Tampa – One of Hillsborough County’s anti-gay commissioners could be Governor Rick Scott’s choice for Lieutenant Governor. Sandy Murman was named on a short list of potential candidates released by Scott’s office Nov. 18.
Murman was one of four commissioners who voted down a county-wide domestic partnership registry for unmarried couples in the early part of 2013. She said she voted against the registry because it’s personal responsibility to make end-of-life previsions, not the business of the government.
“I feel, bottom line, that this can still be done as a matter of personal responsibility by individuals,” Murman during the commission meeting debating the measure. “You can go and get a legal document. This is about process and nothing more than that.”
She went on to suggest that the county’s elder affairs division should take a more active role in preparing unmarried, older couples for these decisions.
Along with Murman, Scott’s office has started vetting state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, and Sheriff Don Eslinger of Seminole County near Orlando, and Joseph Joyner, the appointed school superintendent in St. Johns County. Murman is the only woman under consideration for the job.
Scott has not had a lieutenant governor since March 12, when Jennifer Carroll resigned after it was revealed she did marketing work for a veterans’ charity that was at the center of an illegal gambling investigation. When she resigned, her aides were dismissed and Scott has rarely addressed the scandal.
“I’m still reviewing it,” he said of the search for Carroll’s replacement. “There are a lot of great people around the state that could be great lieutenant governors. We’re still going through the process.”
Murman, 63, is a former Democrat who served in the state House from 1996 to 2004 and is known for her advocacy of children. Elected county commissioner as a Republican in 2010, she has been seen at Scott events in Tampa, including his grass roots visit to Arco-Iris, a West Tampa restaurant, in September.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Scott’s office would not say how long the vetting process would take or give an estimate d date as to when an appointment would be made. Murman has remained silent on the issue.
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