Republican Tom Gallagher reported Friday that his campaign for governor raised more than $3-million in a six-week stretch ending Thursday.

Gallagher, 61, the state's chief financial officer who has held statewide office for nearly two decades, is running for the GOP nomination against Attorney General Charlie Crist, who hasn't released his fundraising totals.

Gallagher's total appears to be a record for the first fundraising quarter for any Florida gubernatorial candidate. Jeb Bush raised $1.3-million in his first 90-day period in 2001, when he was an incumbent unopposed within his party - and a much safer bet than Gallagher is today.

Crist's campaign issued a statement in which he said: "It is well known that the treasurer knows how to raise money. I look forward to a campaign not just purchased on television, but a real discussion of issues. ... For our part, we are still counting the contributions to our campaign."

After nearly 300 pages of mixing events of 2000 with sort of a greatest-hits flashback to Plato and Socrates, deHaven-Smith concludes in his epilogue that the Republicans played hardball while the Democrats - starry-eyed idealists that they are - were being Boy Scouts. He even cites Watergate as an example of GOP readiness to swipe an election, and repeats the old claim that Republicans secretly promised Iran an arms deal if the revolutionaries held the American hostages past the 1980 election.

Dangling chads aside, deHaven-Smith theorizes that President Clinton's impeachment - along with Gore's own fund-raising scandals - created doubts that the GOP could exploit. And he says the Republicans and Democrats are still in their Lucy vs. Charlie Brown roles.

"But recent American history suggests that the Democrats' posture in 2000 reflects an enduring trait, not a momentary response to the circumstances," he writes. "Typically, when top Democrats behave lawlessly, it is in their personal lives, not in their pursuit and use of political power."

President Bush received an unfavorable rating, with 51 percent saying they did not approve of how he was handling his job compared with 45 percent who supported the second-term president.

49 percent of the 1,248 Florida voters surveyed by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute approved of Bush's overall job performance as governor, compared with 40 percent who did not.

Melanie Hines, a former statewide prosecutor who led the audit, said the $926,000 had simply been miscoded through a series of mistakes by the party's bookkeepers. And she said Griffin-Bruton, who Maddox hired as the party comptroller, did not intentionally withhold taxes from the federal government, but was simply "in over her head."

Maddox never signed the tax documents, and Hines said Griffin-Bruton used a stamp of his signature when turning them in, a practice that Maddox said was misused in that instance.

"The problem occurred because of a poor hiring decision, a lack on internal controls and a lack of strong oversight of the financial records of the party," Hines said. "There is, however, no direct evidence that the former chair was aware of the tax deficiency."

Maddox, a former Tallahassee mayor, hailed the audit as a vindication and defended his hiring of Griffin-Bruton based on her 20-year history of running Tallahassee's city parks and recreation department's $15 million budget.

Florida voters are convinced Gov. Jeb Bush is intervening in the Terri Schiavo case for political reasons and disapprove by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a new poll that nevertheless shows the Republican governor's popularity is largely untouched.

Bush -- who can't run for reelection because of term limits -- retains a mostly favorable job rating in the independent Quinnipiac University survey, despite the overwhelming unpopularity of his asking a state attorney to look into Schiavo's collapse in 1990. ...

In the Schiavo case, 59 percent of those surveyed opposed Bush's request that Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney Bernie McCabe take a "fresh look" at allegations that Schiavo's husband took up to 70 minutes to call 911 after his wife collapsed 15 years ago at their home. Just 30 percent of voters sided with the governor. Even a sizable percentage of Republicans, 48 percent, disagreed with the governor's intervention.

70 percent, don't want Bush to further cement a family dynasty by running for president in 2008

Few decisions are as gut-wrenching as those that affect the access of the poor to medicine, but tough choices must be made as Florida's Medicaid costs continue to skyrocket.

The Florida Elections Commission believes the state has a "big, big loophole" in its elections laws because the state's newest type of political committee allows special interests to unduly influence elections.

A month ago, the commission found probable cause that Hennessee, the campaign manager for sheriff candidate Ken Eggleston, had committed three elections violations regarding political committees, including breaking a contribution ceiling with a $1,000 personal loan.

But on Thursday the commission dropped those charges and instead found it had enough evidence to prove she violated three laws regarding an "electioneering communications organization," known as an ECO, a new type of political organization allowed under a law passed by the legislature last year.

