Davis taps Miami's Daryl Jones as running mate

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Facing anemic support from black voters, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis has tapped former Miami state Sen. Daryl Jones to join the ticket and possibly become modern Florida's first African-American lieutenant governor.

"Daryl Jones has a record of leadership and commitment to public service that the people of Florida can trust," Davis said in a written statement. "We share a vision for a Florida in which the voices of working men and women are heard in Tallahassee and the issues most important to Florida's families are at the top of the agenda."

Jones, 51, is a U.S. Air Force Reserves colonel as well as a lawyer and real-estate investor. He will appear with Davis at 9:30 a.m. at the Broward County library in downtown Fort Lauderdale."

<snip>

"By tapping Jones, Davis's ticket gains a military shine and a precious political foothold in South Florida, where African-American voters overwhelmingly favored the Tampa congressman's opponent in the primary last week."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15517079.htm

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. This should be interesting

There apparently is some controversy in his backgroud. He was Pres Clinton's choice to be secretary of Air Force but was rejected.


http://www.whoseflorida.com/djones.htm

[wakeme2008]

2. Just IMHO Bill McBride would be gov of Florida

if he had picked Jones over an unknow old white guy to run with him in 2002.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. I think the choice of an African American Veteran

is a great idea but we better know about whatever ghosts are in his closet, so we can be ready for the Bushbots when they attack him.

[flordehinojos]

6. bill mcbride's sole purpose for running in the fla. governnorship race

back when he did was to extend jeb bush's governorship to a two term one. he had no intention of beating jeb. he had every intention of beating janet reno because she would have beat the daylights out of jeb's governorship chair if she had been the candidate up against jeb.

[ngant17]

7. Janet was a perfect candidate for me

I think we should try to elect people who have at least some established roots here in Florida. People like Nelson and Reno have long family histories here in Florida, not like the new kids on the block Repugs like Jeb or Charlie Crist.

[flordehinojos]

8. i agree with you 100%

[seafan]

5. Many more details on this in the Miami Herald link:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15517079.htm

`Monica Lewinsky time'

Jones is intimately familiar with being out front -- and under political fire.

In 1998, with the Monica Lewinsky scandal as backdrop, he lost out when President Bill Clinton nominated him to become U.S. Air Force secretary. His nomination was scuttled after rigorous hearings by the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee, packed with political icons from Strom Thurmond to John McCain to John Glenn to Joe Lieberman. On a 9-9 vote cast largely along partisan lines -- the former segregationist Thurmond switched sides to vote for him -- the committee refused to send Jones' nomination to the full Senate for an up -or-down vote.

snip, much more detail at link

This all has the stench of knee-jerk partisanship. It's a refrain we're all accustomed to from this crowd.

...a former supervisor testified that Jones was a poor pilot and a colleague said he illegally tried to sell Amway products...

Give us a *%#$*^% break!

[democrat in Tallahassee]

4. he was in the debates against mcbride and reno in 04 and he was

great. I think he has a great shot.

[jpak]

9. Yes - and this is a good move for Davis...

n/t