Florida prison boss Jim McDonough wants to get into the ring sooner rather than later

with PRIDE, the private firm that he says does a poor job of finding jobs for inmates. The corrections secretary thought he had Dec. 13 nailed down for a hearing before Tampa Sen. Victor Crist’s Senate committee — but that was before PRIDE lobbyist Guy Spearman went to work.

After seeing a St. Petersburg Times story about the hearing, Spearman told Crist of planned rotator cuff surgery and of PRIDE counsel Wilbur Brewton’s planned holiday trip to Thailand to see his daughter (read Spearman’s letter here

). "Victor that is NOT a delay tactic," Spearman wrote. "that is a scheduling clash for the two public that have the most personal knowledge and the longest duration with PRIDE."

Crist said the fair way was to wait until January, and that he would have done the same whether the state asked. "I trust Chairman Crist’s judgment on that matter," McDonough said. "It does seem odd, however, to demand a postponement considering two lobbyists are out of town. I’m prepared to speak for myself. I would expect PRIDE can do the same."   

Original post by Steve Bousquet