I have long been a fan of Florida CFO Alex Sink. I have written many diaries analyzing how she won her 2006 statewide race. Before Mel Martinez dropped out and Jeb got involved, I was hoping that she would run for the US Senate, beat Martinez and then parlay that into a presidential bid in 2016 (assuming Hillary retired).
But, I have to admit, I was being selfish. I wanted her to do the heavy lifting of defeating the Republicans rather than fulfilling her true calling.
It is now clearer than ever to me that her gifts are managerial and executive in nature. She needs to run for re-election as Chief Financial Officer and then Governor in 2014 when Crist steps down.
Here’s the Miami Herald’s take on her recent state of mind:
''Having Jeb in the race created a lot of pressure for Alex because she was seen as one of the only people who could potentially beat him,'' said Democratic consultant Freddy Balsera, who helped lead President-elect Barack Obama's Hispanic outreach. ``She loves the job that she's doing and prefers the executive role over being a legislator.''
(Usually when stuff like this is leaked, it means the candidate isn't running, as the recent Jeb fiasco shows).
Clearly, for Democrats nationally, it will be imperative that we nominate a woman candidate for president in 2016 (along with an Hispanic from Texas as Veep). When Sink becomes the first woman governor of Florida, that will allow all of us here in a state that will have 28 electoral votes after 2012 to get used to the idea of voting for a woman executive before the 2016 election. As we saw in the psychodrama of last year’s campaign, this is not a minor thing.
But another point to be made is that a Sink re-election campaign could also help out with the most pressing issue facing Democrats in 2010. When I recently went to a post-election Obama House party, Rick Minor, a local Democrat Party official, articulated it for the group: Redistricting Reform. He even brought petitions for everyone to sign. (Of course, my wife and I had done so many months before).
As part of her re-election Sink can also serve as a statewide spokesperson for the effort. And with her positive relationship with Gov. Crist, I truly believe she can influence him to join her. Crist has a history of bold bi-partisan gestures. He knows they give him national attention, which I’m sure he still craves.
Such a campaign could be a focus for a general Good Government effort that could help the Democrats sweep back into state wide power. That would be the true fulfillment of Alex Sink’s enormous political potential.
Here she is speaking at the FDP Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in 2007.
Cross Posted From FlaPolitics.com