These are facts. Deny them. Time's a wastin'.
Posted on 07/21/2006 1:06:28 PM PDT by NonValueAdded
Join in the discussion about who is best to follow in the big footsteps of Governor Jeb Bush.
Candidates who have qualified (those simply "announced" omitted):
These are facts. Deny them. Time's a wastin'.
(Crist's heroes, Judge Greer and Judge Whittemore killed Terri Schiavo by DEHYDRATION and as FLA AG, Crist did nothing to prevent it.) Fla AG's Civil Rights Dept. for the disabled CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Out of sight out of mind, eh Charlie Crist?
Mission Impossible IV?
~ Proposal would lower homeowner’s insurance rates and bring much needed availability to commercial market ~
SARASOTA – Tom Gallagher, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and Republican candidate for Governor, today called for new initiatives relating to Florida’s commercial and residential insurance crisis while addressing the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals’ annual conference. Gallagher was the only candidate for Governor to attend the FACP’s annual conference.
“While we know there is no silver-bullet to the problems generated by increased hurricane activity and market conditions, we do have the opportunity to pursue intelligent solutions to help Floridians who are struggling with rising insurance rates and finding coverage,” said Gallagher “Without it, we will crush the business opportunities in our state and that will ultimately translate into fewer jobs.''
“As a businessman and CFO, Tom Gallagher is the only candidate with a real understanding on the state of Florida’s insurance market,” said Senator Bill Posey. “Tom’s plan will make insurance available and affordable which will improve and expand our economy and enhance the quality of life for so many Floridians.”
Tom Gallagher has a strong record of lowering taxes and saving policyholders hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade. Governor Jeb Bush praised his policies as being the reason why Florida has a property insurance market in existence after the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.
Tom Gallagher has fought since Hurricane Andrew to pass major insurance reforms to help struggling homeowners. He has saved Florida homeowners more than $20 billion in higher rates through the creation of the Florida Catastrophe Fund. He proposed and advocated for insurance rate-relief passed this past session, which included $715 million to reduce the burden of insurance assessments. For many years, he has called on Congress to follow Florida’s example and implement a Federal Catastrophe Fund to help provide an inexpensive layer of reinsurance in the insurance market to help lower rates and protect policyholders. Gallagher is the only candidate advocating real reforms to maintain the availability and affordability of insurance.
Gallagher proposed the following steps to address the lack of available and affordable coverage for homeowners and business owners:
1. The Governor and Cabinet should reactivate the Commercial Joint Underwriting Association (JUA). If Florida companies cannot obtain insurance coverage, it will cost Floridians jobs and will hurt our economy. The JUA would provide property coverage to Florida commercial property owners who employ thousands of hardworking citizens that serve as the backbone of our economy.
2. Explore lowering the threshold of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe (CAT) Fund from $5.2 billion to $3 billion. Florida homeowners do not need to be held hostage to the profit margins of offshore reinsurance companies. Lowering the threshold from $5.2 billion to $3 billion Florida would help stabilize insurance rates and provide desperately needed coverage in the private market.
It is recommended that representatives from the Cabinet offices, the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, Office of Insurance Regulation and the State Board of Administration set up a working group to explore this option. A special session is required to approve changing the retention level of the CAT Fund. Gallagher has written a letter to Governor Bush asking him to call a special session when a consensus is reached. These changes to the CAT Fund would provide immediate capacity and relief to Florida homeowners.
If a special session is not called before the Inauguration, a Gallagher Administration would immediately call a special session to deal with lowering the CAT Fund threshold.
If someone can explain this I'd appreciate it because I would like to know how this is working and I'm not getting it.
FLAMPAC has a website but is not listed as a PAC as of 10 minutes ago when I downloaded the PAC info from the elections division.
FLAMPAC is not listed in the business directory at sunbiz.
It's not in the lobbyist directory either.
People for a Better Florida (listed at FLAMPAC site and you must donate $500 to them before you can donate to FLAMPAC) is listed as a PAC and can be found at sunbiz.
I've been researching things for a few years now and this is not normal for absolutely nothing to show up under FLAMPAC, it's not listed in fictitious names either.