Unlike a candidate's political committee, which is subject to a $500 limit on contributions to candidates, Electioneering communications organizations have no limits on the amount of money they can raise from individuals. The law prohibits the organizations from paying for candidate or issue-related ads that have a clearly "expressed advocacy" for one candidate or issue, but it doesn't define "expressed advocacy."

With his top trade priority on the brink of failure, President Bush could not have been more clear with Sen. Mel Martinez at a recent White House meeting: He wants Martinez's vote.

But Martinez made no promises. The reason: sugar.

His biggest campaign contributor.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' role in the 2000 presidential election has not faded from Florida voters' memories, and a new poll says the negative impression is helping incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to an early lead in the 2006 Senate race.

Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the leading Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race, received $50,000 in campaign contributions from a defense contractor that sought to do business in her district.
That contractor, MZM Inc., is under federal investigation over payments to a California congressman. ... a spokesman for Harris said she is sending letters to all the MZM donors offering refunds.

"She reads the papers just like everyone else" and has heard of the allegations, said Adam Goodman, a political strategist for Harris, who said there was nothing wrong with Harris' acceptance of the contributions.

He acknowledged that Harris was "very excited" about plans by MZM to expand into the Tampa Bay area. He said he had no details about what kind of work the company had planned to do here.

"God forbid there has to be another Republican governor, but if there is I think the one that's most reasonable is Charlie Crist," said Pensacola trial lawyer Fred Levin, who this week hosted gubernatorial fundraisers for Crist and Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua."

Sources said Harris has hired several political heavyweights, including Edward Rollins, who has served in three Republican presidential administrations and was President Ronald Reagan's campaign director for his 1984 re-election campaign. Rollins also served as campaign manager for Ross Perot's presidential bid in 1992.

Others who are on Harris's team include Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group, a highly regarded pollster, and Adam Goodman of the Victory Group, a media consultant who has worked with many Republicans.

Jim Foster of James Foster and Associates will be in charge of Harris' direct mail campaign. Harris is also being advised by two lobbyists -- Ben McKay of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and Dan Berger with America's Community Bankers.

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid suggested on Tuesday that four of his Republican colleagues be considered by President Bush if a vacancy occurs on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Seeking a possible consensus nominee, Reid recommended Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

Reid described them all as bright and able lawyers who would be strong additions to the nation's highest court.

I suspect that he's on the wrong side of the bell curve of all of the members of the FL Bar in terms of overall ability. Only 1 SC nominee that I'm aware of came from FL, the legendary Harold Carswell in 1969 or 1970. When Carswell's overall mediocrity was noted in Senate debate on his nomination, Roman Hruska of NE commented that mediocre people deserve representation, too. Martinez would clearly fit in the Carswell tradition.

It's still an embarrassment to think that Betty Castor lost to this guy. I understand what Reid's trying to do, and I know that Martinez doesn't stand a chance of getting nominated, but he has absolutely no business being on the SC.

[a]ssuming that Martinez is conservative enough to please the conservative base, it wouldn't neccessarily be bad positioning for Bush to nominate someone he knows will get confirmed without a fight, especially if he is making more than one appointment, and is nominating someone extremely controversial for the other seat. First, Bush will appear to be willing to work with the Dems, which makes it harder for us to oppose his other nominee. Second, Martinez is conservative but not too radical, so he would be confirmed. Third, once confirmed, Jeb Bush gets to appoint Martinez's replacement in the Senate. This would allow the Florida GOP to avoid a potentially damaging 2006 primary. Jeb could appoint Katherine Harris to the Senate, which would leave only Florida House Speaker Allan Bense (Bush's preferred candidate) for the 2006 race agianst Bill Nelson. Or the other way around.

gubernatorial bid is being damaged by reports of financial problems during his term as chairman of the state Democratic Party, a poll released Wednesday indicates.

Maddox, who had support of 22 percent of the Democrats questioned in a similar poll in April, fell to 16 percent in the survey by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute taken June 22-26. Pollsters went into the field a day after the story broke that the Internal Revenue Service had slapped a lien on the Democratic Party's last $98,000 for unpaid social security and payroll taxes in 2003 when Maddox was its chairman.

"You have to conclude that it is beginning to hurt him," said Clay Richards, assistant polling director for Quinnipiac.

Just back from a meeting with White House and Senate leaders in Washington, D.C., House Speaker Allan Bense said Tuesday he will make a decision on running for the U.S. Senate within the next week to 10 days. ...

