Last week’s Times-Union story about the effort to obtain the public schedules of lawmakers had all the makings of a Hollywood script. The only question — was it a drama or a comedy?

The schedules, which are subject to Florida public records law, can often shed light on what lobbyists, constituents and special-interests groups have the ear of lawmakers. With committee meetings under way last week, the reporter thought he might find a story idea in the calendars. He had no idea the request itself would become the story.

Three lawmakers — Sen. John Thrasher and Reps. Mike Weinstein and Bill Proctor — willingly turned over calendars with little prompting. But then it got downright amusing.

Instead of copying and pasting, attaching a document to an e-mail or walking a few feet to a fax machine, some lawmakers’ offices collectively turned to George Levesque, general counsel for the House, to determine if they needed to comply at all. He eventually weighed in with a message to lawmakers — adhere but don’t feel obligated to do so quickly.

The calendars slowly trickled in, two in actual envelopes complete with stamps — a method of delivery I’m told was rather common in a previous century. Maybe they’d bought a supply of “Forever stamps” they wanted to use. Who knows?

The point is, legislative aides and lawmakers spent weeks making phone calls and exchanging e-mails in an effort to avoid complying with a request that would have taken 90 seconds of their time. 

One lawmaker even displayed a flair for the dramatic in his response.

“With the whole Tucson thing, I’m very leery right now of schedules,” state Sen. Tony Hill said, explaining why his wasn’t turned over until the week was nearly over.

We’ve heard the shooting in Arizona used to criticize former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, to invoke calls for civility and even as the inspiration for bipartisan seating at tonight’s State of the Union. But this being Florida, we’ve taken it to another level — as an excuse for slow compliance with the state’s public-records laws.

A bit of drama that leaves you laughing — now that’s a Hollywood script in the making.

PolitiJax notes

Mayoral candidate Mike Hogan opened his campaign headquarters on Roosevelt Boulevard and rolled out an endorsement from state Rep. Mike Weinstein. No word on whether Scott Leigh, Weinstein’s son, will shoot a Hogan edition of the viral “Mike, Mike, Mike Weinstein …” video that lit up the net last summer. … Count the endorsement of JaxBiz, the political arm of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, as one of the most coveted of the cycle. Mayoral candidates Audrey Moran and Rick Mullaney finished atop the heap after a vote and were invited back for a second interview. Mullaney supporters peppered the parking lot with signs where the group was meeting, but the Moran campaign one-upped them with supporters waving “I’m with Audrey” signs as the candidates walked into the Schultz Center for the interviews. The group’s endorsement is expected this week.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/401574/abel-harding/2011-01-25...