Dan Gelber

Jack Seiler for Governor? Why He Shouldn't Run

Why Jack Seiler Should Pretty Pretty Please Not Run For Governor

Over the last few weeks, as the political yammering mercifully subsided and we sank into the off-season of national intrigue and drama, out of the quiet rose the name Jack Seiler. That's because Fort Lauderdale's mayor is mulling a run at governor. And though that 2014 election may seem as distant a ... More >>

Dave Aronberg, Pam Bondi's New Pick to Fight Pill Mills, Has His Work Cut Out for Him

Disarming pain clinics with a single smile.​Now that Rick Scott has nixed the state Office of Drug Control, which was instrumental in getting anti-pill-mill legislation passed, the duty to try to curb the illegal pill-mill industry falls on whoever will take it.Enter Pam Bondi, your new Republican ... More >>

Worst Campaign Ads of 2010

It's an election season most of us would rather forget. But in the spirit of holiday cheer, here's a quick trip down memory lane. The worst (or best?) political ads of 2010:5. Lizbeth Benacquisto's rape ad. The Republican state Senate candidate used the ad to address her position on abortion. Not to ... More >>

Concede? Hell No. Secede!

​It just happened. Florida has officially elected the man who oversaw the greatest Medicare fraud in U.S. history as its governor. You might think I would welcome this sort of thing. I remember when I covered the 2000 recount thinking at the end of it, after the U.S. Supreme Court gave t ... More >>

Election Day Notes

Let's start this thing off with a couple of blog votes. On Amendments 5 and 6, it's pretty easy: If you like gerrymandering, vote against them. As for me, it's a yes vote on these two. On the judicial race between John Fry and John Howes for County Court Judge in District 1, I've made a decision. T ... More >>

Friday Morning Hits

-- Remember those shady attack ads aimed at Florida Attorney General candidate Dan Gelber accusing him of being "toxic to Jewish education"? Pam Bondi Campaign Gelber and Bondi at last night's Univision debate.​Initially, it didn't appear that Gelber's opponent, Pam Bondi, ... More >>

Anatomy of the Gelber Attack: From Amway To Huizenga

Sometimes  negative campaigning lives up to its bad name. The weekend attack on Florida Attorney General candidate Dan Gelber is a perfect example of the kind of sleazy negative campaigning that should make your skin crawl. In the ads sent out this week ... More >>

Photo Fun

This photo of Gov. Charlie Crist and Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter could be a classic someday​. They look so darned happy. Inside see more. 

Marco Rubio Has Risen With Lightning Speed, but Conservatives Alone Can't Carry Him to the White House

Sen. Dan Gelber Dogged by Connection to BP

Photo by the Coast Guard​These days, politicians are probably better off in a sex scandal than tied to BP. That's why state Sen. Dan Gelber, who's running for attorney general, just can't seem to shake his connection to the company responsible for wrecking the Gulf.Gelber, a Democrat from Miami Be ... More >>

Sen. Mike Bennett's Porntastic Day in State Senate Chamber

Apparently, Sen. Mike Bennett's friends send him nudie pictures, which are to be opened only on the floor of the Florida Senate, while Dan Gelber is talking about an abortion bill. Bennett, a Republican from Bradenton, clicked off the image immediately.Then he turned on some dog porn, it appears. Or ... More >>

Legislators Hope To Take On Pill Mills

flickr.com​We'd like to think of it as some sort of response to our extensive expose of South Florida Vice, though maybe that's presumptuous. Either way, the "pain clinic" problem is simply too big for anyone with a conscience to ignore. A Florida Medical Examiners Commission report estimated that ... More >>

Dan Gelber on Ethics Reform: Sign Me Up

Flickr: UN1SONGelber​Not all Florida politicians are gun-shy about ethics reform. Yesterday, after failing to get commitments from three high-profile Republicans, I asked attorney general candidate Dan Gelber whether he would support a bid by the Florida Commission on Ethics to give it more power ... More >>

Reactionary Politics You Can Love

Flickr: UN1SONGelber​Usually, we're skeptical when a campaigning politician cites a breaking news story as a basis for new legislation, but we'll suspend that cynicism for the moment. State Sen. Dan Gelber, Democratic candidate for Florida attorney general, has seized on the recent corruption case ... More >>

Kendrick Meek Campaign Suddenly Saddled With Electability Questions

Meek​The St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald teamed up for an article in yesterday's editions that voiced concerns among Democrats that their leading senatorial candidate, Congressman Kendrick Meek, isn't "high-profile" enough to beat Charlie Crist. It's a strange moment to raise that question - ... More >>

Gelber Unloads on Bushies Who Politicized Federal Proscutors' Offices

The Democrats' side of the Florida Attorney General race, between Sens. Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber can feel like a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society. But it's just not healthy to be always so measured and tactful, which is why it must have felt good for Gelber to wind up and then tee off on ... More >>

Aronberg Derails Gravy Train for State Contractors

Flickr user: UN1SONAronberg (pictured) may have found a pinata for his AG's campaign​Sen. Dave Aronberg from Greenacres has convinced the Florida Department of Transportation to abandon its practice of awarding automatic annual raises to private contractors, and now the Florida Attorney General ca ... More >>

Florida AG's Race: Hot 'Nuff for Ya?

