Subject: Dan Gelber

• Looking Forward to 2010

  November 5, 2008

• Miami Beach Mayor Says We're Too Poor for Democracy

  Another Miami-Dade city, another city commission appointment controversy in the works. This time around, Miami Beach is trying to decide whether to fill Dan Gelber's vacated seat with an appointee or hold a special election. An election would cost as much as $400,000, and Mayor Matti Bower told the Herald: "That's a waste of taxpayer dollars, especially in this economy." What the hell kind of fascist excuse is that? Democracy is a waste of taxpayer dollars? "Oh sorry, we're too poor for democr

  November 28, 2008

• With Sink's Senate Hopes down the Drain, Gelber Gears Up

  Alex Sink's decision not to enter the Senate fray was big news, but not all that shocking. We wrote yesterday it seemed she was much more keen on staying in Tallahassee, possibly running for governor in either 2010 or 2014. What is shocking is that now both sides of the field are more or less wide open (Charlie Crist put a bit of a damper on talks that he might run.) So sensing an opportunity, Democrat state Sen. Dan Gelber, who represents Miami Beach, is all but officially in the running. Lik

  January 16, 2009

• The Week That Was: Celebrating our Freedom of Choice

  Some fanatical pro-life group got itself all worked up because Krispy Kreme dared to use the word "choice" in some dumb Inauguration promo. This weekend I choose to eat one Krispy Kreme doughnut for every page view that post received. I will probably be dead by Saturday. Meanwhile the Hollywood Foreign Press Association chose Mickey Rourke as the best actor in a Dramatic picture. Rourke chose not to deny steroid rumors, to pose for PETA, and in his weirdest choice, to suck face with worst-dress-

  January 16, 2009

• Tampa Mayor Might Jump into Senate Race

  With 22 months left before the election, there are still plenty of surprises left in this Senate race. The latest of which is that Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio told the Tampa Bay Tribune she's considering running in the Democratic primary:"It was not something I was considering when there was a possibility that Alex Sink might run," Iorio said this morning. "But since she bowed out, I have had people talk to me about it. So I am analyzing it, and that's where I am right now. I have not ruled it out."I

  January 27, 2009

• Rod Smith Might Be Considering Losing Another Primary Election

  When it comes to the 2010 Senate election, just about anybody who's nobody is getting in. Rod Smith, a former state Senator of the conservative Democrat variety, made a decent run in the 2006 Gubanotorial primary, but ended up losing to Jim Davis. Along the way though he picked up some key newspaper endorsements (Herald included) and support from Rep. Kendrick Meek. Meek, and Rep. Allen Boyd, broke with the rest of the democratic US House delegation, who all supported their former colleague Davi

  February 4, 2009

• The Crystal Ball Says Rubio for Governor or AG, but Not Senate

  The 2010 election in Florida is shaping up to be insane -- actually it's already insane -- and only two people of any consequence have announced their candidacy for either governor or senator. Former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio has this nice campaign website all set up and ready to go. Problem is, he's not sure what he's running for. He wanted to run for Senate, but the Republican field is frozen right now. If Charlie Crist gets in, Rubio is out. If Martinez steps down and Crist appoints so

  February 5, 2009

• Dan Gelber's 100 Service Days Not At All Like Those Chiles & Graham Things, He Swears

  It's difficult to make the leap directly from the state Senate to a state-wide elected office. But it's not impossible. Lawton Chiles got elected to the US Senate in 1970 by taking a 91 day, 1,003 mile walking trip across Florida. Bob Graham was elected to Governor in 1978 after starting a Workdays program in which he worked full days at various jobs like teacher, garbageman and even busboy. This was when grassroots campaigners actually got outside once in a while to see the grass, and didn't sp

