Race for Agriculture Commish Is Crowded Early

Amy Keller | 5/1/2009

Putnam’s haul is even more impressive considering that he declared his candidacy Feb. 2 — almost five weeks into the quarter. His next closest competitor, Baker, had just $40,200 at the end of 2008. (Baker and other state lawmakers are prohibited from raising campaign funds while the Legislature is in session).

Given the state of the economy and the potentially large number of high-profile races in Florida in 2010, Putnam says the early fund raising is critical. “When you look at the fruit-basket turnover that will occur at the top of the ticket in 2010, potentially, that makes it much more important for a candidate for an office like this to get a head start” before candidates for senator and governor consume all the political donations, he says.

Putnam’s opponents downplay his financial lead. “Listen, the job’s not for sale,” insists Minton, a former state lawmaker who filed his candidacy papers on March 13. The Fort Pierce Democrat says he is confident he’ll be able to get his message out with “whatever money I’m able to get ... and I feel confident that I’ll have as good a shot as any Republican.”

Despite having “one arm tied behind his back” because of the fund-raising restrictions placed on state lawmakers, Baker says with 18-plus months ahead, the campaign still has a long way to go: “This is a marathon. We have a lot of time left in this race.”

Money aside, Putnam’s show of force is also evident on the ground. In April, during a congressional recess, Putnam made a “farm tour” of Florida, visiting every coffee shop, fish fry and barbecue joint he could find. He’s also making use of free social networking tools on the internet by posting campaign videos on YouTube and maintaining profiles on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Putnam says he’s had his eye on the agriculture commissioner slot since the day he met Florida’s first elected commissioner of agriculture, Doyle Connor, while he was showing a bull at the Polk County Youth Fair in the early 1980s. He says he plans to do whatever it takes to boost his own name recognition and that of the office of agriculture commissioner.

“In many ways, it’s been under the radar. I’m hoping to change that, hoping to raise the profile of the office and raise the profile of the campaign,” says Putnam. “Other races might be more glamorous or headline-grabbing but ours is just as important, and frankly, for Florida’s heartland, and panhandle, even more important.”

Food scares Candidates Focus on Food Safety Last year’s tomato scare underscores the need for new food safety regulations, several candidates running for agriculture commissioner say. While it was eventually determined that jalapenos from Mexico were behind the salmonella outbreak that poisoned more than 1,400 people, the mere suspicion that tomatoes might have been the cause cost Florida’s tomato industry $140 million. “It is very important to have a strong food safety program that not only protects consumers, but will also protect the farmers themselves from being falsely accused,” says state Sen. Carey Baker. Baker has sponsored a bill that would extend the stringent food safety standards that apply to Florida’s tomato industry to all crops. His bill would also transfer food service safety duties from the Department of Health to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, meanwhile, recently introduced legislation that would place mandatory requirements on food companies, domestically and abroad, while also requiring them to conduct risk analyses to identify potential problems. The bill would also give the FDA statutory power for the first time ever to recall contaminated food. The FDA has long sought this power from Congress.

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law