Tally Lobbyist Gets Special Treatment
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Its good to be one of Florida’s top lobbyists…and one of the first customers of a Tallahassee restaurant in 1992.
Po’ Boys, a Creole style joint a stone-throw from the Capitol, has a sign behind its counter warning employees that Ron Book and his staff get special treatment.
“I spend a lot of money there. When I’m told the it will be ready in 15 or 20 minutes, it should be ready in 15 or 20 minutes. No longer,” Book explained the sign, which he didn’t know about.
Funny, I spent some money in Po Boys over the years because it is a block from the media center. There is no sign with special instructions on how to handle me or any other reporter that I noticed.
But nobody working in the media center bills an estimated $5 million annually from his state clients. Book, who lives in Plantation, is listed in Florida Trend as the fourth most successful lobbyist in 2012, as measured by billing. Two associate lobbyists work for his firm.
His clients include Ashbritt, the Broward-based disaster emergency cleanup firm; AutoNation, the Broward-based car dealers; Broward County, Broward Clerk of Courts; Cooper City, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale Lakes, Miramar, Hallandale Beach, Sunrise, Tamarac and other cities in Florida; GEO Group, the private prison firm; Kaiser University, the private college chain based in Fort Lauderdale; North Broward Hospital District; South Broward Hospital District; and several dozen other clients.
October 23rd, 2013 at 5:29 pm
WOW!!! Guess Mel Brooks was right when he said “It’s good to be the King!”
October 23rd, 2013 at 6:36 pm
“Ask a manger for delivery time if needed”?!?
October 23rd, 2013 at 7:57 pm
There is no flies on Book here.
October 24th, 2013 at 9:04 am
He’s probably a big spender and good tipper. are you, Buddy?
October 24th, 2013 at 11:15 am
The fruits of this guy’s scams are coming to fruition—in the form of free meals. LOL. One must wonder what this guy did to get this kind of treatment?
PS—Po Boys in tally is a dump.