After the Tribune’s interview Monday with Gallagher, his campaign organized a conference call to disclose the information to other state newspapers. The campaign also released copies of the court records the Tribune provided in its interview request.

Tom Gallagher, the Republican state chief financial officer running for governor on a platform of family values, admitted Monday that he had an extramarital affair that led to his 1979 divorce and said he used marijuana before he was elected to public office "many, many" years ago.

Gallagher, 62, conducted an impromptu news conference with his wife, Laura, after The Tampa Tribune asked him about 26 pages excerpted from his 27-year-old divorce file, expunged from Miami-Dade court files years ago in a routine purging of dated records.

The revelations come as Gallagher courts religious conservatives, who have embraced him, in part, because he is married and has a 7-year-old son. They see him as more of a committed family man than his GOP primary opponent, Attorney General Charlie Crist, who remains single after a divorce in 1980 following seven months of marriage.

Silly Stunt

"Many state Republican legislators are hitting the road in search of the best 100 ideas to improve Florida." "GOP lawmakers seek new ideas".

Privatization Follies From the "Values" Crowd

"The cost per child and the frequency of abuse both have increased as the system has become privatized, a state audit concludes." "Foster care problems continue". See also "Audit points out continuing issues in foster care system" ("The cost of privatizing the state's foster care system has soared in recent years and a higher number of children are being repeatedly abused, according to a state audit released Monday.").

"Union" Endorses Negron

" Police union endorses Negron".

DCF

"Report: DCF should have done more to prevent child's death".

Drilling on "Fast Track"

"A bill that would allow oil and gas drilling in previously off-limits areas of the Outer Continental Shelf — including portions of the eastern Gulf of Mexico within 100 miles of the Florida coast — was put on a fast track Monday. The announcement was made by U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, who struck a deal with four members of his committee who had offered two competing bills to open the entire Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas drilling and give the states a share of the leasing royalties." "Coastal drilling for oil, gas up for vote".

Charlie's Priorities

"Attorney General and Republican governor candidate Charlie Crist couldn't make it to his featured speaking slot at Wednesday night's Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee meeting, but he did manage to attend a fund-raiser across the state in Sarasota at about the same time. Crist's campaign said Tuesday's Tropical Storm Alberto forced the candidate to stay on the west coast Wednesday to attend to AG business, such as monitoring price-gouging and prepping for a cabinet meeting that Alberto pushed from Tuesday to Thursday. Although Crist's day job prevented him from getting to West Palm Beach, his campaign said, it left him close enough to Sarasota to rake in some campaign bucks." "Politics: Crist misses local event, not Sarasota fund-raiser".

"A Lot of brass"

Troxler takes a look at "VoteSmartFlorida.org. It is a front for the Florida Chamber of Commerce and several other business groups", which he calls

a brilliant stroke. Instead of merely looking like a business lobby, VoteSmart can pose as a source of "objective" information.

The group especially likes to capitalize on public misconceptions about the amendment process. Watch today for tricks such as:

- Citing the number of petitions in existence, rather than the number of amendments that actually reach the ballot. Any yahoo in Florida can start a petition - but few finish them. Nonetheless, the chamber likes to use the larger number: "54th Constitutional Initiative Filed," warns one recent headline on its web site.

- Citing bogus polling results that purport to claim overwhelming public support for cracking down. The last chamber poll I saw on this topic asked people if they thought having 50 amendments on the ballot at one time would be too many. Fifty! We've never been close.

- Using the label of "special interests" to refer to supporters of a higher wage for working people, clean indoor air, tough rules for hog farming or mass transit. The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the construction industry and their allies in this fight have a lot of brass to be using that to describe the other side.

Smith's Team

"The Rod Smith gubernatorial campaign announced today more than 250-people on its North Florida campaign team, including co-chairs for 37 north Florida counties." " Smith's North Florida Team".

Bills

"Bush signs fuel, nature preserve measures".

Still More From The "Values" Crowd

"The Florida Legislature has cut millions of dollars earmarked for students with learning disorders. Congress and the Bush administration have made similar cuts in federal funding." "Education".

Government Money, Private Businesses

"Florida's universities will get a $95 million boost in state money this year as lawmakers push the growing partnerships between schools and private research companies such as Scripps. A new law, to be discussed Thursday by the Board of Governors, sets aside $95 million in matching grants for three specific programs that will lure top scientists to Sunshine State schools, develop products that can be sold commercially, such as cancer-fighting drugs and build university laboratories." "State injects $95 million into university-research partnerships".

