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FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

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Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

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The Blog for Saturday, December 04, 2004

"Insider" at DCF

    "Governor names insider as DCF chief":
    In the past two decades, the agency's culture of conflict has spit out agency heads like a revolving door. Many have left because of scandal, ridicule or tragedy. Bush's first DCF secretary, Kathleen Kearney, resigned after two years on the job in the wake of the disappearance of Miami foster child Rilya Wilson.
    The latest sacrifice to DCF gods is someone named Lucy Hadi; her strongest credential may be her proficiency at bungling computer issues:
    [T]wo weeks ago, Hadi canceled the contract of the vendor of DCF's latest computer system, HomeSafenet, which is $200 million over budget and years late.... In 1992-93, she was deputy secretary of management systems at HRS and served on a steering committee overseeing implementation of a massive reorganization of the department's computer system that later became the subject of a grand jury investigation.

    According to a copy of the grand jury report at the time, in 1992 she authorized the procurement of a major piece of computer equipment without proper review.

    "This conduct can only be considered improper and wrong,'' the report stated. Hadi displayed conduct that ``amounted to a violation of departmental policies, procedures, procurement rules and regulations."
    Of course, consistent with the GOoPer "value" of personal responsibility,
    [o]n Friday, Hadi blamed the problems at HRS on poor timing and politics.

    "I was the one of the elephants following the parade. I didn't have anything to do with the process. It was just timing," she said. "Sometimes in public service, you just fall on your sword."
    Hadi was also at the center of one of the most offensive political acts in recent years:
    In 2003, while at DCF, Hadi also came under fire for firing six workers at a Hialeah welfare office where a state senator's grandmother alleged she was mistreated.
    One has to wonder what it is about Hadi that makes her qualified to run DCF? Perhaps this explains it:
    Her appointment is also a sign of Lt. Gov. Toni Jenning's growing influence in the governor's office at the end of his final term. Hadi worked for 16 months as Jennings' chief of staff, helping the lieutenant governor put in place the state's welfare-to-work initiatives, and was a close advisor to Jennings during her four-year tenure as Senate president.
    Politics as usual.

5:47 AM

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