PS MAY 2009 Pages.qxd
5/4/2009
5:57 PM
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PROGRAM SUCCESS – MAY 2009
TeKONTROL
Establishes Offices In Asia
TeKontrol, Inc., an Engineering and Technical Services
Firm headquartered in the Orlando Parramore District,
continued to expand its global operations by opening its first
permanent location in Asia. This past April, TeKontrol
opened a branch office in Fort Bonafacio, Taquiq, a suburb
of Manila, Philippines. The main focus of that office is to
provide direct support to the Philippine Air Force.
TeKontrol is also in negotiations to expand operations on
the African continent by opening a Branch Office in
Nairoba, Kerya within the next 90 days. TeKontrol CEO,
Tom Kornegay says this is part of the company’s ongoing
effort to establish a presence in every developing area in
Tom Kornegay, President / CEO Asia, Africa and Central America.
CHARLIE CRIST continued from page 11
Political trends in Pennsylvania, a state Karl Rove in 2004 and
John McCain in 2008 wrongly insisted was ripe to turn Republican
red, underscore the challenges Republicans could face everywhere.
In the Philadelphia suburbs, 200,000 Republicans became
Democrats in 2008, the kind of swing voters unlikely to be won
over by ardent social or ideological conservatives. Republicans
also are losing ground in voter registration in Florida, though the
state still leans far more Republican than Pennsylvania. “Maybe
it’s more about Pennsylvania and where the party there is than
Washington,’’ said Crist, playing down any broad significance to
Specter switching parties.
Democrats are already worried about the prospect of Senate
candidate Crist. The national party launched a TV ad last week in
Tallahassee casting the governor as a do-nothing opportunist ready
to skip to a new job now that his current job is getting difficult.
Crist says he will make a decision on the Senate after the
Legislature finishes the session on Friday, but said the likelihood
of Democrats soon having a filibuster-proof Senate majority won’t
have any bearing. If he embraced bipartisanship in Washington as
he has in Tallahassee, Crist would emerge as a national leader of a
breed of Republican that is teetering on extinction.
Florida Republican chairman Jim Greer said the GOP should have
been more tolerant of some of Specter’s positions. “You cannot be
so rigid that at the end of the day what you end up with is less than
what you started with,” said Greer, dismissing any analogy
between Specter and Crist. “The political circumstances are
significantly different, number one because of the electorate (in
Pennsylvania compared with Florida), and number two there has
been a long-standing uncomfortable relationship with Arlen
Specter and the Republican Party. That doesn’t exist with Charlie
Crist.”
Not yet. But the grumbling about Crist is growing among the
conservative base, and it is sure to rise more if he faces a wellfunded Republican challenging him from the right. Adam C. Smith
can be reached at [email protected] or (727)893-8241.