TWO SHUTTS & BOWEN MEMBERS SERVING ON TRANSITION TEAMS FOR INCOMING FLORIDA GOVERNOR AND ATTORNEY GENERAL
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former Lieutenant Governor Bobby Brantley, a governmental affairs consultant in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, and Orlando attorney Kenneth W. Wright, who Co-Chairs the law firm’s Governmental Relations Practice Group, are helping to shape Florida’s new administration by serving on the transition teams of Governor-Elect Charlie Crist and Florida Attorney General-Elect Bill McCollum.
Brantley has been tapped as Co-Vice Chair of McCollum’s transition team, which is seeking qualified litigators and staff to fill key vacancies in the Attorney General’s Office. Wright, a Shutts & Bowen partner who serves as Chairman of the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission (ERC), was selected by Governor-Elect Crist to serve on a Citizen Review sub-group addressing the staffing and priorities of the Florida Fish& Wildlife Commission.
Brantley, who is working with McCollum’s transition team Chair Terry Griffin and Co-Vice Chair Joe Negron, said the team’s priority is to recruit and interview candidates for top management-level positions to support the incoming Florida Attorney General.
“We are calling upon law firms around the state to lend us their best litigators for a two-year period before they return to private practice,” said Brantley, who has had a distinguished career serving the state of Florida in various capacities. “Talented litigators will have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to Florida’s criminal justice system by prosecuting high-stakes, high-profile cases and making Florida a safer place to live and work.”
In addition to being the first Republican elected Lieutenant Governor of Florida, Brantley served in the Florida House of Representatives, as Secretary of the Florida Department of Commerce, and as Secretary of The Florida Lottery. As a governmental affairs consultant at Shutts & Bowen LLP, Brantley represents a wide variety of clients before the legislative and executive branches of government.
Also active in both local and state politics, Winter Park resident Ken Wright, a government relations, land use and environmental attorney in the Orlando office of Shutts & Bowen, was recruited by Governor-Elect Charlie Crist to serve on his Citizen Review sub-group dealing with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. The various teams are evaluating legislative priorities, budget and funding priorities, organizational issues and other matters to ensure that each state agency is performing effectively and efficiently.
“The Governor-Elect and I share a love for the outdoors and Florida’s coastal waters,” said Wright. “I also believe that I can make an important contribution on growth and environmental issues because of my experience serving on the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission.”
Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida, said Wright was an ideal choice to serve on the fish and wildlife subgroup.
“Ken Wright has broad experience dealing with a wide range of environmental issues as well as a deep appreciation of Florida’s environment,” Lee explained. “He can help reconcile the state’s rapid population growth with the need to preserve Florida’s increasingly popular outdoor attractions, such as fishing, hunting, bird-watching, bike riding, and nature trails.”