Governor-elect Rick Scott won by marketing himself as an outsider, but he appointed some decidedly insider names to his transition team today.
The Republican's transition advisory committee includes former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings; Sally Bradshaw, the chief of staff to former Gov. Jeb Bush; and outgoing U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, among other figures well-known in Tallahassee.
"We're rolling," Scott said in his first press conference as governor-elect.
Named as the head of his transition was Washington trial lawyer Enu Mainigi, a longtime friend first hired after Scott's ouster from Columbia/HCA amid a massive fraud investigation. Scott tapped Mary Anne Carter, who headed his Conservatives for Patients' Rights initiative, as his transition team's executive director.
Scott defended his appointment of Tallahassee insiders - a term he used to criticize both Bill McCollum, whom he defeated in the primary, and Alex Sink, whom he prevailed over with a razor-thin win in the general election.
"They're all going to have ideas," Scott said. "They know what's worked in the past, what hasn't worked in the past."
Also named to his transition team: Kathleen Shanahan, Bush's former chief of staff and a member of Gov. Charlie Crist's transition team four years ago; state Rep. Mike Weinstein; state Sen. Paula Dockery; former state Rep. Bill Galvano; and Mayor Manny Marono of Sweetwater. He's also including at least one Democrat in his transition, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate and crossed the aisle to support Scott for governor.
As for Crist, the current occupant of the governor's mansion, Scott said he received a phone message from him, and left him one back, but has not managed to talk to him yet.
"My voicemail has been full," Scott said.
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