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Gov. Rick Scott (left) named Carlos Lopez-Cantera as his lieutenant governor in 2014 (Tampa Bay Times).

Gov. Rick Scott (left) named Carlos Lopez-Cantera as his lieutenant governor in 2014 (Tampa Bay Times).

Gov. Rick Scott (left) named Carlos Lopez-Cantera as his lieutenant governor in 2014 (Tampa Bay Times).

Carlos Lopez-Cantera says he is simply Florida lieutenant governor to forgo security particular

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera rolls without a security detail, a fact he likes to bring upward as he campaigns to supersede U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Information technology'southward an example of penny-pinching that he uses to set himself apart from the field of 5 Republicans vying for Rubio'due south seat, also as some predecessors who drew scrutiny over transportation spending.

"I've actually cutting the budget of the office by more than than one-half, reduced the staff," he said in an interview with Fob 13's Coin, Power, Politics show in Tampa which ran on air April 30. "I'1000 also the only lieutenant governor to not e'er accept a security detail."

Lopez-Cantera had dropped this tidbit at a speech earlier that month with the Hillsborough County GOP, explaining, "It's a waste material of your money, and I'm protected by the Second Subpoena." (He has a concealed weapons permit.)

With Lopez-Cantera playing up this factoid as an accomplishment, we wanted to know if he was really the first No. two guy to say "nah, I've got this," to taxpayer-paid protection.

How he declined his security detail

According to country constabulary, the Department of Highway Rubber and Motor Vehicles shall assign one patrol officeholder to the Part of the Governor — it does non mention the lieutenant governor. In practice, the right to a security detail for protection and transportation has been extended to recent lieutenant governors. But after Gov. Rick Scott plucked him for the role in 2014, Lopez-Cantera verbally declined that protection.

In March, the Legislature approved a budget that added some linguistic communication to land that the security patrol is at "the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor." It seems that Lopez-Cantera had that discretion anyway, but the new linguistic communication in law makes that clear.

The Legislature likewise added language to give the correct to security for the attorney general, chief financial officeholder and agriculture commissioner. That appears to stem from a "credible threat" on Attorney Full general Pam Bondi in 2015, which prompted constabulary enforcement to provide effectually-the-clock security for her for six weeks at a cost of $216,000.

Scott'due south press office re-emphasized that information technology was Lopez-Cantera's selection — and not, every bit rumor had it, the decision of onetime Scott chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth to downplay the office — in response to our inquiry.

Still, there appeared to be a push to reduce expenses in that position later on multiple news reports cited the amount of money spent on security and travel for Jeff Kottkamp under Gov. Charlie Crist and Jennifer Carroll, Scott's first lieutenant governor. The state spent $1.1 one thousand thousand over 4 years for security and transportation for Kottkamp. In Carroll's beginning year in office, the Florida Highway Patrol spent $288,000 on travel and security. But after spending restrictions were put in place, that total dropped to $89,000 in 2012.

Lopez-Cantera garners even less attention as lieutenant governor than Carroll, hardly ever appearing aslope Scott at public events and keeping a sparse public agenda of events, the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau noted in July 2015.

Lopez-Cantera had 6 days of security — at a cost of $27,000 — in May 2014 following a threat against him, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report.

Past lieutenant governors and security

The lieutenant governor office was revived in 1968 after a century without one. We tried to contact Lopez-Cantera's predecessors (who are still alive today) for the low-downwardly.

The Florida Highway Patrol said that the post-obit lieutenant governors had a security detail: Wayne Mixson (1979-87), Bobby Brantley (1987-1991), Buddy MacKay (1991-1998), Frank Brogan (1999-2003), Toni Jennings (2003-07), Kottkamp (2007-xi) and Carroll (2011-xiii.)

We attempted to attain all of those former lieutenant governors and were able to interview all just Brogan, Jennings and MacKay. 4 confirmed they used the security particular.

The only one who said he didn't use a security item was Jim Williams, who was the lieutenant governor 1975-79.

"I didn't have security," Williams, 93, told PolitiFact Florida.

Anita Oneida Darley, his adjutant at the fourth dimension, also said he didn't take a security detail. The Florida Highway Patrol could non confirm.

Mixson said that he used a security particular when he traveled within Florida, but he did not when he was in the function or when he traveled to foreign countries.

"The Florida Highway Patrol had traditionally supplied a security individual and they did," Mixson said.

Brantley said he had a state trooper who traveled with him sometimes, including on a trip to Canada. He said the trooper served mostly as a driver.

"He had a desk inside my office," Brantley said. "If I didn't have a need for him I'd take him go and practise patrol duty. He would actually go on the street and stop speeders."

Brantley said that Brogan was the commencement one he recalled with "an actual plainclothes security detailing talking in their sleeve and all that stuff."

Kottkamp, now a lawyer in Tallahassee, said the security detail "came with the job."

"On the night Gov. Crist and I were elected — they showed up at the hotel," he said. "Someone was with me and the governor from that point on. It was a responsibility the FHP took very seriously. FHP leadership viewed it as a legal obligation to insure continuity of government."

Carroll said troopers would pick her upwards to provide security when she traveled to other parts of the country.

Our ruling

Lopez-Cantera said, "I'm also the simply lieutenant governor to not accept a security detail."

He went without a security detail when he started in 2014 — a intermission from most lieutenant governors in recent retentivity who have used state security.

The only ane we could detect who said he did not have security detail was Jim Williams, lieutenant governor from 1975-79. The country could non confirm i way or another.

That was about 40 years agone, and so to us Lopez-Cantera'south point still holds water.

We rate this claim Mostly Truthful.

https://world wide web.sharethefacts.co/share/f3425ea7-664c-4d1c-9bc5-bb771765d290

Florida Firm, HB5001, 2016

YouTube, Coin, Power, Politics interview with Carlos Lopez-Cantera, April 27, 2016

YouTube, Carlos Lopez-Canter talking to Hillsborough GOP,  Apr 16, 2016

Tampa Bay Times, "Florida taxpayers paid $3 million to protect Scott and out-of-land visitors," Aug. xiv, 2015

Tampa Bay Times The Buzz blog, "New state security report reveals need to protect Lopez-Cantera," Aug. 18, 2015

Tampa Bay Times, "State put Jennifer Carroll on a budget after a series of big travel bills," April xi, 2013

Orlando Picket, "Lieutenant governor rejects call for him to quit amongst Senate run," Accessed in Nexis, July 17, 2015

Miami Herald, "Record $82.iii billion Florida budget prepare for final vote," March eight, 2016

Miami Herald, "U.South. Senate candidate Carlos Lopez-Cantera brags about suspending workers for not voting," May x, 2016

Sharktank, "Lopez-Cantera volition received limited staff and security," Jan. 24, 2014

Interview, Lauren Schenone, Gov. Rick Scott spokeswoman, May 13, 2016

Interview, Beth Frady, Florida Department of Highway Condom and Motor Vehicles spokeswoman, May 12, 2016

Interview, Courtney Alexander, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera campaign spokeswoman, May sixteen, 2016

Interview, Jennifer Carroll, former Lieutenant Governor, May 13, 2016

Interview, Jeff Kottkamp, former Lieutenant Governor, May 13, 2016

Interview, Wayne Mixson, former Lieutenant Governor, May xvi, 2016

Interview, Bobby Brantley, former Lieutenant Governor, May sixteen, 2016

Interview, Jim Williams, onetime Lieutenant Governor, May 17, 2016

Interview, Anita Oneida Darley, aide to Jim Williams, May 17, 2016

Interview, Sen. Tom Lee, May 19, 2016

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