  February 9, 2009

• Polls: Charlie Crist Would Win Senate Race 2-to-1

  Floridians can only juggle the names of 4 or 5 state politicians in their heads at a time, and right now the only Democrat in the mix, Bill Nelson, is already in the Senate. So it's not surprising that a new Strategic Vision poll shows Charlie Crist winning pretty much every match-up with any given Republican by a 2-to-1 margin. The best the Democrats can muster is Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. Charlie only beats her by 28 points (57% to 29%). Dan Gelber, the state Senator from Miami Beach, does relati

  February 12, 2009

• North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns to Run for Senate

  In our very important four-point treatise on netroots campaigning, we predicted "gay candidates will be the hot new netroots cause, just watch," and now, right here in Florida, that theory will be put to the test. North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns will tomorrow officially kick off his campaign to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez.And if Burns has any chance of winning, it's going to come from unbelievably strong netroots and grassroots support. In a Democratic field noted for zer

  February 16, 2009

• Gorilla Warfare

  April 7, 1993

• Crist Could Be Elected Ms. Florida if He Wanted, but Floridians Like Him as Gov

  Oh, that Charlie Crist -- he's so popular. Quinnipiac, always interested in exactly how popular, finds that Charlie can be pretty much elected to anything he wants. But 41 percent of Floridians prefer he seeks re-election as governor, compared to 22 percent who would like to see him run for Senate. The poll shows he could easily win either. That's the kind of power a 67 percent approval rating gets you. That includes a 66 percent approval rating among Democrats, though it must not have hurt that

  February 18, 2009

• "Hot Bachelor" Dave Aronberg Officially Enters Attorney General Race

  With no one coming forward to challenge Alex Sink in the Governor's primary, and Kendrick Meek holding a sizable advantage on the fundraising front and Dan Gelber dropping out in the Senate race, it seems that the Democratic primary action may boil up in the Attorney General's race. State Senator Dave Aronberg of Green Acres (the Palm Beach County city, unfortunately not the beloved sitcom) officially kicked off his campaign today. Of course, it was via Facebook status message: "Friends: Af

  June 4, 2009

• Senate 2010: Who Is Winning The Netroots So Far?

  Oh, we know, we know, it's so early in the campaign, but with State Senator and US Senate Candidate Dan Gelber's announcement today that he'll Twitter his way through the 60 day legislative session up in Tallahassee, we decided to role out a feature we've been toying with for a while. So new is it that we don't even have some sort of catchy name for it (suggestions in the comments!), but basically we'll be tracking the net roots efforts of the 2010 Senate Candidates -- which at the moment amount

  February 24, 2009

• The Great Barrier Beef

  November 10, 1993

• The Talented Senator Damon? Not If We Draft Judge Judy

  via Wikimedia CommonsThe proposed debate between Matt Damon and eminent conservative windbag Bill Kristol never went down, but that hasn't stemmed the hopes that Damon may be up for a public political showdown. Seems Mark Weaver over at the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog (as pointed out by our juicy brethren) thinks Matt Damon should run for senate. Weaver thinks the "career politicians" like Kendrick Meek and Dan Gelber spew the same "imperial foreign policy platitude" as Republicans, and

  March 3, 2009

• Why Aren't There Any Straight, White, Christian Dudes in the Senate Race?

  Did you hear openly gay North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns running for Senate? Silly gays, you can't even get married or adopt children. What makes you think you can be Senator? Actually, it's kind of sad that a he's become the "Gay candidate," and he wants to clear that up. The St. Pete Times' political editor Adam Smith sat down with the Mayor and pulled out a "So, you're a gay? Eh?" question. "Just like we're not going to refer to Mr. Meek as the Black candidate and Dan Ge

  March 12, 2009

• Meek Outraises Gelber By Over 3-to-1

  Warhol, ok. Both Democratic U.S. Senate candidates announced their fundraising haul for the first quarter of 2009 today. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who benefited from a few fundraising appearances by none other than Bill Clinton, raked in $1.49 million. That's roughly on track with other early, non-incumbent front runners from past election cycles. Meanwhile, his major competition, state Sen. Dan Gelber took in a respectable $400,000. Gelber's advisers were quick to point out that he's been hard

  April 1, 2009

• Hot New Senate Campaign Gimmick Alert: Petitions!

