Jeb Bush was speaking at Southeastern University in Central Florida. I hear he was surprised he was questioned so bluntly about the CSX deal that will pretty effectively destroy future plans for several Central Florida cities.
Catching Up with JebFor those who listened more to the pitter-patter of rain than the local news, Jeb Bush was in Lakeland yesterday. No, not to apologize for perpetuating a pestilence upon the people of Polk County. He was here to discuss "leadership."
Bush was surprised to find that reporters in Lakeland were not welcoming him home with Nerf ball questions. They wanted to discuss CSX. They were even polite, and asked if they could ask first.
One of the exchanges was as followed.
Bush, in Lakeland as a speaker for two Southeastern University events, was asked after his afternoon speech if he had time to answer questions.
He said he wouldn't if the questions were about CSX.
..."“There was no secret deal ... I resent the implication,” Bush said angrily. “I believe a significant number of people in this community support the thousands of jobs it will bring.” -- Polk County News Blog
The $491 million deal with CSX Transportation is a very big, potentially very damaging for several cities. They have had no say in the planning at all. In fact the deal was made that CSX could go ahead with whatever it wanted to do before the cities ever had a chance to plan.
CSX is taking over areas of Central Florida with little or no oversight.WINTER HAVEN - State planning officials have told CSX it can begin building a rail transfer center before planning reviews of the massive project are completed. In a letter sent to CSX this week, the state Department of Community Affairs said it would consider an agreement with the company that would allow CSX to begin construction on the Winter Haven project while a comprehensive planning review known as a development of regional impact is under way."
The deal is so serious and so flawed that a top Florida Republican, the husband to a state senator...wrote a long and damning op ed about Jeb's involvement. As usual Jeb escaped from the scrutiny unscathed. He always does.
Top Florida Republican accuses Jeb Bush of brokering the harmful CSX deal...Whether it is the good fortune of having your buddy Gov. Jeb Bush honchoing a deal for you or whether CSX CEO Michael Ward is simply a good negotiator, it pays handsome dividends.
In November 2004, CSX executives made a half-billion-dollar pitch to Bush's Florida Department of Transportation. That pitch is now being played out in an impending agreement to pay CSX $491 million of taxpayers' money to move some of its freight trains off what they call the A Line, running down the east central part of Florida to Orlando over to the S Line, running down through west central Florida: Gainesville, Ocala, Plant City and Lakeland. The terminus is Winter Haven, where CSX wants to build a huge intermodal logistics center.
The payoff for CSX's Ward was $36 million in salary and benefits paid to him in 2005 and 2006.
Much of the funding for the $491 million, a first-of-a-kind deal for a private company, was accomplished in the 2005 session of the Florida Legislature. The Tampa Tribune reported in its Nov. 28 edition that few legislators knew of the Bush-backed Senate Bill 360 where the funding was inserted just before midnight on the last day of the legislative session, May 6.
Perhaps it's worth knowing that Ward's CSX predecessor was John Snow, who left CSX to head up theU.S. Treasury Department for Gov. Bush's brother, President George W. Bush.
It helps to have friends in high places.
To top off the damage and lack of concern for Central Florida, the State Department of Transportation used
one of the companies involved in the deal to prove it was good for taxpayers.
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