THE SPEAKERS...... 8 USE OF HUMOR BY SPEAKERS ...... 9 TABLE TURNED ON SPEAKER HABEN ...... 9 ART OF UNDERSTATED HUMOR...... 11 TUCKER AND GOVERNORSHIP...... 11 DEATH PENALTY AMENDMENT ...... 12 HOW TO KILL AN AMENDMENT ...... 12 SURPRISING THE SPEAKER ...... 12 SPEAKER ROWELL’S ADVICE...... 13 THE “SHADOW SPEAKER”...... 13 SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE ...... 14 TWO-TERM SPEAKERS AND PRESIDENTS ...... 14 AGITATION FOR A REELECTABLE SPEAKER ...... 15 BATTLE FATIGUE OF SPEAKER...... 16 FRUSTRATED ASPIRANT FOR SPEAKER ...... 16 HOW ONE SPEAKER DEALT WITH A GOVERNOR ...... 17 SPEAKER/PRESIDENT ...... 17 ONE SPEAKER’S PHILOSOPHY...... 17 SPEAKER’S ROSE ...... 18 CAMPAIGN FOR COALITION SPEAKER ...... 18 WRONG VOTE FOR SPEAKER ...... 19 WORDS AND STORIES...... 21 ADOPTION ...... 21 AERODYNAMICS OF LAWMAKING ...... 21 APPORTIONMENT SENSITIVITY (1)...... 21 APPORTIONMENT SENSITIVITY (2)...... 21 ATTACHÉ...... 21 BABES IN THE WOODS ...... 23 BAR OF THE HOUSE ...... 24 BARBER BOARD...... 25 BARRON’S SECRET...... 25 BASEBALL ON SUNDAY, SEE GOLF ON SUNDAYS ...... 26 BEHIND THE RAIL...... 26 BELLS AND WHISTLES ...... 26 BILL NUMBERS, ODD AND EVEN ...... 26

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BIRD DOGGING ...... 27 BIRDS, THAT’S FOR THE...... 27 BLACKS IN LEGISLATURE ...... 27 BLACKS IN LEGISLATURE DURING RECONSTRUCTION...... 28 BLOOD OATH ...... 29 BLOODY NOSE...... 29 BLOOMER GIRL, THE...... 29 BLUE BUTTER ...... 30 BLUE CHICKEN...... 30 BOUNDARY DISPUTE ...... 30 BOUNDARY “THEFT”...... 31 “BR’ER FOX” TURLINGTON ...... 31 BROADCASTING, RADIO, AND TELEVISION ...... 32 BUBBLE ...... 32 CANDOR ...... 32 CAPITOLS, TWO FLORIDA ...... 32 CAT, MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A ...... 33 CAUCUS FOR SPEAKER...... 33 CAUCUSES, OPEN AND SECRET ...... 35 CHAMBER (1939) OCCUPANCY...... 36 CHAMBER USE ...... 37 CHAMBER VIOLENCE (1) ...... 37 CHAMBER VIOLENCE (2) ...... 38 CHAMBER VIOLENCE (3) ...... 38 CHAMBERS, HOUSE ...... 39 CHAMBERS, HOUSE 2000...... 39 CHAMBERS, SENATE ...... 39 CHAPLAIN...... 39 CHINESE LEGISLATOR, FIRST ...... 40 “CHISELED IN STONE”...... 40 CIRCLING THE WAGONS ...... 40 CLERK/SECRETARY CONVENING HOUSE...... 41 CLINIC ...... 41 CLOTHESPIN TO HOLD NOSE...... 42 CLOTHESPIN VOTING SEE VOTING RECORD, PERFECT ...... 43 COCKROACHES SEE PORKCHOPPERS...... 43 COMMITTEE, AS THE OPPOSITION ...... 43 COMMITTEE GROUPS ...... 43 COMMITTEES, NUMBER OF ...... 43 COMPUTER USAGE ...... 44 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ...... 44 CONFUSION...... 45 CONSCIENCE, ONE MAN’S...... 45 COUGH, A HISTORIC ...... 46 COUNCILS ...... 46 COUNTY ABOLISHED...... 47 COURTHOUSE STEPS, ON THE...... 47 CROCODILE CITY ...... 47 DANCES, PROPOSED BAN ON...... 47 DEAD SEA SCROLLS ...... 48 DE-GORDONIZE ...... 48 DEMON RUM...... 48 DESIGNEES...... 49 DIVORCE SHORTCUT ...... 50 “DOCTOR OF DOUBLE TALK”...... 51 DOG AND PONY SHOW ...... 51 DOG WON’T HUNT, THAT ...... 51 DOGHOUSE DEMOCRATS ...... 51 ii RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

DOG TIED UP...... 52 DON’T KNOW HOW IT GOT OUT ON YOU ...... 52 DOUBLE OATH ...... 52 DRESSES DELAYED PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM...... 52 DRUNKENNESS, DEFINITION ...... 53 DRY BONES...... 53 DUELS, POLITICAL...... 53 EJECTED FROM PRISON...... 55 ENGROSSING CLERK MAKES GOOD ...... 56 EXPLANATION OF VOTE, WHY NOT TO FILE...... 56 EXPULSION (1)...... 56 EXPULSION (2)...... 57 EXPULSION (3)...... 57 EXPULSION (4)...... 58 EXPULSION (5)...... 58 EXPULSION (6)...... 59 EXPULSION (7)...... 59 EXPULSION, THREATENED...... 59 FAMILY SERVICE...... 59 FAREWELL ADDRESS...... 60 FIFTH FLOOR CLUB...... 61 FILIBUSTER (1) ...... 62 FILIBUSTER (2) ...... 62 FILIBUSTER (3) ...... 62 FILIBUSTER (4) ...... 63 FILIBUSTER (5) ...... 63 FIRST LEGISLATURE ...... 64 FLOWERS IN THE CHAMBER ...... 66 FLY, SEE IF IT WILL...... 66 FOOTBALL, PROPOSED TO BE OUTLAWED ...... 66 FOOTBALL, UF AND FSU...... 66 FOOTPRINT BLOTTER SEE YELLOW RIVER CODE ...... 67 FRACTIONAL VOTING...... 67 FRATERNITY, THE HOUSE AS A...... 67 FUNERAL EXPENSE ...... 68 GAMES LEGISLATORS PLAY...... 68 GAVEL...... 68 GIN GAME, MARATHON ...... 69 GOING HOME BILL ...... 69 GOLDBUG RAG...... 69 GOLF ON SUNDAYS...... 70 GOMEZ AMENDMENT ...... 70 GORDON RULE ...... 70 GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE (1) ...... 71 GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE (2) ...... 72 GOVERNOR TO JAIL LEGISLATORS ...... 72 GOVERNOR’S PORTRAIT, FACE TO WALL ...... 73 GOVERNOR SUES THE CLERK...... 73 GREASING...... 73 HANDKERCHIEF, DROPPING THE...... 74 HAZING NELSON...... 74 HIGHWAYMAN’S ROOST ...... 74 HISPANIC MEMBERS ...... 74 HOLDING THE WATCH...... 75 HOME RULE, HOW DADE GOT...... 75 HOOCHY-KOOCHY DANCERS ...... 76 HOPE AND FULFILLMENT ...... 77

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HOSTAGE ...... 77 HOUSE, THE CHANGING ...... 77 HOUSEKEEPING BILL...... 78 HUMOR IN THE HOUSE ...... 78 HUMOR’S PLACE ...... 79 HUNDRED-DAY SESSION ...... 79 IMPEACHMENT (1) ...... 85 IMPEACHMENT (2), SEE MURDER IN THE SENATE ...... 86 INSANE ASYLUM (1) ...... 86 INSANE ASYLUM (2) ...... 86 INVISIBLE CALENDAR ...... 86 “IT’S ALL GOING TO WORK OUT”...... 86 JERKING OF THE NAVEL...... 87 JOB-SEEKING...... 87 JOE LUNCHBOX/JOE SIXPACK...... 87 JOHNNY’S LUNCH BUCKET ...... 88 KAHUNA, THE BIG ...... 88 KIRK AND THE LEGISLATURE...... 88 KNUCKLES AND ELBOWS ...... 89 LAW...... 89 LAW, ALL IT DOES IS CHANGE THE...... 89 LAWYER, RED-HEADED ...... 90 LAWYERS, NUMBER OF ...... 90 LEADERSHIP ...... 91 LEARNED MEMBERS ...... 91 LEARNING THE ROPES...... 92 LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT OF 1982 ...... 92 LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE ...... 93 LEGISLATIVE ORNITHOLOGY...... 94 LEGISLATORS CAPTURED ...... 94 LEON COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY...... 94 “LION OF ST. JOHNS”...... 94 LOBBY SITUATION ROOM ...... 96 LOBBY, KING OF ...... 97 LOBBYING, FIRESTONE’S EXAMPLE ...... 99 LOBBYISTS, PENALTIES ...... 99 LOBBYISTS’ BREAKFAST CLUB...... 100 LOGJAM ...... 101 LOVED TO DEATH...... 101 MAJORITY, MINORITY LEADERS ...... 101 MANNISMS...... 102 MARK HIM DOUBTFUL...... 102 MARY ANN...... 103 MEDITERRANEAN MALAPROPISM ...... 103 MEOW MIX ...... 103 MICROPHONES AT DESKS ...... 104 MINORITY LISTENING POST ...... 104 MINUTE, IT WON’T TAKE BUT A ...... 104 MISSING LINE, THE ...... 104 MISSING PLAQUE ...... 105 MISSING SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION ...... 105 MONKEY BILL...... 106 MOTHERHOOD BILL ...... 107 MULTIPLE REPRESENTATION...... 107 MURDER IN THE SENATE...... 107 MYSTERY BILL...... 108 NESTING ...... 108 NEWSBOYS IN CHAMBER ...... 108 iv RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

NICE DAY...... 108 NIGHT SESSIONS AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ...... 109 NO MAN’S LIFE, LIBERTY, OR PROPERTY ARE SAFE WHILE THE LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION ...... 109 NO QUESTIONS, ONLY ANSWERS ...... 110 NON EST INVENTUS...... 110 NORTH IS SOUTH ...... 110 NO SEE-UM GOVERNMENT...... 110 NUTALL RISE SEE BLOOD OATH ...... 110 OMNIBUS BILL ...... 110 ONE-HOUSE BILLS ...... 111 ONE-LEGGED BRIDGE TENDER...... 111 ONE MAN’S DREAM...... 111 ORDER OF THE DAY ...... 111 OTHER BILL ANDREWS, THE ...... 112 “OTHER BODY”...... 113 OUTLAWED PROFESSIONS ...... 113 PAGES, SEE ATTACHÉ...... 113 PAIR...... 113 PARKING PROTEST ...... 114 PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS...... 114 PAY AND ALLOWANCES AS OF 2006 ...... 114 PEPPER: A SHAMELESS EXTROVERT...... 116 PET BILL SESSION...... 117 PIGGYBACK ...... 117 PISTOLS IN THE CHAMBER (1)...... 117 PISTOLS IN THE CHAMBER (2)...... 118 PLAYING THE GAME...... 118 POLITICAL PARTIES OTHER THAN DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN...... 119 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, FLORIDA ...... 119 POLITICS...... 120 POLL TAX...... 120 POPULAR NAMES ...... 121 POPULAR NAMES, INFORMAL ...... 122 PORK BARRELISM...... 122 PORK CHOP INFLUENCE IN ELECTORAL POLITICS ...... 122 PORK CHOP POWER IN THE SENATE...... 123 PORK CHOP PROMISES...... 124 PORKCHOPPERS ...... 124 PORKCHOPPERS, LAST OF THE ...... 125 PRAYER ...... 126 PRAYER IN HEBREW ...... 127 PRAYER IN SPANISH...... 127 PRESIDENT, DESIGNATION...... 127 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 2000...... 128 PRESS SEE EXPULSION 2, 3, 6 AND EXPULSION THREATENED ...... 128 PRESS ACCOLADE ...... 129 PRESS, THE (1)...... 129 PRESS, THE (2)...... 130 PRESS, THE (3)...... 131 PRESS, THE (4)...... 132 PRESS, THE (5)...... 133 PRESS, THE (6)...... 133 PRESS, THE (7)...... 134 PRESS, THE (8)...... 134 PRICE OF PUBLIC SERVICE...... 138 PRINTED BILLS ...... 139 PROFILE IN COURAGE SEE ROTATING DISTRICTS ...... 139

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PROHIBITION ON BANKERS, MINISTERS, AND DUELISTS SERVING IN OFFICE...... 139 PROXIES...... 139 RAIL, BEHIND THE SEE BEHIND THE RAIL ...... 140 RATING THE LEGISLATURE ...... 140 REMARKS FORCE RESIGNATION ...... 140 REPRIMAND (1)...... 141 REPRIMAND (2)...... 141 REPRIMAND (3)...... 141 REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS ...... 142 REPUBLICAN WOMAN, FIRST...... 142 RIDING THE TUMBREL...... 143 RIGHT TURN ON RED ...... 144 ROTATING DISTRICTS...... 144 SADOWSKI’S ADVICE TO MEMBERS...... 144 SALES TAX, THE LONG CAMPAIGN ...... 146 SAWMILL TALK...... 151 SCHOOL BELL...... 151 SEATING ...... 151 SEATING CHALLENGE (1) ...... 152 SEATING CHALLENGE (2) ...... 153 SECRETARIES FURNISH OWN TYPEWRITERS...... 153 SEGREGATION, OPPOSITION TO ...... 153 SEMINOLE LEGISLATORS...... 156 SENATE SPECIAL ORDER REQUESTS...... 156 SENATE, HOUSE DIFFERENCE...... 156 SENATE-HOUSE RELATIONS ...... 156 SENIORITY ...... 156 SESSIONS, ANNUAL VS. BIENNIAL ...... 157 SESSION, LONGEST ...... 157 SESSION, SHORTEST...... 157 SESSIONS ...... 158 SESSIONS, RECORD NUMBER OF ...... 158 SHOVING...... 158 SINE DIE ...... 158 SING FOR YOUR VOTES...... 159 SLOW MOVING CANDIDATE ...... 159 “SNEAKING BILLS THROUGH” ...... 160 SNOOKER ...... 160 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES...... 160 SPEECH CANCELLED ...... 161 STAFF, FIRST YEAR-ROUND...... 161 STATUS OF MEN ...... 162 STATUTE STEALING...... 162 STATUTES, GROWTH OF...... 162 STEAK HOUSE SOCIETY ...... 162 STONE, STATE...... 163 STOPPING THE CLOCK...... 163 “SUNSHINE AMENDMENT” ...... 163 SUPREME COURT, INGENUITY OF ...... 164 TAINTED MONEY...... 165 TALLAHASSEE IN 1823...... 165 TAMPERING ...... 166 TAYLOR COUNTY, HOW TO SUCCEED IN POLITICS ...... 167 TEETH, GETTING INTO DEBATE ...... 167 TELEVISION ...... 168 THIRD HOUSE...... 168 THUMBS...... 169 TOBACCO: SMOKING AND SPITTING...... 169 vi RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

TOMATO ALERT ...... 169 TOMBSTONE BILLS SEE POPULAR NAMES ...... 169 TRAILERS, THE ...... 169 TRAIN-NAPPING ...... 170 TURKEYS ...... 170 TWO-STATE LEGISLATORS ...... 170 UNICAMERAL ...... 171 VEHICLE ...... 171 VOTE SYSTEM...... 172 VOTES, 100% OF THE...... 172 VOTES, WHEN SHANDS HAD THE...... 172 VOTING RECORD, PERFECT ...... 173 WARNING AGAINST “HOOKERS”...... 173 WAY IT WAS, THE...... 174 WEATHER REPORTS, FALSE OR MISLEADING ...... 175 WELCOME HOME, FRED ...... 175 WELL OF THE HOUSE...... 175 WHATEVER’S FAIR...... 176 WHAT’S IN A NAME...... 176 WHEN DO THEY SING? ...... 176 WHITE KNIGHTS ...... 176 WHO STRUCK PATTERSON? ...... 177 WHY RUN FOR THE LEGISLATURE ...... 177 WICKER’S LAW...... 177 WILDCAT’S TAIL...... 178 WITH YOU ALL THE WAY, SECRETLY ...... 178 WOMEN AS PRESIDING OFFICERS (1)...... 178 WOMEN AS PRESIDING OFFICERS (2)...... 179 WOMEN AS READING CLERKS ...... 179 WOMEN LEGISLATORS...... 179 WRONG QUESTION ...... 180 YELLOW RIVER CODE...... 180 YOUNGEST, OLDEST LEGISLATORS...... 181 YOUR PLACE OR MINE...... 182 . . . ABOUT THE COMPILER ...... 183 . . . ABOUT THE OTHER COMPILER ...... 184

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“The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that once, on this earth, once, on this familiar spot of ground, walked other men and women, as actual as we are today, thinking their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions, but now all gone, one generation vanishing after another, gone as utterly as we ourselves shall shortly be gone, like ghosts at cockcrow.” (Taped beneath the glass on the desk of Mel Elfin, chief, Newsweek Bureau, Washington. As reported In Hope and Fear in Washington, by Barney Collier 1975)

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DEDICATION OF THE 2006 EDITION

My predecessor in office, Dr. Allen Morris, conceived this publication for reasons he explains in his Introduction to the 1991 Edition. These reasons are even more compelling in an era of limited terms.

Dr. Morris and I are not the authors of this work. We are its compilers and recorders. The legislators who herein recount the stories and impart their wisdom are its true authors. This book belongs to them. It belongs as well to the people of Florida who will discover in its pages a legislature possessed of all the virtues and frailties of humankind.

I am deeply grateful for the support and many kindnesses extended to me by the members and staff of the House and Senate over the past thirty-one years. It is to them and my friend and teacher Allen Morris that this edition is dedicated.

John Phelps, Clerk of the House Tallahassee, May 1, 2006

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ADMISSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The reader will please forgive omissions of people, stories, or events of which they may have personal knowledge. Like history itself, this book will always be a work in progress. The co- compiler and, it is hoped, future Clerks will welcome other material for inclusion in future editions.