Flickr User: banzainetsurfer"Self-immolation" may not be quite the right metaphor for the Dems' chances in the AG's race.You'll have to pardon Florida's Democratic voters if they're not as eager about the attorney general's race as Dan Gelber is. The state senator from Miami Beach announced his cand ... More >>

Gelber "Steps Back" From Senate Race

That's video from Saturday's Netroots Coalition meeting in Miami Beach, where State Sen. Dan Gelber acknowledged his intention to leave the U.S. Senate race. Miami-Dade Democratic activist Larry Thorson posted it last night on the Daily Kos, along with his congratulations for the Democrats avoiding ... More >>

Finally, a State Poll That's Relevant

Flickr User: drewanteyeTill recently, every poll for the 2010 Florida election was filled with "ifs." If Crist runs for Senate will you vote for him? If Alex Sink runs for governor, will you vote for her? With the flurry of campaign announcements the last few weeks, the new poll from Mason-Dixon is ... More >>

Florida's 2010 Races Taking Shape; Meek Looking Strong

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Kendrick Meek, of Miami,continues to tear up the fund-raising circuit -- an article in today's Roll Call says Meek will report $1.5 million in campaign dollars in the year's first quarter, which ended March 31. His primary competition for that nomination, Florida ... More >>

An Idea for the Democrats in the Senate Race: One-on-One Hoops, for All the Marbles

Seriously, wouldn't that be fun? Kendrick Meek versus Dan Gelber. Both were college athletes in another sport: Meek played linebacker at Florida A&M, while Gelber rowed for the crew team at Tufts University. And yes, I know that linebacker translates better to basketball and that at age 42 Meek ... More >>

Kendrick Meek Coming to Broward Tomorrow to Collect a New Endorsement

U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Kendrick Meek of Miami will be coming to Pompano Beach tomorrow morning to snag another labor endorsement.The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, with offices on South Andrews Boulevard, will officially back Meek's bid for the Democratic nomi ... More >>

Meek Inching Closer to Frontrunner Status

It would be one thing if a South Florida paper was heralding U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek as the frontrunner in the U.S. Senate's Democratic primary for 2010. It's a far more auspicious thing that a Tampa Bay paper is making that claim, albeit with some hesitation. Along with Orlando, Jacksonville and th ... More >>

Gelber Will Totally Tweet the Legislative Session

Photo by Tracy RussoGelber will be your Twitter friend.Oh, it is a great day to be a Florida wonk! State Sen. Dan Gelber, vying to become U.S. Sen. Dan Gelber in 2010, has announced via blog that he'll be giving updates on the coming legislative session via Twitter, right here.Most of you know that ... More >>

New Poll: Crist in Pole Position

A "double" what? Sorry, I don't speak French. Just check out the Strategic Vision poll released yesterday on Florida's 2010 U.S. Senate race. It attaches numbers to some obvious truths, such as Gov. Charlie Crist getting 54 percent of the votes against other prospective candidates in a Republican pr ... More >>

Down Goes Sansom

House Speaker Ray Sansom stepped down today. He's the one who lobbied to win state funds for a college, which then gave him a $110,000 job -- a chain of events that Sansom would have us believe were unrelated. Sansom has said he "welcomed" an investigation, which is good, because he got one -- actua ... More >>

The Stage Is Set: Katherine Harris, Will You Please Run for U.S. Senate?

Man, I turn my head for one day (to work on some print edition goodies) and all hell breaks loose in that 2010 Senate race. Democratic Rep. Allen Boyd is out. Democratic State Sen. Dan Gelber is in. Attorney General Bill McCollum is out. It's such a free-for-all that even Tampa's Democratic mayor is ... More >>

State Republican Does Not Want A Billion Dollars

Rep. Anitere Flores should be grateful that only dorks like me watch Issues, the Sunday political program on our local public television station WPBT. I can't imagine she'd have wanted her constituents in Kendall / University Park / Westwood Lakes to watch her appearance this past Sunday.Here's a li ... More >>

Dark Horse Dem Emerges in Race for Martinez Seat

On the Democrat side of the Florida's 2010 U.S. Senate race, the field keeps getting larger, with Congressman Allen Boyd, of Monticello, looking like a contender. Boyd (right) runs with the congressional Blue Dogs -- socially conservative Democrats who walk and talk so much like Republicans, it can ... More >>

Note To Obama: Ritter Is All Yours

There's a lot of talk about Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter going to work in Washington for the Barack Obama administration. I know this is simple politics, a payback, and I have a plea for the president-elect: Take her. Please. Let's face it, Ritter can't do nearly as much damage in Wa ... More >>

Pulp O' The Mornin'

DeGroot For Sheriff

One Way to Skin the FCAT

More Than Wasted Time

The Agony of DeFede

Unions glom onto the Herald columnist's legacy

The Great Slurp

Gov. Bush's Scripps gamble is sucking up state funds -- and the Everglades with it

Minority Madness

Wisecracking Democrats in Tallahassee were steamrollered during the presidential contest. But they didn't take it lying down.