TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Even though Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has recused himself from any role in the recount of ballots that could put his brother in the White House, six of his top aides have taken time off in the last 10 days to help the Republican effort.
None of the senior advisors--his deputy general counsel, four other members of his legal staff and his press secretary--has been paid by the state while helping the George W. Bush campaign in its postelection battle. But their very presence in the recount fight appears to undercut Jeb Bush's contention that he removed himself from the process to avoid even "the slightest public [conflict] of interest."
"The stakes are high, and the circumstances demand responsibility by both political parties," the governor said last week.
But his aides say there is no reason why they should forget their party affiliations.
"I was a Republican before I worked for the governor. It's no secret that all of us are Republicans. Please, we work for Jeb Bush," said press secretary Katie Baur, who took three unpaid days last week because most of that time was spent working on the election battle. On at least two of those days, however, she identified herself to reporters as Jeb Bush's press secretary and took messages for him.
"I did not feel it was appropriate to be answering and responding to political questions while I was serving as his official communications director," she said, referring to her decision to take unpaid time off.
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), a former Florida governor, said he would not have allowed his gubernatorial aides "under these circumstances" to take the time off.
"The general counsel's office is supposed to represent the people of the state, not the people of the political party of the governor," he said. "I'm concerned about the high degree of politicization of this process. I think Jeb showed good judgment in personally recusing himself."
It is unclear when Baur and the other Bush advisors decided to take their days off as unpaid--a move intended to avoid criticism that taxpayers were paying for their support of the governor's political efforts.
Series of Contact by Jeb Bush Aides
On Thursday, Jeb Bush's personnel officer sent a memo about "leave without pay actions" to the governor's chief of staff. "Note that under Florida law, these individuals could have taken annual leave but have chosen to take leave without pay to avoid any appearance of problems," Sandra Brooks wrote.