The compilers of this edition are grateful to the staff of the Office of the Clerk for their efforts to bring this book to press. Particular thanks are due to Diane Bell, Cissy Dubose, Mina Ford, Hope Holt, and Gay Parramore.

Thanks as well are due to the Board of the Legislative Research Center & Museum whose foresight has started so many important programs to preserve House and Senate history. Much of the new material in this edition is drawn from interviews taken by the legislative oral history project initiated by the Center.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE 1991 EDITION:

The Reason Why... I have compiled this because I believe a legislative house needs a heritage, as does an athletic team or a symphony orchestra.

The dictionary defines heritage as birthright, that which is passed on from generation to generation. The Florida House has a fresh beginning every two years but the real beginning stretches back to 1822 when a storm-tossed, yellow fever-plagued group enacted Florida’s first laws.

In the Office of the Clerk there is row after row of Journals of the House, stretching back to 1845 and representing the labors of legislators vaguely known, if at all, only to their descendants. I am at times overwhelmed with sorrow as legislators who were cocks of the walk as chairmen of prestigious committees a few Legislatures ago enter the Chamber during a session and walk about unrecognized or unrecognizing.

If the 1909 House or the 1921 House or the 1931 House come to mind, we think of a faceless institution but, as these anecdotes disclose, past Houses were composed of flesh and blood people just as is today’s House. But until now, there was no account of the past. The House has little if any institutional memory, in part because of the turnover with each new House. Yet each House by itself is a very human institution, its membership often likened to a family.

The Problems Remain . . . Clothing styles have changed and many zeroes have been added to today’s appropriations but these lawmakers of 1887 faced up to problems as wearisome a those of the present.

I hope you, the membership of the House, will find the collection of bits and pieces of legislative history both informative and entertaining. You will join me, I am sure, in expressing gratitude to former Representative Betty Easley for the delightful cartoons which give sparkle and humor to this book. I am grateful to Donn Dughi and Mark Foley for photographs which illuminate scenes in the

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House of Representatives. I am grateful to John B. McDermott for recollections of Senate incidents during his 23 years of legislative reporting for The Miami Herald.

This, then, largely is history recalled in anecdotes.

It has been my privilege to observe Houses since 1941. As I have said from time to time, I have felt at home in the House since the evening prior to the convening of the 1941 session. I have treasured the friendship of members and hope that I shall have that opportunity for sessions into the years ahead.

I am giving the results of my inquiries, so that the memory of what men have done shall not perish. —Herodotus (fifth century B.C.)

Allen Morris Clerk of the House (1966-1986)

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MEMORABLE YEARS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

1822 First Legislative Council of 13 Presidential appointees convened on July 22 near Pensacola.

1826 Congress ordered Territory divided into 13 districts, with Floridians to elect 13 members of the existing Legislative Council.

1838 Congress provided a Senate of 11 members and a House of Representatives of 29 members to form an elective Legislative Council.

1838-1861 Constitutions of 1838 and 1861 provided a Senate and a House of Representatives, with the two houses together known as the General Assembly.

1845 First General Assembly under Statehood convened at Tallahassee on June 23, with 17 Senators and 41 Representatives from 20 counties.

1861 Ordinance of Secession from the United States adopted.

1868 Lawmaking body styled the Legislature by the Constitution for the first time, with a Senate and an Assembly.

1868 Southern-born whites were always in majority in Florida Reconstruction legislatures. In 1868, of 76 Senators and Representatives, 19 were freedmen, 13 from the North, 23 white Democrats, and 21 white Southern loyalists.

1884 First Cuban American, Fernando Figueredo of Key West, elected to serve in 1885 House.

1885 New Constitution replaced “assembly” with “House of Representatives.”

1937 First use of electrical voting system calculated to save 12 days in time required during 60-day session for oral roll calls.

1938 First party caucus for designation of a Speaker held at Moon Lake in Pasco County with G. Pierce Wood of Liberty County chosen over LeRoy Collins of Leon County, 55 to 40.

1967 After years of sparse representation in the House, Republicans achieved a substantial share of seats, with 39 of 119.

1968 First black since 1891, Joe Lang Kershaw of Dade County, elected to House.

1970 First black woman ever, Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry of Dade County, elected to House.

1978 First occupancy of House Chamber in new Capitol was April 4.

1982 First Cuban-American woman, Ileana Ros of Dade County, elected to House.

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1982 First elections from single-member districts resulted in seating of two black Senators and 10 black Representatives, black representation increasing from no Senators and five Representatives.

1982 House elected first woman Speaker pro tempore, Elaine Gordon of Dade County.

1982 First marriage of two Representatives, with Dexter W. Lehtinen and Ileana Ros wed after engagement announced in House Chamber. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was elected to Congress in 1989.

1991 House completed program of computerization commenced in 1965 by Speaker E. C. Rowell. Terminal screen placed on each member desk in Chamber. Computer terminals link member offices statewide as well as with Tallahassee.

1996 Republicans attain majority status in the House after 122 years of Democratic rule.

1999 House Chamber renovated and the first of the Historical Paintings Series by artist Christopher Still is installed.

2000 The Legislature convened in special session to designate Electoral delegates in the disputed election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

2005 First Cuban American, Marco Rubio, designated as candidate for Speaker of the House by a majority party.

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THE SPEAKERS

Sessions of the Florida House are stamped with the personality of their Speakers.

The great powers of the office can be exercised so that Speakers generally will secure the passage of whatever program may be their desire.

What are those great powers? Florida’s Speakers appoint committees, refer bills, dictate and interpret rules, control the Calendar, limit debate, recognize members, and accept motions. Every employee of the House serves at his pleasure. Those are some of the Speaker’s powers.

That is not to say every Speaker has been able to use the powers. There have been ineffective Speakers who, consciously or otherwise, have surrendered those powers to stronger members on the floor.

Yet the House always has protected its Speakers because public damage to a Speaker would be damage to the House. Never in a hundred years has a Speaker’s ruling been overturned by appeal. It is true that a Speaker’s rulings possess no standing in law, but appeal would be regarded not as a judgment on the soundness of a ruling but as a loss of confidence in the Chair. And that no House has been willing to do.

Speakers of the House: John Thrasher (1998-2000), Allan Bense (2004-2006), James Harold Thompson (1984-1986), Daniel Webster (1996- 1998), Ralph Haben (1980-1982), T.K. Wetherell (1990-1992), Doyle Conner (1956-1958), H. Lee Moffitt (1982-1984)

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This feeling was summarized by one of the great Speakers of the United States House, Thomas Reed, when he said the following:

“Whoever at any time, whether for purposes of censure or rebuke or any other motive attempts to lower the prestige of that office, by just so much lowers the prestige of the House itself, whose servant and exponent the Speaker is. No attack, whether open or covert, can be made upon that office without leaving to the future a legacy of disorder and of bad government. This is not because the Speaker is himself a sacred creation. It is because he is the embodiment of the House, its power and dignity.”

Thus, in Florida, when an occasional questionable ruling is made in the hurly-burly of debate, the wrong has been righted by a quiet revisiting, usually overnight, rather than by a public assault on the Chair.

USE OF HUMOR BY SPEAKERS

Humor is an overlooked ingredient of the legislative mix, serving both as a lubricant, a tool, and a weapon.

As Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Speaker 1980-1982, explained: “First, I think if one understands the dynamics of the Legislature and the legislative process, it is clearly a pressure-packed, emotional system. The session, by its very nature, requires instant decisions on complex issues.

“Tempers become short, nerves become frayed, the legislators become exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally, particularly toward the end of a legislative session. Any device, within reason, that can be used to lessen the tension, to relieve the pressure, or to enable legislators to stand back and put things in a proper perspective is extremely important.”

Haben continued: “The person who can effectively use humor has not only a gift but a useful tool in keeping the various factions together in a team effort which is particularly important to the process. It is a wise presiding officer who can use the one-liner, the anecdote, the short story, or the apropos funny joke to relieve that pressurized atmosphere.

“The legislative process is a serious business. The issues are important. The results of the decisions may have ramifications that touch each and every Floridian. Be that as it may, we are human, we will always be human, and a recognition of human frailty, foibles, and an ability to laugh at ourselves to me is a key ingredient to the success of not only a legislator but the personality of an entire legislative body.”

TABLE TURNED ON SPEAKER HABEN

There are times when it is good if the presiding officer ends up being the butt of a joke. Ralph Haben remembers one such occasion during his Speakership. During the 1981 session, Representative Dorothy E. Sample of Pinellas County sat in the last seat of the last row, in an area of the House Chamber which was relatively dark. Once, Representative Sample used a flashlight to signal the Speaker for recognition. On another occasion when Haben did recognize her, Representative Sample, began pointedly: “Oh, so you finally decided to recognize me?”

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“I always recognize you, Mrs. Sample, because I love you,” Haben answered sweetly. Representative Lee Moffitt was seated beside Haben at the rostrum, so Haben added: “Representative Moffitt says that he loves you, too, and that’s a lovely green dress you have on.”

“What makes you think it’s green?” Sample shot back.

Haben laughed. “If the Chair says it’s green, it’s green.”

“Well, it may be green,” answered the 70-year-old Sample, descendant of Territorial Governor John Eaton and cousin of Governor Dan McCarty, “but what’s in it isn’t.”

That evoked a roar of laughter at the Speaker’s expense.

Examples of legislative humor are in the nature of inside jokes, and, as Haben said, it is difficult to explain to someone who was not present how amusing an incident really was. “As much of the laughter is a result of the release of tension as it is in the inherent funniness or inventiveness of the joke,” opined Haben.

Haben was the central figure of an incident during the 1980 session, when he was Chairman of the Rules Committee, which he then described as “the most embarrassing of my entire life.”

Responsible for that moment was Representative Joseph M. Gersten of Miami. Gersten arranged for two comely young women, dressed in medieval costume, to present a stuffed suckling pig on a garnished platter to Haben at his desk on the front row center of the House Chamber during a session.

Gersten regarded the presentation as a tribute, in “true acknowledgment to Mr. Haben for bringing home the bacon.” This afterwards was regarded as a reference to a pending eight million dollar appropriation for a civic center in Haben’s home town of Palmetto, The Most Embarrassing Day although Gersten may not have been aware of the money but sought only to flatter Haben on his prospective ascension to the Speakership.

Haben was not amused, although the rest of the House members were. He felt the presentation jeopardized the appropriation which he had labored to put through the House and Senate with a minimum of attention. After clearing the Legislature, Haben’s civic center escaped the Governor’s veto and now stands as its community’s pride and joy.

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In 1980, Gersten was chairman of a major committee and member of three other prestigious committees, including the Committee on Rules & Calendar. When Haben became Speaker that November, Gersten was chairman of nothing and his prestigious committees were only a memory.

Haben said, however, the pig incident had nothing to do with Gersten’s changed status. Gersten said he thought his fall from power was caused by the contrast between political philosophies: Haben was a staunch conservative while Gersten was more liberal. In 1985, Haben said Gersten was right, that it was a case of differing philosophy. But many legislators thought otherwise: that Haben’s public embarrassment was the real reason.

There chanced to be a mid-term election in 1981 to fill a Dade Senate seat. Gersten ran and won.

ART OF UNDERSTATED HUMOR

The art of understated humor to make a point was demonstrated by Speaker James Harold Thompson of Gadsden County during the 1985 session.

Examples of Thompson humor:

(On the next-to-last day of the session)

“Let’s everybody sit down and be quiet and just take it easy. What’s happening here is that it’s next-to-the-last day and you all are anxious to get home. I went home last night, you see, and had to take the garbage out and all that stuff, so I’m not frantic as you are. So when everybody gets as calm as me, we will proceed.”

(When a member complained of being unable to obtain the A Family Consultation . . . On the rostrum, Speaker attention of the House.) James Harold Thompson, D-Quincy, has a discussion with his son, James Alexander, a House page during the 1985 session. “There are two ways — a former Speaker told me — that you could get their attention. The first is for the Speaker to gavel them into order for a few moments. But the second part of it is you have to spice up your debate a little bit.”

(When a member caused laughter at the Speaker’s expense.)

“You know that you are in violation of Rule 15.7-AO 35 [an imaginary Rule] which says, ‘Nobody can be more witty than the Speaker at any given moment.’”

TUCKER AND GOVERNORSHIP

Donald L. Tucker of Leon County was another of the Speakers who made effective use of humor. At the convening of the 1976 session, Tucker dismissed speculation about his candidacy for Governor by telling the House: “I don’t need to be the Governor of the State to satisfy my ego. I satisfy it every day when I look in the mirror, fellows.”

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Tucker went on to say: “You know, with that in mind, I was looking in the mirror the other day, preparing to go make a speech — I thought I’d share this with you — and in my usual modest manner, I turned to my wife, who was also getting ready to go and I was a little bit ahead of her — ‘cause I used the hairdryer first — and I said, ‘Honey, I wonder how many really great men there are in the world?’ She said, ‘Don, I don’t know but at least one less than you think.’”

DEATH PENALTY AMENDMENT

During a budget-cutting special session, “Abe Bonowitz rose from his seat in an open visitors’ gallery, shouted at House Speaker Tom Feeney and waved a sign that read, ‘Florida can't afford the death penalty! Save $51 million!’

“Feeney, a death penalty supporter, later joked with reporters that he will consider any idea to save money: ‘It’s the most attractive argument

[against the death penalty] I've heard.’” (Jim Ash, Death Penalty opponents disrupt House Session in 2001 Palm Beach Post, 11/28/2001)

HOW TO KILL AN AMENDMENT

How to use humor to kill an amendment while ostensibly speaking in favor of its adoption was demonstrated during the 1979 session by Ralph Haben, who possessed an exceptional sense of the ridiculous and the comic.

Confronting his long-time friend, Representative H. Lee Moffitt of Hillsborough County, also a future Speaker, Haben said he agreed with Moffitt’s pending amendment to delete an appropriation for an airplane which the State Department of Commerce could use for economic promotion.

“We can have a Greyhound bus pick prospects up at the Alabama line and drive them all through the Panhandle and they then can decide if they see what they like. If they don’t, then they can take an eight- hour bus trip down to Miami. You see, it’s very difficult to get up here and argue why we need an airplane.”

Moffitt’s amendment was defeated.

SURPRISING THE SPEAKER

When Frederick H. Schultz of Duval County, Speaker of the 1969 and 1970 sessions, returned to the House for the ceremonial unveiling of his portrait in the gallery along the walls of the House Chamber, his friendly opponent, Minority Leader Donald H. Reed, Jr., of Palm Beach County, had prepared a surprise.

As Reed pulled the cloth from a painting it revealed the bewhiskered face of the 1893 Speaker, John B. Johnston of Pasco County.

Surprise, Surprise . . .

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SPEAKER ROWELL’S ADVICE

When E. C. Rowell was Speaker in 1965, the Committee on Rules & Calendar adopted a rule relating to conflict of interest which the Speaker regarded as, in his words, “window dressing.” He was on the rostrum when Representative Donald H. Reed, Jr., the Minority Leader, addressed the Chair to request a ruling on a possible conflict.

“Reed was just grandstanding,” said Rowell afterwards. “When he got through, I rapped the gavel and said, ‘The Chair rules the lawyers will read the Cannon of Ethics and we laymen will read the Bible.’ Take up the next amendment.”

According to George Stallings, Rowell also had a persuasive means of keeping his committee chairmen in line. During a leadership meeting, Speaker Rowell asked for their support by saying “All in favor, say ‘aye’ all opposed say ‘I resign.’”

Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982. Dorothy Eaton Sample, St. Petersburg, House 1976-1988. H. Lee Moffitt, Tampa, House 1974-1984, Speaker 1982-1984. John Henry Eaton, Second Territorial Governor, April 24, 1835. Thomas McCarty, 31st Governor, January 6 – September 28, 1953. Joseph M. “Joe” Gersten, Miami, House 1974-1981, Senate 1982-1986. James Harold Thompson, Gretna, House 1974-1986, Speaker 1984-1986, Constitutional Revision Commission 1997. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978. Tom Feeney, Oviedo, House 1990–1994, 1996–2002, Speaker 2000– 2002, U.S. House of Representatives 2003- . Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker 1968-1970. Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. John B. Johnson, Constitutional Convention, Alachua 1885, House 1893, 1903, 1905, Speaker 1893. E.C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965. George B. Stallings, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1959-1968.

THE “SHADOW SPEAKER”

With the expansion of Republican strength in the House, a change was made at the Organization Session in 1970 in the GOP method of selecting its Minority Leader.

That change was the designation of the Minority Leader as the Republican Speaker-designate and the Minority Leader pro tempore as the Speaker pro tempore-designate. Thus, the Republicans in the House had a “shadow Speaker .”

The first Republican Speaker-designate was Donald H. Reed and the Speaker pro tempore-designate was John J. Savage.

Sandra Mortham was the first woman elected Minority Leader and, in 1992, the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for Speaker at an Organization Session.

The practical result of the additional designations was psychological, a reminder to the Democrats and others in the Representative Donald H. Reed Jr. . . . the political world of the GOP expectation to become the majority first “shadow Speaker.” party in the House at some time, which it did in 1996.

Meantime, the Republican Speaker-designate continued to function as the Minority Leader, negotiating with the Democratic Speaker for such matters as Republican places on committees, office space, and staff. The situation today is reversed with Democrats negotiating as the minority party.

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The Speakers have been ambivalent in their dealings with the minorities. For example, Speaker H. Lee Moffitt felt the recognition of Republicans by appointments to committee leadership could be politically profitable to the Republicans, so he gave only two subcommittee chairmanships to GOP members. His successor, Speaker James Harold Thompson, appointed 12. Republican Speakers have followed the same pattern with some being more generous than others with committee leadership appointments. Speaker Webster appointed Democrats as Vice Chairs to most committees and councils.

Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Sandra Barringer Mortham, Largo, House 1986-1994, Secretary of State 1995-1999. John J. “Jack” Savage, North Redington Beach, House 1965-1973. H. Lee Moffitt, Tampa, House 1974-1984, Speaker 1982-1984. James Harold Thompson, Gretna, House 1974-1986, Speaker 1984-1986, Constitution Revision Commission 1997. Daniel Webster, Orlando, House 1980-1998, Speaker 1996-199, Senate 1998- .

SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

Election of a Speaker pro tempore as a regular order of business at the convening of a session commenced in 1903 when Representative R. B. Bullock of Marion County was chosen.

Some Speakers pro tempore subsequently served in other legislative offices. T. T. Turnbull of Jefferson County, pro tempore in 1915, became Senate President in 1923; J. J. Parrish of Brevard County, pro tempore in 1925, was Senate President in 1929; L. D. Edge of Lake County, pro tempore in 1921, was Speaker in 1923; S. W. Getzen of Sumter County, pro tempore in 1927, was Speaker in 1929; and T. Terrell Sessums of Hillsborough County, pro tempore in 1969 and 1970, became Speaker of the 1973 and 1974 sessions.

Representative Elaine Gordon of Dade County was the first woman to become Speaker pro tempore, for the 1985 and 1986 regular sessions. Since then, other women Speakers pro tempore have been Representatives Elaine Bloom, Sandra Murman, and Leslie Waters. Speaker Pro Tempore R. B. Bullock of Marion County Robert B. Bullock, Ocala, House 1879, Speaker pro tempore 1903, 1911-1912, U.S. House of Representatives 1889-1893. Theodore Tiffany Turnbull, Monticello, House 1913-1915, Speaker pro tempore 1915, Senate 1918-1929, President 1923. Jesse Jackson Parrish, Titusville, House 1918-1925, Speaker pro tempore 1925, Senate 1927-1939, President 1929. L. D. Edge, Groveland, House 1915-1923, Speaker pro tempore 1921, Speaker 1923. Samuel Wyche Getzen, Bushnell, House 1923-1929, 1935 Speaker pro tempore 1927, Speaker 1929, Senate 1931-1933. T. Terrell Sessums, Tampa, House 1963-1974, Speaker pro tempore 1968-1970, Speaker 1972-1974. Elaine Gordon, Miami, House 1972-1994, Speaker pro tempore 1984-1986. Elaine Bloom, North Miami, House 1974- 1978, 1986-2000, Speaker pro tempore 1992-1994. Sandra L. “Sandy” Murman, Tampa, House 1996-2004, Speaker pro tempore 2000-2002. Leslie Waters, Seminole, House 1998- , Speaker pro tempore 2004-2006.

TWO-TERM SPEAKERS AND PRESIDENTS

Florida’s Legislature has a tradition of one-term presiding officers. There have been both annual and biennial sessions, and that means some Presidents and Speakers have served two regular sessions and some only one.

The single-term tradition in the Senate has been breached twice since Statehood in 1845. (There was an elected Lieutenant Governor who served ex-officio as President from 1865 through 1887.) Toni Jennings served consecutive terms as Senate President, 1996-1998 and 1998-2000.

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In the House of Representatives, the tradition has been broken a number of times. Hugh Archer, Speaker of the first House under Statehood in 1845, served again five years later. Marcellus L. Stearns presided from 1869 to 1872. John L. Gaskins served in 1889 and 1891.

In the present century, Ion L. Farris presided in 1909 and 1913. Farris was the uncle of C. Farris Bryant, Speaker in 1953 and Governor in 1961-1965. Gary A. Hardee served in 1915 and 1917. Hardee has the distinction of having been designated Speaker before serving as a member. Hardee served as Governor from 1921 to 1925. Thomas D. Beasley presided in 1947 and 1959.

Donald L. Tucker served as Speaker from 1974 to 1978, four regular sessions, since annual sessions were resumed in 1969. Tucker left an impressive imprint upon lawmaking. He brought back the second and third reading of bills on separate days, thus affording an opportunity to scrutinize bills after they had been amended on second reading. In prior years, by waiver of the constitutional requirement, second and third Marcellus Stearns reading came on the same day. This meant flawed bills often went to the Senate. Seeking to give closer attention to bills, Tucker also caused the establishment of subcommittees clothed with the power to report bills favorably or unfavorably. Another of Tucker’s procedural innovations was to require that amendments adding money to an appropriation must, at the same time, indicate the appropriation line from which the money would be removed.

Tucker was the last Speaker to preside in the 1939-1977 Chamber and the first in the 1978 Chamber. The last day in the old Chamber was December 13, 1977, and the first day in the then new Chamber was April 4, 1978.

Hugh Archer, Leon County, Legislative Council 1840, Legislative Council House, Chief Clerk 1842-1845, Senate Secretary 1846, Comptroller, 1845-1847, House Speaker 1845, 1850. Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns, Quicny, Constitutional Convention 1868, House 1868-1872, Speaker 1869-1872, U.S. Surveyor-General for Florida 1869-1873, Lieutenant Governor 1873-1874, Acting Governor 1874-1877, U.S. Commissioner 1877-1880. John L. Gaskins, Starke, House 1877, 1883, 1889-1895, Speaker 1889-1891, Senate 1885-1887. Toni Jennings, Orlando, House 1976-1980, Senate 1980-2000, President 1996-2000, Constitution Revision Commission 1997, Lieutenant Governor 2003-2006 (appointed 3-7-2003). Ion L. Farris, Jacksonville, House 1907-1909, 1913, Speaker 1909, 1913, Senate 1915-1917. C. Farris Bryant, Ocala, 1946-1956, Speaker 1953, Governor 1961-1965. Cary Augustus Hardee, Live Oak, House 1915-1917, Speaker 1915, 1917, Governor 1921-1925. Thomas DeKalb, Beasley, DeFuniak Springs, House 1939, 1943- 1959, Speaker 1947 and 1960. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978.

AGITATION FOR A REELECTABLE SPEAKER

After the reapportionment of the 1960s brought a substantial number of Republicans to the House, considerable thought was given to causing Speakers to be reelectable. In sum, the feeling was that Speakers, to cope with a two-party House, needed to possess the skills which could be developed only through on-the-job experience.

By 1971, Florida was one of five states rotating Speakers. This rotation was done by custom, unrestricted by rule or statute. With few, if any, Republicans in past Houses, the Speakership had been regarded as a ceremonial honor to be passed around. In this century, only once, in 1917, had a Speaker been reelected.

In 1965 Republicans accounted for 9 percent of the House membership; in 1967, 33 percent; in 1969, 35 percent; and in the years thereafter, never less than 22.5 percent, with a buildup to 36.5 percent in 1985 and to 38 percent for the 1990-1992 biennium.

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The agitation crested in 1976 with the reelection of Speaker Donald L. Tucker. With a surprise call by the membership for a caucus, the House returned in 1977 to the one-term tradition. The narrowing of the gap between the Democrats and the Republicans in the House prompted talk of a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans to elect a Speaker. (See Campaign for Coalition Speaker) This was attempted in 1970 but failed. However, the attempt stimulated talk of a reelectable Speaker which was formalized in the appointment in 1971 of a bipartisan committee to study the matter.

Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978.

BATTLE FATIGUE OF SPEAKER

When Speaker E. C. Rowell was awakened at noon of a Sunday during the 1965 session, he did not recognize his wife. “I was a complete blank,” recalled Rowell. “I didn’t know anything about being Speaker of the House. I didn’t know who I was.”

That occurred after the exhausting weeks of preparation for the organization of the House and just following the Speaker’s ball.

A physician gave Rowell an injection which put him back to sleep until that evening. When he awoke then, he had regained his memory. The physician insisted Rowell enter a hospital for some days of complete rest but the Speaker refused. Instead, he convened the House each E. C. Rowell . . . Suffered battle morning, had the roll call and prayer, and then turned over the gavel to fatigue someone else and returned to his office. He did this for several days, until the doctor felt he again had the strength to cope with a full day on the rostrum.

“No one ever knew the difference,” said Rowell. “I never let it be known because it could have caused chaotic conditions. The newspapers would have insisted I resign from the Legislature or at least step down as Speaker.

“It shows the load a Speaker must carry. After it was over, the doctor told me that it was the same as battle fatigue.”

E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

FRUSTRATED ASPIRANT FOR SPEAKER

Representative Robert T. Mann was an unsuccessful candidate for Speaker in 1966 through an unusual set of circumstances that saw him once holding the pledges of support from a majority of his colleagues.

Mann’s pledges were for the Speakership in 1969. When the Speaker-designate for the 1967 session, George G. Stone of Pensacola, was killed in an automobile accident, Mann sought to advance his candidacy from the 1969 Speakership to the 1967 but was unsuccessful despite the verified majority of pledges for 1969. By 1969, Mann was out of the House, having been appointed a judge of the Second District Court of Appeal. He returned that year to the House to accept an award.

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Standing at the Speaker’s podium, Mann declared: “If anyone had told me in 1966 that I would be on the rostrum today, I would have believed him.” Mann quipped that receiving the St. Petersburg Times award then, a year after leaving the House, was “like getting the Good Conduct Medal posthumously.” See MANNISMS

Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, District Court of Appeal Judge 1968-1978, Public Service Commission 1978-1981. George G. Stone, Walnut Hill, House, 1956–1966, Speaker pro tempore 1961.

HOW ONE SPEAKER DEALT WITH A GOVERNOR

Governor Haydon Burns sent his aide, a Highway Patrol officer known as “Buddy Frog” to deliver to Speaker E. C. Rowell 11 bills the Governor wanted passed at the 1965 session. Rowell looked them over. “Okay, Buddy Frog,” said Rowell. “I’ll keep these and get somebody to handle them. You take these back to him.” Buddy Frog had not been gone long when the Speaker’s phone rang. “Mr. Speaker, you (expletive deleted), what’s wrong with these other bills?” demanded Governor Burns. Rowell responded: “Now, Haydon, the newspapers have already said you couldn’t get along with the Legislature. Now had you rather bat 1,000 or had you rather bat .750? You’re going to gamble on those other bills and I’ll probably work against them.” Burns agreed to forget them, and the remaining bills were passed.

William Haydon Burns, Jacksonville, Governor 1965-1967. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

SPEAKER/PRESIDENT

Three men have presided over both the House and the Senate.

Mallory E. Horne was Speaker of the House at the sessions of 1962 and 1963 and President of the Senate for the sessions of 1973 and 1974.

Marcellus L. Stearns served as Speaker for the sessions of 1869 through 1872. As Lieutenant Governor, Stearns presided over the Senate in 1873.

Philip Dell was President of the Senate in 1856 and Speaker of the House in 1855 and 1864.

As Lieutenant Governor, Stearns had been elected by the voters. Horne and Dell were the choice of their legislative colleagues in the House and Senate.

Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974. Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns, Quincy, Constitutional Convention 1968, House 1868-1872, Speaker 1869-1872, U.S. Surveyor-General for Florida 1869- 1873, Lieutenant Governor 1873-1874, U.S. Commissioner 1877-1880, Acting Governor 1874-1877. Philip Dell, Newnansville, House 1852-1855, 1864, Speaker 1855, 1864, Senate 1856-1859, President 1856.

ONE SPEAKER’S PHILOSOPHY

In a philosophical mood just before completion of his second term, Speaker Donald L. Tucker laid a hand on the arm of his successor, J. Hyatt Brown, and said:

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“Let me give you some words of advice.

“The reason I was elected Speaker the second time was because there were two things I never asked a man to do.

“One was I never asked a man to vote against his conscience.

“The other was I never asked a man to vote against his reelection.”

Later the same day, Speaker Tucker expressed another bit of political philosophy in seeking to calm the apprehension of a friend who felt a bill soon to be voted upon would cause the defeat of many members. Donald Tucker . . . Some words of advice “Nah,” said Tucker. “No, nobody gets defeated over one statewide issue.”

Donald L Tucker, Tallahassee, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978. J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980.

SPEAKER’S ROSE

Helen Rountree started a House custom when she first brought Speaker Thomas D. Beasley a rose from her garden to wear in his lapel during the 1947 session.

When the roses in the garden played out before the session ended, Mrs. Rountree, the Speaker’s secretary (on loan then from Justice T. Frank Hobbson of the Supreme Court), ordered up the roses from a florist.

Returning session after session until ultimately she became the permanent Speaker’s secretary, Mrs. Rountree saw to it that each Speaker wore a rose. When there was a former Speaker in the House, she caused him to be similarly decorated. Next, the Speakers pro tempore were included. The custom continued after Mrs. Rountree left the office in 1969.

For a time there was an effort to color code the lapel roses: reserving red Thomas D. Beasley . . . With the rose for Speakers, yellow for Speakers pro tempore, and off-white for Speakers-designate and Speakers pro tempore-designate. That coding broke down as too much bother. Indeed, Speakers in the 1970s and 1980s did not adhere strictly to the daily ritual of having the rose affixed as they left their office for the rostrum to convene the session. By 1985, the custom had been discontinued.

Thomas DeKalb Beasley, DeFuniak Springs, House 1939, 1943-1951, 1955-1959, Speaker 1947, 1959.

CAMPAIGN FOR COALITION SPEAKER

Encouraged by the jump in Republican membership in 1968 to 42 — a third of the House — Minority Leader Donald H. Reed, Jr., sought to link with conservative Democrats to frustrate the designation of Richard A. Pettigrew of Miami as Speaker in the fall of 1970.

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Dr. Miley L. Miers, a Tallahassee dentist who had been nominated by Leon County’s Democratic voters for a third term, would have been Speaker if the coalition had been successful. In his quest Miers was aided by Reed and two influential Democrats, former Speaker E. C. Rowell of Wildwood, and longtime Finance & Taxation Chairman, James H. Sweeny, Jr., of DeLand. Rowell was no longer a House member.

An Orange County Republican, Representative William D. Gorman of Orlando, flew Miers about the state seeking pledges before the Democratic caucus at Miami Beach on October 4.

Miers afterwards believed he lost by seven pledges, but former Speaker Ralph D. Turlington of Gainesville, a caucus participant, said he thought the margin was wider because some members who had pledged bargained with Pettigrew for desirable committee assignments. Miers did not doubt this.

The philosophical split could be reflected in the gathering at Miami Beach. While there was not a single dissenting vote against Pettigrew’s nomination (one participant abstained) there were twenty- four absentees including Miers and Sweeny. Eighty-one voted for Pettigrew. In the November general election, the Republican membership was reduced by four to thirty-eight.

The 1970 caucus also was enlivened by a three-way campaign to designate a Democratic nominee for Speaker pro tempore. Eugene F. Shaw of Starke defeated John R. Clark of Lakeland and Ted Randell of Fort Myers. Speaker, Afterwards Governor . . . Here, Albert W. Gilchrist for whom the county is named, surveys the 1905 House Chamber from a rostrum with a carved wood State Seal and with a portrait of George Washington overlooking the scene. This Chamber has been reconstructed in the old Capitol.

Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Reorganization 1977- 1980. Miley L Miers II, Tallahassee, House 1966-1972. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965. James H. Sweeny, Jr., Deland, House 1948-1972. William D. “Bill” Gorman, Orlando, House 1967-1976, Senate 1976-1980. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. Eugene F. Shaw, Starke, House 1966- 1972, Speaker pro tempore 1970-1972. John R. Clark, Lakeland, House 1966-1976. M. T. “Ted” Randell, Fort Myers, House 1964-1974.

WRONG VOTE FOR SPEAKER

After being elected to Congress, Sam Gibbons returned to the Florida Senate for a visit. He was introduced to the body by Senator Dempsey Barron who said, “It took me ten years to get over being his [Gibbon’s] friend before people around here would accept me.” Earlier, Gibbons had run for Speaker with then Rep. Barron’s support but lost to Tom Beasley.

Sam Melville Gibbons, Tampa, House 1952-1958, Senate 1958-1962, U.S. House of Representatives 1962-1997. Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Thomas DeKalb “Tom” Beasley, DeFuniak Springs, House 1939-1951, 1954-1960, Speaker 1947, 1959.

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WORDS AND STORIES

ADOPTION

“When a boy baby born west of the Apalachicola River was old enough to crawl, they would put him on the floor and if he didn’t start crawling toward Tallahassee to become Governor of Florida, they’d adopt him out to Alabama.” Attributed to Fuller Warren by Wig Barrow

Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House 1939, Governor 1949-1953.

AERODYNAMICS OF LAWMAKING

Bill Birchfield said “The laws of aerodynamics are different in the Legislature. Sometimes the heavier something is, the easier it is to fly,” meaning the more a bill is loaded up with amendments, the more support it gathers.

William O. “Bill” Birchfield, Jacksonville, House 1970-1974, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

APPORTIONMENT SENSITIVITY (1)

“When you sit across a table from a friend and reapportion him out of politics, he sorta gets sensitive about it.” Reubin O’ D. Askew

Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970. Governor 1971-1979, U. S. Trade Commissioner 1979-1981.

APPORTIONMENT SENSITIVITY (2)

During the 1950s, frequent sessions convened on the sensitive subject of legislative redistricting. These sessions often came down to a struggle over whether the legislature would continue to be controlled by the “small county group” as the dominant rural forces were known or by urban progressives. One of the “small county group” members, Senator Dill Clark from Jefferson County, had served in the Legislature off and on from 1907 to 1966. He was agitated over an apportionment plan that would negatively affect his district and his own political future. As told by Sam Gibbons, Clark made an impassioned speech in opposition that concluded with this plea: “Give me Liberty County and give me death.”

Scott Dilworth Clarke, Jefferson, House, 1907, 1909, Senate 1931-1966, President 1947-1948. Sam Melville Gibbons, Tampa, House 1952–1958, Senate 1958-1962, U.S. House of Representatives 1962-1997.

ATTACHÉ

Attaché once was the word used to describe nearly all employees of the Legislature. The word has, however, fallen into disuse, likely because legislative workers now can be categorized in more specific and generally understood terms: secretary, aide, analyst, etc.