Citizens Disaster

"The state's insurer of last resort soon could be Florida's largest insurer. State insurance regulators released market share numbers Monday that reflect the number of policies held by different insurers at the end of the first quarter. Although those numbers, from March 31, still show State Farm Florida in the lead, they also reflect the presence of two Poe Financial Group companies, which have since been liquidated. As many as 330,862 policies formerly held by Tampa-based Poe's three insurers will slip into Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as of July 1, making it the biggest home insurer in Florida. That means the state-subsidized insurer could be carrying as many as 1.2 million policies at that time. Being the largest is a dubious distinction for a company that was created simply to be a backstop in the market, not a major player." "Citizens likely to become state's largest home insurer".

Babcock

Wetlands Regs

"A divided Supreme Court ruling on wetlands Monday won't change how they are regulated in Florida, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said." "Court ruling won't affect Florida regulations".

James Walker, Fighting Dem

"He's a 33-year-old Democrat with no political experience, a Republican wife and a college sophomore running his campaign." "Soldiers' new battles: fighting for votes".

Yard Signs

"Looking for votes on street corners".

Jennings Visits With Bill

"Here's what $25,000 could buy you: front-row tickets to all Tampa Bay Devil Rays games for three years or a new custom Ford Mustang. In Democrat Christine Jennings' case, $25,000 was the price for just five minutes with former president Bill Clinton." "Congressional candidate gets time with Clinton".

Drug Testing

"[T]his week, the union representing most state employees really is standing on principle - an odd one, protection of its own legal turf - in a scheduled sit-down with the Department of Corrections. The topics don't involve money but are worthy of state employees' attention." "AFSCME wary of drug test »".

FCAT Follies

"Democrats hoping to become Gov. Jeb Bush's successor will face an uphill battle if they try to revamp Florida's testing program in public schools."

The FCAT test, the centerpiece of Republican Gov. Jeb Bush's A+ education program, is the favorite whipping boy for the Democrats who want his job.

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis promises that if he is elected, the FCAT will be used simply as a "diagnostic tool." State Sen. Rod Smith also vows sweeping change in Bush's program, which bases school grades, student promotion and additional funding on test scores. "I will not use this test to grade schools for money,"

Smith recently told Democratic activists in Miami, who hissed at the mere mention of the FCAT. "I will not use this test to pay schoolteachers. I will not use this test to keep students from advancing."

"What goes around in politics comes around"

"What goes around in politics comes around. One year after Senate President Tom Lee dashed Miami Mayor Manny Diaz's dream of a new Florida Marlins baseball stadium, the mayor endorsed Lee's rival for state chief financial officer." "Touche: Miami's Diaz backs Lee's opponent".

WPB

"Six years ago, as a member of the state House, Lois Frankel and her Democratic colleagues criticized what they called disenfranchisement of voters in the disputed 2000 election. Today, as mayor of West Palm Beach, Lois Frankel intends to disenfranchise her citizens by denying them the right to vote on the city's most controversial issue." "Go to voters, not courts".

GOoPer Gimmick

"Marco Rubio, the West Miami-Dade Republican state legislator, is looking for a few good ideas. Rubio, who is slated to be the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives next year, is traveling the state, holding what he calls ''idea-raiser'' meetings, and seeking the public's views on how Florida ought to be run through a website sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida, www.100ideas.org." "With GOP at 'crossroads moment,' Rubio looks to the public for new ideas".

"Anti-GOP feelings"

"Anti-Republican sentiment could be a reason it's been tough to recruit candidates for this year's local elections. County GOP leaders say they have struggled more this year than any other to persuade qualified residents to put their names on the ballot." "Anti-GOP feelings may be affecting local races".

Double Whammy

"Homeowners and business owners still reeling from soaring insurance premiums can expect to get socked again." "Palm Beach County governments getting socked by high insurance bills".

New Rules

The Miami Herald editorial board:

Under the new rules, election supervisors would have to submit testing plans to the state election division and notify the machines' manufacturer and other supervisors with the same system. State officials and the manufacturer would have to be present during testing. Results would be shared with other supervisors. State officials say this will increase transparency, and they're right. Wisely, the state dropped a proposal that would have prohibited any testing without prior state approval.

The bad provision would require security testers to be certified by one of only three specific entities. Computer science professor David L. Dill of Stanford University, a nationally recognized electronic-voting expert, wrote on the secretary of state's public comment website: "These qualifications are inappropriate because they would exclude the most competent evaluators, such as those who have found most of the reported security holes in existing voting systems. I have checked with several computer-security experts who . . . like me, have never heard of" the three state-specified qualifying entities.

Mr. Dill goes on to say that he then checked the three entities' websites and "They don't seem to be relevant for voting-system evaluation in general, and they have little to do with system security." There's no good reason for the state to keep this provision.

Leon County Election Supervisor Ion Sancho and some watchdog groups believe the new rules are an attempt to stop all security testing -- a reaction to his tests of Diebold's touch-screen machines last year in which an expert was able to break the security system and change vote results.

