Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida

On March 27-29 RLCers came from across the country to Jacksonville, Fla., for business and revelry, with new leadership chosen and new friendships made at a convention RLC founder Eric Dondero called "the best ever" in the RLC's nearly 20-year history.

Ivan Osorio, Lawrence Reed and Mike Church at the 2009 RLC National and Florida State Conventions

The three day event started with parties and entertainment on Friday night, a national business meeting and elections on Saturday morning, educational speakers and panels on Saturday afternoon, a banquet Saturday night and Sunday morning state and national business meetings.

Highlights included Sirius Radio host Mike Church, who attended the entire convention and gave a rousing -- and hilarious -- talk at the banquet about current politics and American history. He was followed by Foundation for Economic Education President Lawrence Reed, who gave us a history of the Fed's role in triggering and the New Deal's role in prolonging the Great Depression.

Other speakers included Ivan Osorio of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, John Hallman of the Florida Taxpayers Union, Allen Douglas of the National Federation of Independent Business and activist and author Matt Falconer. Several candidates and politicians attended and participated including State House candidate Dean Santoro, State Senate Candidate Dan Quiggle U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Marion Thorpe, and former state legislator Don Murphy. Special thanks to Lenny Curry Duval County Republican Party Chairman for answering tough questions about the future of the Republican Party and the party's willingness to work with limited government republicans.

Newly elected National RLC Vice Chair Mark Cross with newly elected RLCFL Chair Will Pitts

At the Sunday morning Florida RLC meeting, elections were held and a new, expanded board selected under the newly revised by-laws. The members of the new board are:

Will Pitts (St. Augustine), Chairman

Steven Talcott Smith (Boca Raton), Vice Chairman

Sarah Lovett (Jacksonville), Secretary

Woody Engle (Englewood), Treasurer

Elizabeth Campbell (Pensacola), At-Large

Dean Santoro (Miami), At-Large

Frank Zilaitis (Indian Harbour Beach), At-Large

Mark Mulligan (Panama City), Alternate

R.B. Lee (Kissimmee), Alternate

Mike Dureden (Jacksonville), Alternate

Mark Cross (Kissimmee), Past (Interim) Chair

Special recognition was given to past Chairman Lisa Bullion for her service to the RLCFL.

For the national RLC, the Saturday elections resulted in the following new board:

Dave Nalle (TX), Chairman

Mark Cross (FL), Vice Chairman

Aaron Biterman (VA), Secretary

Bill Westmiller (CA), Treasurer

Bryan Haddock (TN), At-Large

Dan Sheill (MI), At-Large

Jeff Palmer (NC), At-Large

Steven Talcott-Smith (FL), Alternate

Eric Wall (FL), Alternate

Steve Wright (MD), Alternate

John Orlando (MD), Alternate

Special recognition was given to past Chairman Bill Westmiller for his service to the RLC.

For more photos and news from the convention, see the national RLC website.

As part of 2009's RLC Day at the Capitol, RLCers continued their push for a constitutional spending restraint and earned an endorsement from a formerly skeptical governor.

RLCer Sarah Lovett with Dick Armey; Sen. Mike Fasano checks out an RLC brochure

RLCers converged on Tallahassee March 17-18 for the annual grass roots lobbying event organized by RLCer and Florida Taxpayers Union president John Hallman. They started off with lunch Tuesday at the Governor's Club with former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey of FreedomWorks, attended private meetings with legislators all afternoon and then participated in a late afternoon ‘tea party' protest on the Capitol steps against federal bailout and stimulus plans. The following morning, RLCers were back hitting legislators offices and took a break for a sign-waving protest against the Central Florida commuter rail boondoggle as well as a legislative update by James Madison Institute president Bob McClure. Everywhere they went, the group left copies of the RLC tri-fold brochure.

RLCers at the governor's office with policy advisor Christian Weiss

To cap it off, several RLCers - including Sarah Lovett, Eric Wall, Cliff Johnson, Jason Hellenberg and John Hallman -- stuck around to attend and testify in the hearing for the latest iteration of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights bill, Sen. Mike Haridopolos' Smart Cap proposal, SB 1906.

Smart Cap was the key issue in this year's lobbying effort. The Smart Cap amendment - like the Taxpayer Protection Amendment before it - would limit the growth of budgets of both state and local governments to a simple combination of population and inflation. Exceeding the cap, except under defined emergency conditions, would require putting the budget on the ballot for a up-or-down vote of the people. This is the latest version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights idea that has passed the House in the past but has always died in the Senate.

A 'tea party' protestor emphasing the party aspect; Steve Smith and Zak Carter with Rep. Alan Hays; RLCers at the commuter rail demo, with Jason Hellenberg at front right

This year, its strongest advocate, Sen. Mike Haridopolos, is in the Senate and in line to be Senate president in 2010 if the Republicans retain control of that body. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Anitere Flores in the House.

