Tallahassee
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos faces several challenges with just eight days left to go in the 2011 Florida Legislative session, and the issue of illegal immigration crowds the top of the list — whether he wants it to or not.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Haridopolos told a group of reporters that he has yanked Miami legislator Anitere Flores from leading the Senate on a bill cracking down on undocumented people in the Sunshine State. Now, Lake Wales' J.D. Alexander will try to get the measure through — a total rebuke of Flores, the Cuban-American Senator who has been the source of torrid criticism from some Latino advocacy groups throughout the state — though her measure is less stringent than the House measure.
When asked why he had done so, he said Alexander had a "unique skill set" that will allow him to get a bill through the Senate that presumably might be tougher than Flores' bill. Flores had boasted to her critics that they should be happy that she — presumably more sensitive to the plight of people of color — was in charge in the Senate.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.