The tests embarrassed the secretary of state's office. Then a California panel of computer science experts that included Mr. Dill found the same flaws in Diebold's machines. Only then did Florida officials add new safety measures that prohibit one person from ever being alone with voting equipment.

Smith Likes The Odds

"Rod Smith says he thinks Democrats are in a good position to win the governor's mansion this election year. Voters are frustrated with gas prices and the war in Iraq, Republicans aren't going to have a candidate as strong as Gov. Jeb Bush, and the U.S. Senate race at the top of the ballot is a good one for his party, the state senator from Alachua said. But in an interview last week with The Associated Press, Smith, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, said there was one issue he didn't see last year that could be a deciding factor in the race: how Republicans have handled skyrocketing home-insurance rates." "Smith likes odds for governorship".

Davis Walking

"Will Walk Lead To Guv's Mansion?".

New Breeze Blowing?

"When the Southern Baptist Convention elected the Rev. Frank Page as the group's new president at their meeting this week in Greensboro, N.C., the news appeared on the back pages of most secular newspapers -- or it didn't appear at all. But Page's upset victory could be very significant, both to the nation's religious life and to politics. He defeated candidates supported by the convention's staunchly conservative establishment that has dominated the organization since the mid-1980s. His triumph is one of many signs that new breezes are blowing through the broader evangelical Christian world." "Significant shift in Southern Baptist Convention".

Sprawl

"In a move that could jeopardize the state's plan to preserve a 74,000-acre conservation tract in Southwest Florida, the Sierra Club filed a challenge Friday against the Babcock Ranch development, charging that it violates state planning standards by allowing urban sprawl." "Group says plan 'epitomizes urban sprawl'".

Helpful Storms

"It's no secret that Hillsborough County Commissioners Kathy Castor and Ronda Storms don't care much for each other. Their open fighting has been much publicized. But as Castor campaigns to succeed Jim Davis in heavily Democratic Congressional District 11, the irony is that Storms has helped Castor by raising her profile." "Storms raises Castor's profile".

Education Tax

"Instead, Gov. Bush blames the class-size amendment he hates. With a $4.4 billion budget surplus this year, the governor proposed $1.5 billion in tax cuts to benefit primarily the wealthy. Education Commissioner John Winn blamed demands of the amendment for his failed attempt to snatch the universities' and community colleges' shares of additional PECO money. Actually, raising or expanding the PECO tax would be more than fair. Many students who need those classrooms will get Bright Futures tuition scholarships from lottery money. In return, their parents could help pay for classrooms." "Raise the education tax".

Cheap

"Members of Congress talk a good game on ethics reform. The ones who represent Central Florida are no exception. But their professed support for limiting the corrupting influence of special interests on Capitol Hill has not resulted in meaningful change. So-called reform measures passed by the House and Senate are too weak to make a real difference." "Only talk is cheap".

"The Base"

"Gallagher's campaign continues to assert that what is happening on the surface is not a harbinger for September. Gallagher's supporters assert this is going to be the classic ''air game'' versus a 'ground game' -- or a rematch of the Indianapolis Colts versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in last year's football playoffs."

The argument is that Crist is running a populist, general-election-type campaign with plenty of TV commercials. Gallagher will go up on the air as well, but his team maintains that Gallagher has a superior campaign organization with an outreach effort that will target and motivate voters who come out in force during primary elections. They are going after "the base" of the Republican Party.

For this strategy to be successful, those primary voters must think Gallagher is a superior candidate to Crist. The problem, so far, is that Crist is seen as more dynamic, more gregarious and a more natural campaigner than Gallagher.

Gallagher's counter-spin? That he has more substance, more depth and espouses positions primary voters share. His campaign staffers say they are eager for a series of debates to bring that point home.

How To Gig A GOoPer

Just mention the word "Hillary":

Darryl Paulson, a political scientist at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and an active Republican, had interesting observations about a recent fundraising missive from Katherine Harris' Senate campaign.

"You would think she was running against Hillary" Clinton, Paulson said in an e-mail.

Clinton "gets 12 mentions in the four-page letter. [The word] 'liberal' gets 10 and 'left-wing' gets 4 mentions."

Among his "favorite passages" from the fundraising letter:

"Will you help me defeat Hillary Clinton's best friend in Florida - Democrat Senator Bill Nelson?

"Plain and simple, it's time Floridians fired Hillary Clinton's best liberal friend - Democrat Bill Nelson."

A reference to Nelson's "love-fest of voting with and co-sponsoring radical legislation with Hillary Clinton."

Finally, Harris says voters will "see past the hatred and vitriol hurled at me [by] incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, and his favorite left-wing co-worker Hillary Clinton."

