Charlie Crist shrugs and leaves a mess
09/14/2010
(( UPDATE - Kendrick Meek after being pressured by Charlie Crist says he will not attend Forum Club. ))
((Another Update - Brian E. Crowley of Crowley Political Report and Lynn University political expert Robert Watson are pinching hitting at today's event. Crowley and Watson are political commentators for the WPTV-NewsChannel 5 Sunday political program "To the Point" ))
First a bit of disclosure - Crowley Political Report is on the board of directors of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches. What appears below is solely the opinion of Crowley Political Report and does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of any other member or staff of the Forum Club.
Now, a note to No-Party Gov. Charlie Crist - are you kidding?
Some weeks ago, after much haggling, Crist agreed to be a speaker at the non-partisan Forum Club at noon Wednesday where he would be joined by Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek to talk about the issues in the campaign to be Florida's junior U.S. Senator.
Republican Marco Rubio declined because of a scheduling conflict.
Crist insisted that the format be changed so that each candidate would speak and answer questions separately. The normal format would be that each candidate speak and then together answer questions from the audience. But the Crist folks feared that would appear too much like a debate.
Nearly 700 tickets were sold for the event at the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavillion based on the promise made by Crist and Meek that they would attend.
On Tuesday, Gayle Pallesen, executive director of the Forum Club, received a call saying Crist would not attend the luncheon because the stagehands union intends to picket to get attention from the candidates and the media that would be in attendance.
The call did not come from the Crist campaign. It came from the Palm Beach Daily News.
Sometime around 5 p.m. the evening before the luncheon, Gayle heard from the Crist folks. Not gonna make it.
Worse, the Crist campaign decided to turn it into a political stunt by calling for Meek not to attend. Meek had already considered the issue going as far as asking the Forum Club to find another venue. But it is not that easy to move a luncheon for nearly 700 people.
On Tuesday morning, Meek was still planning to speak after spending some time with the union workers.
Crist's issued a statement about his sudden change of heart that is at best disengenuous.
"I deeply regret being unable to attend tomorrow's Forum Club meeting - a meeting I have attended on numerous occasions in the past, and truly enjoy. An extensive labor dispute has been brought to my attention, and given these difficult economic times, I call on Congressman Meek to join me in standing up for Florida's working families by not crossing the picket line. The Forum Club is an esteemed organization, and I look forward to addressing them in the near future."
The "extensive labor dispute" has been going on for years.
This from Tuesday's Daily News: The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts Local 500 and the performing arts center have been wrangling since September 2000, when the center declared an impasse in its negotiations with the union and stopped hiring workers through the union.
The only thing brought to Crist's attention was that there would be a picket line - and a political opportunity.
By the way, in June Crist pulled out of another Forum Club event at the last minute. That time it was to be with President Obama.
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