If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
DCF hire has ties to Bush family
DCF hire has ties to Bush family
By Megan O'Matz and Mark Hollis Staff Writers Posted August 30 2003 A New York activist and outspoken opponent of gay rights hired this week to a top job in Florida's Department of Children & Families has links to the Bush family. James H. K. Bruner, former executive director of the Christian-based New York Policy Council, is the son of an Episcopalian minister, the late Laman H. Bruner Jr. The elder Bruner was the chaplain of the New York State Assembly and rector at Kennebunkport, Maine's St. Ann's Episcopal Church, where Gov. Jeb Bush's father, former President George H. W. Bush, is a longtime member. On Friday, Gov. Bush's spokeswoman said Jeb Bush had no role in hiring Bruner, who will earn $82,000 annually as "special assistant to the general counsel" of DCF. Though Bruner, 45, is an attorney, he is not yet licensed to practice law in Florida. That process could take six months to a year to complete. Bruner described himself in an interview Friday night as a "old acquaintance" of the governor's younger brother Marvin, whom he said he has known since childhood. Bruner said he has not seen Marvin Bush in about two years and insisted that his Bush family connections had no role in his being hired at DCF. "I did not reach out to them in any means for this position," Bruner said. Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said: "This was a decision made by [DCF] Secretary [Jerry] Regier, and Mr. Bruner was hired based on his qualifications and his experience in the child-welfare system. "Agency staff decisions are usually handled by the agency heads, and this was no exception," Faraj said. As the public face of New York's family policy council in Albany, Bruner disrupted abortion rights gatherings, waged a campaign against free weekly newspapers carrying lewd pictures, and argued that medical evidence proves "the homosexual lifestyle is unhealthy and should not be supported by the state." The father of six bemoaned the decline of traditional marriages and warned that schools are becoming tools for the "pro-homosexual agenda." Bruner may prove to be the most controversial appointment made by Regier. "If you could turn back time to 1950, Jamie [Bruner] would be very happy from a public policy point of view," Libby Post, president of Albany's Gay and Lesbian Council, said, referring to his nickname. In bringing Bruner on board, Regier may reopen questions about his own Christian conservative views, a topic that sprang awkwardly to the surface a year ago when he was tapped by Bush to take over the flailing agency. In a surprise to the Bush administration, Regier's name appeared on a 1989 essay supporting spanking children even if it leaves "bruises or welts" and objecting to women working outside the home without the husband's consent. More recently, the secretary has come under fire for forcing rank-and-file workers to participate in a character education training program developed by evangelist Bill Gothard and for DCF's attempt to persuade a judge to appoint a guardian for the fetus of a young woman raped in an Orlando group home. The issue is on appeal. "Most people, given the diversity of our state, would like to see people in positions of power in state government who believe in tolerance, diversity of understanding and other points of view," said state Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston, a children's advocate. "I don't believe that [Bruner's writings] can be called tolerant and understanding." A close associate of Bruner's said Wednesday that he is to assume a high-level position within DCF. "He's just below the secretary," said Steve Kidder, the new executive director of the New York family policy council. Regier, in an interview Thursday, said Bruner will not be involved in setting DCF policy. Regier said Bruner sent him his resume and his staff "vetted it to see if he might have some experience helpful to the department." Regier said he later met Bruner in March in Washington, D. C., at an annual meeting of the Family Research Council, another Christian conservative organization. Regier was its founding president. Bruner said his exact responsibilities in the General Counsel's Office, where he said he began work on Monday, have not been made clear. "I won't be setting policy. I may be able to give some history and background," he said. Asked whether Regier was aware of Bruner's ties to the Bush family, DCF spokeswoman Jackie Cooper said: "At the time he introduced himself that was not mentioned." Bruner's resume lists his religion as "Episcopalian (Born-Again)," and notes: "My father was President G. H. W. Bush's pastor in Kennebunkport for 30 years." Regier said Bruner will help DCF's general counsel, Josie Tamayo, review the work of field attorneys and will help Tamayo in handling legal matters in "the child abuse and neglect arena." "That's really his area of expertise," Regier said, noting that Bruner has 20 years of experience in family, dependency and administrative law. His resume shows that he served from 1988 to 1992 as a trial counsel in the Albany County Department of Social Services prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases. From 1986 to 1990 he was a hearing officer for the New York State Division for Youth. The West Legal Directory lists his specialty as "real estate law." In recent years, according to newspaper stories and interviews with people familiar with him in Albany, he has been a religious radio and TV host, a Republican legislative candidate and spokesman for the Albany-area Christian Coalition. Some described him as a gadfly. "He created this kind of soft veneer over what was a profoundly anti-gay, anti-choice, anti-single-mother agenda," said Matt Foremen, former executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights group. The New York Family Policy Council's legislative agenda included opposing same-sex marriage, equal rights for gays and lesbians in housing and employment, and schools' efforts to end bullying and discrimination by teaching tolerance of gays and others. In January, Bruner appeared at an Albany rally commemorating the 30th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, and confronted New York Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a pro-choice advocate, in an argument captured on camera. In an interview Thursday Glick, a Democrat, recalled Bruner as "peculiar," saying he appeared tense and rigid. "He didn't strike me as someone who was overly employable," she said. State Sen. Evelyn Lynn, an Ormond Beach Republican and self-described political conservative, said it is "very disturbing" that Regier hired Bruner. Lynn is chairwoman of a Senate panel that oversees DCF. "With all the people who are available, it shouldn't be necessary to hire someone who is controversial," she said, "especially when we are trying to do the best to focus on children." Regier said Bruner's views on abortion, marriage and gay rights "are held by millions of conservatives in Florida and certainly would be in line with the governor's views." Bruner said the media attention to his appointment are "just sad sidetracking and unfortunate politicizing." Megan O'Matz can be reached at or 954-356-4518. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...a-news-broward |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Child care scandals threaten J. Bush image DCF FL | Fern5827 | Spanking | 1 | February 26th 04 01:30 AM |
G W Bush, Parent of the Year | Francois | General | 19 | January 13th 04 10:40 PM |
FW: CO Teen's family called LE 50x last 3 yrs | Fern5827 | Spanking | 0 | July 14th 03 04:54 PM |