The Sentinel story also reports that:
The two-page agreement was signed by only Greer and Johnson and spells out that the financial details "shall not be disclosed to any person, including major donors or members of the RPOF Finance Committee, without the express approval" of either Greer or Johnson.
The Sentinel also reports that Johnson's last day on the job was on Monday. Needless to say, most state Republicans are incensed upon hearing this. Late yesterday, Paula Dockery released a statement that read in part:
People are fed up with the outrageous financial shenanigans going on in our institutions and in government. That’s why I have called for transparency and reform, not only in state government but in my Republican Party as well.
This news is a slap in the face to all the other hard working staff and every rank-and-file Republican around the state working to get Republicans elected. Money is donated to the RPOF by Florida Republicans to help elect honest, conservative Republicans to office, not for exorbitant salaries and bonuses that would make a Wall Street banker blush.
The RPOF should be highlighting our important GOP issues and raising money to get our commonsense message out, rather than anointing their own hand-picked candidates in smoke filled back rooms with overpaid staff.
At a time when our party is in the hole financially and we are not meeting expectations and obligations, why would one staff member receive a golden parachute? This is reminiscent of a Wall Street bonus to an executive who helped bankrupt the company.
So far, no word yet on what Bill McCollum has to say about this latest revelation (much less Charlie Crist). McCollum will be in Tampa today for the opening day events at the Florida State Fair.
The question is can Dockery gain any steam from these latest negative developments? She's running against McCollum of course, and not Charlie Crist, who of course was a big Jim Greer guy. But showing little momentum so far in a still lengthy campaign for the nomination, Dockery needs some development to break on through to rank and file Republican members that her voice is new and different than the business as usual crowd in Tallahassee, and especially inside her own party. Reform within the GOP has been part of her mantra about why she wants to run in this race. She needs to seize on the idea, and utilize the anger that the public has towards politicians and political systems to show why she would be the best choice for the GOP this fall. There's still over half a year left before the primary, but it's time for her to start making a dent in her opponent's formidable advantage.