Bense is being encouraged to join the race by the White House and the political allies of the president, including his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, although U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key, has announced her intentions to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, next year.

On Monday, Bense met with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is recruiting GOP candidates for next year's Senate races.

"It's safe to say that she thinks he would be a great candidate," said Brian Nick, a committee spokesman.

Bense also met with Karl Rove, a presidential adviser and top strategist for the party, according to Roll Call, a Washington-based newspaper. ...

Although he has not made a decision, Bense said not running is still a possibility.

A spokesman for Bense said he is intrigued by the Washington visit and likely to make a decision on the 2006 race soon.

"He's now got quite a bit to think about," said Bense spokesman Towson Fraser.

"My understanding is that they were very encouraging and expressing hope that he would seriously consider it."

Harris would easily defeat either GOP challenger [Bense or Lee] if an election were held now, the Quinnipiac survey indicated.

She was favored by 54 percent of the 477 Republicans surveyed to Lee's 10 percent and just 6 percent for Bense.

Quinnipiac's snapshot of that race some 14 months before the primary showed Nelson favored by 55 percent of those asked to 26 percent for Bense. Lee, who is now out of that contest, actually fared a bit better, trailing Nelson 53-30.

Nelson was favored by 50 percent compared to 38 percent for Harris ....

record does not inspire confidence. Multimillions of dollars in contracts in personnel administration, technology and human services have been fraught with mistakes and ethical missteps.

"This is a very good bill that unfortunately contains a very bad provision," said Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican and the state's junior senior. "This inventory sends a message to states and oil companies that the federal moratorium on offshore drilling is meaningless. This inventory provision tells the people of states like Florida that it's only a matter of time."

though Sen. Martinez fought to stop the oil inventory, his vote earlier this year to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling contributed to a shift in the Senate that helped kill his effort to block the inventory.

the same guy who voted to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Because that is somewhere other than here.

When errors occurred in Volusia County precincts during the 2000 presidential vote, paper ballots allowed an accurate manual recount.
If the county had relied only on paper receipts for what the machines had recorded -- not the actual paper ballots cast using the optical-scan system -- the recount would not have revealed voting discrepancies. But Diebold Elections Systems, Inc., which wants to sell the county $800,000 worth of touch-screen machines for voters who are disabled, says that a paper receipt is good enough.

The four council members who stood up to intense political pressure and rejected a contract with Diebold on June 6 -- Frank Bruno, Dwight Lewis, Carl Persis and Art Giles -- should stand firm today when they are asked to reconsider their votes. They should be joined by other council members in support of fair elections.

[Author Mark] Fuhrman stops short of accusing Michael Schiavo of harming his wife, but spends a great deal of time offering scenarios in which Michael Schiavo could have accidentally or intentionally contributed to his wife's collapse in 1990. He offers no proof of wrongdoing.

What was Gov. Jeb Bush's chef doing on a taxpayer-funded trade and culture mission to Japan in April? Trading recipes.

The trade and culture mission made by Bush's wife, Columba, her executive assistant, Gail Campbell, and governor's mansion chef Josh Butler hasn't yielded business deals for the state thus far, but Butler says that from his perspective, the trip was a success because he returned with Japanese recipes to use at the governor's mansion. He said he also touted attributes of Florida grapefruit. ...

The first lady declined to comment on the trip, but Alia Faraj, the governor's communications director, said the trip helped build economic, cultural and social ties between Japan and Florida.

Hillsborough County Attorney Renee Lee does not plan to issue guidelines on the county policy to "abstain from acknowledging, promoting and participating" in gay pride events.

"I don't anticipate doing anything else with it," Lee said Tuesday. "We can't write any more than what the policy says."

Eleven years ago, employees of the Riscorp insurance company made campaign contributions totaling $20,292 to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris. It was later discovered the employees were illegally reimbursed for their donations. Five Riscorp executives pleaded guilty to a range of charges and the company's president served a brief prison sentence. Harris denied any knowledge of the scheme, was never charged with any crime and was cleared of wrongdoing by a state investigator.

Fast-forward to 2004, when 16 employees of a company called MZM Inc. sent checks for $2,000 to her campaign -- 14 of them on the same day. The $32,000 was in addition to $10,000 the company's political action committee gave to her campaign. Last week, three employees told the San Diego Union-Tribune they were forced by the company's chief executive to donate to the firm's political action committee. ...