As late as the 1940s, the House and Senate elected their Chamber employees, from Assistant Chief Clerk (as the position then was known) of the House or Assistant Secretary of the Senate to reading clerks, other clerks, doorkeepers, janitors, and pages. The oath of faithful performance was administered by a Justice of the Supreme Court to the array. The Senate also employed some attachés by the individual Senators drawing the positions. See CHAPLAIN

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Aspirants for one of the eight places as page in the House worked the members for votes, even to the handing out of cards. Fuller Warren, afterwards member of the House and Governor, was among the disappointed page candidates at a session in the early 1920s. Another who lost out in 1941 but later achieved high office was Fred O. “Bud” Dickinson, Jr. Dickinson served as Comptroller from September 1, 1965, until January 7, 1975.

The selection of pages has vastly changed since Warren and Dickinson sought to be elected. In the 1940s and earlier, the House selected eight pages and the Senate four to serve the length of the session. The House then decided to give more youngsters the opportunity of observing the Legislature. By 1981, House employment was for one week and the session saw 126 pages (ages 12 to 15) and 180 messengers (ages 15 to 18). The Senate allowed each Senator to place four pages. As in the House, Senate pages may serve one week. Senate pages range in age from 16 to 18. The Senate does not have messengers. Unlike the House, a page related to the sponsoring Senator cannot be paid by the Senate.

John B. McDermott, who covered the Legislature for 25 years as political writer for The Miami Herald, recalls a Senate event involving a page as one of the funniest he witnessed. This is how McDermott remembered the incident: “In the mid-1970s, Senator Mallory Horne asked to speak on personal privilege. After being recognized by the Chair, the Senator announced that a page working for the Senate should be recognized and given a special award for dedication, perseverance and sound judgment.”

He reported that the young man had approached him earlier asking if he could be of service.

“‘May I bring you a cup of coffee?’ the young man asked.

“‘No, thank you,’ responded Horne.

“‘How about a Coca-Cola?

“Again, the Senator responded negatively. Whereupon the young man said in a plaintive voice: ‘Senator, isn’t there something I can bring you?’

“Horne, trying to dismiss the boy without hurting his feelings, quipped: ‘Sure, bring me a good looking blonde.’ The Senator, pausing in his narration, turned to a beautiful young lady sitting at his side and told the Florida Senate, ‘This is what he brought me!’ The Senate roared its Mallory E. Horne . . . “a good approval and appreciation. looking blonde”

“The page had taken Horne literally and had scurried from office to office in the Capitol looking for a beautiful blonde who would meet the Senator’s specifications.

“When he found the young lady, he told her the Senator wanted her immediately in the Chamber. She complied.”

Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House, 1939, Governor 1949-1953. Fred O. “Bud” Dickinson, Jr., West Palm Beach, House 1954, Senate 1956-1959, Comptroller 1965-1975. Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974.

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BABES IN THE WOODS

Much of the drama — or melodrama — in the Legislature was lost when the lawmakers no longer had the responsibility for electing United States Senators. The United States Constitution, by the 17th amendment ratified in 1913, provided for the popular election of Senators.

United States Senator Wilkinson Call figured in two of the most tumultuous of these elections. Babes in the Woods . . . Here are the members of the 1891 Senate who crossed into Georgia to escape the Newspaper accounts of the roundup by the Sergeant at Arms to assemble a quorum for the election of a United States Senator. day speak of the display of pistols on both occasions. Some Senators earned the enduring label of “Babes in the Woods” by hiding out in the hope of preventing a legal quorum from meeting in the Capitol. A number fled into Georgia to escape the dragnet of the Sergeant at Arms. See HUNDRED- DAY SESSION

The “Babes” took to the woods after 85 ballots over seven weeks saw Senator Call still leading but unable to obtain the majority of the votes in both legislative houses then thought necessary for his reelection. On May 26, 1891, the 15 State Senators present and a majority of the House of Representatives reelected him. The Governor thought otherwise and appointed someone else, but the U.S. Senate judged for itself and seated Call.

A lasting piece of political invective came out of that campaign. Call’s chief foe, William D. Chipley, had issued a pamphlet reviewing Call’s senatorial record. Call, replying, declared: “...this pamphlet from the first sentence in it to the last word in it is a falsehood; that it does not contain one syllable or one word of truth; that even its commas and periods and semi-colons and question marks speak a falsehood.”

There were a dozen politicos mentioned as willing to take Senator Call’s seat when the 1897 Legislature convened. Representative John P. Wall summarized the situation thus: “The people ‘round here in Tallahassee are afraid to shoot a beef lest the bullet go astray and kill a senatorial aspirant.” The balloting in 1897 commenced on April 22 and by May 2 the fact that tempers were wearing thin may be judged from this paragraph in a Tampa Tribune account: “Senator Bailey gained recognition of the President, and made a characteristic speech in which he denied in a most dramatic manner that he had been improperly approached on behalf of Judge Raney as reported by Representative Crumpton. The Senator exhibited a big gun, some thought in a friendly manner, to back his judgment.”

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On the 25th ballot and in the 22nd joint session, the Legislature elected a man whose name had not appeared in any of the listings of possibilities — Stephen R. Mallory, the namesake son of the Floridian who quit the U.S. Senate as the state withdrew from the Union in 1861.

There were some mutterings about Florida having been served by only one Senator during these contests, since the Congress then reorganized on March 4 while the Legislature commenced its biennial sessions in April and in the two Call contests did not elect the Senator until the latter part of May. The Tampa Tribune reprinted with approval a Florida Times-Union editorial (arguing for earlier convening of the Florida Legislature) which, in part, said: “A man who is not willing to go to Tallahassee in February should not be elected to the Legislature. It is folly to pretend that the February climate of Tallahassee is so bad as to endanger life.”

William D. Chipley, Pensacola, Senate 1895-1897. John P. Wall, Hall, House 1893-1897, 1901-1905, Senate 1912-1913. Edward Bradford Bailey, Monticello, Senate 1889, 1895-1897, 1903-1905, House 1921. George Pettus Raney, Apalachicola, House 1868- 1870, Tallahassee 1899-1901, Attorney General 1877-1885, Supreme Court Justice 1885-1894, Senate 1903-1905. H. A. H. Crumpton, Levy County, House 1897. Stephen Russell Mallory, Pensacola, House 1877, Senate 1881-1887, U.S. House of Representatives 1891-1895, U.S. Senate 1897-1907.

BAR OF THE HOUSE

As recently as 1949 there was reference in the Rules of the Florida House to the “Bar” of the House. Until the House occupied a new Chamber in 1939 (and the Senate in 1949), spectators could be seated on the main floor of the Chamber. Seating for those spectators was separated by a railing from the area occupied by the Representatives. In the House, this railing was known as the “Bar.”

The “Bar” doubtless derived from the same word used to describe the railing in courtrooms that separates the general public from the area occupied by the judges, lawyers, jury members, and attachés in the trial of a case. The word in its judicial and parliamentary use is hundreds of years old. The proximity of the back row of Senators to the spectators, including lobbyists, served to diminish the effectiveness of the railing as a bar to mingling.

One aged Senator had a wife some years younger. As related by J. Kenneth Ballinger, then Political Editor of The Miami Herald, she would sit behind her husband, the rail between them, and would indicate how he should vote by tapping his right shoulder for “aye” and his left shoulder for “nay.”

Veteran observers tell of the time that LeRoy “Chubby” Allen, representing the then Seaboard Air Line Railroad, had crossed the rail in 1931 and seated himself in the vacant Hillsborough chair of Senate President Patrick C. Whitaker. Whitaker, on the rostrum, was referring bills to committee. A bill in which Allen was interested was read by title. Whitaker seemed to hesitate, as though trying to make up his mind to which committee the bill should be referred. Allen looked about for a friendly Senator to suggest reference to the Committee on Public Utilities, a committee loaded with members sympathetic to the railroad interest. In his anxiety, Allen said the words out loud: “Public Utilities.” The President heard him and, without a glimmer of a smile, announced: “On the motion of the Senator from Hillsborough, the bill is referred to the Committee on Public Utilities.” See BEHIND THE RAIL

J. Kenneth Ballinger, Tallahassee, House 1953-1956. Patrick C. Whitaker, Tampa, House 1925, Senate 1927-1933, 1939-1941, President 1931.

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BARBER BOARD

When it was proposed in 1931 to create a barber board, Representative Millard F. Caldwell vainly tried to kill the bill by a series of amendments he proposed: “Each member [of the board], in addition to being a practicing barber, shall also be a Doctor of Philosophy, a Doctor of Divinity, and a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, particularly Surgery.”

This amendment being defeated, Caldwell offered another requiring the fingerprints and Bertilion measurements of each applicant for a barber’s license be included among the prerequisites. This also being defeated, he next moved: “Provided, however, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the false representation of the all-inclusive benefits of hair tonics.”

Millard F. Caldwell . . . would outlaw “habitual Again he lost and again he offered an amendment, this to add conversation” “habitual conversation” to the offenses for which a license could be revoked. Again he lost. Roll calls on amendments other than Caldwell’s showed the House was closely divided. Proponents were unable to win the two-thirds for waiver of the constitutional requirement for third reading on a separate day but ultimately the bill passed, 56 to 31, with Caldwell still sufficiently opposed as to record a protest in the Journal.

Millard F. Caldwell, Jr., Milton, House 1929-1931, U.S. House of Representatives 1933-1941, Governor 1945-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1962-1969, Chief Justice 1967.

BARRON’S SECRET

Known in his day as the most powerful member of the Senate, of which he also was the dean, Dempsey J. Barron related an anecdote in 1982 which could be revealing of his legislative strength.

Barron served during World War II in the U.S. Navy in both the Pacific and European theaters. In the battle of the Coral Sea, he had the heavy cruiser Chicago shot out from under him by a Japanese torpedo plane.

This anecdote, however, concerned his duty in New Caledonia. A seaman second, he was assigned to helping a bosun’s mate provide supplies to island establishments. As the Senator related to City Editor Jay Pitts of the Panama City News-Herald, a barkeep asked the bosun for a bucket.

“Bucket, bucket, bucket, goddam,” the bosun’s mate told the barman. “Nearly everything else I could get you but a bucket...but I think I’ve got a friend who has a bucket on Dempsey J. Barron . . . one of a kind New Hebrides. I might get you one in about two weeks.”

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Barron asked the bosun’s mate when they left the bar why he did not give the man a bucket; they had a load of them on the jeep.

“Son,” the bosun’s mate answered, “if I had given him a bucket right away, he wouldn’t think a thing of it. If I bring him one in two weeks, he’ll be my friend forever.”

There were those who believed Barron gained his strength in the Legislature through the “buckets” routine: fend off the support-seekers when first approached so they would be everlastingly grateful when their request ultimately was granted.

Barron was truly one of a kind, even in his official portrait as President. Where others were depicted head-and-shoulders in presidential dignity, Barron specified he should be shown on a favorite horse.

Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

BASEBALL ON SUNDAY See GOLF ON SUNDAYS

BEHIND THE RAIL

In the Senate, going “behind the rail” was considered as being outside the Senate Chamber, so Senators seeking to avoid voting but not wanting to be absent from the session would stand behind the rail and remain silent when their name was called, even though they were present and watching. See BAR OF THE HOUSE

BELLS AND WHISTLES

The frills added to a piece of legislation generally at the behest of an individual legislator. David Fountain, insurance observer, says the term is derived from the add-ons for video and similar electronic equipment, the pause, the stop-frame, and the like. This sometimes is called “leaving the mark” so a legislator proudly may point to some words and say, “Those are mine.” The Orlando Sentinel defined bells and whistles, in a 1982 story, as the “gimmicks to make it easier to swallow an unpalatable proposal.”

BILL NUMBERS, ODD AND EVEN

In 1988, Secretary of the Senate Joe Brown and Clerk of the House John Phelps met in the House Chamber and flipped a coin to decide which chamber would use even numbers for its bills and which odd. Before the “coin flip,” bills in both chambers were serially numbered so there would be a Senate Bill 1 and a House Bill 1, each with a different legislative purpose. If a person knew only a bill’s number, they would sometimes be given the wrong information or document since they could not make an immediate distinction between the bills of the respective chambers. Now the number is all a person needs to know because the numbers used in one chamber are not used in the other. If a bill is and even-numbered, then it is a Senate bill. If odd-numbered, it is a House bill.

After several terms experimenting with the new odd-even system it was incorporated into the rules of both chambers.

Joe Brown, Senate Secreatary 1974-1996. John B. Phelps, House Clerk 1986-2006.

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BIRD DOGGING

A legislator or lobbyist intent upon the passage or defeat of a bill will devote himself to following it closely through the process, in committees and in the other house. This is known as “bird dogging” a bill.

BIRDS, THAT’S FOR THE

If a House member had said, “That’s for the birds!” during the 1919 session, he would not have been belittling a colleague’s arguments on a bill. The problem was explained in a resolution introduced by Representative Eli Futch, which said: “A species of birds known as English sparrows has infested the hall of the House of Representatives with nesting, littering and noise. Such birds are interfering with the dignity of the House in the conduct of its business. The janitor shall be instructed to take such steps as will cause all winged birds that have taken the House as an Bird dogging . . . abode and breeding place to seek such elsewhere.” The resolution failed of adoption.

Eli Futch, Gainesville, House 1918-1919.

BLACKS IN LEGISLATURE

Joe Lang Kershaw, a Democrat and, when elected, a 57-year-old civics teacher at a Coral Gables junior high school, became in 1968 the first black since 1889 to serve in the Legislature. Dade County voters sent Kershaw to the House of Representatives, where, some 30 years earlier as a student at Florida A&M University and part-time Capitol janitor, he had stood on the Speaker’s rostrum and pretended he was addressing the House.

The first black woman ever to serve in the Florida Legislature, Gwen Sawyer Cherry, was elected to the House from Dade County in 1970. She was born in Miami in 1923. A lawyer, teacher, and author, she received her law degree, cum laude, from Florida A&M Gwen Cherry . . . first University in 1965. Representative Cherry was killed in a black woman one-car automobile accident in Tallahassee on February 7, 1979.

In 1982, Representative Carrie Meek, of Miami, became the first black woman to be elected to the Senate. She was elected from a Senate district First Black Woman Senator . . . designed in the 1982 legislative apportionment to benefit the black Representative Carrie Meek, A community. Outgoing Senator Paul B. Steinberg of Miami Beach, whose D-Miami, advertises her ambition during 1980 session district was combined with another to provide the district from which Meek after announcing candidacy was elected, commented: “The Meek shall inherit the seat.” for the Senate

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Les Miller holds the distinction of being the first black member to serve as Minority Leader in both the House and Senate. Jennifer Carroll is the first female black Republican member of the House.

Joe Lang Kershaw, Miami, House 1968-1982. Gwendolny Sawyer “Gwen” Cherry, Miami, House 1970-1978. Carrie P. Meek, Miami, House 1979-1982, Senate 1982-1992, U.S. House of Representatives 1993-2003. Paul B. Steinberg, Miami Beach, House 1972-1978, Senate 1978- 1982. Lesley “Les” Miller, Jr., Tampa, House 1992-2000, Senate 2000- . Jennifer S. Carroll, Green Cove Springs, House 2003-2006.

Les Miller . . . Minority Leader in the House and Senate Jennifer Carroll…First Black Republican Woman in the House BLACKS IN LEGISLATURE DURING RECONSTRUCTION

Dr. Joe Martin Richardson, Professor of History at Florida State University, has written that blacks were of considerable importance in the Legislature during Reconstruction, though they never were in the majority.

“In the first Legislature (during Reconstruction), there were nineteen freedmen present, which was the largest number of Negroes ever sent as representatives to the Florida lawmaking body. The Negroes, combined with white Northerners, were always outnumbered. In 1868 of seventy-six legislators nineteen were freedmen, thirteen were from the North, twenty-three were white Democrats and twenty-one were white Southern loyalists. Southern born whites were always in a majority in the Florida Reconstruction legislatures. In 1868 the composition according to party was fifty-two Republicans to twenty-four Democrats. Although it has been maintained that Negroes held the balance of power in the State, it would be as logical, and perhaps more so, to say that it was held by the Southern white loyalists, who generally outnumbered Negro legislators.

“The Negroes probably exerted more power in the Senate than they did in the House. Of the twenty-four Senators, freedmen claimed three in 1868, five in 1869-1870, three in 1871-1872, five in 1873-1874, and six in 1875-1876. The number of freedmen in the House ranged from sixteen in 1868 to eight in 1876. Nutall Rise . . . scene of the blood oath There never were more than thirteen in the House after 1868. Only about thirty different freedmen served in the lower house of the legislature during the entire Reconstruction era.”

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BLOOD OATH

This was said to have been the nature of the oath taken by anti-reapportionment Senators in 1955 at the Raeburn Horne fish camp on the Aucilla River at Nutall Rise. This camp gained considerable notoriety in the Pork Chop days as the place where Senate Presidents were selected and legislation was passed or defeated long before the bills were considered in the Senate. Raeburn Horne had been a House member, a Senator, and, at the time of Nutall Rise as a center of power, was a small loan lobbyist.

Raeburn C. Horne, Madison, House 1931, 1947-1948, Senate 1939-1941.

BLOODY NOSE

When son Vincent came home from school with a bloody nose and a black eye, Representative Don Hazelton demanded to know what had happened. Vincent said he had defended his father against a schoolmate’s accusation. Responding to Hazelton’s questions, Vincent said the other boy had not charged Hazelton with being a bad legislator but with being a tricky legislator. Vincent replied: “Well, not directly, he just said he bet you had never lost a game of solitaire in your life. So I hit him.”

Donald F. Hazelton, West Palm Beach, House 1970-1978.

Donald Hazelton BLOOMER GIRL, THE

From the 1947 session until the 1973 session, a lobbyist in the public interest known popularly in her sunset years as “The Bloomer Girl” received considerable attention as she moved about the legislative halls during sessions. She was Mrs. NeIl Foster Rogers, who resided near Gainesville. Before she retired, both the House of Representatives and the Senate had honored her by the adoption of resolutions of commendation for her unpaid energies. She favored knickers, a corduroy shirt, lisle hose, and a broad- brimmed straw hat.

