In exactly two months, Rick Scott will be sworn in as the 45th governor of Florida. On Thursday, he announced the people who will help him make that transition and a plan for filling the other seats in state government.
"Clearly we're rolling," he told a room full of reporters. "We're going to get started and we're going to keep this moving as fast as we can."
Enu Mainigi (EE-new mah-NIG-ee), Scott's long-time legal adviser, will oversee his transition team. Scott said Mainigi has been with him for the last 15 years and described her as a trusted family friend. Mary Anne Carter, who helped guide Scott through his Conservatives For Patients' Rights group, was named as the executive director -- though her specific role hasn't been clearly defined.
Scott's transition advisory committee is also made up of several Tallahassee insiders: Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton; former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings; Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland; U.S. Sen. George LeMieux; Kathleen Shanahan from the Department of Education; Rep. Mike Weinstein, R-Orange Park; Mayor Manny Morono of Sweetwater and Sally Bradshaw. Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre is the only Democrat on the committee.
"These are trusted folks who know Florida well," Scott said.
Brian Burgess, who served as a campaign spokesperson and will now -- at least temporarily -- serve as Scott's communications director, says this group is a temporary body, and just because they're on the transition team does not necessarily mean they'll have a paid position in the Scott administration.
"The first step, if you're going to do anything in life," Scott said, "whether you're building a company or want to have the right government, is we're going to hire the best people.
"Jennifer and I are going to surround ourselves with absolutely the best people out there. People that are just as committed as we are."
Scott put out a call to anyone interested in joining his team, inviting them to go to the governor-elect's new transition website: www.scotttransition.com.
He then set out some requirements for anyone interested.
"They have to be willing to work hard," he said. "They have to be committed to our goal of more private-sector jobs and less government. They have to be optimistic people with a heck of a lot of energy, and they have to be able to look at everything with a fresh eye," not disregarding ideas simply because they haven't been done that way before.
While his transition team is primarily made up of Republicans, Scott said they're looking for Floridians from all political backgrounds that are interested in working with him.
After the brief comments, one reporter asked Scott about the fact that 2.5 million residents voted for someone else. Scott responded by pledging to be responsible for all 18 million Floridians.
"I'm going to do the best job I can every day. My focus is going to be on the reasons Floridians did vote for me, and the reason they did is because they know this state needs to get back to work."
Scott added that he would be going around the state, country and even the world job-hunting for Florida, trying to convince businesses to expand, open or relocate to the Sunshine State.
Scott says the state already has many qualities attractive to business leaders, including no state income tax, right-to-work policies, and appealing beaches and weather. But he has also promised to phase out the business tax and cut property taxes by 19 percent.
"We're going to make sure that government doesn't get in the way and stop that," he said. "There's no reason we can't be the No. 1 state for job creation."
Another concern the multimillionaire Scott will have to address in the coming weeks is the issue of his investments and other business holdings.
He said he would be sitting down with people to determine what he needs to do, such as blind trust or other measures, so there are no conflicts of interest.
"I'll do the right thing to make sure I don't have any conflicts," he said "I'm not taking any chances."
The transition headquarters will operate out of the same offices as the campaign headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. Burgess says that's the plan for now, because of the accessibility.
"It's easier to get in and out of Fort Lauderdale, with the airport here, than in Tallahassee," Burgess said.
In the coming days, Scott says he'll be making several more announcements to keep in line with his belief in a transparent government. He says some of those announcements will include more on policy teams.
Lane Wright can be reached at lane@sunshinestatenews.com or at (561) 247-1063.