The practice of employees collectively donating to a candidate is known as bundling. It is not illegal. But in the Riscorp case, the employees were reimbursed through bonuses and fudged expense accounts. While Harris denied knowledge of the scheme, a letter from her office requested that Riscorp provide separate return addresses for each contribution. Federal prosecutors called her campaign chairman a co-conspirator in the case, but he was never charged with any crimes.

Ill-advised or not, Bush's [latest Schiavo] maneuver only fueled speculation about a possible presidential run in 2008. Given a GOP field that lacks a standout contender, Bush "would automatically be the one to beat" were he to enter, says Mac Stipanovich, a former Bush campaign manager. He's a popular governor who has embarked on pathbreaking reforms in such areas as education and Medicaid, and presided over a robust Florida economy. And he's embraced by the GOP's conservative base. So is Bush planning a run? Though he has repeatedly denied it, "that decision remains to be made," says one of the confidants. Another, who declined to be named so as not to jeopardize his relationship with Bush, believes Bush will end up going for it. "I think the national party will call on him," says this adviser, "and it will be tough to resist."

Would the unquestionable emergence of a political Presidential dynasty fly? A few thoughts:

It's hard to believe that other ambitious GOPers would simply roll over and just give Jeb the 2008 nomination. Even the politically hapless Bill Frist, who changed his position on the John Bolton vote after lunching with President GWB, might want to march to his own (admittedly seriously off beat) drummer this time.

Would Americans accept the idea of letting the brother of someone who served 8 years just move in and continue governing the country? Or would this be political baggage, at least in 2008?

A key factor will be what happens between now and 2008 with the country's political center. If it shifts to the right (as many expect) and the GOP maintains its hold on all three branches of government after 2006 (add to that a virtual takeover of Public Broadcasting), a Jeb Bush nomination might be viable. But if the country shifts more to the CENTER --if polls show a centrist/conservative Democrat (they do exist) backlash against issues such as Terri Schiavo, the nuclear option etc — Jeb Bush would be political dead meat. He has cast his lot with the social conservatives, which can work for or against him depending on what happens the next few years.

Overall, it's hard to believe Florida's governor would have a cake walk if he wants it. Already you can see some of GWB's clout waning.

New state policies restricting Medicaid payments for mental health drugs will hurt patients and drive up hospital costs, say doctors and a large drug company.

With one stroke of his veto pen Monday, Gov. Jeb Bush muscled out lawmakers who had mounted a unified campaign to exercise more control over how he hands out high-priced contracts for state government work.

Saying that the Legislature went too far and threatened the balance of powers, Bush vetoed three bills designed to impose new controls over the governor's push to privatize state government.

The bills would have created a panel that would have reviewed all contracts over $1 million, reduced the governor's office's role in managing state technology contracts and given the Legislature authority over preparing a long-term budget plan.

The veto highlighted the strongest policy contrast between the Republican-led Legislature and the Republican governor in Bush's six-year term, as lawmakers become increasingly uncomfortable with the executive branch's eagerness to hand over state business to the private sector without sufficient checks in place.

Jeb Bush has already blazed the [spoils system ] trail. Florida's governor has been an aggressive privatizer, and as The Miami Herald put it after a careful study of state records, "his bold experiment has been a success" at least for him and the Republican Party, records show. The policy has spawned a network of contractors who have given him, other Republican politicians and the Florida G.O.P. millions of dollars in campaign donations."

Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson wants to change Florida's constitution to protect embryonic stem-cell research.

Aaronson hopes to raise support for a stem-cell ballot question in time for the September 2006 gubernatorial primary. His call came after Gov. Jeb Bush said he opposes using public money for embryonic stem-cell study.

"I am not prepared to sit idly by while the governor dictates what research Scripps can and cannot do at its new home in Palm Beach County," Aaronson said at a news conference to announce his initiative. "This is like luring a prize fighter into the ring but tying one arm behind his back."

During the BIO 2005 convention in Philadelphia last week, Bush said he opposed such research because of its moral ambiguity.

The Dade City-based Florida Youth Conservation Corps is grabbing millions of dollars in no-bid government contracts to clean highway rights of way. Its stated mission is to provide training and scholarships to disadvantaged youths, but the most prevalent lessons are deceitful behavior and ducking accountability.

