Stopping vote could mean GOP trouble

By STEVE BOUSQUET and MARY ELLEN KLAS

Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — As Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones Monday seeking legislative support for his proposed constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling, polls showed public favor for it may be rising.

The four-day special session called by the governor begins at noon today and is expected to end a few brief hours later. But while the Republican-led Legislature prepared to squash the governor’s plan and rob him of a victory he can use in his bid to win the U.S. Senate seat, they may take a political hit in the process.

Protestors from oil-ravaged regions of the state are heading to the Capitol today and dozens of business owners, restaurant workers, defense industry contractors and hotel operators from Northwest Florida plan to sit in the House gallery as lawmakers reject the drilling ban.

“We want to make it clear that we are paying very close attention,” warned Cathy Harrelson, a St. Petersburg environmental activist and one of the organizers behind a rally at the Capitol Tuesday to support the constitutional ban.

Eric Draper, of Audubon of Florida, which helped to organize the protest, said that legislators will be siding with the oil industry if they vote to keep the proposal away from voters.

“The oil guys are right about our motives, it’s important to do it now because it’s now that people are focused on the real risk of drilling,” he said. “It’s too important an issue to leave to the Legislature. Put it on the ballot and let the voters vote.”

A Times/Herald review of campaign contributions to legislators and their political committees shows that between Jan. 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010, lawmakers received $278,452 from the oil and gas industry and their affiliated companies, including nearly $185,800 to the Republican Party of Florida and $77,000 to the Florida Democratic Party.

During that time, Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, was proposing legislation to lift the drilling ban in Florida waters, an effort he planned to postpone until next year when he is expected to be House speaker.

Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, he has said he has no plans to continue to push to lift the drilling ban. The review of contributions did not include any of the funds received by lawmakers since the oil spill, or since Crist endorsed a drilling ban. Those contributions must be reported by July 23.

Republican lawmakers say Crist is grandstanding and trying to score political points with independent and Democratic voters in his non-partisan bid to be Florida’s next U.S. senator.

“It seems the only one really engaged in a special session right now is Charlie Crist,” said Eric Fresen, a Miami Republican. He e-mailed supporters seeking feedback on the session and heard from only a few on the oil issue.

“Most of the feedback is job-related,” he said. “One message asked, ‘While you are up there, can you do anything about the economy?’”