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Katherine Harris wins plum office on Capitol HillThe envy of her freshmen congressional class
From Ted Barrett
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Katherine Harris, the former Florida election official at the center of the disputed 2000 presidential election who will be sworn in as a new member of the House of Representatives in January, grabbed a key victory on Capitol Hill Thursday. The win made her the envy of her freshmen congressional class and fortuitously positioned her as she starts her career in Washington. The prize was not a powerful committee assignment or a coveted invitation to a White House state dinner. Instead, Harris drew first pick among incoming freshmen in a lottery to select office locations in the three House office buildings. "No recount required," quipped her chief of staff, Dan Berger. "No chads involved." The difference between Harris' first pick and that 53rd, last-place, pick of California Republican Devin Nunes could be the difference between a leisurely five-minute walk to the Capitol every time the bell rings for a vote or a hurried 15-minute hike. With as many as a dozen votes taking place on any given day, office location can make a big difference in a member's life -- especially over the course of a two-year term. Harris selected a suite on the first floor of the Cannon House Office Building, a stone's throw from the Capitol and down the hall from fellow Floridian and political mentor Rep. Porter Goss. The current occupant of the office, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, is moving to slightly larger digs a floor above. "We'll leave them cookies," remarked Smith Chief of Staff Ali Wade, with just a slight roll of her eyes upon hearing the notorious Republican would be moving in.
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