RLCers met with all the relevant legislators, or in some cases their aides, necessary to get the bill moving. These included House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, Speaker Larry Cretul, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and other senators and representatives on the relevant committees. The RLCers also got an update from Allen Douglas of the National Federation of Independent Business, which is pushing a parallel petition effort to put the Smart Cap idea on the ballot via citizen referendum.

Notably, RLCers met with the governor's office Tuesday for a long and thoughtful session with Gov. Crist's policy coordinator for the Office of Policy and Budget, Christian Weiss. Crist had spoken positively about the idea of a spending limitation bill but had objections to the specific bills under consideration, find them too restrictive. However, at a committee hearing Wednesday afternoon, a representative of the governor appeared at Sen. Haridolopolos' committee hearing on the bill and announced the governor's change of mind. "This is what the grass roots want," he said, in an apparent reference to RLC efforts.

          Lisa Bullion, who oversaw the Florida RLC's growth and legislative successes since 2006, resigned as chair of the organization on March 6.  RLC Treasurer Mark Cross stepped up to fill the position until new elections are held at the upcoming RLC convention March 27-29 in Jacksonville.

           Cross is a current state committeeman of the Republican Party of Florida, a former Republican Executive Committee chair and the current chair of the Campaign for Liberty in the State. He does not intend to run for the chair position at the upcoming convention.

Lisa Bullion and Mark Cross

          Bullion took the chair position after Al Gutierrez stepped down in December 2005. Bullion had been well known throughout the state for her efforts on behalf of liberty, including stints as a campaign manager in a state house race, the state chair of the Libertarian Party, an employee of Citizens for a Sound Economy (now FreedomWorks) and an elected public official. As with many RLCers, her partisan route was circuitous. She started out as an independent, later joined the Libertarian Party and finally registered as a Republican.

           "It has been a learning process. I made the switch because I realized after all these years that the best chance to elect libertarians into public office and to enact libertarian policy ideas into law is through the GOP," Bullion said in 2006. "My philosophy has not changed, only my strategy."

           Her first action as chair was to organize an RLC outreach effort at the Young Republicans quarterly convention in Orlando in January 2006. But Bullion's most lasting achievements are likely to be the buildout of the RLC and the RLC's legislative successes. After months of letter writing, public speaking, phone calls, visits to Tallahassee, media work and intra-party intrigue, the RLC of Florida finished batting 1.000 in its first serious legislative lobbying effort under her command.

           The RLC of Florida chose two legislative priorities for the 2006 session. The first was advocating a state ban on government takings of private property for private redevelopment and the second was defeating a legislative effort to extend Florida's voter-approved term limits from eight to 12 years. Both were successful. Please see the full stories (see 'first' and 'second' links above) on these successes as they present the RLC blueprint for using our statewide network for tangible success in Tallahassee.

          "Our experience during the 2006 session is evidence that the RLC's principled and practical strategy is the right one to advance libertarian policy," said RLCFL Chair Lisa Bullion said. "The RLC took a lead role in two important issues of the day and our efforts were rewarded."

          Bullion also oversaw the first national RLC convention held in Florida the same year, which earned coverage by the Wall Street Journal and featured WSJ editorial writer Stephen Moore. Notable Florida politicians attended looking for support from RLCers, including State Sen. Mike Haridopolos - an RLCer at the time - and U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris. Elected RLCers attended from across the country. See full coverage of the convention here.

          As part of the RLC Day at the capitol in 2007, Bullion launched the Florida RLC's ongoing effort to enact a constitutional spending restraint - called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) or Taxpayer Protection Amendment or, in 2009, Smart Cap - for the state. The idea was floated by the James Madison Institute and other groups and the RLC has become its primary grassroots advocate, pushing the idea in Tallahassee and across the state in 2008 and 2009.

          Also in 2007, Bullion helped organize the RLC's outreach efforts at the Young Republicans National Convention held in Hollywood, Fla. The effort brought on board new members and greater awareness of the organization among young Republicans, long the RLC's best market for new members. The RLC also were a presence at the Republican Party of Florida's Presidency IV convention in Orlando, part of the process of nominating the 2008 presidential candidate. It was under Bullion that RLC speakers began bringing the RLC message to GOP clubs.

          Speaking of the primaries, under Bullion's leadership many RLCers active with the Ron Paul campaign recruited new members from the campaign ranks, bringing in a new breed of RLCers. New informal RLC Meetups sprung up across the state including in Tallahassee, Palm Beach, Miami, Lee County, Tampa Bay and - perhaps most notably - North East Florida. See links under the pull-down menu marked 'regions' at top of this page.

          In February 2008, many of the new crowd was invited to join the state board, which broadened its scope in both ideas and geography. RLC activity continued non-stop throughout 2008 up to Bullion's departure. Bullion said she is leaving the post for personal reasons but will remain active and expects to attend the 2009 RLC convention in Jacksonville, March 27-29.