A broad coalition of Florida news organizations and First Amendment advocates filed an amended lawsuit Monday against Gov. Rick Scott and three elected Cabinet members, accusing all four officials of violating the open meetings law in the forced dismissal of FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

The revised lawsuit lists most of the state's major media outlets, including the Tampa Bay Times. The Miami Herald was previously listed as a plaintiff, as were The Associated Press, Gannett, Gatehouse Media, Morris Communications, Orlando Sentinel Communications, Palm Beach Newspapers, Scripps Media and the Sun-Sentinel Company. Plaintiffs also include St. Petersburg lawyer Matthew Weidner; Citizens for Sunshine, a non-profit advocacy group; the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and the Florida Society of News Editors.

Sarasota attorney Andrea Flynn Mogensen wrote in an introduction to the complaint: "This action seeks a declaration that the governor and members of the Florida Cabinet, acting in their capacity as head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), are subject to the Sunshine Law when aides seek to act for and exchange information among defendants as to decisions about hiring and firing the head of FDLE. Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges regarding the decision to force the resignation of the FDLE commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken. Because the governor appears to justify this conduct by claiming it is part of a longstanding convention and tradition, plaintiffs also seek injunctive relief."

The lawsuit follows a series of reports by the Times/Herald about the circumstances of Bailey's forced ouster after a highly regarded three-decade career at FDLE, including eight years as commissioner. Bailey contends that Scott's former general counsel, Pete Antonacci, came to his office on Dec. 16 and told him he was to retire or resign by 3 p.m. that day, and that he was acting with the concurrence of all three Cabinet members. Scott and the Cabinet never publicly discussed removing and replacing Bailey. The change was made public in a Dec. 16 news release by Scott's office announcing his appointment of Rick Swearingen as interim commissioner. The four officials voted to confirm Swearingen as commissioner on Jan. 13.

The lawsuit asks Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds to declare that the Sunshine Law was violated, to issue a permanent injunction to prevent Scott and Cabinet members from engaging in future conversations about agency appointments outside of official meetings, and to pay plaintiffs' legal fees and costs.

Read the original:
Revised lawsuit filed against Scott and Cabinet; Times joins suit

MADISON Gov. Scott Walker announced a number of changes in the ranks of his top administrators Monday, including the replacement of state Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch with former Madison Gas & Electric executive Scott Neitzel.

Neitzel, who abruptly stepped down as senior vice president of the utility company late last week, will lead the powerful agency, which is responsible for the states two-year budget plan, introduced by Walker in early February.

Huebsch is moving to the Public Service Commission, where hell serve as one of three commissioners appointed by the governor. Ellen Nowak, who is currently a commissioner, will replace Phil Montgomery as chairperson, starting March 1.

Bob Seitz, previously a spokesman for Gogebic Taconite, has been named executive assistant for the Public Service Commission.

Neither Seitz nor Bill Williams, the mining companys president, could be reached for comment Monday.

As we work to reform government, I am confident we have selected great partners to join our efforts to build a government that is more effective, more efficient, and more accountable to the public, Walker said in a statement announcing the changes. Your leadership and professionalism will be invaluable as we work to build a more free and prosperous state.

Neitzel will make $128,026 as DOA secretary; the executive position he left at MGE paid him $493,996 in salary and bonus. Huebschs salary at the Public Service Commission will be $129,000.

Walker also announced two appointments in agencies that he wants to merge in his 2015-17 budget. Tricia Braun, was named chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., replacing Ryan Murray, who left the job in November.

Murray now works for The Firm consulting group.

And Brian Schimming, vice chairman of the state Republican Party, was named deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

Read the original post:
Walker cabinet: Huebsch out, Neitzel in at Administration

REUTERS: East Timor's independence hero and out-going prime minister Xanana Gusmao will stay in the cabinet as investment minister, the government said on Wednesday, raising questions about the independence of the new prime minister.

Gusmao, 68, a guerrilla leader who helped end Indonesian rule over the poor half island in 2002, resigned last week as prime minister. Former health minister Rui Araujo was appointed as his replacement on Tuesday.

The president approved the new prime minister's cabinet list that includes Gusmao as head of a newly created investment ministry, which is believed to oversee planning, infrastructure and the statistics department.

"He knows where the money is. The parts that he has got seems to be the agencies that have the most control over the country's money," Charles Scheiner, researcher at Dili-based think-tank Lao Hamutuk, said of Gusmao.