The private, nonprofit agency which gets up to $4.5-million a year, most from the state of Florida, refuses to detail its finances or document its scholarship spending. The reluctance might be attributable to some of FYCC's exorbitant spending elsewhere including $457,000 over the past four years on travel and conference expenses, mostly for its top managers. Or maybe the agency is coy because none of the 30 ex-employees interviewed by Times staff writers Collins Conner and Bridget Hall Grumet can name a single scholarship recipient in recent years.

It is an abuse of a public trust and exploits young, unskilled laborers who have little recourse. One recruiter said FYCC misled its employees and their families by not delivering on its promises. A former crew chief characterized FYCC as a place using cheap labor to turn a profit. There is little evidence to dispute their assessments.

named his chief of staff Monday to take over the state Department of Transportation.

Denver Stutler will become transportation secretary July 9. In addition to serving as the governor's chief of staff, Stutler has worked at the state's environmental agency and in private engineering firms.

State officials decided two years ago to cut the amount of money paid to centers providing residential and day training services to developmentally disabled adults. Their reason: a projected $27.5-million deficit.

The cuts, according to the centers, forced them to close group homes and watch some of the state's most vulnerable residents go without services.

Now, a state senator and advocates are questioning whether a deficit ever existed. In fact, they contend the Agency for Persons with Disabilities could be $90-million in the black.

With 14,600 people on a waiting list for services and providers struggling to stay afloat, two state senators have asked for a legislative review of the agency's finances.

No disrespect intended to Bense. But my advice to him would be to get hypnotized into forgetting that he was ever a big shot in Tallahassee. He should arrange to be scared, desperate and panicked. If he believes a single thing that Karl Rove or anybody else tells him about how strong a candidate he's gonna be and how much they're gonna help him, then he is sunk.

Over the past quarter-century, only one presiding officer from the Legislature has won a statewide race. A few got to Congress, but some lost even there.

A quick list:

Ralph Haben, speaker 1981-82, ran for comptroller, lost.

Harry Johnston, Senate president 1985-86, ran for governor, lost.

John Vogt, Senate president 1987-88, ran for treasurer, lost.

Tom Gustafson, speaker 1989-90, ran for lieutenant governor, lost.

Ander Crenshaw, Senate president in 1993, ran for governor, lost.

Peter Rudy Wallace, speaker 1995-96, ran for education commissioner, lost.

Johnnie Byrd, speaker 2003-04, ran for U.S. Senate, lost.

Now, trivia buffs, can you name the sole success? That would be Bob Crawford, Senate president in 1989-90, who became state agriculture commissioner.

completed the Republican makeover of Florida election laws last week by signing bills that make it harder to vote, shift control from local to state officials, give big-money contributors greater say and reduce majority rule.

Voters are learning a lesson .... When their interests conflict with those of Republicans, the Republicans get priority.

Sen. Nelson asked the governor to write President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., expressing his opposition to the gas and oil inventory, but the governor did not. A spokesman for Sen. Nelson earlier complained that the governor's plan actually would reduce the protection area from 285 to 100 miles in some areas.

Martinez says the seismic testing used to inventory oil and gas reserves will hurt marine mammals. This is the same guy who voted to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Because that is somewhere other than here.

MZM Inc., a Washington company that does millions of dollars of work for the federal government, has been in the news for its role in a deal with Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. Cunningham sold a house to MZM founder Mitchell Wade, who lost money on it after putting it back on the market almost immediately.

Harris, R-Sarasota, got $10,000 from the MZM political action committee, and another $32,000 from MZM employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign money.

The $32,000 came in 16 checks for $2,000 each - 14 of them written on one day, March 23, 2004.

Harris' congressional staff referred a reporter's questions to Adam Goodman, Harris' political consultant in her campaign for Senate next year. He said he couldn't comment because he didn't know anything about it.

[W]hile Democrats are busy laughing and preliminarily patting themselves on the back, it's worth looking at what they've got in Nelson.

When it came to Terri Schiavo, he sided with Republicans.

Flag burning? Republicans.

A controversial attorney general? Amtrak funding? Bankruptcy reform?

Republicans. Republicans. Republicans.

These are all recent votes that have started some pundits speculating that Nelson may be making a run to the center in time for his campaign in an increasingly Republican-voting state.

So while Republicans may not get Katherine Harris, at least they have Bill Nelson.

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test was first given statewide in 1998, with the strong backing of then-Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet.

It's disappointing that the U.S. Senate failed to take action this past week to reduce heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, but at least senators are finally beginning to face up to the problem.

majority of senators rejected a modest but meaningful proposal to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.