kottkamp's legislative record also includes one item that may complicate his civil rights stance: In 2001, he co-sponsored a bill designed to make it illegal to remove the Confederate flag from flying above public buildings.
=
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15513435.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR CHOICE
Kottkamp's life takes a remarkable turn
Charlie Crist's running mate brings solid conservative credentials and his own compelling story to the state race.
BY GARY FINEOUT
gfineout@MiamiHerald.com
At a time when his neighbors were dealing with the fury and aftermath ofHurricane Charley in 2004, state Rep. Jeff Kottkamp was in a coma in aSouthwest Florida hospital, struggling to overcome a heart infection.
The Cape Coral Republican was just 43 years old, but he had gone to thehospital in July of that year for bypass surgery. The infection put his lifein peril, forcing doctors to place him in a medically induced coma. Kottkampdidn't recover until after Charley tore through the region. Kottkamp wouldrecall later that he missed a lot that summer, although he awoke just beforethe birth of his son.
''It was a month where I'm in a coma and hurricanes are happening. I missedthe Republican National Convention. I missed the Olympics, the elections. Imissed all of that,'' Kottkamp was quoted by his hometown newspaper thatfall.
#####