There was a general belief, perhaps because of the knickers, that she pedaled a bicycle between Gainesville and Tallahassee but, in a Florida Times-Union interview in 1971, Mrs. Rogers said, “Where that idea came from, I don’t know.” She acquainted legislators with her ideas on legislation, expressed single-spaced, on legal-size paper with scant margins, and in elite type. Her first campaign was against the inoculation of dogs for rabies. She believed the inoculations spread the disease. Bloomer Girl . . . for sixteen sessions A stout advocate of the rights of the individual, Mrs. Rogers on one occasion fought a bill to require servants to present a health certificate to a prospective employer. She recalled an instance when someone had died of a penicillin injection. Mrs. Rogers shrewdly composed an amendment which would have enlarged the bill to require the prospective employer similarly to have a health certificate to show to the servant. The committee guffawed,

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adopted the amendment, and killed the bill. She fought urban renewal legislation, contending this dislodged the poor from their homes. She often could be seen in legislative lobbies reading bills with the aid, because of failing eyesight, of double magnifying glasses.

BLUE BUTTER

In the 1897 House, Leon County’s Representative introduced a bill to prevent deception in the manufacture and sale of imitation butter and cheese. This was a forerunner of the years when dairymen caused passage of laws in many states prohibiting the coloring of oleomargarine, laws which existed into the 1940s.

Representative Christie’s early effort was torpedoed by the adoption of an amendment which would have given the people of Leon County the exclusive right to color butter and cheese blue. Mr. Christie withdrew his bill.

Flavius T. Christie, Miccosukee, House 1895-1897.

BLUE CHICKEN

The designation during Pork Chop days in the Florida Senate for a friend — fellow Senator, lobbyist, or other — who stayed with you through thick and thin.

No Pork Chopper, Governor LeRoy Collins also used the phrase, once inscribing a photograph to a friend as “the bluest of the blue chickens.” Collins, in a statewide campaign, gave out blue feathers to campaign supporters. Governor Collins explains: “My guess is that the phrase is some sort of derivation of ‘blue chip’ or ‘blue chipper.’ We used the blue feathers as a badge of special loyalty, a bird so rare I don’t think anybody has ever seen one. We thought this would provoke interest and talk but it is difficult to assess the actual end effect.”

The Blue Hen chicken is the State Bird of Delaware.

LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

BOUNDARY DISPUTE

A disagreement over the boundary separating Clay and Duval Counties so split the House in the 1979 session that Representative Joseph B. Allen, Jr., offered an amendment restoring the limits of his county, Monroe, to those which existed in the 1840s: roughly across half the state where Hillsborough and St. Lucie Counties now exist.

The Allen amendment was adopted and, by roll call, a motion to reconsider failed, 53 to 50. A further reconsideration would have required unanimous consent and there was objection. The bill, with the Monroe amendment, was sent to the Senate, where the bill died in committee.

Joseph B. “Joe” Allen, Jr., Key West, House 1976-1986.

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BOUNDARY “THEFT”

Among the incidents lasting in the memory of Representative James H. Kelley, who served in the 1935 session from Gulf County, is one that concerned the “theft” of a portion of Calhoun County.

As Kelley remembered in 1985, Calhoun’s representative was inclined to doze during Chamber sessions. Kelley and others prepared a bill, with the notations to show its passage, annexing that portion of Calhoun south of the Chipola River to Gulf.

Shown the politically disastrous bill, the Calhoun lawmaker was galvanized into action, going in search of Kelley, who absented himself from the Chamber. The joke was not confined to the House for before the day was over Kelley was visited by Calhoun’s Senator and its County Attorney.

James Hayward Kelley, Wewahitchka, House 1935.

“BR’ER FOX” TURLINGTON

Legislators come and go, forgotten by history, but Representative Ralph Turlington’s reputation as a strategist lasted long after he left the House and had become Commissioner of Education.

As told by Bill Mansfield of The Miami Herald in 1971, Turlington once was taking a telephone call when the Speaker urgently sent for him to help defeat a “bad bill.” Turlington hustled back and quickly prepared an amendment to “strike everything after the enacting clause” — the classic way to gut a bill.

The Speaker, not realizing that Turlington had no idea what the bill involved, immediately called on him.

“Ralph stood up,” swore a newsman, “and started talking.” He talked about motherhood, about the traditions of Florida, about the need for more debate. “We timed him,” said the newsman, “and I swear he talked 27 minutes without ever knowing what was in the bill.”

He didn’t sit down until enough absent legislators had been rounded up by the House leadership to ensure the adoption of the amendment and the bill’s defeat.

A 23-year legislative veteran, Turlington played a defensive role during his early days in the House, then controlled by conservative Ralph Turlington . . . Br’er Fox rural lawmakers. Battling against a bill to close Florida’s schools should they be integrated, he tried to convince the House that such extreme action would be playing into the hands of those who wanted integration.

Borrowing from the Uncle Remus story, Turlington said, “This would be a briar patch for the integrationist rabbits.”

This is why Turlington was known in the Legislature as Br’er Fox.

With apportionment, Turlington was able to move from the defense to the offense and, in 1967, to

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the Speakership.

Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987.

BROADCASTING, RADIO AND TELEVISION

Members of the 1957 House were warned by a red light in the Chamber when their remarks were being recorded. The warning light was a 24-inch fluorescent light tube mounted on the wooden gallery rail at the front of the east side of the Chamber. The tube was colored red with ordinary fingernail polish.

The signal was installed by George L. Thurston III, as a condition by the Committee on Rules & Calendar of allowing him to connect a wire from his office elsewhere in the Capitol to the public address circuit for the House Chamber so he could listen to and record debate without spending all his time in the Chamber.

BUBBLE

Occasionally, the Speaker may be heard requesting members to “take their conversations to the bubble.” By this, he is asking the members to leave the floor, where they may be disturbing the debates, and meet in a conference room in the rear of the Chamber. The term “bubble” derives from a meeting room to one side of the pre-1978 Chamber that had a rounded glass wall causing it to resemble a bubble. Originally, the “bubble” housed the press. See PRESS, THE (1) The Bubble as seen during Governor Claude Kirk’s speech on Opening Day CANDOR

After the passage by the 1935 House of a bill providing for equal representation of men and women on political party committees, Representative Ed Denison had this explanation entered in the Journal: “I voted ‘aye’ because my wife was in the Chamber.”

Ed. Denison, Fort Pierce, House 1933-1935.

CAPITOLS, TWO FLORIDA

For the first time in its history, Florida has two Capitol buildings. The older of the two, reopened to the public in the summer of 1982, was begun in 1839 and completed in 1845. Significant additions were completed in 1902, 1923, 1936, and 1947, and it served as the seat of government until 1978 when the newer of the buildings was completed.

When the new Capitol was authorized, state government did not make any plans for the older building. It was left to the architect to make proposals for its disposition, and he suggested either demolishing the building entirely or demolishing all parts of the structure completed after 1845.

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By the mid-1970s, however, many Floridians in and out of government were expressing their concerns about the demolition of so much of the Old Capitol. Most of these concerns centered in Tallahassee, although events would show that there was substantial agreement throughout the state. The focal point for these feelings was in the Florida Department of State where work quickly began to create a historic preservation alternative for the Old Capitol. The name “Old Capitol” was chosen in preference to “Historic Capitol” because some felt this suggested all historic events occurred only in the Old Capitol. Heading the Department then was Secretary of State Bruce Smathers, who contributed to the mobilization of public opinion by remaining in the Old Capitol after the Governor and other cabinet officers had moved to the New Capitol.

The response to this work was dramatic as individuals and groups from all parts of the state moved quickly to demonstrate their support. In the 1977 legislative session, Representative Herbert Morgan and Senator Pat Thomas introduced bills which would have preserved some portions of the Old Capitol. In 1978 a bill passed both houses, appropriating slightly more than 7 million dollars to restore the Old Capitol to its 1902 configuration. (The significance of 1902 largely could be found in the addition of a dome in that year. To many Floridians the dome symbolized the State government.)

Work on the restoration project, conducted by the Department of General Services in consultation with the Department of State, proceeded rapidly and effectively. By mid-1982 the building was again open for business as a museum of Florida government. The Department of State’s Museum of Florida History developed exhibits to recall events in the restored areas of the building.

Bruce A. Smathers, Jacksonville, Senate 1972-1974, Secretary of State 1975-1978. Herbert F. “Herb” Morgan, Tallahassee, House 1974-1986. Pat Thomas, Quincy, House 1972-1974, Senate 1974-2000, President Pro Tempore 1992-1993, President 1994.

CAT, MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A

A crisis arose early in the legislative career of Representative Frank D. Upchurch of Nassau County. The shrimpers there were confronted by a bill, introduced at the behest of the State Shell Fish Commissioner, taxing shrimp catches. (The Shell Fish Commission was a predecessor of the Department of Natural Resources.)

Because the tax was being sponsored by a popular gubernatorial administration, Upchurch knew he must unbag a trick if its passage was to be prevented.

He drafted a bill prescribing a uniform for the Shell Fish Commissioner, to consist of a blue blouse, red trousers with wide yellow stripes, a tall beaver hat with a white plume, and a sword. He then passed the draft around among fellow legislators — in strict confidence.

As Upchurch expected, the Shell Fish Commissioner soon turned up with an offer to withdraw the tax measure if the uniform bill was not introduced.

Frank D. Upchurch, St. Augustine, House 1921, Senate 1943.

CAUCUS FOR SPEAKER

So far as can be determined, the first caucus for the selection of a Speaker long in advance of the convening of the House in regular session was held at Moon Lake in Pasco County on July 23, 1938.

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Some 83 Democratic nominees had met in Jacksonville on June 1, but the objection of many of those there caused action to be postponed until Moon Lake.

When the Democratic nominees gathered at Moon Lake at 4 p.m., after lunch at Dade City, there were eight aspirants: Noah B. Butt of Brevard County, John S. Burks of Pasco, LeRoy Collins of Leon, F. Bamberg Harrell of Hamilton, Raymond Sheldon of Hillsborough, Robert L. F. Sikes of Okaloosa, Peter Tomasello of Okeechobee, and G. Pierce Wood of Liberty.

The Tampa Tribune for that morning said of the caucus: “It will be the first time in the memory of the oldest member that the election has been held in South Florida. The two leading candidates, however, are from North Florida. They are LeRoy Collins, young Tallahassee lawyer, and G. Pierce Wood of Liberty County, West Florida representative of the duPont Interests.”

The eight-column streamer in Sunday’s Tribune read: “House Picks duPont Man.”

Wood defeated Collins by 55 votes to 40. The ballots had been cast in the rustic living room of the lodge at Moon Lake Gardens.

“Members walked to the rostrum and put their votes in a straw hat as the roll was called by counties,” reported the Tribune. “Three times during the counting the vote was tied. Halfway through, however, Wood drew ahead and kept the lead until the end.”

Wood, Vice President and General Manager of the St. Joe Paper Company and its affiliated St. Joe Telephone & Telegraph Company and Apalachicola Northern Railroad, said he was “proud to be connected with the duPonts. I fought my heart out for a sales tax in 1935. There is no sense in hiding these facts. I worked for a sales tax bill providing that it would be a replacement tax.

“Since then the whole tax structure of the State of Florida has been wrecked and ruined, and a challenge is presented to the next Legislature...I refuse to be a party to putting on a sales tax as an extra load with no effort to work out more basic faults.”

In an editorial that Sunday, the Tribune said, in part: “The meet here signalized a new departure in Florida legislative procedure — the choice of the Speaker, not on the night before the session convenes, but eight months ahead of the session; which excellent idea, by the way, is the brain-child of Speaker Christie....

“Why shouldn’t this mid-summer, off-year meeting in Tampa establish a precedent, just as does the advance selection of a Speaker? Why shouldn’t it become a fixed feature of the legislative program? Let each succeeding legislature hold its Speakership Caucus in this section, with a preliminary get- together in Tampa.”

Tampa was indeed the site of many caucuses in succeeding years because of its location, facilities, and the attitude of the sponsoring business community. Caucuses in recent years have been held in Pensacola, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Miami Beach, Tallahassee, again in Tampa, and Gretna.

Noah B. Butt, Cocoa, House 1933-1941, Speaker pro tempore 1937. John S. Burks, Dade City, House 1935-1941, Speaker pro tempore 1939. LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Frank Bamberg Harrell, Jasper, House 1931-1941. Raymond Sheldon, Tampa, House 1937-1941, Speaker pro tempore 1941, Senate 1943-1949. Robert L. F. “Bob” Sikes, Crestview, House 1937-1939, U.S. House of Representatives 1941-1979. Peter Tomasello, Jr., Okeechobee, House 1929-1933, 1939, Speaker 1933. George Pierce Wood, Sumatra, House 1929-1931, 1935-1939, Speaker 1939. William McLean Christie, Jacksonville, House 1933-1939, Speaker 1937.

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CAUCUSES, OPEN AND SECRET

The question of whether balloting in caucus for designation of a Speaker should be by secret or public ballot recurs frequently.

Due to the accidental death of Speaker-designate George G. Stone of Escambia County, there was a double-barreled caucus at St. Augustine in 1966: the first to confirm the designation of Ralph Turlington of Alachua County for the 1967 session and the second to choose a designee for the 1969 session.

There were three candidates for the 1969 Speakership: Frederick H. Schultz of Jacksonville, Richard A. Pettigrew of Miami, and Robert T. Mann of Seffner (Hillsborough County). Mann had been the leading candidate for the 1969 term but when Stone died, Mann offered himself for the 1967 term only to be Caucus . . . defeated by Turlington in pledge-gathering. Thus, for Turlington, the St. Augustine caucus was only a formality. Mann’s name then was before the caucus for the 1969 designation.

As a freshman from Hillsborough County, John L. Ryals of Brandon was put to the test of an open balloting.

“I walked into that caucus,” related Ryals long afterwards, “and everybody started converging... ‘you’ve got to go with Schultz’... ‘you’ve got to stay with your home county man’... ‘you’ve got to go with Pettigrew.’

“I never had been so torn in all my life. One came by and said, ‘I’ve got all these pledges,’ and he showed me the pledges. Another came by and he said, ‘I’ve got all these pledges.’ This went on for about twenty-four hours, day and night, at that motel in St. Augustine.

“The next thing I knew, here I was, a lowly little freshman, and they were in my room. Mr. Mann had withdrawn about an hour before, so it was Mr. Schultz and Mr. Pettigrew. Everybody moved into my room, and I had a room with two single beds. Mr. Schultz was sitting on one bed and Mr. Pettigrew was sitting on the other. The room and the hall outside were jammed. All of a sudden it was showdown.

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Richard A. Pettigrew . . . “I have the Frederick H. Schultz . . . “I have the votes” votes” “Mr. Pettigrew says, ‘I have the votes.’ Mr. Schultz says, ‘I have the votes.’ And Mr. Sessums says, ‘Well, let’s count them.’ And they started counting. Mr. So-and-So is pledged to Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. So-and-So is pledged to Mr. Schultz. And they went right down the line until, all of a sudden, Mr. Pettigrew says, ‘I win, because I’ve got all the Hillsborough delegation.’ Mr. Schultz says, ‘I’m not sure you have all nine members of the Hillsborough delegation.’ Mr. Pettigrew says, ‘Yes, I do. Here is Mr. Mann’s pledge; he just conceded and gave me his pledge. Mr. Sessums gave me his pledge. Here they are, right down the line.’

“But he only had seven; he didn’t have nine. Do you know the two he didn’t have? Neither Mr. Ryals’s nor Mr. Spicola’s, and the tally was tied 37 to 37. All of a sudden everyone looked at me, and I felt not only the most lonely man but also the most important. Mr. Sessums said, ‘Who are you going to vote for?’ And I said, ‘I cast my vote for Mr. Schultz.’ And Mr. Spicola said, ‘I cast my vote for Mr. Schultz.’

“I must tell you that the next term, I was Vice Chairman of the Education Committee, a member of the Rules Committee, and I had free access to the Speaker’s office, and just about anything I wanted. Two years later, however, Mr. Pettigrew came in, and I wasn’t on Rules and I wasn’t Vice Chairman of Education.

“The point I’m making is, if you go back to the pledge system, you’re placing the freshmen in the posture I occupied, and I don’t ever want to see them placed in that position. I want a secret ballot.”

George G. Stone, Walnut Hill, House 1956-1966, Speaker pro tempore 1961. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker 1968- 1970. Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Reorganization 1977-1980. Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, Public Service Commission 1978-1981. John L. Ryals, Brandon, House 1966-1980, Speaker pro tempore 1974-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. T. Terrell Sessums, Tampa, House 1963-1974, Speaker pro tempore 1968-1970, Speaker 1972-1974. Guy W. “Butch” Spicola, Tampa, House 1966-1974, Senate 1974-1979.

CHAMBER (1939) OCCUPANCY

The House Chamber in the now demolished north wing of the Old Capitol first was occupied on April 4, 1939.

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The north wing was constructed from State and Federal money. The money was insufficient and the second floor, intended for legislative use, was left unfinished in 1938 with only a shell of the four bare walls. While it was agreed the task should be completed, no agency legally could undertake the authority of entering into contracts to do so with the legislature between sessions.

Speaker-designate G. Pierce Wood of the 1939 session appointed Representatives LeRoy Collins, J. H. Scales, and E. H. Slappey to a committee which was authorized to proceed at its discretion. The committee entered into a contract on February 7, 1939, construction commenced on February 11, and the task was substantially completed on April 4 when the House convened in the new Chamber. Gallespie Construction Company was paid $69,711.50. The architect, M. Leo Elliott of Tampa, was paid $5,231.92. New furnishings and fixtures for the Chamber cost $17,487.22. Furniture from the old Chamber was utilized in the new committee rooms and offices. The old Chamber occupied the second floor of the now demolished west wing of the Old Capitol.

As authorized by a resolution of the 1937 House, an electrical voting system was installed in the new Chamber and the American Signal Corporation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was paid $42,205.44.

A week after occupancy it became apparent that an air-conditioning system would be needed at once rather than wait until the end of the session. The House authorized the immediate installation of the system to connect with the existing pipes and ducts. This was done. Some members later in the session grumbled over working conditions, but a majority was satisfied as a resolution of complaint was voted down.

