Here's how politics work in Florida. Call Dem candidate persona non grata, then run an indy...

[madfloridian]

who doesn't live in the county. This is the district just lost by Alex Sink and won by Tea Party candidate David Jolly.

I do not know the candidates involved at all, I don't know whether it's a good decision or not. But it seems the party has decided for us....again as they have in the past so often.

DCCC says it is backing NPA candidate Ed Jany in CD 13

Unable to find a candidate registered long enough to run as a Democrat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced this afternoon that it is supporting Colonel Ed Jany.

Jany will have to run as an NPA candidate, with the support of the Democratic Party, because a recently-enacted election law requires candidates for all offices to be registered with the party they are running under 365 days prior to qualifying.

Steve Israel, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says the Democratic party is throwing its full weight behind Jany.

“An American hero, Colonel Jany’s service, independence and proven ability to bring people together to get results is exactly what’s missing from the broken politics of Washington,” said Israel. “Democrats are proud to support Colonel Jany and confident he will run an aggressive, successful campaign.”

Jany is a Republican turned Democrat recently. However it has not been a full year as required by the district. So he is not actually running as a Democrat in name, but as No Party Affiliation.

But there was a candidate available and willing, just not acceptable to the party leaders. So they chose Jany over him. I believe that would be the Colonel Ed Jany found on this page as he was born in Brazil.



Pinellas Democratic chairman tells pastor he's 'persona non grata' if he runs for Congress

This is the candidate told to get out of the race.


The Rev. Manuel Sykes

Pinellas County's Democratic chairman left a bluntly worded voicemail telling well-known St. Petersburg pastor Manuel Sykes he would be "persona non grata" if he followed through with plans to run for Congress.

In the voicemail, Mark Hanisee said party officials had spoken to the offices of two key Democrats, former congressional candidate Alex Sink and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.

"Neither one of them are endorsing you, nor is the (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee). They have another candidate," Hanisee said. He added, "You better hold off, or, like I told you Sunday night, you are going to be persona non grata. Take that to the bank. That's telling you the gospel truth. You're going to be getting a call from Rick Kriseman, if you haven't already, telling you to back off. Have a nice weekend."

More on this:

Mitch Perry Report 5.1.14: So long, Manuel Sykes, we hardly knew ya

This was apparently written before Jany was chosen.

At the moment there is not a single Democrat who has decided to announce his or her candidacy, though that could change by the time you read this. Nevertheless it's troubling to hear that Sykes is stepping down before he ever really got up. Yes, as has been reported elsewhere, he's hardly the ideal candidate. Why is that?

Well, there's the reality that he's a black candidate in a majority white senior district. Hanisee "goes there" in explaining to Kruger why Sykes is not a "credible candidate." A previous incident in Sykes's private life could be a factor. But why not let the Democratic voters decide that?

Hanissee goes on to say that another negative is that Sykes has never run for office, but that's lame. Neither had Jessica Ehrlich before 2012. Neither had David Jolly until earlier this year. And neither might the candidate who ultimately gets in the race.

Jany may be a dream candidate, but why take the power to decide out of the hands of the voters?

See you at Twitter

[questionseverything]

1. can someone sue for unequal access?

this is an unreal discrepancy

from your twitter feed,

* $4.7 million, or $1,000 per student, for Florida Lab Schools, a small group of schools connected with universities across the state. They have about 4,700 students.

* $1.6 million, or about $133 per student, for Polk charter schools. They have about 12,000 students.

* $1.5 million, or about $18 per student, for the Polk County School District. It
has about 85,000 students, not counting those in charter schools.

[madfloridian]

2. They should sue, you are right.

I did read about a suit being pursued here about lack of funding to public schools....will check and see if I can find it.

[MisterP]

3. maybe the parties'll reregister themselves as "private clubs" like before Civil Rights again

but complaining about the party will get Republicans elected: adopting GOP policies wholesale, or running actual Republicans, somehow doesn't BECAUSE THEY SAID SO

[Savannahmann]

4. That's two "former" Republicans disguised as Democrats on our side

Charlie Crist, and this one. Remember that Crist only gave up the Governor's mansion when he thought he had the Senate sewn up. When Rubio won the Rethug nomination, then suddenly Crist had serious moral issues with the party that had seen him in the State Legislature, the Attorney Generals office, and the Governor's office.

Look, I'm all in favor of people switching sides, but am I the only one who thinks this is getting silly? I mean, neither of these guys has told us about any policy or position that the GOP has taken that they disagree with, well except that the GOP didn't pick them over someone else. I'm not sure that's a real solid foundation for the DNC, but we'll see I guess.

[madfloridian]

5. Actually I really like Charlie Crist.

I disagreed with him on some issues when he was governor, but overall he was a good guy.

He is a Democrat, and he is really more so than many of the leaders in the Democratic party here.

I am sure Col Jany will be a good candidate, but we had a military guy running before...supported by progressives (Hillsborough) I think. He was deprived of support and money by the state party.

In trying to avoid primaries the peoples' voices are often not heard.