Gov. Rick Scott said he won't seek higher office next year --- at least among his fellow Republican governors.
Asked during an Associated Press pre-session event Thursday in the Capitol if he will attempt to add the duties of chairman of the Republican Governors Association to his 2018 responsibilities, Scott replied, “I won't.”
“I've got a lot of things to get done,” Scott said. “It's my last year in office. I've got a big agenda. I want to get those things done.”
Scott said he would release his proposed budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year “in the next few weeks.”
Scott, who is expected to run for U.S. Senate next year, is currently vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which focuses on helping elect GOP governors.
“There are a lot of good people (in the association), 34 governors, I'm sure there will be somebody that will step up,” Scott said.
Scott was elected vice chairman in February after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley resigned when she was named ambassador to the United Nations.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is chairman.
NELSON SEEKS A HOLD ON NASA PICK
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., says President Donald Trump's pick to lead NASA to the Moon and beyond is too partisan for the job.
“The administrator must be a leader who has the ability to unite scientists, engineers, commercial space interests, policymakers, the Congress and the public on a shared vision for future space exploration,” Nelson said during opening remarks at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday on the nomination of U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead the space agency.
Nelson rolled out past comments Bridenstine made criticizing members of Congress for attempting to work across the political aisle, with an emphasis on a televised ad in which the Oklahoma Republican questioned U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for seeking bipartisan consensus on immigration.
This isn't the first time Nelson --- who flew on a Space Shuttle while a member of the U.S. House --- has criticized the possibility of Bridenstine heading the space agency.
After the nomination was announced in September, Nelson argued, “The head of NASA ought to be a space professional, not a politician.”
Bridenstine, in line to become the 13th administrator of NASA, is a third-term member of Congress and a pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
He has advocated mining the Moon for fuel, while also denying that human activity has played a role in climate change.
Bridenstine started his military career as a U.S. Navy pilot and served as executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium.
SCOTT'S MOSTLY POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM CANADA
Gov. Rick Scott got some positive press this week in inviting “100 percent of Canadians” to visit Florida during the coming winter months.
The invitation --- through the new Canadian Power Play Program --- came four months after Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson told a group of Canadians that Florida had taken “snowbirds” for granted, a comment spurred in part by the decline in people from the Great White North annually spending vacation dollars in Florida.
Scott's offer on Wednesday --- while he was in Toronto for a two-day tourism and business mission --- is intended to balance the stronger American dollar by providing 20 percent discounts on airfare, rental cars and lodging.
“As Florida's number-one international tourist market, Canada is so important to Florida's tourism industry and the 1.4 million jobs it supports for families across our state,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
The Toronto-based TravelWeek Group noted online that, “Florida Governor urges all Canadians to visit, announces exclusive 20% deals.”
However, the Canadian media was a little miffed about Scott's handling of questions about a Canadian couple trying to get their son out of Florida.
The Canadian Press noted that Scott, during a news conference, “offered no glimmer of hope” for convicted murderer William Russell Davies to complete his sentence in Canada.
Asked why Florida has refused the move, Scott said, "In our state, we are very focused on our victims and their families.
Davies has spent 31 years in Florida jails after being convicted of gunning down an acquaintance in 1986 at Tomoka State Park north of Ormond Beach. Davies was 18 at the time of the murder.
"There's a process in our state you have to go through,” Scott added.
Scott refused to discuss the situation further, The Canadian Press said.
Shane Martinez, a lawyer handling the case, told The Canadian Press he hoped Scott would “have compassion" as “Canada has approved (the transfer) but Florida has been silent so far."
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “Governor candidate Chris King on Democrats' track record in Florida: `We have been good at losing.' " --- Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief Steve Bousquet (@stevebousquet) on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris King's comments Thursday at an Associated Press event in the Capitol.