George Pierce Wood, Sumatra, House 1929-1931, 1935-1939, Speaker 1939. LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Joseph Henry Scales, Perry, House 1921, Senate 1923-1929, House 1937-1945. E. H. Slappey, Havana, House 1937-1941.

CHAMBER USE

Journals relate the varied use to which the House Chamber (four since Statehood in 1845) has been put through the years. For example: funeral services for a Senator (1879), preaching (1852), concerts (1854), lecture (1858), religious revival service (1887), the “Tournament of Love” grand ball (1870), and wedding (1969). An opportunity to hear a temperance lecture in 1885 was passed up when an amendment was offered requiring the payment of a 5-dollar fine by any member failing to attend.

CHAMBER VIOLENCE (1)

The attempt to outlaw salary-buying in the 1939 session produced filibusters in both houses. Salary- buying was the selling of wages by workers who then couldn’t get bank or other small loans.

Malcolm B. Johnson, who covered the 1939 session for the Associated Press, said the sharks who bought salaries did so at such huge discounts that there was no way ever to get money except by selling next week’s salary and next week’s and next week’s.

During a recess in the battle, late in the day before the session was to end, recounts Johnson, Senator R. Lucas Black, “a sick, cantankerous old man who held with the salary-buyers,” walked up to Senator Joe Sharit and accused him of breaking some sort of gentlemen’s agreement. Senator Spessard L. Holland, a leader of the anti-salary-buying bloc, intervened to defend Sharit. Black struck Holland “a pretty good blow” on the shoulder from behind with his cane. Holland, a much younger and vigorous man, made no defense — merely backed away.

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Salary Buyers Outlawed . . . Governor Holland signs the prohibition into law in the presence of, left to right, Senator Addison Drummond of Bonifay, Representative F. Banberg Harrell of Jasper, Senator Raeburn C. Horne of Madison, Representative L. C. “Bill” Leedy of Orlando, Speaker Daniel T. McCarty of Fort Pierce,a dn an unidentified legislator. Holland ran for Governor the next year instead of seeking reelection to the Senate. Outlawing salary- buying was part of his platform. The dignity with which he bore Black’s caning added to his prestige. He was elected. House Bill No. 1 of the 1941 session outlawed salary-buying. Holland signed it as the first completed business of the first legislative session of his administration.

It was a much better bill than the amended and adulterated one both houses had fought over so bitterly two years before. That’s the way it often turns out in the Legislature. See FILIBUSTER (3)

R. Lucas Black, Gainesville, House 1929-1931, Senate 1935-1939. Joe Sharit, Port St. Joe, Senate 1937-1939. Spessard Lindsey Holland, Bartow, Senate 1933-1939, Governor 1941-1945, U.S. Senate 1946-1971.

CHAMBER VIOLENCE (2)

Upon the successful conclusion of a three-day filibuster to prevent passage of a gasoline tax bill, Representatives J. Tom Watson and Raeburn C. Horne engaged in a fistfight, and, in the words of Representative John E. Mathews, “brought blood freely from each other. I administered first aid, the participants in the fight shook hands, and everybody was happy.” Another witness said the most severe wound was caused by Horne’s Masonic ring scraping Watson’s jaw. See FILIBUSTER (1) and HUNDRED-DAY SESSION

J. Tom Watson, Tampa, House 1931, Attorney General 1941-1949. Raeburn C. Horne, Madison, House 1931, 1947-1948, Senate 1939-1941. John Elie Mathews Sr., Jacksonville, House 1929-1931, Senate 1943-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1951-1955, Chief Justice January-April, 1955.

CHAMBER VIOLENCE (3)

In the April 10, 1998 St. Petersburg Times, Reporter Adam Smith wrote: “After a heated school vouchers debate, the two Republicans (Carlos Valdes and Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat) were literally at each other’s throats in the middle of the House Chamber. Nearly a dozen lawmakers rushed from

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their seats to pull them apart. ‘We were having a meeting of the House and ended up in a hockey game,’ Majority Leader Jim King said. Senate President Toni Jennings, after receiving a blow by blow account of Thursday’s incident from Speaker Webster said she was not worried about fisticuffs in her chamber. ‘We’re pussycats by comparison,’ she said.”

Carlos L Valdes, Miami, House, 1988-2000. Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat, Miami, House, 1994-1998. King, James E. “Jim” Jr., Jacksonville, House, 1986-1999, Senate 1999- , President 2002-2004. Toni Jennings, Orlando, House, 1976-1980, Senate 1980- 2000, President 1996-2000, Constitution Revision Commission 1997, Lieutenant Governor 2003-2006 (appointed 3-7-2003).

CHAMBERS, HOUSE

December 13, 1977, was the last day the House met in the 1939 Chamber. April 4, 1978, was the first day the House met in the 1978 Chamber.

CHAMBERS, HOUSE 2000

Speaker John Thrasher updated the House Chamber’s furnishings between the regular session of 1999 and a special session in January 2000. His new Chamber draws upon architectural elements from the 1939 Chamber and has a more traditional appearance than the post-modern 1978-1999 Chamber. The most striking addition to the 1999 Chamber is a series of 10 murals by artist Christopher Still of Tarpon Springs. The murals portray significant events and objects from Florida’s history.

John Thrasher, Orange Park, House 1992-2000, Speaker 1998-2000.

CHAMBERS, SENATE

The last day for Senate in the 1947 Chamber was December 13, 1977. The first day in the present Chamber was April 4, 1978.

CHAPLAIN

When a clergyman is designated by the presiding officer to serve for the duration of a legislative session, he is known as the chaplain. The Senate continues to have a chaplain. The House has instituted a system of using a different clergyman each day, with members nominating these to the Sergeant at Arms, whose office has been entrusted by the Speaker with the task of scheduling the clergymen. While they are paid a uniform honorarium of 25 dollars the opportunity to be “minister of the day” is so highly regarded that clergymen travel up to a thousand miles to offer a two-minute prayer. All faiths have their Senator Philip D. Beall, Sr. opportunity under the House system: pastors, priests, lay readers, and rabbis all have appeared, including, in 1974, the first woman cantor. But this was not always so. As recently as 1937 it was a matter of some political delicacy. Senators still drew for patronage jobs.

Senator Philip D. Beall, Sr, a Roman Catholic, fished from a hat the slip with “Chaplain” on it. Senator Beall, straight-of-face, opined the honor was such he believed the Pope might designate a Cardinal to serve. Other Senators urged trades, up to three or four secretaries. Beall declined. He left

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his colleagues on tenterhooks until the opening day when it was revealed he had accommodated the faith of a majority of his brethren by selecting the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pensacola to serve as chaplain. See PRAYER

Philip D. Beall Sr., Pensacola, Senate 1935-1943, President 1943.

CHINESE LEGISLATOR, FIRST

In 1962, Edmond Gong, grandson of a pigtail-wearing immigrant from China, was elected to the House after a hard campaign against a former legislator, John B. Orr, Jr. Gong’s slogan: “Give a Chinaman a Chance.” Joe Fred Gong, a Miami grocer, wanted the best education for his son, Edmond. So, he put him through Harvard, where he graduated cum laude. Then Eddie went to Hong Kong to work on an English-language newspaper. Returning to Miami, Eddie studied law at the University of Miami while working full-time as a reporter for The Miami Herald. Upon graduation, Eddie went into law practice and eventually politics.

Alone of the 16-member Dade delegation in 1965, Representative Gong opposed Governor Haydon Burns’ plan to float 300 million

Edmond Gong . . . First Chinese Legislator dollars in bonds to build roads. The Burns’ plan was rejected in a statewide referendum, and Gong promptly ran successfully for the State Senate. As a youth, Eddie was elected Governor of Florida Boys’ State and President of Boys’ Nation, 1947.

Edmond J. Gong, Miami, House 1963-1966, Senate 1966-1972. John B. Orr, Jr., Coconut Grove, House 1955-1957. Haydon Burns, Jacksonville, Governor 1965-1967.

“CHISELED IN STONE”

This phrase, meaning to give the permanency of language in the Constitution, has become commonplace in the Florida Legislature since Representative Joseph G. Kennelly, Jr., crusaded in a number of sessions beginning in 1967 for writing limits on ad valorem taxation into the Constitution. He made few if any speeches in which he failed to demand that the tax ceiling be “chiseled in stone.” Kennelly and Representative Don Nichols went to Daytona Beach to the London Symphony Orchestra and later to hear excerpts from an opera. As the boy sang his heart out to the girl in Italian, Kennelly leaned over to Nichols and said, “Nichols, do you know what he is telling her?” To which Nichols said he replied, “No, Kennelly, because I don’t understand Italian.” He then stated that he was saying to her, “Baby, we’ve got to get our ad valorem taxes down.”

Joseph G. Kennelly, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1966-1972. Donald Gilbert “Don” Nichols, Jacksonville, House 1966-1971.

CIRCLING THE WAGONS

A claims bill defeated in a prior session was introduced by a single member of the Orange County House delegation in 1982. Despite the little likelihood of the bill’s passage, the Orange County

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Commission voted to buy a newspaper advertisement criticizing the sponsor. Although the advertisement never was published, the Commission’s action changed the situation.

“This is a sovereign body that circles the wagons when a local body begins accusing its members,” opined Representative Tom Bush. And an Orange County opponent of the bill, Representative Richard Crotty, said: “When an outside force starts tampering...it’s a spirit of camaraderie up here that was violated.”

The bill passed the House but died in the Senate.

Thomas J. “Tom” Bush, Fort Lauderdale, House 1978-1982. Richard T. “Rich” Crotty, Orlando, House 1978-1990, Senate 1990- 1992.

CLERK/SECRETARY CONVENING HOUSE

It was the custom after Statehood for the Secretary and the Clerk from the preceding session to convene their respective bodies at their first meeting and preside over the election of new presiding officers. Because of the holdover of half of the Senators, the Secretary of the preceding session would preside only if the President or President Pro Tempore of the past session were absent. In the House, the terms of all members having expired, the Clerk has the responsibility for presiding. However, traditionally he delegates this duty to a former Speaker or some other person, including non-members.

In 1935, Mrs. Emma Sechrest Smith convened the House. This came about through the death of Frank Webb, who had been Clerk of the 1933 House. Supreme Court Justice Fred H. Davis of Tallahassee, the 1927 Speaker, declared Mrs. Smith, as the Assistant Clerk in 1933, should preside. Mrs. Smith presided during the taking of Some Things Never Change . . . The Clerk of the House, J. G. Kellum the oath by the members of the new House and the (right), and two of his assistants at their Chamber desk in 1905 election of the new Speaker. Mrs. Smith was Assistant Clerk for six terms. Her office then was filled by election by the members. Between sessions, she worked in advertising for the State with the Florida National Exhibit. She resided in Jacksonville until 1942, when she moved to Fort Myers, traveling the South as agent for a company acquiring mineral rights.

Joe Brown, as Secretary, convened the Organization Session of the Senate in 1980 and John Phelps, as Clerk, convened the Organization Session of the House in 1994.

Mrs. Emma Sechrest Smith, Assistant Chief Clerk 1929-1939. Frank Webb, House Chief Clerk 1927-1933. Fred H. Davis, Tallahassee, House 1921-1927, Speaker 1927, Attorney General 1927-1931, Supreme Court Justice 1931-1937, Chief Justice 1933- 1935. Joe Brown, Senate Secretary 1974-1996. John B. Phelps, House Clerk 1986-2006 .

CLINIC

A clinic, staffed during legislative sessions by physicians, was established in 1967. The year-round staff of a registered nurse, a nurse’s assistant, and a secretary is under the jurisdiction of the Joint

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Legislative Management Committee.

The clinic came into existence because of the FMA’s reaction to a resolution (CS/HR 1679) adopted by the 1965 House designating Dr. Harry Raitano of Tampa, a naturopathic physician, as “official House doctor.” Dr. Raitano had, as a volunteer, ministered to the needs of legislators, lobbyists, and others during sessions since 1957 while serving as lobbyist for the naturopathic profession. He had no base but used whatever office was nearby when a “patient” appeared.

The Legislature, under the urging of Governor LeRoy Collins, had prohibited in 1959 the licensing of naturopathic physicians, grandfathering those then practicing in Florida.

The Florida Medical Association schedules each physician’s service at the clinic, paying for a night’s lodging in Tallahassee but not the travel expense. Most of the treatment is minor, and perhaps novel for the narrowly based specialists who are among the clinic attendants. An orthopedic surgeon or a psychiatrist may treat a sore throat.

The program could be regarded as unexcelled public relations for the FMA. Each physician is introduced to the House by the Speaker, then sits with members from his hometown and has freedom to rove about the Chamber.

The clinic serves legislators and staff but also other state officials and employees and ailing travelers.

A new dimension was added in 1979 when Dennis L. Jones, a St. Petersburg chiropractor, became a Representative and volunteered as the first of his profession to serve in the clinic. The clinic’s then director, Delma Hart, R.N. obtained the special equipment Dr. Jones needed. This equipment, including a 3,000-dollar padded hydraulic table, was donated by equipment companies and the Florida Chiropractic Association.

LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Dennis L Jones, D.C., St. Petersburg, House 1978-2000, Speaker pro tempore 1998-2000, Senate 2002-2006.

CLOTHESPIN TO HOLD NOSE

During the 1967 session, Representative Gordon W. Wells of Escambia County was the prime sponsor of CS for CS for HB 181, a bill to increase the State sales tax by one cent, with all proceeds to be used to reduce property taxes.

Wells maneuvered his bill through four committees to a stand-off on the floor. Representative Louis Wolfson of Dade County controlled many of Dade’s votes. A trade-off was negotiated by which Wells would swing enough Panhandle votes to pass Wolfson’s Medicaid bill.

Gordon W. Wells

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Wells wore a clothespin in his coat lapel as a sign that he would use the clothespin to hold his nose when he voted for Wolfson’s bill. Both bills passed the House. The Senate derailed Wells’ bill and passed Wolfson’s.

Wells preserved the clothespin, labeled “Medicaid,” until 1985 when he turned it over to the Clerk of the House for the legislative archives.

Gordon W. Wells, Pensacola, House 1962-1968. Louis Wolfson II, Miami, House 1963-1972.

CLOTHESPIN VOTING See VOTING RECORD, PERFECT

COCKROACHES See PORKCHOPPERS

COMMITTEE, AS THE OPPOSITION

Fuller Warren figures in many legislative anecdotes. He was elected to the 1927 House of Representatives from Calhoun County before he was 21 and while a student at the University of Florida. Later, he represented Duval County in the 1939 House. He earned statewide renown and a significant plank in his gubernatorial platform by seeking to bar livestock from highways by requiring cattlemen to fence their pastures. By 1939, there was substantial support for a fence law, mainly in urban counties. What happened to the fence bill at a committee hearing became a story which epitomized the importance of having a committee on your side. In part, here is how former Governor Warren recalled the situation: “Dan McCarty and I had jointly introduced the fence bill. I was presenting witnesses in favor of it before the livestock committee. When I finished, in a gesture of fairness, I suggested to Chairman [Joe] Peeples that the opposition ought to be heard. ‘Uncle Joe’ replied: ‘This committee is the opposition.’ — and so it was.”

Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House 1939, Governor 1949-1953. Daniel Thomas “Dan” McCarty, Jr., Fort Pierce, House 1937-1941, Speaker 1941, Governor 1953. Joe H. Peeples Sr., Citrus Center, House 1929-1933, 1937-1941.

COMMITTEE GROUPS

Speaker Doyle Conner first arranged committees into groups in 1957. Previously, they had met at “the call of the chair,” which often led to time conflicts for members and problems obtaining a quorum. The system has remained largely intact since then.

Doyle E. Conner, Starke, House 1950-1960, Speaker 1959, Commissioner of Agriculture, 1961-1991.

COMMITTEES, NUMBER OF

The number of committees and their names change with virtually every biennial leadership. While the House and Senate adopt both the number and names in the biennial Rule revision, the Speaker and the President dictate the pattern which they believe will best suit their purposes.

For some years the number of committees matched the number of Democrats serving a second or more term, so that each Democrat with two or more terms could be appointed a committee chairman or vice chairman. Political recognition, in considerable measure, accounts for the 76 committees to accommodate 95 House members in 1931. The Senate, with 38 members, had 40 committees in that

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year.

With the reorganization of the Legislature in 1967, the first serious effort was made to reduce the number of committees to 33 with 119 House members and 25 committees with 48 Senators. The smallest number came in the 1975/1976 sessions, with 18 committees for 120 House members and 11 committees for 40 Senators.

COMPUTER USAGE

The first House use of a computer came in September 1964, under the aegis of Speaker E. C. Rowell. This developed bill status for the 1965 session with manual coding and punched-card input. Florida’s legislative usage was the second in the nation, Kansas being the first.

This IBM installation enabled the Clerk of the House to do away with the cumbersome, oversize ledgers which, for practical purposes, always were a day behind in bill status even though the clerk responsible for posting stayed until midnight or later. Members, staff, and the public followed bills through these ledgers. Up-to-the-minute bill tracking information is now available on the Internet.

In 1967, the Florida Legislature was the first to utilize real-time, on-line communications for a bill history and information retrieval system. This was followed in 1973 with the Legislature acquiring its own computer. Previously, the House shared an executive department mainframe with eight state agencies.

When Representative Marshall S. Harris became Chairman in 1970 of the Committee on Appropriations, he used the computer for an instant check on witnesses who might be tempted to misstate figures. Harris would pass a note to a staffer seated behind him at the committee table and back. Before a witness would leave, figures might come contradicting the sums he had given the committee. Not many were embarrassed before all learned to be careful.

The General Appropriations Bill went on the computer in 1972.

In 1991, The Florida House was the first to provide its members with a computer screen on each Chamber desk so that the text of pending amendments could be displayed.

Members now use computers to access all manner of information about legislative business both in their districts and in Tallahassee.

E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965. Marshall S. Harris, Miami, House 1966-1974.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

A conference committee is actually two committees one from each house, meeting together to attempt to work out language acceptable to the Senate and House on some measure upon which agreement could not be reached through amendments.

A majority of the members of the committee from each house must agree before the conference committee report may be submitted to the Senate and House. Neither house is obligated to accept the report but usually they do since the alternative could be the failure of the legislation for that session.

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House members usually know the bill before a conference committee better than their Senate counterparts. This results from the fact that Senators must cope with a larger number of bills by reason of their fewer number. House members, with narrower responsibilities, usually have greater familiarity with the bill. This sometimes gives the House conferees an advantage.

A conference report differs in importance from the vote in the House and Senate on the original bill because the vote on the conference report is for keeps. A conference report must be taken or left. It cannot be amended. If rejected, a conference report usually will be recommitted to the conference committee for another try at adjusting the differences.

CONFUSION

“You’re confused,” replied Representative Ben C. Williams to Representative Robert T. Mann in 1967 debate. “You’re confused, like the little boy who dropped his bubble gum on the hen house floor.” See MANNISMS

Ben C. Williams, Port St. Joe, House 1962-1968. Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, Public Service Commission 1978-1981.

CONSCIENCE, ONE MAN’S

Florida would have been one of the first states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment if Jerry Thomas of Riviera Beach, as President of the 1972 Senate, had not blocked consideration there of the House-passed concurrent resolution.

In a letter to the Clerk of the House a few months before Thomas’s death in 1980, he related the sequence of events which had far-reaching ramifications, including the boycotting of Florida by many associations which otherwise would have held conventions here.

Thomas said Hawaii had ratified the Equal Rights Amendment within hours of its passage by Congress.

“Jeannie and I were driving to the Capitol early that morning and heard about it on the car radio. Inasmuch as I authored legislation providing for ‘equal pay for equal work,’ a constitutional amendment allowing women to sit on juries of condemnation and legislation allowing women to serve on juries without prior registration, ERA seemed like a natural for me.

“Later in the day I had the appropriate legislation drawn and succeeded in having over two-thirds of the Senate membership sign the measure.

“Before submitting the bill I revisited the State Constitution and found that it prohibited the Legislature from ratifying an amendment to the U.S. Constitution until there had been an intervening election of the Legislature; consequently, I withheld the introduction on the basis that it was constitutionally precluded from consideration.

“Although the House of Representatives was made aware of this prohibition, they overwhelmingly passed the measure. I well remember speaking to Representative Don Reed and saying since he was a Republican conservative, I did not understand how he could support a measure that flew in the face of a constitutional prohibition. His response in essence was, ‘you’re right Jerry, but it’s a popular measure and I know that you’ll take care of it when it gets to the Senate.’

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“In responding to an inquiry from the floor I advised that the constitutional prohibition would preclude any consideration of the measure by the Senate. Subsequently, and undoubtedly the first time in the history of our Legislature, the Speaker of the House together with some of his House colleagues and one Senator entered a suit in a federal court against the President of the Senate for prohibiting consideration of legislation (that would obviously be ratified).

“The one Senator who joined with House members subsequently took the floor and apologized and said that he did not understand that what he agreed to was to sue the President of the Senate. I accepted his apology and said I could readily understand his misconception on the matter since he was a Harvard law graduate.

“The matter was promptly (48 hours, I believe) considered by a federal court in Tampa and the Attorney General represented me. The federal judge thought the matter to be of such magnitude that he decreed it should be heard by a federal tribunal (three judges). Since the tribunal could not be convened before the Legislature adjourned, the ERA measure failed of adoption.

“When the three-man tribunal did meet, they struck that provision of the State Constitution. It is unfortunate they struck this provision because one must remember that until a few years ago the Legislature did not meet until every two years so there was no dire need for quick ratification of a constitutional amendment. Further, the merit of that constitutional provision speaks for itself since ERA has not since passed the Florida Legislature and I, like others, as an original proponent of the measure came to understand it and became an opponent.

“It has been said by anti-ERA proponents that the only reason ERA has not been ratified by the required states is because the Florida Legislature failed of its adoption since many other states would have followed the progressiveness that Florida has earned as a legislative body in the past decade and a half.”

Jerry Thomas, Riviera Beach, House 1961-1963, Senate 1965-1972, President 1970-1972, U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury 1976. Donald H. Reed Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

COUGH, A HISTORIC

Representative Jones of Nassau County was excused in 1919 “for the balance of the day because of his cough.” Jones is forgotten by history but his cough remains in the Journal. Not stated is whether a colleague suggested Jones absent himself.

J. Hampton Jones, Callahan, House 1918-1919, 1923.

COUNCILS

Speaker Dan Webster incorporated “councils” as part of a larger revision of the House Rules adopted at the 1996 Organization Session. Their purpose was to oversee the legislative policy-making for committees with certain jurisdictions. As Speaker Webster put it, they were created “to flatten the pyramid of power” and enable more members, not just a small leadership group, to make decisions about what should be heard on the floor of the House. Speaker Webster . . . first to use the council system

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Councils have existed in some form in all succeeding terms except for 2002-2004.

Daniel Webster, Orlando, House 1980-1998, Speaker 1996-1998, Senate 1998-2006.

COUNTY ABOLISHED

Lacy Mahon remembers when a member prone to napping through floor sessions awoke to find all of his colleagues laughing. The joke was on him. It seems that while he was nodding they had abolished his county. The member successfully moved to reconsider the action.

William Lacy Mahon, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1953-1956.

COURTHOUSE STEPS, ON THE

As the 1927 House was about to pass a bill requiring physicians to certify that applicants for marriage licenses were free from venereal disease, Representative Fielding L. D. Carr of Hillsborough County offered this amendment: “And said examination shall take place at noon on the court house steps.”

The sponsor of the bill, Representative William Alexander MacKenzie of Lake County, a physician, obviously found no humor in the amendment for he promptly and successfully moved to lay the Carr amendment on the table. The bill passed, 57 to 12, with Carr voting “yea.”

Incidentally, Speaker Fred H. Davis of Leon County, afterwards Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, was among the 12 “nay” votes, recording in the Journal his belief the bill was “useless” as venereal disease was the result of “illicit sexual intercourse and not the result of after marriage relations.”

Fielding L. D. Carr, Tampa, House 1927. William Alexander MacKenzie, Leesburg, House 1923-1927. Fred Henry Davis, Tallahassee, House 1921-1927, Speaker 1927, Attorney General 1927-1931, Supreme Court Justice 1931-1937, Chief Justice 1933- 1935.

CROCODILE CITY

As time passed, some citizens found “Alligator” distasteful as the name of the seat of Columbia County. They caused the 1858 Senate to pass a bill changing its name to Lake City. In the House, a puckish member moved to amend by substituting “Crocodile” for “Lake.” Fortunately for the Lake City boosters, the amendment failed.

DANCES, PROPOSED BAN ON

The 1921 House dallied with a bill to prohibit “the dancing in public places of the popular dances commonly known as the ‘shimmy-she-wobbles,’ ‘buzzard lope,’ ‘chicken switch,’ ‘Philadelphia twist,’ ‘turntable gallop,’ ‘cheek-to-cheek,’ ‘rabbit hop,’ ‘shimmy-shaker,’ ‘koochie-koochie,’ ‘flapdoodle back slide,’ ‘donkey wiggle,’ ‘high kicker cake walk,’ or any other similar lewd, lascivious or immoral dances, wiggle or motion.”

The bill had been introduced by a West Florida Representative at a constituent’s request. Likely, he was startled when the House whisked the bill to the Calendar without the customary reference to committee and then, in a further extraordinary step, ordered its floor consideration at a special day and

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hour.

In fact, the member may have felt he was in for a difficult time from humorists among his colleagues for, before the time for consideration arrived, he withdrew the bill.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS

A replica of the Dead Sea Scrolls was presented at the 1980 session to Senate President Philip D. Lewis of West Palm Beach by Yuval Metser, Consul General for Israel. Remarked one Senator: “That’s the first document to come through here we haven’t amended.” Actually, Donn Dughi, United Press International photographer, was the source of the quip. He made the comment to Senator Warren S. Henderson.

Philip D. “Phil” Lewis, West Palm Beach, Senate 1970-1980, President 1978-1980. Warren S. Henderson, Venice, Senate 1963- 1966, House 1966-1967, Senate 1967-1984.

DE-GORDONIZE

Shirley Correll, State Director of the Pro-Family Forum, declared in 1982 that “it would be very helpful if we could de-Gordonize Florida.” She coined this verb using the name of Senator Jack Gordon, chief among the “humanist”-oriented legislators singled out for defeat by pro-family groups.

Jack D. Gordon, Miami Beach, Senate 1972-1992, President Pro Tempore 1982-1984.

Jack Gordon . . . “de-Gordonize Florida” DEMON RUM

In voting upon a bill to regulate the sale of intoxicating beverages, Representative Harvell of Santa Rosa County explained his vote by a statement in the 1901 Journal which concluded with these words:

Rum will scorch and sear the brain, Rum will rend the heart with pain, Rum will blot the flesh with fire And eternal thirst inspire.

Rum will clothe one with rags — Make you walk a crooked path; Change your meat to naked bones, And to wrath will change your gentle tones.

Rum will rob you of all sense, Rum will rob the purse of pence, Rum will rob the mouth of food, And the soul of heavenly good.

Rum the jails with men will fill, And the dungeon’s gloomy cell; It rouses passion’s deadly hate, 1907 House of Representatives, J. H. Harvell, 5th from left (top And pours its curses o’er the State. row)

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But if the dispensary bill passes, Social drinking will meet its fate, And I therefore take Great pleasure in voting yea.

The bill passed the House but the Senate gave it short shrift with adoption of an amendment to strike the enacting clause, offered when the bill was taken up. It all happened so quickly that at the next daily session a member inquired as to the status of the bill.

J. H. Harvell, Bagdad, House 1899-1907, 1921-1923.

DESIGNEES

One Speaker-designate has been defeated in an intervening election for a district seat and one President-designate has been defeated.

There is an impression that Ken Smith of Perry was Speaker-designate at the time of his defeat for reelection in 1970 from the four-county district of Taylor, Jefferson, Madison, and Lafayette counties. In an ongoing contest with Terrell Sessums of Tampa, Smith likely had a majority of the Democratic pledges but the caucus for designation of the Speaker to serve in 1973 and 1974 had not been held. Left unopposed, Sessums won.

Although not formally designated by the Democratic Caucus, Sam Bell of Ormond Beach was the only remaining Democratic candidate for Speaker for the 1990-1992 term. He achieved this status after only two or three days of campaigning among the Democratic members. Bell was defeated in 1988 for reelection to his seat by Dick Graham; however, the Speakership was retained by Volusia County when T.K. Wetherell of Daytona Beach filled the vacancy left by Bell’s defeat

Defeat of the Senate President-designate

Senator Harry E. King of Winter Haven had been designated for President of the 1957 Senate but was defeated for renomination from the 7th District (Polk County) in 1956. As set forth by Justice Campbell Thornal in the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion of July 25, 1958, the facts were:

“In the latter part of 1955, King suspected that opposition was brewing for the 1956 spring primary. One of the rumored opponents was State Representative Boone D. Tillett. In late October or early November 1955, King approached Tillett in what appears to have been an effort to discourage the latter from entering the Senate race. This initial conference set in motion one of the most bizarre transactions that has come to light in the history of Florida politics.

Harry E. King . . . doomed Presidency “After several conferences back and forth it was finally agreed between the two that King would pay Tillett the sum of ten thousand dollars to keep the latter out of the Senate race. At the outset it appeared to be Tillett’s notion that he would not reveal the scheme until

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after the 1956 spring primaries. He apparently lost control of the situation when he reported the affair to the State Attorney in Tallahassee, as we shall see.

“The ultimate arrangement was that in exchange for the ten thousand dollars, Tillett would deliver to King certain photographs and affidavits that King felt would have been damaging to him politically. In addition, it was agreed that Tillett would sign a statement announcing he would not enter the Senate race.

“They finally agreed to exchange documents for money in the vicinity of King’s citrus grove, eight miles out of Babson Park, in Polk County, on the night of February 4, 1956. They there burned the photographs and affidavits.”

Tillett apparently advised both State Attorney William D. Hopkins of Tallahassee and Reeves Bowen, head of the Criminal Division of the office of the Attorney General, of the plot. The ensuing ramifications brought about King’s defeat for reelection.

Death of the House Speaker-designate

Speaker-designate George G. Stone of Walnut Hill, Escambia County, was killed April 1, 1966, in an automobile accident near Pensacola. Stone had been designated on April 9, 1965, to serve as Speaker at the 1967 session. Meeting in caucus at St. Augustine on June 28, 1966, the Democratic nominees chose Ralph D. Turlington as successor to Stone. George Stone . . . Speaker designate killed in auto accident See CAUCUS

Ken Smith, Perry, House 1960-1962, 1964-1970. T. Terrell Sessums, Tampa, House 1963-1974, Speaker pro tempore 1968-1970, Speaker 1972-1974. Samuel P. Bell III, Ormond Beach, House 1974-1988. Richard S. “Dick” Graham, Ormond Beach, House 1988-1992. T.K. Wetherell, Daytona Beach, House 1980-1992, Speaker 1990-1992. Harry Eubank King, Winter Haven, Senate 1941-1956. Boone D. Tillett, Jr., Lake Wales, House 1955-1956. George G. Stone, Walnut Hill, House 1956-1966, Speaker pro tempore 1961. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987.

DIVORCE SHORTCUT

Representative George Firestone offered the House a short cut in 1971 as debate began on a divorce reform bill.

Cut out 13 of the bill’s 14 pages, he suggested, and insert: “A proceeding for the dissolution of marriage shall be instituted by a simple pronouncement of repudiation and repayment of the dowry. A husband may repudiate his wife by turning toward the direction of the Senate and repeating three times the words, ‘I divorce thee.’

“The beauty of it is the simplicity in applying it,” the Miami Democrat explained from the floor. It eliminates the need for over-crowding our

George Firestone . . . divorce courts. It eliminates the need for attorney’s fees.” shortcut.

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Firestone said he took the basic idea from the Moslem Koran, and added the Florida Senate because of its availability to the public during its around-the-state committee meetings of that period. House Speaker Richard Pettigrew ruled the amendment out of order.

George Firestone, Miami, House 1966-1972, Senate 1972-1978, Secretary of State 1979-1987. Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Reorganization 1977- 1980.

“DOCTOR OF DOUBLE TALK”

The 1977 House “adopted” a joke resolution declaring Representative John R. Culbreath to be a Doctor of Double Talk after he urged the passage of a pari-mutuel bill in these words: “Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House, I joined Mr. Ryals in having a bill, which has to be passed the third time. This was a bill of timing. You passed it twice before but unfortunately the Governor signed the first bill, the second bill first, instead of the second bill last, which preceded Chapter 75, that we abolished for the first bill that we put behind before we put it in front. Please pass the bill!”

John R. Culbreath, Brooksville, House 1967-1978. John L. Ryals, Brandon, House 1966-1980, Speaker pro tempore 1974-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

DOG AND PONY SHOW

The name derisively given to a committee making the rounds of the state to solicit public opinion of a matter before the committee.

DOG WON’T HUNT, THAT

An outdoorsman’s way of saying he doesn’t believe a piece of legislation will pass.

Senator W. D. Childers is credited with introducing the phrase to the Florida legislative lexicon.

Wyon D. “W. D.” Childers, Pensacola, Senate 1970-2000, President 1980-1982.

DOGHOUSE DEMOCRATS . . . that dog won’t hunt This was a phrase coined by Bill Cox as Tallahassee correspondent for the Miami News to describe a group of Senators who fared poorly under several presidential administrations in the 1970s. Among the Doghouse Democrats from Miami were Bob Graham, afterwards Governor, and George Firestone, afterwards Secretary of State. However, Cox did not get the phrase into print as the News’ copy editor discarded it as “too jazzy.” Martha Musgrove, then Tallahassee correspondent for the Palm Beach Post, picked it up and the Post popularized it.

D. Robert Graham, Miami Lakes, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, Governor 1979-1987, U.S. Senate 1987-2004. George Firestone, Miami, House 1966-1972, Senate 1972-1978, Secretary of State 1979-1987.

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DOG TIED UP

“You can’t catch a rabbit with your dog tied up,” advised Rep. Allan Bense while urging the passage of an economic development package.

Allan George Bense, Panama City, House 1998-2006, Speaker 2004-2006.

DON’T KNOW HOW IT GOT OUT ON YOU

O’Neal Levy had been a developmentally delayed child but he achieved public respect and affection in Tallahassee. Members first elected him as a page in the 1937 House. He served as a page there and in the Senate until his death in 1967. Thus, two or three generations of politicians from all over Florida knew O’Neal. As Editor Malcolm B. Johnson of the Tallahassee Democrat wrote at the time of O’Neal’s death: “He served them, amused them — sometimes disconcerted them. But when they got used to his uncontrollable, spasmodic gestures, they accepted him as a part of the scene.”

Once, or maybe twice, he turned the tables on Senator Henry Murphy or Senator W. A. Shands or maybe both in different years. O’Neal had been backed into a corner outside the Senate Chamber and challenged: “You used to be a friend of the Senate. Now that you’re a House page, I hear you’re telling people the Senators are a bunch of crooks and thieves!” O’Neal gravely replied: “No sir, Senator, I didn’t say that. I don’t know how it got out on you.” Senators didn’t tease O’Neal much after that.

Henry Garrison. Murphy, Zolfo Springs, Senate 1933-1939, President Pro Tempore 1935. William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957.

DOUBLE OATH

Gene Hodges, a member of the House since 1972, again took the oath just before noon on Tuesday, November 22, 1988, and then resigned so he could take the oath as a member of the Parole Commission two hours later.

Gene Hodges, Cedar Key, House 1972-1988.

DRESSES DELAYED PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM

Senate use of a public address system was delayed a number of sessions because of an incident that occurred during a trial installation of a microphone on the President’s rostrum for the 1931 session.