Any light to shine on this anyone?
I know where Crist stands on the issue and am quite pleased . I feel it doesn't warrant anymore discussion with someone who is trying to make him out to be the anti-Christ .
Just accept the fact that Gallagher is not going to win the primary. He should have sought the Senate seat , he would have had a much better chance .
Tom Gallagher, ready to lead Florida. The economy is slowing down and a trial lawyer like Crist won't know what to do. A businessman like Gallagher will.
"I'm Charlie Crist and I'm ready to RUIN Florida." (what his tv spot should say instead of RUN Florida).
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/27/State/Crist_ally_cuts_ties_.shtml
excerpt from above article:
"Pino has given the maximum $500 contribution to Crist's campaign, and Pino-controlled firms have given at least $5,500 more, according to campaign finance records.
The Pino letter was dated two days after a spokeswoman for Crist's campaign said Pino's continued support was welcome."
The $5,500 more is suspect. IMO, it should read $5,500 AND MORE. This is very similar to all the Sembler donations through all their corporations that go well above $500 per individual.
IMO, when Crist says he still welcomes Pino's support, it is a signal to Pino to take the fifth if Pino is under oath and has to answer questions about Crist. Crist welcomes Pino's silence. Is Crist tampering with a witness by welcoming his support even though Pino's in trouble?
Donations by foreign govts is within the realm of possibility within the Crist campaign. If this information is firmed up, I will post the info here. Until then, they are just allegations.
http://www.easybackgroundcheck.com/charliecrist.html
Some would call Gallagher a businessman, other would call him a career politician.
http://www.easybackgroundcheck.com/crist.html
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer repeated his call for state funding relief on windstorm insurance rates.
Tom Gallagher, who is running for Governor, pointed to the latest revenue estimates from The Florida General Revenue Estimating Conference.
He says Florida is expected to receive an additional $960 million in unanticipated revenue this year and the next. And the latest estimate is in addition to $3.2 billion in increased revenue announced earlier.
“This surplus of nearly $4.2 billion strengthens the case for providing immediate insurance rate-relief to Florida’s homeowners,” Gallagher said. “Providing rate relief for Florida’s families using surplus tax dollars is good public policy and I’m encouraged by the growing support for it from Governor Bush and state lawmakers.
“This is not a bailout of Citizens; it is common-sense relief for Florida’s hard-hit homeowners.” Since 2004, Gallagher has called on the Legislature to use surplus tax revenues to offset assessments by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
He said Floridians are paying twice for damages incurred by multiple hurricanes. When the Legislature created Citizens, the state’s insurer of last resort, it mandated that any shortfalls in revenue be recovered through assessments on homeowners.
“Rate relief is a short-term solution and should be tied to long-term fixes,” Gallagher said. “The eight hurricanes which struck Florida in less than 15 months created problems that no one could have ever anticipated."
Excerpts From: "Gallagher: Use state surplus to offset windstorm hikes "
By Staff Writers
The Upper Keys Reporter
To read full article click
http://www.upperkeysreporter.com/articles/2006/04/14/news/news14.txt
ENSURING THE AVAILABILITY OF INSURANCE FOR FLORIDA’S BUSINESSES AND PROVIDING OPTIONS TO INCREASE AFFORDABILITY FOR ALL
Insuring Availability for Florida’s Businesses
The Commercial JUA's structure is a decision that is left to the Financial Services Commission, with input from Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty and the Office of Insurance Regulation. The preferable structure would be to have the Commercial JUA serve as a re-insurer of the private market to help encourage the private market to write coverage for the businesses that currently can not obtain property coverage.
Under this structure, the Commercial JUA would function like the CAT Fund by providing lower cost reinsurance to help encourage the private market to expand coverage. This structure keeps the JUA from serving as the direct underwriter and being forced to develop the customer service and claims handling infrastructure that has bedeviled Citizens. The Commercial JUA encourages greater participation from private companies and does not create a "Citizens for business".
