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Agriculture commissioner
Race for Agriculture Commish Is Crowded Early
Why all the interest? See the players.
Over the past two decades, the race for commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has generated little in the way of political suspense. But with the exit of Charles Bronson, term-limited out of office, several veteran politicians are clamoring for a chance at the often-overlooked Cabinet post.
“This race should be a little different than what we’ve seen in 20 years. This is the first time since Bob Crawford was elected in 1990 when there’s actually an open race,” says state Sen. Carey Baker, one of three Republicans with hats in the ring. “It won’t be that sleepy, somewhat boring race it usually is.”
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Declared Candidates 
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Adam Putnam (R), 34
To accomplish these objectives, the department inspects and tests food and other consumer products and regulates a wide variety of businesses from dance studios to auto repair shops to amusement park rides.
Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, notes that the position can also be a steppingstone for anyone with ambitions to be governor. Bronson, who has served as Florida agriculture commissioner since 2001, recently announced that he intends to run for governor in 2010 if Charlie Crist decides to run for outgoing Sen. Mel Martinez’s (R) seat. “Just about every Florida politician you talk to ultimately wants to be governor. It’s a very, very common pattern,” MacManus says.
Baker says the position is a “great job”— and one for which he feels he is particularly well-suited considering his recent chairmanship of the General Government Appropriations panel in the Senate, which oversees the department’s budget. “I understand top-to-bottom how the agency works,” says Baker. “I can hit the ground running. I don’t have to be elected and sort of learn about the various divisions.”
Another appealing aspect of the job, he says, is the fact that as a Cabinet member, the agriculture commissioner gets to weigh in on a myriad of other important issues such as large land purchases by the state, clemency issues and the siting of power plants.
Other big names angling for the top ag spot include U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam and former state Rep. Marsha “Marty” L. Bowen, a citrus grower from Haines City who served as speaker pro tempore from 2007 to 2008. The first Democrat to enter to the race is former state Rep. O.R. (Rick) Minton Jr. The St. Petersburg Times recently reported that Eric Draper, a lobbyist for Audubon of Florida, may also make a bid for the office as a Democrat. Others considering a run, according to the Times, include state Rep. Debbie Boyd (D) and former Suwannee County Commissioner Randy Hatch.
If money is the measure, Putnam has staked an early claim as the GOP front-runner. The lawmaker, a rising GOP star on the national scene during his eight-year congressional career, raised $486,358 for his campaign during the first fund-raising quarter of 2009 — a record amount in one quarter for a candidate running for ag commissioner in Florida.
