Tom Grady asked Gov. Scott to take him off shortlist for Florida CFO
Tom Grady said he has asked Gov. Rick Scott to take him off the shortlist of three candidates to be appointed chief financial officer because he is having too much fun making money.
Grady said his financial consulting through Grady Law increased “dramatically” after Trump was elected in November.
He since has invested in money management company Naples Global Adviser and two Silicon Valley startups. The startups are an online human resources company called Rippling and a job-networking business called Door of Clubs. A Naples businessman and lawyer, Grady is a minority stakeholder in all of the enterprises.
Florida CFO Jeff Atwater plans to leave the position at the end of the month to take a job at Florida Atlantic University.
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Grady said his uptick in business ventures were in part attributable to a better economic climate under Trump. He described Trump as less “punitive” with the financial industry than the Obama administration. The day after the election, Grady said, “animal spirits” were unleashed, referring to the economic term coined by John Maynard Keynes to describe the human emotion behind consumer confidence. The spirits “are creating all kinds of activity,” he said.
Trump campaigned on a promise to “dismantle” the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was passed after the economic recession to regulate banking practices.
In February, he signed two directives rolling back key financial regulations of the Obama years, including restrictions on Wall Street banks and on financial advisers who sell clients expensive financial products with higher commissions.
On June 13, the Department of the Treasury issued a detailed blueprint for proposed changes to Dodd-Frank. It included restructuring and weakening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which helped re-examine Wall Street trading and mortgage rules.
John Tupps of the governor’s office said Grady was “strongly considered” for chief financial officer but didn’t comment on the other candidates.
“Tom has done a great job advocating for students on the Board of Education and he has been a great friend to the governor and first lady,” Tupps said. “The governor has not yet made a decision regarding the CFO.”
Scott appointed Grady to head Citizens Property Insurance in 2012.
In addition, Grady said he no longer is interested in running for CFO in 2018 or attorney general now that he is happy with his business prospects. He recently had flirted with running for both positions. He also vied for Florida Gulf Coast University’s president position earlier this year, but he was not among the finalists.
“So I’m creating jobs instead of taking jobs,” Grady said. “And I’m having fun.”
Grady is considering investing in Starsky Robotics, a startup that focuses on self-driving semi-trucks. A longtime advocate for Scott’s economic incentive program, Enterprise Florida, Grady said he would invest in the company if it would come to the state.
“Every time I go there, I say the tax rate in California is 15 percent. It’s zero in Florida. They’re not unaware, but they don’t think about it,” Grady said.
USA TODAY news staff contributed to this story.