  These dang Florida Democrats can't seem to run for Senate without some sort of campaign gimmick. Lawton Chiles had his walk, Bob Graham had working days, and Dan Gelber is undertaking 100 days of public service. Rep. Kendrick Meek might be leading in fundraising, but he is totally losing in the gimmick department. Usually, candidates for Senate just pay the registration fee and are done with it, but there is an option to collect signatures in order to qualify. But no U.S. Senate candidate in Flo

  April 3, 2009

• Dear Politicians, Please Exploit Your Family Dogs

  The liberal, elitist media would like you to think that Barack Obama is the first ever dog-owning politician in history. Charles Beauregard "Bo" Hussein Kennedy-Obama (yes, we've made that joke today but we will continue to call him that until the Obama administration produces his birth certificate. Why are you hiding the birth certificate, Obama, why?) is cute and all, but surely there must be other cute, political dogs.

  April 15, 2009

• Crash Dummy

  September 15, 2005

• BEST LOCAL POLITICIAN

  May 12, 2005

• Welcome to Fabulous Tallahassee

  April 22, 2004

• Meet Mr. Arza

  March 25, 2004

• Smaller Is Better

  May 8, 2003

• Resegregation Now, Resegregation Forever!

  February 28, 2002

• Donkey Demise

  July 20, 2000

• Letters

  July 23, 1998

• Witness for the Prosecution

  August 21, 1997

• Accusing the Accuser

  July 24, 1997

• The Collector

  June 9, 1993

• Charlie Crist Expected To Announce Senate Bid Tomorrow

  In the past month the idea that Charlie Crist would run for Senate has gone from hot political rumor to almost foregone conclusion, and news broke this weekend that it is indeed fact. Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer told the Pensacola News Journal last night that Crist will announce his candidacy on Tuesday in a low-key event in Tallahassee. The announcement will come with an immediate, and enviable batch of endorsements from state and national Republican officials. 

  May 11, 2009

• Let's Play Identity Politics For a Moment

  So after the NRSC endorsed Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio in the Republican Senate primary, a lot of people implied it was a snub to Hispanics. We thought this was silly. Crist has won three statewide campaigns in a row, is an extremely popular governor, and has a national profile. He's going to win the primary unless there's some shocking surprise. But, it does raise an important point. Both parties in Florida need to embrace the Hispanic population, and the future of Florida's government

  May 15, 2009

• Crist Cruising Competition, McCollum Favored Over Sink

  via azwaldo's flickrPolls are very, very meaningful and exciting. The picture of the 2010 races aren't even in perfect focus yet, but that doesn't mean it's too early for a poll. Mason-Dixon unleashed their first poll post-Crist-for-Senate announcement, and things don't look too good for the Democrats. In the Senate race Charlie Crist (with a 49% favorable rating) crushes his primary competition Marco Rubio 53%-18% amongst likely primary voters. Kendrick Meek leads

  May 20, 2009

• Gwen Margolis Signals State Senate Return Run

  There are a few quirks in the practice of democracy here on the state and local level that I just don't get. Two of which Gwen Margolis knows all to well. Last November Gwen ran for Miami-Dade property appraiser and convinced 281,899 of you to vote for her, far more than her three competitors. But she didn't get 50% of the vote, so the race went into a runoff. Pedro Garcia pulled off a surprise win, but because of low turnout did so with only 57,201 votes. No offense to Garcia, but it's kin

  June 8, 2009

• Dave Aronberg Really, Really Likes Rush (the Band, Not the Limbaugh)