"No one knows yet how much independence Dr Rui is going to have as prime minister and how much Xanana is going to try pull puppet strings."

Gusmao, who was prime minister for nearly eight years after serving as the first post-independence president, said he stepped down to allow a younger generation to lead.

Araujo, East Timor's fifth post-independence prime minister, said the new cabinet represented unity and consensus.

Former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was not on the list of ministers who will be sworn in on Monday.

After decades under Indonesian rule, East Timor has struggled to develop economically since independence. Despite gas production worth billions of dollars, about of its 1.2 million people in poverty, the World Bank says.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, after Portugal abruptly pulled out of a colony it had ruled for three centuries, and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and at times brutal military presence.

View original post here:
East Timor's Gusmao to stay in government as investment minister

Published: Monday, February 9, 2015 at 4:03 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, February 9, 2015 at 4:43 p.m.

Several news organizations have joined a Sunshine lawsuit filed last week against Gov. Rick Scott, according to a Sarasota attorney leading the case.

Eight newspapers, two television stations, two media companies and a nonprofit investigative reporter organization have joined the suit, which claims that Scott violated the state's Sunshine Law in communicating with Cabinet members about a controversial change in leadership at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Last week, Scott apologized for how his office handled the December dismissal of FDLE chief Gerald Bailey, the state's former top law enforcement officer. The admission came as Scott tried to quell a growing controversy that has dominated the start to his second term.

The governor continued to deny allegations made by the ousted Bailey that he was forced out, in part, for refusing to target an Orange County official in a criminal investigation.

Among the newspapers joining the suit this week are the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, the Pensacola News-Journal, Fort Myers News-Press, Florida Today in Brevard County, and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Television stations WTSP Channel 10 News in Tampa and WJXX First Coast News in Jacksonville also joined the suit, along withe media companies Gannett Co. and Scripps Media and the nonprofit Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

The lawsuit was filed last week by Sarasota attorney Andrea Mogensen, representing Citizens for Sunshine, a nonprofit group that has advocated for open government across the state but especially around Sarasota and Manatee counties. Other original plaintiffs in the suit were the Associated Press, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner, who has called for an investigation of the replacement of Bailey.

The added interest in the lawsuit came after Cabinet members, given the chance to finally air their concerns face-to-face, seemed unwilling to push Scott too hard. Members of the Cabinet, which includes the governor, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi, had been critical of the governor's office during the episode.

The complaint accuses Scott of using aides or conduits in polling the Cabinet on his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE Commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public.

Read this article:
More news outlets join Sunshine suit against Scott

Friday, February 6, 10:11 AM EST

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

But the Cabinet will not press for an investigation into the abrupt December departure of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey, though Scott acknowledged Thursday it is clear, in hindsight, that I could have handled it better.

Scott and the Cabinet met Thursday in Tampa for the first time since a major controversy erupted last month about Baileys ouster. Cabinet members have been critical of Scott, who initially said Bailey resigned. The former commissioner adamantly refuted that explanation and made a series of potentially damaging allegations about the Scott administration to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau.

The governors office has fought back against Baileys claims. Addressing the media after Thursdays meeting, Scott didnt elaborate about how he could have better handled the Bailey matter.

But the controversy also has led to Scott raising the possibility of replacing three agency heads who fall under the Cabinet: Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, Revenue Department chief Marshall Stranburg and Financial Regulation Commissioner Drew Breakspear.

Among the allegations raised by Bailey was that Scotts office sought to have him falsely suggest in 2013 that acting Orange County clerk of court Colleen Reilly was the target of an investigation a request Bailey said he rejected. But there was no indication Thursday that more than one Cabinet member wanted to delve into that allegation.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who wanted the Orange County clerk review, called Baileys accusation serious. Putnam added hes talked with Bailey several times and the FDLE or the states chief inspector general could still be asked to look into the claim.

I have no reason not to believe Jerry Bailey, Putnam said.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said it will be up to Bailey to request an investigation.

Read the rest here:
Scott admits he could have handled Bailey ouster better

TALLAHASSEE | The abrupt resignation of the chief of Floridas crime-fighting agency prompted media and open government advocates to file a lawsuit accusing Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet of violating state Sunshine Laws.

