Is Gov. Rick Scott in the midst of a blood-letting or simply conducting a ritual changing of the guard at the request of top staffers?
The sequential departures of Chief of Staff Mike Prendergast and chief policy adviser Mary Anne Carter on Monday and Tuesday sparked speculation that the governor, beleaguered by lagging poll numbers and poor public relations, was shaking up his top staff, and that more changes are on the way.
Scott's staff did not provide any definitive answers Tuesday, but insiders downplayed the situation.
"This is not a shakeup," one well-placed source told Sunshine State News.
"Mary Ann committed [to Scott] only through the legislative session and Prendergast wanted a department-level job from day one."
Prendergast, a career military man, is moving to the Department of Veteran Affairs, where he will fill the position vacated by executive director Bob Milligan.
Scott, in calling for a Cabinet vote noon Wednesday, is recommending that Prendergast maintain his $150,000 annual salary in the move.
Carter, whose home is in Tennessee, is said to miss her daughter and may be laying plans to join the presidential campaign of one of the Republican candidates.
Before coming to Tallahassee, Carter headed Scott's "Conservatives for Patient Rights," a national political action committee. Like Prendergast, she earned an annual salary of $150,000 for her work in Tallahassee.
At the time he hired Prendergast, Scott applauded the "outsider status" that gave the military man "a perspective untainted by the business-as-usual culture in Tallahassee."
But, in retrospect, the selection and the tenure of Carter and Prendergast appeared to be short-term. With Prendergast wanting a department-head post and Carter initially preferring the chief of staff billet, neither seemed fitted for the long haul.
"[Carter] had planned on leaving at the end of the month. The only switch is that he had told her she could stay if she wanted," a source confirmed.
Now the Tallahassee rumor mill is churning out speculation about potential replacements.
The most widely mentioned prospects are Hayden Dempsey and Steve MacNamara.
Dempsey is Scott's special counsel who oversaw the governor's legislative agenda. A lawyer and lobbyist, Dempsey was the former director of legislative affairs for Gov. Jeb Bush,
MacNamara is currently chief of staff for Senate President Mike Haridopolos. He was out of the state on personal leave, said Haridopolos' spokesman David Bishop.
Dempsey also could not be reached immediately, and Scott wasn't offering any clues.
"Governor Scott hasnt announced replacements, or plans yet on this matter," spokesman Lane Wright said. Neither Carter nor Prendergast were available for comment.
Amid the official silence, political potshots resounded.
Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff tweeted about the future of Scott's communications director Brian Burgess and spokesman Brian Hughes, writing: "You all next to face Rick Scott's firing squad? If so, I will miss the #tallytwitterwars."
Later in the day, a statement from Jotkoff was posted on the Saintpetersblog.com website:
Rick Scott can fire all the staff he wants, but it wont bring back the 100,000 jobs he has destroyed as governor.
A Tallahassee-based GOP strategist, speaking privately, said he was in the dark as much as anyone else.
"Historically, the governor's office can be a meat grinder, and a lot of people would rather have a more normal life," the consultant said.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