  The Buzz takes there "5 Questions" video series to Democratic Attorney General candidate Dave Aronberg. The first few minutes are all blah-blah "this is why I should be elected stuff," then some talk about who has the bumper sticker advantage (?), but then at the 3:22 mark Aronberg takes time to address an issue close to his heart: Rush, the Canadian progrock band. Continuing the vague theme of Florida politicians defending travesties of Rock and Roll justice, Aronberg thinks it's a total m

  June 12, 2009

• News Roundup

  Pet robbery: "When one of the women started stuffing chihuahua puppies into a black bag, store employee Rafael Sanchez, 32, noticed and approached her." [Herald]Miami is the sexiest city in America according to trip advisor. Don't let it go to your head. Oops, too late. [SFBJ]"The vote to terminate the allegedly incompetent [CIP] manager was unanimous. But for the five months since her dismissal, Richardson has continued to draw her full executive director's salary of $168,000 a year, an $800

  June 26, 2009

• Hey, Here's Another Poll: McCollum Still Leading

  Ron Sachs Communication commissioned Mason-Dixon to do another one of those polls y'all love. Nothing all that exciting, so let's deal it out down and dirty: Gov: Bill McCollum is still leading Alex Sink 41%-35%. At this point, the advantage might be owed to the fact that McCollum, thanks to his three previous statewide campaigns, has 87% name recognition compared to Sink's 61%. 24% remain undecided. McCollum also makes quick work of his possible primary rival, state Sen. Paula Dockery. In a

  June 30, 2009

• Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp Finally Announces Run for Attorney General

  Mustached Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp will file paperwork today to kick off his bid for attorney general, becoming the first high-profile Republican to do so. It seems likely, like many of the state races in 2010, the Republican establishment will rally around him, giving him a clear path through the primaries. The conservative wing would have little room to complain if that happened this time either, because Kottkamp is generally seen as more to the right than Gov. Charlie Crist. This also makes

  July 20, 2009

• Actually, It's a Different Bob Martinez Who Might Be a Frontrunner for the Senate Appointment

  via Colson.Com​So, we kept hearing that Bob Martinez, as in the former one-term governor, was in the mix to be appointed to the Senate. The thing is, well, he's 74 years old, which isn't necessarily a barrier to be a senator. But he was not a very popular governor thanks to a botching an attempt at a service tax, trying to ramrod abortion regulations through the legislature, going after 2 Live Crew, and committing other political missteps. Well, there's another Bob Martinez who'

  August 11, 2009

• Is Charlie Crist Indoctrinating Our Children With Bland Moderatism?

  ​Normally politicians' Twitters are horrendously boring things. Dan Gelber's is no exception, except for about a minute ago when the state senator from Miami Beach and attorney general candidate roasted Charlie Crist, and in effect, RPOF chair Jim Greer.​​Crist visited Toussaint L'ouverture Elementary School today for a hurricane preparedness visit (with his real life lady wife). If you remember, Crist's handpicked party chair made national headlines earlier this month for labeling Preside

  September 16, 2009

• News Roundup

  Gerald Posner speaks about the ol' coke days of Miami-past: "You could go to a dentist and pay him with an eight-ball. You could rent a boat with cocaine. It sounds like a bad movie, but it's true." [WSJ] The Miami Hurricanes took easy care of the FAMU rattlers in a game of college football. It was then decided that they are now the 9th best college footballing team in the nation. They have future games scheduled where they'll have to prove that they are indeed worthy of that ranking. [AP]

  October 12, 2009

• News Roundup

  The President of the United States was in town last night, here's what he did:Was greeted by both protesters and supporters... [SoFlTimes]...Including Kendrick Meek, Dan Gelber, Alex Sink and Manny Diaz. [NakedPolitics]Rallied the democratic base at a fundraiser. [Herald]And raised nearly $1.5 million. [FoxNews]The Delano hotel will not give you much of a discount, because they are training you, the hotel consumer, not to expect to pay less even when the economy is good. [Herald]Everyone hates M

  October 27, 2009