Alexander, others land Senate budget posts

UPDATE! Check out the official committee assignments here.

Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, will be the new Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman, putting the Polk County citrus grower in charge of the budget in what's expected to be an exceedingly tight two years.

Senate President Jeff Atwater has not officially announced his choices. But as in past cycles, the decisions are circulating among lobbyists, staffers and others who closely follow the process. Senators who currently chair other key spending committees (Sen. Durell Peaden on health and human services, Sen. Steve Wise at preK-12 schools, Sen. Evelyn Lynn at higher education, Sen. Mike Fasano on transportation and economic development and Sen. Victor Crist on civil and criminal justice) will all remain in their current posts over the next two years, The Buzz has learned.

Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, will head the Senate Governmental Operations Committee and will direct the upcoming reapportionment process. (He is seeking the Senate presidency in 2010.)

Steve Bousquet and Alex Leary, Times staff writers

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Comments

JD: We can't afford any more turkeys. Tell those lobbyists to eat cake and pound sand.

Since we already know there is no money, what will Sen. Alexander have to left to lie about? Will he just not speak at all for two years?

Steve - I think you got at least one of those wrong.

Which is wrong?

11:55, Madame Dockery, you spent $100k of your personal money trying to take JD out and had ZERO impact. Leave it alone and go name another trail after yourself.

Why would Fasano chair transportation and economic development if he is President Pro Tempore?

Why would Fasano chair transportation and economic development appropriations if he is President Pro Tempore?

Paula gets??

Paula endorses Paula

Once again she cannot get her nose under the tent. which part of she isn't welcome doesn't she understand?

She's a democrat, why would she get anything? She has to wait until the dems pick up more seats and she and Bennett put together the coalition they have been talking so much about?!?

Come on, guys, let's give Senator Dockery a little credit here. After all, when you marry for money, you earn every penny.

Paula - If you are going to shoot at the king, you better make sure you kill the king.

Will someone please go after HAIR-odopos? I'm sick of looking at his reee-diculous coif while he's on the Florida Channel. Who does he think he is? Madame Pompadour?

Shazam! J.D. gets Approps and Haridopolos gets Reapportionment, the two most important committees. But wait, there is no money and there is no reapportionment this cycle! What suckers...

3:50, Paging Sen. Dockery, paging Sen. Dockery- please report to your meaningless chairmanship for the "show" of unity immediately.

Sugar daddy sugar daddy, 100k of money,

Try to beat JD, or Doc Dockery gets no honey.

I don't know how much Dockery spent, but I do know JD spent 20 times more to win by only nine points....pretty pathetic.

3:50- it is obvious you are unaware of how this process works!

I can't believe you guys are so stupid to think Dockery does these posts. Don't you know she's either at her mountain house or her bahamas crib?

Poor JD....Daddy had to buy the election.....What part of "not wanted" doesn't HE understand?....Just like the ugly little rich girl in school whose daddy had to buy the beauty pageant.....victory just isn't that sweet when you know noone likes you =)

It's like trying to get a great piece from a beautiful woman, but you're so ugly none will have you....so you hire a prostitute....if you gotta pay for it, its just not the same....

Congratulations J.D. you have just been promoted to Captain of the HMS Titanic. She is the biggest, most important and most desired in the world. Your new position will do wonders for you reputation. She is unsinkable!

The king???? he doesn't even merit his own link on this site....HA HA!

Lets not forget Sen. Diaz de la Portilla who is now in charge of getting lunch for the Senators. After Sen. Fasano wrestled away the Majority Leader's ability to set special order all that is left for him to do is bring lunch from his Chinese Takee Outee.

5:54....He's too stupid to figure that out...He and his friends will be dancing with the band (in a drunken stupor to boot) while she sinks ;). Oh, that's right...it's bad to mix alcohol with your antipsychotics....

not 5:54, 5:53

Sen. Alexander can you please fund my project. I promise I'll be your friend and say nice things about you. What, you have no money for projects, well that changes everything!

No money = No power!

Leader Diaz de la Portilla has a very important assignment for next Tuesday!

1. General Tsao's Chicken
or
2. Chicken Chow Mein &Pork Egg Foo Young
or
3. Shrimp Chow Mein & Egg Roll

Please vote for your choice for the Majority Office lunch.

Paula Paula Paula, congrats on chairing Criminal Justice! I'm sure sentencing guidelines for crackheads was at the top of your list! hahahaha

Sen. King can only vote once!

Looks like Garcia, Constantine, and Lynn made the right choice to support Atwater & Hari. That leaves lil ole Demalobos to chair Rules WITHOUT Calendar and Dockery to gain even more weight worrying about criminal justice. I reckon only those 2 rats stayed on that sinking ship.

Hey, y'all leave Benedict Dockery alone, she got what she wanted! She's ALWAYS wanted Criminal Justice! hehehehe

Hmmmm, so after being in the Senate for more than half a decade Dockery still doesn't get a real committee chairmanship, let alone an approps committee. Looks like her stuff will get cut to h*ll.

Looks like a couple of JD henchmen lobbyists have been really busy this pm. Just keep slinging mud you vermin...Karma's a beach.

Does this make JD a potential candidate for CFO in 2010?

I think the senators should eat healthier and have vegetable lo mein. DLP can bring almond chicken ding for Wednesday's lunch.

Derek and Rhett...your "volunteer" position on JD's campaign should be over by now...get off the blog and go back to your "real" job....morons.

[Paul D. Harvill]

Sen. Mike Haridopolos,

Please be an honest and fair broker in redistricting.

Thank you.

Paul D. Harvill

Well isn't it great that Alexander is in charge of the money? Now he can openly give our tax dollars to corporations and lobbyists. No beating around the bush. Just hand them the keys to the vault.

7:35 pm....sure if you like the idea of a fat, reckless, bi-polar crack pot running what is left of Florida into the ground.

7:38 pm....Awesome! That's what they taught me in Catholic school...call the demon by it's name.

JD Alexander is chair of the Ethics and Elections committee.....
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that a joke or something?

Hey Paul, your an idiot! Haridopeiles got a do nothing position. No Reapportionment till 2012!!! The committee has nothing to do.

Do you think he will pass a bill to make slander legal... OOh, ooh, I know....maybe he could write a bill to make extorting the support (or lack of support for opponents) from organizations and the media allowable...then he wouldn't have to be "unethical" next time he runs...ORRRRRRR, he could make payoffs to nurses at nursing homes with incapacitated "absentee voters" a qualified campaign expense! Awww, forget it....he gets away with all that anyways....

It appears some people are reeling. Good, just the way we wanted it...

8:24 You smug little beestards are so cute.... Reeling is not the word...disgusted would be a good description, mixed with total amusement at the fact that people in governement are actually going to have to work this cycle. That will be hard to do for the ones who are used to pitching temper tantrums and crying like babies to get their way....Someone will have to load up on the Zoloft...which one of you will be standing in line to give him his meds this time? I love baiting the lobbyists, they are so easy ;)

Has anyone ever questioned Alexander's ethics? Last spring he promoted the commuter rail/CSX deal and never once acknowledged that he had bought a company with a special relationship with CSX, nor it's proximity to the new CSX rail hub in Winter Haven. Shouldn't he be questioned by the attorney general on things like this?

Who are Rhett and Derek?