Chamber Chumps

It is no secret that the "Chamber of Commerce" has been reduced to little more than an arm of the Republican Party:

The Florida Chamber of Commerce released its annual evaluation of the Florida Legislature last week, scoring lawmakers based on how they voted this spring on efforts to restrict lawsuits, limit constitutional amendment petition drives and loosen class-size caps, among other business-backed initiatives.

Sometimes more interesting than the scores themselves, however, is how they change from year to year.

GOTV GOoPer Style

"Sex Business Vote Could Affect Races".

"Master of Campaign Hokum"

"Crist is the master of campaign hokum, and it's taken him from the state Senate to statewide elections as education commissioner and attorney general to the precipice of the governor's mansion. Long derided as a lightweight with a tenuous grasp of issues, the St. Petersburg lawyer is riding his 'nice guy' label as the heavyweight in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Jeb Bush, with sizable leads in the polls and in fundraising." "Crist aims to prove that a 'nice guy' can finish first".

Bushco Standards

"[T]he battle over conflicting education reforms is entirely of their own making. In their hands, the standardized test has become a blunt instrument intended to beat diverse schools into identical shapes, and the Bush brothers are pounding away from different angles."

This year, 72 percent of Florida schools failed the federal standard. More than 500 of them have failed four years in a row, which begins to trigger a requirement that the schools be closed or restructured or taken over by the state. ...

In Florida, for example, 712 of the schools the federal law deems as failing this year are in line to receive millions of dollars in bonuses from a state system that grades them with an A. How is a principal or a classroom teacher expected to reconcile these contradictions?

It Is Father's Day ...

so we get a little "Daddy Tom".

Good Luck

"Gov. Bush and the other three members of Florida's clemency board will receive a packet of information this week. It will ask that the board allow Department of Corrections inmate K63957 to serve the remaining three-plus years of his sentence on house arrest. There is a case for the board to say no. There is a better case for the board to say yes." "".

Liberal?

" Liberal Rod Smith?"

Sobel

"Term limits have opened the door for three new candidates to make pitches for why they should go to bat for Hollywood in the state House of Representatives." "3 bid to replace Rep. Sobel".

Privatization Follies

"Private toll road would blaze trail in state".

"She Was Weird"

"Associated Industries president Barney Bishop's assessment is not the kind candidates like to hear. 'She was weird,' Bishop said. 'She didn't score any points with us.' During a question-and-answer session, Bishop said, Storms was asked whether she favored a return to the days of Prohibition." "Storms, business group clash on question of Prohibition".

Troxler

On Jebbie's desk:

Among other things, the bill would:

- Require insurance companies to charge the same premium to the oldest customers as the newest. They now base their premiums on "blocks" of customers, then close off those blocks to new policies. So the premiums keep going up as the block grows older.

- Force insurers to give customers another option besides paying rate increases or dropping their policy. Customers would be able to choose to drop back to a lower level of benefits for a lower premium.

- Bar insurers from denying claims based on alleged fraud made in the original application once a policy has been in force for two years. That's how life insurance works.

House Bill 947 is in front of Gov. Jeb Bush, who must decide in the next few days whether to let it become law or veto it. The governor is under heavy pressure from the insurance industry. Florida would be the first state to adopt such a law.

Is "Dumb" Off the Table?

"Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland gave Leon County Democrats what they wanted - blistering attacks on President Bush and congressional Republicans - at the local party's first annual fundraising dinner."

"For any of the Bush brothers to call a Democrat stupid is like a frog calling somebody ugly," Cleland said. Local Democrats have called the governor lots of things over the years, but not dumb.

Swiss Cheese

"The earthen berm that protects cities from Lake Okeechobee 'bears a striking resemblance to Swiss cheese,' three engineering experts say. So, what if the big storm comes?" "Does Florida's flood lurk behind this wall?".

Florida Migrants

Maybe we ought to start worrying about the legal immigration to Florida, starting with the folks who sneak across state lines and hide out in "The Villages"

With polls showing widespread discontent with President Bush and the Republican Congress, even among Republicans, you might expect some unhappiness around here. After all, the pastel stuccoed homes in the Villages are filled with conservatives who were outraged by the ethical controversies of the Clinton years. They should feel the same way about Tom DeLay, right?

Spinning Away

Jebbie is really ramping up the spin:

Bush put education at the top of his list of achievements.

"Republicans value education," he said. "That was one of our fiercest reforms -- that every child receive a year's worth of knowledge in a year's time."

Bush also touted his administration's fiscal responsibility, including cutting 11,000 state jobs.

"In the last seven years, Florida's government has not grown faster than the people's ability to pay for it, and I'm proud of that," he said.