TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
RSS Feed of the blog
Contributors:
Reporter William March has covered state and national politics since 1994. Email
Reporter Mike Salinero has covered Hillsborough County government for The Tampa Tribune since 2007. Email
Reporter Lindsay Peterson has been a general assignment reporter at the Tampa Tribune since 2005, focusing on higher education since 2009. Email
TBO RNC 2012 Section
Florida Political Blogs:
Most Recent Entries
- Memorial Day weekend deals to honor military, vets
- How come the poll results don’t match?
- Q Poll: Mack has long lead in primary, ties Nelson in general matchup
- Mack campaign retracts Fortuno endorsement quotes
- Coburn backs LeMieux, answering Mack’s Fortuno
- Q Poll: Romney has significant lead in Florida
- Storm The Swarm: SOCCENT deputy chief asks for technology to stop threat of Iranian small boats
- Nelson disses Obama on Castro daughter
- Hoyer to campaign with Ehrlich
- Mack dumbest speaker in Congress? It’s complicated
- Guetzloe sentenced for not filing tax returns
- Mack asks feds to investigate LeMieux appointment
- Pentagon Reports Deaths of 7 Troops This Week in Support of Operation Enduring Freedom
- Mack demands investigation of LeMieux appointment
- Ross backs Mack
More
Monthly Archives
Sink to launch foundation
Posted Sep 7, 2011 by William March
Updated Sep 7, 2011 at 04:08 PM
Alex Sink of Tampa, retired banker and long-time civic and Democratic political activist, will announce the launch of a new non-profit foundation Thursday.
The announcement fulfills what Sink said she would do to continue being active in public policy after she lost the 2010 governor’s race to Rick Scott.
Her foundation, the Florida Next Foundation, will focus on economic and business development, she said in an interview today.
She called it “a non-profit, non-partisan policy foundation doing some research, gathering best ideas from around the world and input from everyday Floridians about how we rebuild our economy by supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
Among its goals will be finding ways to provide get more access to capital for businesses and protect the state’s environment and quality life “so young people want to come here and stay here,” she said.
Sink, a retired banker who served as Florida’s chief financial officer from 2006-10, said she wanted to focus on business development because “That’s what I did in private life before I went into public service.”
A news release said the foundation will use social media and statewide forums to “give an equal voice to Floridians from all walks of life.”
Sink plans to announce the project Thursday at the Tampa Museum of Art, where the foundation has its initial headquarters.
It also has an initial staff of three, led by Jim Cassady, who was her chief of staff in the CFO’s office and later her 2010 campaign manager.
It’s not unusual for political candidates who lose an election, but want to maintain a public profile, to start policy related foundations. A prominent Florida example is Jeb Bush, who started the education-focussed Foundation for Florida’s Future after losing the 1994 governor’s race, staffing it largely with his former political operatives. He left the foundation after winning the governor’s office in 1998, but returned to it after serving two terms as governor.
Sink said maintaining a public profile and activity on public policy is one of her goals.
“Sure it’s an effort to continue to be active in the public life of our state. Kind of like Bob Graham – I’m not done yet,” she said. “Like for Jeb Bush, his foundation has thrived for 20 years, and my dream would be that this foundation would thrive in the same way.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2010 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