The Florida Society of News Editors, the Associated Press, Citizens for Sunshine and a St. Petersburg lawyer teamed up Wednesday to ask a Leon County court to rule that Scotts ouster of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey subverted open meeting laws.

The Governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE Commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken, the lawsuit said.

The Times-Union has joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs, along with the Associated Press and the Florida Society of News Editors and open-government advocates, said Frank Denton, the newspapers editor and president of FSNE.

The lawsuit argues that aides for Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam acted with delegated authority to communicate on their bosses behalf knowing the matter would come up for a vote at a public Cabinet meeting. The plaintiffs asked the court not only to declare Sunshine Laws were broken but to prohibit the future practice of using Cabinet aides to act as conduits to the governors office.

One plaintiff, attorney Matthew Weidner, sent a complaint letter to Tallahassee State Attorney Willie Meggs last week asking him to investigate whether Scott and the Cabinet broke open meeting laws. Meggs declined to act, citing a lack of hard evidence.

The First Amendment Foundation of Florida took the separate action Wednesday of supporting previous statements by Bondi that transparency issues surrounding Baileys resignation deserved greater attention.

You have called for an outside investigation and expressed your own concern that this states Sunshine Laws might have been violated in the handling of the FDLE issues, foundation president Barbara Petersen wrote Wednesday. The Foundation supports the appointment of an independent state attorney from outside Leon County to investigate this matter, to consider whether criminal charges should be brought and to issue a written report with findings.

Various statements from Scott and the Cabinet members since Baileys ouster have only created additional uncertainty about what happened behind the scenes, Petersen wrote.

While the officers have stated they were blind-sided by Mr. Baileys ouster, the Governor, in one of his few media interviews on the issue, seemed to concede that the law was violated, she said.

Originally posted here:
Scott, Cabinet face lawsuit alleging Sunshine Law violations in Bailey ouster

The Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press, a Tampa lawyer and a coalition of sunshine advocates filed a lawsuit late Tuesday alleging that Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet violated the state's open meeting laws when the governor unilaterally decided to "force the resignation" of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Chief Gerald Bailey and they consented.

The lawsuit, filed in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, alleges that the Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam circumvented the requirements of the state's sunshine laws because they used conduits to coordinate and discuss the removal of Bailey and the selection of his replacement, Rick Swearingen, without advanced notice or in a public setting.

The groups refer tostatements from the governor and Cabinet officials who acknowledged they allowed their Cabinet aides, and in the governor's case his general counsel, to both confer about the decision to replace Bailey and agree to the hiring of Swearingen in violation of their constitutional duties.

Scott spokeswoman Jackie Shutz said the governor's lawyer "is reviewing it."

The lawsuit comes a day before the Cabinet is to meet and discuss, this time in an open setting, the procedures for hiring and firing officials who report to them as a joint body. That meeting will be held at the grounds of the Florida State Fair during the fair. The governor rejected a request by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to shift the venue for the meeting back to Tallahassee because of the seriousness of the debate. Scott refused.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that all meetings are subject to the sunshine law and seeks an injunction against the state's top officials conducting any future meetings out of the sunshine.

"This action seeks a declaration that the Florida Cabinet is subject to the Sunshine Law when cabinet aides seek to act for and exchange information among Cabinet members as to decisions about hiring and firing the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"The Governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE Commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without anyminutes being taken. Because the Governor appears to justify this conduct by claiming it is part of a longstanding convention and tradition, Plaintiffs also seek injunctive relief."

It also notesthat the state's laws offer little punishment for these violations.

"Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy other than an injunction to prohibit the longstanding practice of violating the Sunshine Law by allowing Cabinet aides to engage in polling, discussions and communications about appointments required to be made by the Cabinet and relaying the results of those exchanges back to Cabinet members prior to a Cabinet meeting."

Originally posted here:
Governor and Cabinet slammed with lawsuit from media, advocate over sunshine violations

TAMPA

Trying to quell a growing scandal that is threatening to derail the start to his second term, Gov. Rick Scott apologized Thursday for how his office handled the dismissal of the states former top law enforcement officer.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott gestures during a cabinet meeting at the Florida State Fair, Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Scott said Thursday that he mishandled the ouster of Gerald Bailey, the head of Floridas main law enforcement agency. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

It is clear in hindsight that I could have handled it better, Scott said. The buck stops here and that means I take responsibility.

But the governor continued to deny allegations made by ousted Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief Gerald Bailey that he was fired, in part, for refusing to target an Orange County official in a criminal investigation.

