NEW BREATH IN FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC OFFICE UPDATED

It looks as though new Florida Democratic Party chairperson Karen Thurman is making changes in the Tallahassee headquarters.

Reports are that the new party executive director will be Luis Navarro, who is probably best known as the former National Political Director for Service Employees International Union. His salary will reportedly be $180,000 plus benefits annually.

Navarro served as national political director of the John Kerry presidential campaign until he resigned to join the action group America Coming Together. He has also held positions as regional coordinator for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, voter file director for the North Carolina Democratic Party, and administrative assistant to Representatives Vic Fazio (D - CA) and Albert Wynn (D - MD). Mr. Navarro currently holds a seat on the board of Democratic Gain. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in --- what else --- Government and Politics.

Navarro replaces Paige Carter-Smith as Executive Director under former chairman and now gubernatorial candidate Scott Maddox. Ms. Carter-Smith now serves as chair of the Leon County Democratic Party.

UPDATE (Saturday, 23 July): Mr. Navarro's appointment as Executive Director was officially announced Friday, as expected. And while his salary turned some heads among the party loyal, his background and expertise in the "big leagues" will hopefully make it worthwhile.

Thanks to Mike at Florida News for giving us the reminder that Mr. Navarro was one of five authors of "The Crossroads Memo", which was written for The Coronado Project, a programme which calls for a new Democratic strategy which explores the voting potential of the growing Hispanic population, especially in the South, Midwest, and Southwest. The link to "The Crossroads Memo" presents the document in full, and is good reading...on Robert C's suggested reading list, as a matter of fact. However, if time and patience is limited, Mike includes the key points of their summary.