Orlando Sentinel

End rigged elections, Visit Orlando secrets.

- Scott Maxwell Sentinel Columnist

Today we’ve got items on O.J.

Simpson and Pam Bondi, hope for fixing one of the biggest scams in Florida politics and the Sunshine State’s latest nutty headlines.

But first, we have a big developmen­t in the fight for transparen­cy at Visit Orlando.

Last weekend, I wrote about the latest secretive deal at the taxpayer-funded agency — where Visit Orlando paid for naming rights to a weather camera at WOFL-Fox 35, whose general manager sits on the Visit Orlando board.

Visit Orlando wouldn’t say how many taxpayer dollars it spent or provide many details about what it received for them.

Well, in Sunday’s column, House Speaker Richard Corcoran vowed to get answers. And this week, he made good on his promise, demanding Visit Orlando turn over all the contracts with Fox (the Sentinel’s TV media partner) and asking about conflicts of interest. Good for Corcoran. But how pathetic for Visit Orlando. And for Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and county commission­ers who sit idly by while a Tallahasse­e politician pushes for transparen­cy with local tax dollars.

Also, where on earth is Visit Orlando’s board — which also has representa­tives from Disney, Universal, the Orlando Magic, Greenberg Traurig law firm, Wyndham, Hyatt, Legoland, the Mall at Millenia and more?

Do they support this secrecy with $50 million in hotel tax dollars? Do they have conflicts themselves?

I started asking board members those two questions this week and will let you know what they say.

But it would be simpler for Visit Orlando, which also spends money on advertisin­g and sponsorshi­ps with the Sentinel, to just disclose every contract and how it spends every public penny.

Total transparen­cy is what Visit Florida provides — and what good government demands.

Bondi vs. OJ

Last week, Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi earned easy headlines by formally objecting to O.J. Simpson moving to Florida. Talk about low-hanging fruit. Sure, few people want Simpson as a neighbor. But you know what? I bet Floridians are also concerned about convicted pedophiles, rapists and white-collar con artists living here … and I haven’t seen Bondi get loud about that.

I’m not alone. I asked the Department of Correction­s — with whom Bondi lodged her Simpson objection — if they had records of Bondi making stinks

about other convicted criminals moving here. A spokeswoma­n said officials were unaware of any “similar objection in recent history.”

Then again, run-of-the-mill crooks, thugs and scam artists wouldn’t score Bondi headlines in the New York Post or TMZ.

Bondi’s office didn’t respond to a question about whether she had filed formal objections to any non-celebrity parolees.

Listen, we could have a legitimate discussion about the complicate­d issue of how to handle parolees of all stripes.

But this move seems more about the publicity surroundin­g just one guy than sound policy for all.

Florida’s write-in vote scam

Next, we have some news I think most Floridians will like — an effort to end one of the biggest scams in Florida politics: the write-in loophole.

Normally, if only two candidates are running for an office, everyone gets to choose between the two.

But in Florida, that common-sense approach to democracy has a loophole.

If only two candidates are running in a primary and one of them can convince a third candidate to file as a “write-in” (or if write-in candidates just happen to file on their own), many voters get shut out.

Need an example? Well, remember last year’s race for state attorney when a supporter of Democrat Aramis Ayala filed as a write-in? The write-in immediatel­y “closed” the Democratic primary between Ayala and Jeff Ashton, meaning Republican­s and independen­ts never got to cast a meaningful ballot.

It happens all the time. Down in Palm Beach, a port commission­er actually recruited her own mother to run against her as a write-in … three times. Finally, Palm Beach State Attorney Dave

Aronberg has proposed a change to the state constituti­on to end this loophole. The state’s Constituti­on Revision Commission should put it on the ballot, where voters should support it.

Democracy is too important to let politician­s rig the system.

Eyeball lost, insects found

This week’s only-in-Florida headlines: “Fake eyeball missing in ocean off Florida” …“Florida County traps 26,000 mosquitoes after Hurricane Irma” … “Women feud outside motel, destroy AC, then head on over to Waffle House.”

Because you need something scattered, covered and smothered after making something else battered, broken and busted.

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