COBB
TALLAHASSEE:
GOVERNOR JEB Bush turned to an old family friend and contributor Wednesday to succeed former Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood as Florida secretary of state.
Sue Cobb, 68, a Coral Gables lawyer who served as U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica the past four years, will take over as the state's top elections official in January, Bush said.
Cobb earlier worked with Bush as a member of his first transition team, helping set up the new administration, following the 1998 election. She stayed on several months as interim director of the Florida Lottery.
Cobb and her husband, Chuck Cobb, are also major Republican donors with ties to the Bush family that stretch back almost 20 years.
"It sends a very bad message," Karen Thurman, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, said of Cobb's appointment. "She has no experience with elections and her back-ground is with the party. She's a political appointment."
The newly appointed secretary of state, who will also oversee cultural and historical programmes, corporations and library services, must be confirmed by the Florida Senate.
Federal records show Chuck Cobb has contributed $130,000 to Republicans over the past three years, including $75,000 to the Republican National Committee.
Sue Cobb gave $2,000 to Republican Mel Martinez in his successful U.S. Senate campaign last year, and $2,000 to the governor's brother, President George W. Bush, for his 2004 re-election.
Cobb acknowledged her GOP ties. But she said they would not shape her decisions in a job that drew worldwide attention with Florida's central role in each of the past two presidential elections.
"I would be bound by the rule of law," Cobb said. "I believe we have laws for a reason. There will be a number of occasions where you have to detach your personal instincts and desires and apply the rules that are prescribed by the federal government and our state Legislature."
Taken from the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
