Fla. Commissioner McCarty in political hot water

Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist has come to the defense of the state’s insurance commissioner who hosted a fund raiser for a circuit judge candidate.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink last month rebuked Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty after he admitted seeking contributions from the industry he regulates on behalf of then-judicial candidate Robin Lotane. Sink’s inspector general also is investigating whether McCarty used state equipment for political purposes.

Crist, though, downplayed the complaints against McCarty, linking them to the commissioner’s efforts to cut insurance rates. “What he did wasn’t right, but I don’t think it’s a death-sentence thing,” Crist said. “Listen, we’re fighting an industry here that is tenacious. When I say it, I’m not kidding around. They are.”

McCarty works for Crist and the three-member state Cabinet, including Sink who said insurance representatives have complained McCarty pressured them to contribute to Lotane and a March of Dimes campaign. State Attorney Willie Meggs fired Lotane and she dropped out of the judge’s race. She is married to Bob Lotane, who resigned as McCarty’s communications chief after admitting he used a state computer for his wife’s campaign.