Billy Buzzett to lead the state Department of Community Affairs

[Kurt]

Scott's appointments signal sea change in state government

Less than three days on the job, Gov. Rick Scott is busily applying his pro-business stamp to state government, naming a former development executive to manage growth management while placing a shipyard executive in charge of environmental protection.

News of the appointments came just before and after the governor also froze agency rulemaking and created a new office to identify rules for elimination ? to the alarm of environmentalists, who fear Scott's war on regulation could severely hamper conservation.


Scott announced late Wednesday that he had tapped former St. Joe Co. vice president Billy Buzzett to lead the state Department of Community Affairs.


With its headquarters in northwest Florida, the St. Joe development business is Florida's second-largest private landowner. Buzzett, a civil engineer and land-use lawyer, was a vice president for strategic planning at St. Joe when he left in 2009.


This fall, he was among Scott's advisers urging to merge Community Affairs with the state's environmental protection and transportation departments, essentially creating a one-stop shop for businesses seeking permits to expand or relocate to Florida. Scott's written announcement of Buzzett's appointment described him as "well-positioned to manage the consolidation of (the Department of Community of Affairs) into other state agencies."


The Florida Chamber of Commerce hailed the appointment as "good for job creation."


Rick Scott "ran as an outsider, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he didn't pick lifetime bureaucrats to run these agencies," said Adam Babington, vice president for government affairs at the chamber.

 

[AlphaCrab]

Re: The newly apppointed head of the environmental protection agency in Florida.

The felon placed the fox in the henhouse--and the big surprise to all here is......?

 

[30ashopper]

I read an article yesterday indicating enviro groups were quite happy with his appointment.

 

[30ashopper]

I read an article yesterday indicating enviro groups were quite happy with his appointment.

Ah, no, that was for the shipbuilding guy who's heading up the enviro department.

 

[passin thru]

I think this is great news, both for Billy and especially for the state.... IMO, Billy is a knowledgable, hard-working and very fair & straightforward person for this job.

 

[Jdarg]

I think this is great news, both for Billy and especially for the state.... IMO, Billy is a knowledgable, hard-working and very fair & straightforward person for this job.

SoWal is lucky on this appointment!

 

[grace]

SoWal is lucky on this appointment!

Say bye bye to state lands. I'm guessing one of the first will be Pine Log in Bay county.

 

[scooterbug44]

Say bye bye to state lands. I'm guessing one of the first will be Pine Log in Bay county.

Deer Lake is my guess. :roll:

 

[NotDeadYet]

A road through Pt Wash state forest, that's my guess.

 

[Lake View Too]

Why do you all think bad things are going to happen to South Walton because one of our guys gets into a position of power in state government?