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Politics

Political Bits and Pieces

June 23, 2010 - 6:00pm

Former House Speaker and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio is going after Gov. Charlie Crist, running for the Senate as an independent. In a recent CNN appearance, Rubio ripped into Crist, saying the governor was more concerned with press appearances and publicity than actually pressing the Obama administration to solve the continued problems resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf. During the same CNN appearance, Rubio said that with Americas continued dependency on foreign oil, offshore drilling remained a policy option, despite the spill Democratic congressional candidate Joe Garcia, running for the seat that U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is vacating, will be on the campaign trail on Sunday, speaking at the Elks Lodge in South Miami Micky Dolenz of the 60s rock band The Monkees was in Washington on Wednesday urging the passage of the Performance Rights Act, a measure reforming royalties that artists earn when their music is played on the radio. He performed the classic Monkees song Im a Believer with two Florida congressmen helping him out -- U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney on drums and newly elected U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch on keyboard

Think the Interstate 4 corridor is decisive territory in Florida politics? Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott does. Of the $16 million his campaign has spent so far, Scott put $7 million of that into ad buys in Tampa and Orlando Attorney General Bill McCollum has spent $1.8 million in ad buys, with more than $1.1 million of that going into the Tampa and Orlando markets Independent gubernatorial candidate Bud Chiles hit Miami on Friday, visiting community organizations including the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative, the St. Albans Child Enrichment Center and the Frankie Shannon Rolle Neighborhood Service Center Looking for more signs that the Democratic establishment is hopping off the bandwagon for U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's campaign for the U.S. Senate? Jeff Lieser, who had been part of state CFO and current Democratic gubernatorial favorite Alex Sink's fund-raising team in 2006, is jumping ship. The Tampa attorney is now leading efforts in Crist's independent U.S. Senate campaign to raise money from Democratic donors ...

With the end of the second quarter deadline coming up on June 30, look for candidates to step up their fund-raising efforts. Former Rep. Loranne Ausley, the Democratic candidate for state CFO, is holding two fund-raising events in Tallahassee that night In the meantime, the candidates plan on fund-raising events after the deadline. Sen. Dan Gelber, D-North Miami Beach, will be holding a fund-raiser in Tallahassee on Tuesday, July 6. One of the hosts will be Democratic strategist Steve Schale, a longtime Gelber backer, who managed Barack Obamas successful efforts to win Florida in the 2008 presidential election Attorney general candidate Holly Benson is hitting the campaign trail hard on Saturday -- making seven stops across North Florida. Benson will stump in Tallahassee, Monticello, Madison, Jasper, Lake City, Lake Butler and Starke, continuing her efforts to win the Republican nomination

Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, and Marion County Commissioner Barbara Fitos spoke Friday in Ocala to the Korean War Veterans Association and Marion County Veterans Services to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War ... Jack Webb started his term as Jacksonville City Council president on Thursday, but he is already off to a bumpy start. The IRS put a tax lien on Webbs house due to unpaid taxes from 2005 and 2006 ... Conservative candidate Teresa Valdes, running in the Republican primary against Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, kicked off her campaign aggressively this week with events in Holly Hill, Deltona and DeLand.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunsinestatenews.com, or at (850) 727-0859.

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