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No more U.S. Senate appointments, say Dockery and Kriseman

Posted Oct 12, 2009 by Catherine Dolinski, Tallahassee bureau

Updated Oct 12, 2009 at 01:26 PM

State Sen. Paula Dockery, who is mere weeks away from announcing whether she will run for governor, has filed a bill that would take away the governor’s right to replacement U.S. senators by appointment.

Dockery, R-Lakeland, said last week that she is “leaning toward” running and is already promoting herself as a political outsider who challenges politics as usual. If she runs, she’ll be able to cite her bill, SB 356, as a case in point. Filed Oct. 8, the bill would remove the governor’s powers to appoint an interim replacement for a U.S. senator who leaves office early. Instead, voters would choose a replacement via special election. (Exception: no election would be required if no Senate sessions were scheduled during the remainder of the unexpired term.)

Dockery hasn’t returned our call yet, but it appears that her bill may be a swipe at Gov. Charlie Crist’s recent choice of his former chief of staff, George LeMieux, to take the place of former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez. LeMieux, a political insider and close Crist ally who was widely hailed as the “maestro” behind the governor’s 2006 campaign, had never held office before Crist appointed him as Martinez’s replacement.

Update: Moments ago, Dockery said that LeMieux’s appointment shows the current system doesn’t always serve voters well. Dockery would have preferred, she said, to see someone in that position “who already had Congressional experience—like a Clay Shaw—or another former congressman who would be able to hit the ground running.” More generally, the current system also detracts from Florida’s influence in the Senate, where so much depends on seniority, she said. “It would make sense to allow voters to decide who’s going to represent them, rather than put a caretaker in that position for a year. You’re basically wasting a year of someone’s seniority.”

Of note: while Dockery filed the bill first, she credits Democratic Rep. Rick Kriseman with initiating the proposal. Kriseman, of St. Petersburg, filed his bill shortly after noon today, according to the state House website.