"Charlie, I did not vote for you. I sent money to Jim Davis." That is what I told the Governor over a glass of wine last year. I have known both Jim Davis and Charlie Crist since the early 1980’s. I never dreamed they would run against each other for Governor in 2006. The Florida legislature created the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Mission Task Force last spring. Governor Crist appointed me as one of his three selections to this Committee. I am grateful to the Governor and hope that I fulfill his expectations. I will report later on everything this Task Force is supposed to do, and then what it actually does.
For now, I will enjoy this as one of my few political accomplishments. Governor Crist is fortunate that I did not send him campaign money in 2006. It seems I do not usually bring luck to politicians. In 2002, I sent 13 candidates money, and 11 lost. I was the plague to whomever I supported. My luck supporting political candidates has not changed much lately. My good friend, Judge Kevin Carey, just lost a judicial seat, largely as a result of wrongful information about him in the press. I guess I doomed him as well. Politics is messier and much less fun than legal practice and advocating on behalf of policyholders. However, participation in the political process is important, and I encourage all of us to do so. After all, a person much wiser than most of us warned long ago that "those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." Amen.
