Ellyn Bogdanoff In Mix For Lt. Governor
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Former state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff might be making a quick return to political office after losing a race for state Senate last year.
Bogdanoff, a Fort Lauderdale Republican, is one of the pols being mentioned as a new Lieutenant Governor.
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned yesterday after being connected to a company accused of illegally operating gambling casinos.
Now two leading media outlets – the well-read Crowley Report written by former long-time newspaper political writer Brian Crowley and the Sunshine State News – have thrown Bogdanoff into the mix of candidates to be the new Lt. Governor.
“If the governor called, I would be glad to have that conversation,” Bogdanoff said.
Bogdanoff is not alone. There are more than a half dozen others being mentioned, including some current lawmakers.
The former senator has a lot of pluses that might appeal to Scott. A telegenic Jewish woman from Southeast Florida with a solid history of working on education issues, she could strengthen Scott’s appeal in next year’s election.
Ellyn Bogdanoff
A veteran Broward politician, Bogdanoff ran races for School Board and state Senate in the 1990s before winning a seat in the Legislature in 2004. She served in the House representing northeast Broward and a small slice of Boca Raton from 2004-2010. She won a seat in the state Senate in 2010, but was defeated in 2012.
Gov. Rick Scott will pick the new Lt. Governor after the current session of Florida’s Legislature, which is due to end on May 3.
Governor Rick Scott Statement on the Resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott today made the following statement at a media availability, following the resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll:
“Local, state and federal law enforcement officials just held a press conference in Orlando, announcing that 57 individuals were charged with illegal activity linked to a $300 million conspiracy orchestrated by Allied Veterans of the World.
“Law enforcement officials executed 57 arrest warrants yesterday [Tuesday, March 12] in 23 Florida counties and five additional states for individuals involved in the Allied Veterans conspiracy. They did a great job on this investigation and we appreciate their work. The joint law enforcement agencies involved put out a press release with further details on this large investigation and they can give you further information about this case.
“I have been periodically updated over the course of this investigation, as it was determined appropriate by law enforcement. Out of respect to their process, that is all I will say about our knowledge of their timeline in this case.
“Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll consulted for this company in 2009 and 2010 when she was serving in the Florida House of Representatives. FDLE interviewed Lt. Gov. Carroll yesterday related to her work for the company.
“Lt. Gov. Carroll resigned yesterday in an effort to keep her former affiliations with the company from distracting from our important work on behalf of Florida families. I will not elaborate on the details of her resignation further, other than to say that she resigned and she made the right decision for the state and her family.
“We appreciate her willingness to step up and serve our state. She was a tireless advocate for Florida’s military and our mission to create more jobs. We are grateful for her service.
“I have asked Let’s Get to Work and Rick Scott for Governor to immediately identify any contributions from Allied Veterans or the affiliated companies named in the investigation. I want funds from these groups to be immediately given to charity. We have zero tolerance for this kind of criminal activity. Period.
“Additionally, we have seen press reports that the Republican Party of Florida accepted $25,000 from Allied Veterans to fund inaugural events when I took office. The Party has no record of that contribution.
“As to the future of the Lt. Gov.’s position, Florida law provides that a Lt. Gov. be in place, but we will not turn our attention to this topic until after the conclusion of the legislative session. I want to say again that: We will not turn our attention to this topic until after the conclusion of the legislative session.
“We have two very important priorities this session – a $2,500 teacher pay raise and the elimination of the sales tax on manufacturing equipment – that we need to get done immediately. Those are our top priorities and we look forward to putting all of our focus on these goals and getting them done quickly, with the help of the legislature over the next few weeks.”
March 13th, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Great cjoice. Smart, accomplished, lawyer, and if scott gets re-elected (jus saying if he gets re-elected) she could run for Governor of Florida down the road. She has name recognition, no compromising personal stuff and appears to be above the fray that brings down so many.
Go Ellen! Rick Scott – get to work and pick Ellen!
March 13th, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Terrific choice for our governor. I will write an e-mail to him.
March 13th, 2013 at 10:33 pm
Why don’t you tell you readers how impartial you really are. Didn’t your son work for Ellen when she was a Senator? Buddy, you are bought and paid for.
FROM BUDDY:
I guess Brian Crowley and the editors of the Sunshine State News had children that worked for Bogdanoff, too.
I worked for the Tribune Company, owners of the Sun-Sentinel, for more than three decades. Although I receive a pension from them, does it restrain me from criticizing what they do?
March 13th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
Having worked with Ellyn Bogdanoff since 1992, I can tell you she is a great choice for Lt. Gov.
Smart, knows how to work both sides of the aisle, resourceful, charismatic, gets things done. Did I say smart?
Picking Ellyn would be one of the few things Rick Scott gets right.
He still has to overcome the very real threat of being a one term Governor unless his pockets are deeper than originally thought.
March 14th, 2013 at 9:12 am
Ellen outperformed the district in her last Broward/Palm Beach race by a significant margin in a big Obama wave election. People fail to realize she was running in a nearly +10 point Democratic seat and cut that in half in a market that was seeing 5-1 Obama to Romney ads for months. She has good crossover support and works her tail off from what I have always heard.
March 14th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Historically the LG position has been a dead-end job for politicians. But Ellen really doesn’t have many options as a Republican in Broward County. She can wait until 2018 when Chip LaMarca and George Moraitis are both term limited.
March 17th, 2013 at 5:11 pm
She was a Rick Scott rubber stamp from 2010-2012, it’s one of the reasons her “moderate” persona (which is nothing more than an act) wasn’t successful in 2012. Anyone who thinks that she might help Scott win re-election needs to remember something. We hate Rick Scott. We hate his agenda. And anyone who voted for that agenda is equally suspect. The Republican Party of Florida is a corrupt organization, Rick Scott is corrupt. The people are not going to “forget”.
March 17th, 2013 at 9:09 pm
@Laughable
relax.
we want to see the opponent before remembering to not forget.
March 21st, 2013 at 2:27 pm
“Give me a break…this is the same woman who deeply offended the Jewish community with her senseless attacks on Maria Sachs — questioning her commitment to preserving Holocaust education. Sachs is the daughter-in-law of Holocaust survivors. And, this woman (EB) calls herself “the Angel of Death”. Ouch!”