For Sandy Adams in Florida 7 (And Against John Mica)

A bona-fide Tea Party all-star is being challenged by a long-time establishment incumbent in Florida 7. Oddly, John Mica sought this fight; his own district re-districted, he chose the fight with Adams.

For Sandy Adams:

Sandy joined the Air Force at 17. A single parent, she worked two jobs and got her GED so she could eventually become a deputy sheriff in Orange County, FL. She lost her husband, also a law enforcement officer, when he was killed in the line of duty. At that point, many people would give up, but Sandy turned to advocacy. She was elected to the Florida legislature, where she pushed for smaller, more open government and focused on constituent service. In 2010, Sandy joined with the Tea Party to put conservatives back in power in Washington.

...

The conventional wisdom is that Mica, who has been in Washington for 20 years, gets to claim “incumbent” status, has the backing of the GOP establishment and a monetary advantage, will win the primary fight. We conservatives can’t let that happen.

Mica is still practicing the old politics of patronage.

One of Mica's pet projects is Florida's SunRail, a 61 mile commuter rail costing around $1.2 billion dollars. The rail curiously does not connect with one of Florida's most profitable businesses, Disney World, but does run through Mr. Mica's congressional district. Not only will district business benefit from the Sunrail, which will serve around 2000 commuters a day, Mr. Mica's enthusiastic campaign donor, CSX Transportation, will get $491 million of tax payer money for its freight lines.

“ 'His dedication to SunRail is not for mass transit — it is for helping CSX to get government funds for its private freight lines,' said State Senator Paula Dockery, a Republican and a chief critic of the project."

The New York Times goes on to report:

Campaign finance records show that many of the contractors that worked on the project, including an engineering firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff, have been major contributors to Mr. Mica’s re-election campaigns. So have businesses and individuals who could benefit from the project, including ICI Homes, a real estate developer that owns several sites close to a proposed SunRail station, and Florida Hospital in Orlando, whose $250 million expansion plan is contingent on getting a station on its property.

But the largess with tax payer dollars extends not only to his donors but to his family as well. Mr. Mica's daughter, D'Anne Mica, ran a public relations firm for 8 years. One of her clients was the construction firm, PBS&J. (ABC News, January 12, 2010) In 2009, Rep. Mica earmarked $13 million of taxpayer dollars for PBS&J, coincidentally a major supporter of Florida's SunRail.

And you know who's a fan?

Disclosure: When the enemies of liberty targeted conservative bloggers with harassment and SWATting, it wasn't John Mica who took up the fight and brought the matter to the attention of the House.

That was Sandy Adams.

Forgive me if I think a Representative ought to be more interested in fighting attempts to stifle free speech than in securing subsidies for donors.

posted by Ace at 05:53 PM

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