(former Democratic Governor Lawton) Chiles family may sue if state raids endowment fund

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Saturday, 12.06.08
Chiles family may sue if state raids endowment fund
The family of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles is threatening to sue Gov. Crist over use of funds designated for children and seniors.

BY MARC CAPUTO AND STEVE BOUSQUET
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- In stark and angry terms, the family of former Gov. Lawton Chiles is threatening to sue Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders if they try to balance the budget by raiding the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund for children and seniors.

''Depleting the endowment that invests in the present and future success of our children is an affront to all Floridians,'' Bud Chiles, son of the former Democratic governor and senator, wrote in a letter to the lawmakers Friday.

''It is unconscionable that the state is willing to put children's lives and health on the line by destroying one of the only reliable funding sources available,'' Chiles wrote, ending the letter with a clear threat: ``If the state chooses to raid the fund, we are fully prepared to seek full relief in the courts.''

The letter was addressed to Crist, House Speaker Ray Sansom and Senate President Jeff Atwater, all Republicans. Sansom's and Atwater's offices say they're reviewing the letter.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/801628.html

[midnight]

1. Now that is a strong warning to those raiding the poor. I hope it

works.

[Lasher]

2. Republicans should learn how to raise their own money.

Instead they just send their bills to the next generation and steal funds that others were able to set aside for a worthy cause.

[srf Rantz]

3. go Bud!

I know Bud. we went to school together. you go buddy. hope to see you at the 40th reunion in 2011.

his Dad was commencement speaker at our graduation. I think he'd just been elected US Senator at that time. he was a dark horse out of nowhere, just started knocking on doors. I think they called him Walkin' Lawton or something.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Your reference to his nickname forced me to look it up!

From his Wikipedia:

In 1970, Chiles decided to run for a seat in the United States Senate. At the time, despite his 12 years in the state legislature, he was largely unknown outside his Lakeland-based district. To generate some media coverage across the state, Chiles embarked upon a 1,003-mile, 91-day walk across Florida from Pensacola to Key West. The walk earned him the recognition he sought, as well as the nickname that would follow him throughout his political career – "Walkin' Lawton". In his journal Chiles wrote that sometimes he walked alone, while other times he met ordinary Floridians along the way. In later years, Chiles would recall the walk allowed him to see Florida's natural beauty, as well as the state's problems, with fresh eyes. After the walk, Chiles was elected easily.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawton_Chiles

~~~~~~~~~
I'd heard that nickname, too, but didn't know the story until just now. Pretty cool campaign idea!

[srf Rantz]

6. thanks I looked it up too

I was probably reading that wiki entry while you posted it. :-)

interesting story about him running against Jeb Bush and a soft on crime smear that Jeb ran. it came up in the last debate and Lawton let him have it.

interestly, altho, Lawton seems to have been pretty progressive in areas like health care, he was a strong death penalty advocate.

but what I admired about him, which showed strongly even back then, and remained throughout his career, was character. he wasn't anybody's boy. very rare in politics, north or south.

[catzies]

11. Walkin's a famous South Florida tradition: meet "The Barefoot Mailman"

it seems off-topic, but it's not because Sen.. Chiles walked with my Dad during the Boy Scout walk one year. Walkin's something the people liked about him, I remember.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Mailman
The term barefoot mailman refers to the carriers on the first U.S. Mail route between Palm Beach, Florida and Miami, Florida, established in 1885. As there was no road at the time connecting Palm Beach and Miami to each other (or to anywhere else, for that matter), the carrier travelled by boat, and by walking along the beach. The mail carriers walked the beach barefooted to take advantage of the firmer sand along the water's edge. Prior to the establishment of the "barefoot route", mail between Palm Beach and Miami travelled a long roundabout route through New York and Havana, Cuba.

A round trip of 136 miles from Palm Beach to Miami and back took six days. The carrier would leave Palm Beach on Monday morning, travelling by boat to the southern end of the Lake Worth Lagoon. He would then cross over to the beach and walk down to the Orange Grove House of Refuge in what is now Delray Beach, where he would spend the night. The next day (Tuesday) he would continue walking down the beach to the Fort Lauderdale House of Refuge, where he would spend that night. On Wednesday the carrier travelled by boat down the New River to its inlet, and then would walk down the beach to Baker's Haulover at the north end of Biscayne Bay. Finally, he would travel down Biscayne Bay by boat to Miami. On Thursday he would start the return trip, arriving in Palm Beach on Saturday.

The carriers also took "passengers" with them, guiding any travellers who were willing to walk the beach with the carriers. At least ten different men worked at one time or another on the "barefoot route". One, James Edward Hamilton, died on the route, although his body was never recovered. He was presumed to have drowned or been taken by an alligator or crocodile, while trying to swim across an inlet to retrieve his boat from the far side. The "barefoot route" was used until 1892, when a rock road was constructed between Palm Beach and Miami.

The South Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America has an annual hike to remember the dedication of this great postal carrier. The Barefoot Mailman hike covers 34 miles in just two days, starting in Pompano Beach and ending in South Miami Beach. The hike began in 1964 and it has continued each year. More information about the Barefoot Mailman Hike can be obtained at www.sfcbsa.org. The hike is traditionally held in February of each year.

[remember2000forever]

4. Govenor Chiles Was A MOST Beloved Floridian By All

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. This is the only kind of battlefield that means business in Florida.

Loud, public and in the courts. Anything a Dem does quietly and behind the scenes means there may be too much compromise involved.

[wishlist]

8. Kay Hagen (who beat Dole in NC for Senate) is neice of Lawton Chiles nt

[onehandle]

9. Really? I was a great admirer of Governor Chiles.

I'll have to keep an eye on her.

[Cha]

10. Rec'd~ Good for the Chiles! And whose fault

this is incredible deficit? 'Cause they don't want their buddies to pay their fair share of taxes?

[badgervan]

12. How's About....

... confiscating some of those millions in CEO golden parachute "rewards"? Then ban all corporate welfare, including offshore tax havens.