The Commercial JUA is designed to serve as a short-term solution to the current lack of property insurance availability. Florida businesses are being forced to choose between closing their doors and eliminating thousands of jobs or operating their businesses without property coverage and risking financial disaster if a hurricane were to strike their area.
Providing Options for Affordability
Florida homeowners do not need to be held hostage by offshore reinsurance companies who will not make the necessary insurance available to Florida and for the amount available charging unprecedented high rates. Lowering the threshold of the CAT Fund from $5.2 billion to $3 billion Florida would help stabilize insurance rates and expand desperately needed coverage in the private market.
Gallagher recommends that representatives from the Cabinet offices, the Legislature, Office of Insurance Regulation and the State Board of Administration form a working group to explore this option. A special session would be required to approve changes in the retention level of the CAT Fund. Gallagher has written a letter to Governor Bush asking him to call a special session when a consensus is reached. These changes to the CAT Fund should provide more capacity in the market place and relief to Florida homeowners.
If a special session is not called before the Inauguration, a Gallagher Administration would call a special session to deal with this issue.
Gallagher for Governor Communications
07/27/2006
Tom Gallagher for Governor
Website: www.TG2006.com
I recommend that you forward it on. Judge Greer is oh so close to Charlie Crist who wants to be governor. It is beyond scandalous! Judge Greer should have been disqualified in 2004 by somebody in charge. But, the homicidal judge is still raking in $140K per year on the bench.
Charlie's cronies get away with cheating in a judicial election and then they got away with murder.
http://home.comcast.net/~bykrbayb/Video/GreerAd.ram
Thank you for all of your hard work this week it was another great week on the trail. We dealt with a couple of important issues this week.
I am pleased to announce that for the first time Florida’s families will have access to information to help them identify sexual predators’ vehicles on the state’s sexual offender web site. I suggested this enhanced search feature at a Cabinet meeting last June. As a husband and a father, nothing pleases me more to see that it has finally come to fruition. This enhancement will empower Floridians with greater information about the people who live in their neighborhoods so that our children, our seniors and our loved ones can be protected.
On Wednesday, in Sarasota, I addressed the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals’ annual conference and unveiled the next step in my insurance reform proposal. My plan has two components:
• 1. Reactivate the Commercial Joint Underwriting Association. • 2. Lower the threshold of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe (CAT) Fund from $5.2 billion to $3 billion. 3. As a homeowner and a businessman, I know that Florida’s insurance crisis demands real solutions and not just the bumper-sticker rhetoric and sound bites that some politicians are offering. That is why I recommended that representatives from the Cabinet offices, the Legislature, Office of Insurance Regulation and the State Board of Administration form a working group to explore these options. I have also written a letter to Governor Bush asking him to call a special session when a consensus is reached. If a special session is not called before the Inauguration, a Gallagher Administration would call a special session to deal with this issue. 4. To read my full remarks concerning insurance, please visit my website at www.tg2006.com.
We had other great news for our campaign this week. My good friend and President Pro Tempore of the Senate Charlie Clary (R-Destin) endorsed my candidacy. Charlie has been a trusted Republican leader in the Senate for many years. During his tenure in the Florida Senate, Charlie has earned a reputation as a true statesman. I am honored to have the support of someone who has such a true commitment to public service.
In addition to Senator Clary’s endorsement, more than 125 Doctors agreed to serve on my Doctors for Gallagher statewide leadership team. Each of these distinguished physicians work daily to improve the lives of Floridians and I am honored that they have embraced my clear and consistent record of leadership regarding medical liability reform. I look forward to working with them to continue our mission of improving our healthcare system.
One last thing, our campaign continued to build momentum this week as we launched our fourth television advertisement which you can watch now by clicking here. We have seen tremendous support and a positive response from our ads currently in rotation, and we are very excited to continue to be able to spread our message.
The advertisement is playing statewide and highlights our family policy plan to defend traditional values in Florida. It also highlights the fact that I am the only pro-life candidate running for Governor. I believe that we need to do everything we can to defend and strengthen Florida’s families. The reason is simple: by nurturing and shaping our children, the family transmits the values of our culture from one generation to the next and thus serves as the foundation of our society.
Have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you on the trail.
TOM
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