Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that, Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Carlos Lopez-Cantera will fill the post of lieutenant governor and be his 2014 running mate.
Lopez-Cantera’s appointment comes nearly 10 months after former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned after being interviewed by law-enforcement agents who were investigating Allied Veterans of the World, a Florida-based nonprofit that operated a chain of internet cafes. Carroll’s public relations firm had, at one point, represented Allied Veterans. Although a number of arrests were made, Carroll was not accused of any wrong doing.
Lopez-Cantera, 40, served 8 years in the Florida Legislature and was the House Majority Leader from 2010-2012, before being termed out. He was elected property appraiser in 2012.
Scott, who has been criticized for the delay in appointing a lieutenant governor said, “I took the right amount of time to find the right person.”
Lopez-Cantera, called the appointment an “honor.”
Florida Democrats were swift to react to Scott’s announcement. Allison Tant, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, called Lopez-Cantera a “poster child for what is wrong with Tallahassee today,” in a statement. She described him as an “ultra-partisan career politician who spent his time in Tallahassee putting big corporations and wealthy special interests ahead of middle class families.”
Political pundits speculate the appointment of Lopez-Cantera, a Hispanic politician, could help Scott garner support from Hispanic voters in Miami-Dade County, in his re-election bid.