Scottmade the unusual admission that he acted inappropriately during a Cabinet meeting at the Florida State Fair.

It came as the governor is fighting to maintain his credibility during one of the most trying episodes of his administration and to ward off a potential criminal investigation.

The three other members of the Cabinet, all prominent Republican elected officials, have been critical of the governors office during the episode. They seemed to ease up on Thursday, with only Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam calling for an investigation into Baileys most explosive allegation.

Cabinet members who share authority over certain state agencies have said they were not properly informed that Baileys dismissal was involuntary before voting on the issue and selecting a replacement.

Putnam and Scott proposed a series of new rules for appointing and reviewing agency heads that were embraced Thursday by the Cabinet, which includes the governor, Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

View original post here:
Scott apologizes over firing of FDLE chief

TALLAHASSEE News media organizations and open-government advocates are upping the pressure on Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet by filing a lawsuit that alleges the handling of the forced resignation of the state's top law-enforcement officer violated the Sunshine Law and calling for an independent investigation.

The two separate moves came ahead of a meeting today in Tampa, where Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi are set to discuss new steps for hiring and reviewing agency heads.

Filed by the Associated Press, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Citizens for Sunshine and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner, the lawsuit focuses on conversations between Scott's staff and aides for other Cabinet members concerning the ouster in December of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey. The staff discussions were a way for Scott to work around the state's open-meetings laws, the suit contends.

"The governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken," says the lawsuit, filed late Tuesday.

In a "frequently asked questions" document sent to the news media and a series of follow-ups, the Scott administration has outlined some of the discussions between the governor's staff and the offices of the other Cabinet members. Scott's office has denied that the discussions about Bailey violated state law.

"It has been a longstanding convention for governor's staff to provide information to Cabinet staff," said one answer. "This was the same process the Cabinet staff followed in respect to Gerald Bailey."

The groups suing Scott and the Cabinet say those kinds of statements show the need for the courts to also issue an injunction barring similar conversations in the future.

"Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable injury if defendants continue the longstanding practice of violating the Sunshine Law by allowing Cabinet aides to engage in polling, discussions and communications about appointments,'' the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation wrote a letter to Bondi asking for a special prosecutor to look into whether the Sunshine Law was violated.

"Only a prosecutor with the authority to subpoena witnesses and documents can adequately investigate this matter," wrote Barbara Petersen, the foundation's president, in a letter dated Wednesday. "However, that prosecutor must be perceived as entirely objective. A prosecutor outside of Leon County one who does not reside and work in the same town as those under investigation should be appointed. Otherwise, public confidence in the investigation itself will be compromised."

Continued here:
Scott, Cabinet sued over FDLE scandal

Sarasota attorney Andrea Mogensen.

SARASOTA - A Sarasota attorney known for her litigation of area open government cases will take the lead in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet.

Andrea Mogensen represents the nonprofit Citizens for Sunshine in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, which claims that Scott violated the state's Sunshine Law in communicating with Cabinet members about a controversial change in leadership at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Also joining the suit were the Associated Press, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner, who has called for an investigation of the replacement of FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Disagreements over how Bailey left his position in December have grown to involve other members of the state Cabinet and attracted statewide media attention. The case, filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County, seeks a ruling that the Florida Cabinet is subject to the Sunshine Law and a prohibition on polling members about appointments and communicating decisions to them before meetings.

Mogensen often represents Citizens for Sunshine, which has advocated for open government across the state. Most often the group files cases in and around Sarasota and Manatee counties. Citizens for Sunshine became a plaintiff in the case because it involved citizen access to government decision-making.

That's the purpose of the group government transparency, Mogensen said. The group hoped the case would expose to the public a pervasive evasion of the Sunshine Law in the state's executive branch, she said.

Bailey resigned in December and has publicly contradicted Scott's version of events. Scott and other members of the Cabinet unanimously confirmed his replacement, Rick Swearingen, in January. Since then, Scott and Cabinet members have been criticized over the details of Bailey's ouster.

Scott said that the commissioner resigned, only to have Bailey contradict him in statements to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau, saying I did not voluntarily do anything.

Since then, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam have voiced displeasure with how the matter was handled. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she thought Scott's staff may have acted without the governor's knowledge.

Continued here:
Sarasota attorney involved in Scott Sunshine suit