The President, Pat Whitaker, had left the chore of presiding to another Senator so he could attend to some duty in his office. While away, the Senate became snarled in a parliamentary sense on some matter of importance to the President. In that Senate Chamber (1923-1945), the spectators’ gallery was faced by the President’s rostrum. As dresses shortened, this proved something of a distraction to those who faced the gallery — anyone on the President’s rostrum and among the legislative newsmen. When President Whitaker learned of the problem that day, he rushed back into the Chamber and bounded up the steps of the rostrum. Then, in what he intended for immediate hearing but was amplified for all to hear, he snapped: “...[expletive deleted], if you’d keep your eyes on the Senate instead of the gallery, you wouldn’t get us all in trouble!”

The microphone was removed after that day’s session, not to be returned for some 10 years.

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Patrick C. Whitaker, Tampa, House 1925, Senate 1927-1933, 1939-1941, President 1931.

DRUNKENNESS, DEFINITION

Claude Pepper was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from Taylor County before going on to Congress. As Senator Pepper once wrote, a very serious, sober-minded advocate of prohibition from Gilchrist County finally got up for consideration in the House a bill to define drunkenness due to some apparent defect in the law at that time on the subject.

When his bill was called, those present could just see him almost swelling with satisfaction at the prospect of an early passage of his bill upon which he expected, no doubt, to make good capital with the prohibitionists of Trenton and thereabouts.

Some of the members of the House, however, sensing the possible humor of the situation offered an amendment running something like this: “He is not drunk who from the floor can rise to drink once more; but he is drunk who upon the floor prostrate lies and can neither drink nor rise.”

The Speaker, being in on the matter, put the question before the author of the bill had a chance to protest. The Gilchrist County Representative was flabbergasted but still thought that the author of the amendment would get no support. But as the voice roll call went “aye, aye, aye,” he got redder and redder and more and more embarrassed.

Finally, when the roll call was about half finished and every vote was “aye,” he got up from his seat, walked down the aisle, took his hat off a hook at the rear of the Chamber and stalked out.

He was the most mortified fellow Pepper had ever seen, with his hopes of appealing to the prohibition vote utterly lost and with the Chamber in an uproar of laughter. Of course, after the amendment was adopted, the motion was reconsidered.

Claude D. Pepper, Perry, House 1929, Tallahassee, U. S. Senate 1937-1951, Miami, U.S. House of Representatives 1963-1989.

DRY BONES

Representative A. M. Wilson, a second-termer from Manatee County, was hailed before a select committee in 1915 to explain why, as correspondent for the Manatee River Journal, he had written this: “The shame and disgrace of drunken law makers at a critical time like this, is a reproach upon the good people of the State. But this will be an eye-opener to decent people all over Florida, and such a shaking of the dry bones has not been seen in Florida as we shall witness during the next general primary election.”

Mr. Wilson’s assurance that “no reflection was intended upon the House of Representatives, nor upon any member thereof,” was accepted by the committee. Mr. Wilson served in the 1917 Senate.

Augustus Marion Wilson, Manatee, House 1913-1915, Senate 1917.

DUELS, POLITICAL

Dueling was not an uncommon activity in pre-Civil War Florida although the Legislative Council as early as 1832 had outlawed both duels and the branding of a man as a coward for refusing to accept

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a challenge.

Yet, the most famous encounter involved early Florida political leaders. Leigh Read was a member of the Legislative Council from Leon County. He was a General of the Florida Militia during Indian warfare. He also was a signer of the St. Joseph Constitution of 1839, which included a prohibition against anyone holding a public office who participated in a duel. This prohibition was invoked against not only the duelists but seconds and other persons “who shall in any manner aid or assist in such duel.” The prohibition in modified form remained in the Constitution until the revision of 1968.

Brown’s Hotel . . . Known variously as the Brown, Morgan, and City Hotel, this was the scene of political intrigue for a half-century. It was situated on the site of the present House Office building.

General Read’s antagonist was Augustus Alston, who, while not a member of the Legislative Council, was a leader of the Whigs engaged then in an abrasive contest with General Read and other Democrats for political supremacy. Challenged more than once by Whig legislators, Read responded to being posted as a coward by saying that if he must fight, he would take on Alston, whom he described as the “bulldog” of the Whigs. Alston obliged with a challenge. Having the choice of weapons, Read selected a “yager,” a heavy pistol with a quick trigger. To evade the law, the seconds chose a place north of Tallahassee just across the boundary in Georgia.

As reconstructed by Searle Martyn, the action on December 12, 1839, was this: “The men stood back to back, their ‘yagers’ ready. At a command, each stepped forward 10 paces. They were to turn and fire at the count of four. But at ‘four,’ Alston had not completed his turn before his weapon involuntarily was fired harmlessly into the ground. When Read turned, he aimed deliberately and fired. Alston fell to the ground, killed instantly.”

Alston’s friends claimed Read should have held his fire. Read’s friends said death was the chance each duelist took and Read’s action was fair. Alston’s sister was said to have caused the slug from his body to be molded again into a bullet and sent as a symbol of revenge to Alston’s brother, Willis, then living in either New Orleans or Texas. Sometime later, Read was dining with friends in Brown’s Hotel, across from the Capitol on the site of the present House wing of the Capitol. “It’s

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Alston!” cried someone, as a cloaked man entered the room, shot Read in the shoulder, and slipped away. With the wounded Read still in the dining room as friends sought to ease the wound, Willis Alston returned, stabbed Read, and again escaped. Read recovered from those assaults.

He was the target of another unsuccessful attack later. On January 6, 1840, “prevented by the state of my wound,” General Read declined the honor of serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives, writing the House that he regarded his election “as an indignant reprobation of the murderous attempt to violate the rights of the people by an assault upon one of their representatives.”

Dueling Challenge . . . to General Leigh Read from William Tradewell Read’s luck ran out on April 27, 1841, when he was mortally wounded by shotgun charges fired from ambush. Willis Alston, convicted of Read’s murder, freed himself from the Tallahassee jail and escaped to Texas. There a physician, lately from Tallahassee, denounced Willis a fugitive. The physician was shot to death, and friends of the physician lynched Willis Alston.

Legislative friends of Read passed a bill giving his name to the county of Mosquito. Governor Richard K. Call approved the act on February 6, 1842, but through some misadventure, the law never appeared on the books. A contemporary map does show “Leigh Read County” — including the present counties of Orange, Volusia, and Lake.

Leigh Read, Tallahassee, Legislative Council 1837, Constitutional Convention 1839, Legislative Council (House) 1840. Richard Keith Call, Tallahassee, Legislative Council 1822-1823, U.S. Congress Territorial Delegate 1823-1825, Territorial Governor 1836- 1839, 1841-1844.

EJECTED FROM PRISON

Two members of the 1874 Assembly (as the House then was called) had been appointed to inspect the State Prison. They complained they were “without any cause, forcibly ejected” by order of the Warden, who happened also to be Speaker.

Malachi Martin

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Malachi Martin, Gadsden, House 1873-1877, Speaker 1875-1877.

ENGROSSING CLERK MAKES GOOD

In 1921, 16-year-old Richard Ervin was elected Engrossing Clerk of the House of Representatives. He went on to become Attorney General and a Justice of the Supreme Court.

EXPLANATION OF VOTE, WHY NOT TO FILE

Ralph Turlington once counseled Bill Birchfield to refrain from filing an “explanation of vote” in the Journal. Turlington said: “Your vote will never change but you might come up with a better reason for voting that way.”

Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987.

EXPULSION (1)

J. Colin English, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (the title of the office was changed to Commissioner of Education in 1968), was “denied the privilege of the floor and the gallery of the Senate” by Senate Resolution 10, adopted May 18, 1943. This followed a fracas in Superintendent English’s office involving Senator Raymond Sheldon. The resolution stated that Sheldon had been requested by English to come to his office. With English when Sheldon arrived, were members of the school boards of Palm Beach and Highlands counties, the Secretary of the Florida Education Association, and the Director of the Department’s Textbook Division. “…very shortly after the conference commenced, Mr. English remonstrated in an angry manner about statements the Senator had made in debate on Colin English, Superintendent of the floor of the Senate and called him a liar, Public Instruction . . . denied the which remark precipitated a personal encounter privilege of the floor and gallery of the Senate between Mr. English and Senator Sheldon, during which Mr. Robert D. Dolley, a State employee and a subordinate of Mr. English, rushed in and seized Senator Sheldon by the throat and some other member of the conference seized Senator Sheldon by the arm and such parties used a great deal more force than was reasonably Raymond Sheldon . . . seized by the necessary to stop the fight.” The Senate absolved Sheldon, “censored throat (sic) and condemned” English. English, by letter, apologized. The Senate also initiated an investigation of textbook purchases. Subsequently, both English and Sheldon were unsuccessful candidates for governor but not in the same election.

Observers said it was the first time a Cabinet officer had been barred from the Chamber floor and gallery during a legislative session.

Raymond Sheldon, Tampa, House 1937-1941, Speaker pro tempore 1941. Senate 1943-1949.

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EXPULSION (2)

Steve Trumbull, a reporter for The Miami Herald, was barred from the Senate for the remaining two days of the 1949 session after he had been struck a blow to the face by Senator A. G. “Sandy” McArthur.

The altercation occurred just outside the Senate Chamber as an aftermath to a day’s hot debate over a bill allocating horse racing days. The matter was precipitated by Senator W. A. Shands taking offense at remarks he said Trumbull had made about the way the Senate Rules Committee had pushed the bill for floor consideration. The bill, which provided more favorable racing dates for Gulfstream at the expense of Tropical Park, had been defeated by a 19-19 tie.

Shands, after castigating Trumbull for a question about the procedure, complained to McArthur, Chairman of the Rules Committee. McArthur and Shands met Trumbull at the Senate door. Trumbull said: “McArthur struck at me twice. I dodged the first blow, but the second one hit me. Several people tried to separate us; and I was being held when he slugged me. I’m just out of the hospital from a hernia A. G. McArthur . . . struck Trumbull operation, and couldn’t fight back.” McArthur told substantially the same story of the events leading up to the fight. He explained: “We had a few words and I got mad. It just flew all over me. I’m sorry it happened.” A small bone in Trumbull’s face was broken. The altercation occurred on May 31.

On June 2, McArthur caused to be placed in the Senate Journal, a paper headed, “The Trumbull S.O.B. Poll,” which Trumbull explained he had circulated among newsmen as a counter to the St. Petersburg Times Poll for the selection of outstanding legislators. After the reading of the Trumbull ballot, Senator George W. Leaird moved, and the Senate agreed, that Trumbull be barred from the Chamber.

Newsmen asked the Senate to rescind its action and the Senate ordered the request filed without action. All nine reporters at the press table walked out and continued coverage from the public gallery. (The press table then was on the floor of the Chamber.) Subsequently, in a later session, a section of the public gallery was glass-enclosed as the press gallery.

Alexander G. McArthur, Callahan, Senate 1935-1937, 1943-1953, President Pro Tempore 1945. William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957. George W. Leaird, Fort Lauderdale, House 1939-1943, Senate 1947-1953, President pro tempore 1953.

EXPULSION (3)

The Senate began at the regular session in 1967, the open consideration of gubernatorial appointments or suspensions. The reversal of custom followed an incident on January 26, 1967, with the Legislature in special session, when four newsmen refused to leave the Senate Chamber at the vote for an executive session, because they suspected the closed-door meeting was for a purpose other than the consideration of appointments or suspensions, the only constitutional justification for closing the doors to non-Senators. Secrecy was enforced by a Senate rule for expulsion of a Senator who told what was discussed in an executive session.

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The four news-making newsmen were Don Pride of the St. Petersburg Times; Rex Newman of the John H. Perry Newspapers; and John McDermott and William C. Mansfield of The Miami Herald. “It was a snap decision,” wrote Pride at the time. After much furor, the newsmen were physically ejected by deputies of the Senate Sergeant at Arms.

EXPULSION (4)

The House of Representatives on May 24, 1961, expelled Representative E. Bert Riddle by the required constitutional vote of two-thirds of the members present. The vote of the 95-member House was 82 “yeas” and no “nays.” No charge was entered upon the Journal, but informally it was understood that Riddle had passed an offensive note to a female page.

The Journal discloses that, at 1:25 p.m., the House, on the motion of Representative Mallory E. Horne, authorized the Speaker to appoint a select committee for the purpose of “investigating a matter pertaining to the dignity of this House.” There was intervening E. Bert Riddle . . . Sergeant at Arms waits to escort Riddle (right) from House Chamber business but the House stood in recess at 1:37 p.m. until 1:55 p.m. after expulsion At that time, Representative Horne reported the committee had met, heard Riddle’s “explanation and admission,” and recommended his expulsion, “effective immediately.” This was agreed to, and the Sergeant at Arms escorted Riddle from the Chamber. The House adjourned at 2:07 p.m.

Edwin Bert Riddle, Holmes County, House 1921, Walton County, House 1941, 1961, Senate 1945-1948. Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974.

EXPULSION (5)

A resolution expelling Representative Bernie C. Papy, Sr. was introduced in the House on May 30, 1947. The resolution was one sentence long, reading after the resolving clause: “That Bernie C. Papy, Representative from Monroe County, be and he hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives of the Legislature of the State of Florida.” After the reading, consideration was informally deferred. The Speaker then read a letter from Papy tendering his resignation to Governor Millard F. Caldwell, to be effective immediately.

Earlier, on May 19, the House adopted a resolution requesting a Leon County grand jury investigation of charges made on the House floor against Papy by Representatives J. Brailey Odham and Clarence Camp II, involving allegations of attempts to buy votes to oppose a bill to deny telephone service to horse bookmakers. Before adopting the resolution, the House struck out a section denying to Papy the right to speak or vote in the House until the grand jury could act. Papy was acquitted by a jury and reelected to the House.

Bernie C. Papy, Sr., Key West, House 1935-1962. Millard F. Caldwell, Jr., Milton, House 1929-1931, U.S. House of Representatives 1933-1941, Governor 1945-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1962-1969, Chief Justice 1967. James Brailey Odham, Sanford, House 1947-1949. Clarence Camp II, Ocala, House 1947.

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EXPULSION (6)

Representative J. M. Rivers moved House Resolution 108 of the 1903 session to deny the privilege of the House Chamber to a reporter of the Jacksonville Metropolis for three days. The unnamed reporter was accused of writing an article, appearing in the Metropolis of May 20, 1903, which displayed “great disrespect for three members of this body, and a want of regard for the dignity due to this body.” The resolution was laid on the table on the motion of Representative Alfred St. Clair- Abrams. That action was taken on a Friday.

On the following Monday, Representative Albert W. Gilchrist moved House Resolution 109 to exclude the Metropolis reporter for the remaining 12 calendar days of the session. The resolution declared the Metropolis article, “has misrepresented some of the members of this House in a manner the effect of which was unjust and cast a reproach upon them.” The Sergeant at Arms was directed to enforce the exclusion. This time, the resolution was adopted.

J. M. Rivers, Gainesville, House 1901-1903. Alfred St. Clair-Abrams, Lake County, House 1903. Albert Waller Gilchrist, Arcadia, House 1893-1895, 1903-1905, Speaker 1905, Governor 1909-1913.

EXPULSION (7)

The Senate on April 29, 1872, directed its Secretary “to omit from the roll call the name of the late Senator from the 8th Senatorial District.” By vacating his seat, the Senate was reacting to the decision that day of the Florida Supreme Court in upholding the bribery conviction of Senator Charles H. (Bishop) Pearce of Leon County. The Court, on the same day, joined with the Lieutenant Governor and the Attorney General in granting Pearce a full pardon. Pearce, a black minister, subsequently served in the Senates of 1873 and 1874.

Charles H. Pearce, Tallahassee, Constitutional Convention 1868, Senate 1868-1874.

EXPULSION, THREATENED

Because of World War II, the 1943 Legislature was ready to complete its business a week ahead of the expiration of the 60 days. The Miami Herald’s legislative columnist, Allen Morris, wrote a wrap- up article critical of the Legislature and in particular of Senator J. Edwin Baker of Umatilla.

He sent the Sunday column to the Herald on Wednesday, for the editorial section of the paper was printed in advance of the news pages. Unfortunately for Morris, the Legislature did not adjourn that Friday as a snarl over the general appropriations bill forced the carry-over into the next week.

On Monday, Senator Baker headed a movement to expel Morris should he step foot into the Senate Chamber. Having no wish to be a martyr, Morris chose to spend the remainder of the session in the House Chamber.

Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995. J. Edwin Baker, Umatilla, Senate 1943, 1949- 1956.

FAMILY SERVICE

Senator Peter M. Weinstein’s father, Moses Weinstein, was Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a brother, Jeremy, was a New York Senator; Senator S. Curtis Kiser’s mother, Jean,

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was a member of the Iowa Legislature; Representative Dorothy Eaton Sample was a cousin of the late Daniel T. McCarty, Speaker and afterwards Governor, also a cousin of former Senator John M. McCarty, and a descendant of John Eaton, Territorial Governor. There is an abiding sense of family service in the Legislature.

Among the numerous instances of family lineage in the Florida Legislature are these: Charles O. Andrews, afterwards U.S. Senator, and Charles, Jr.; Ben Fuqua, afterwards Clerk of the House, and J. Ben Fuqua; Ernest R. Graham and D. Robert “Bob” Graham, afterwards Governor; W. Randolph Hodges, Senate President, and Gene Hodges; Luther Tucker and Donald L. Tucker, Speaker; H. H. “Horry” Hair and Mattox Hair; David Crockett Jones and David, Jr.; Joseph A. McClain, Jr., and David McClain; Sam Gibbons, afterwards Congressman, and Mark Gibbons; Irlo Bronson, Sr., and Irlo, Jr.; Frank D. Upchurch, Sr., his son, Hamilton Upchurch, and grandson, Tracy Upchurch; Vasco Peeples and his son, Vernon Peeples; Lacy Mahon and his son, Mark Mahon; Leighton L. Baker, father of Senator Carey Baker; Doyle Elam Carlton, afterwards Governor, and son, Doyle Elam Carlton, Jr.; Alexander McSwain, his great grandson, Charles S. Ausley, and great-great granddaughter, Loranne Ausley; Lois Benson and her daughter, Anna “Holly” Benson; Bruno Barreiro and his brother, Gus Barreiro; Larcenia Bullard and her husband, