A statewide race that reporters invariably begin their stories by writing that it "doesn't get the attention" of other contests(which is true) is that of Agriculture Commissioner.
Polk County Republican Congressman Adam Putnam announced his intentions to run for the position a long time ago – February of 2009, when he stunned Capitol Hill observers by declaring that he was going to leave Washington after nine years, several high up the ranks of House Republicans, and return back to his Florida roots.
Democrat Scott Maddox, on the other hand, has been looking for a job in government for awhile, after being considered something of a wunderkind by becoming a Tallahassee City Commissioner at the age of 24, and then Mayor at 26. In 2000, he was called by Al Gore a "rising star" in the Democratic Party, but after taking over the state party controls in 2003, it's sort of gone down hill for him. His tenure leading the party was rocky, and so was his future after only getting involved for a few months in the 2006 Democratic race for governor.
The two met met in Pinellas County today, at the Feather Sound Country Club, where there was a lot of solid talk on policy, and refreshingly, little on politics
With a massive egg recall dominating the headlines over the past month, the candidates were asked what they would do to insure that conditions in dairy farms remain clean.
Maddox said that he would do "aggressive testing," if he were in charge, adding that "if we continue to do that, the market will self-police itself."
Putnam was able to do Maddox one better, referring to a House safety bill (called the F.D.A. Food Safety Modernization Act) that he has written with Michigan Democrat John Dingell that he hopes will pass in the four weeks that the Congress will move on before they break to do more campaigning next month. Putnam says the legislation would in part put as much scrutiny on imported foods as from domestic sources.
When an audience member make a disparaging comment about the phosphate mining, Scott Maddox simply said that "Yes," adding he was also concerned about that.
Putnam then seized on that comment, claiming Maddox just said that he was willing to dismantle a major component in Florida's agriculture industry. "What's the alternative?" he asked provocatively. "We feed the world, and phosphate is an enormous industry, and a judge just made a decision that laid off 200 jobs. If you're serious about putting people back to work, why would you get rid of one of its biggest employers?" A moment later, Maddox emphasized that he did not say that he wanted to disband the industry.
A couple of questions asked about both men's ambitions, as Putnam, only 36, has been rumored for awhile of aspiring to run for governor. Both men said the right things, saying that it would be a dream job.
Because there was such a lack of sharp division ideologically, one member from the hyper political Tiger Bay audience asked them essentially to discuss why they were a Republican or Democrat, respectively?
Maddox took aim at some of Putnam's voting record in Congress, specifically his support for the $700 billion TARP bill that bailed out the banks. Maddox said he couldn't understand why the Republican Representative would vote for banks, and yet not vote for financial reform or for extending unemployment benefits.
Putnam fired right back, blasting "Obamacare," saying that the provisions from the federal health care reform bill would devastate local businesses, which he said made up the bulk of the agriculture industry in Florida.
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.