... isn't going to be Alain Jean.
| Jean |
Jean's name was on the banter list for the Gov
. Charlie Crist's replacement for the federally charged and suspended Joe Eggelletion.Why? He's a Democrat who might be able to hold onto the office in the 72 percent-strong Democratic district while he also has ties to the GOP.
Rumors were running that Jean was being pushed by
Congressman Alcee Hastings, who employs Jean's wife, Stephanie, as an aide. Another plus-point for Crist might be that Jean is employed by Blosser & Sayfie, a powerful Republican lobbying house with ties to Crist.
But Jean just called and said he's not in the running.
"It's not the right time for me," he told me. "It's not fitting into my life, it's not fitting into my scheme of things. I'm not that person at this moment."
Okay, so he was scrapped as a choice. I asked him who he thought was the best option for Crist, knowing full well what his answer would be. And I do believe his answer will be Crist's pick. And his answer was ...
Art Kennedy.
Kennedy is a black Republican who also works as Congressman Hastings' right-hand man. Today Kennedy put his hat in the ring. I think Hastings was behind this too, at least in part, when he realized there was no way in hell that Crist was going to appoint a Democrat like Jean. I'm very surprised Kennedy would run, since he's a total behind-the-scenes guy (anybody have a picture of him?).
Oh well, so much for Jean. You've probably never heard of the guy, but he's been working and running in Broward political circles for years, often on the losing side. A former president of Broward Young Democrats, Jean was beaten in his bid for the District 93 House seat in 2006 by Perry Thurston. Jean was also defeated in a 2002 bid for State House 94. If you need any more Democratic bona fides, he's a former congressional aide to U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and served for a year as the public affairs administrator for former Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant. Speaking of fallen Broward politicians, Jean also served as the governmental affairs director for former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne.
Don't worry, Jean graduated from such degrading jobs to become something truly inspirational: He's a lobbyist in the private market now. Jean works as a Democratic counterpoint for the largely Republican firm of Blosser & Sayfie, which had great pull with Jeb Bush and retains some clout in the current governor's administration.
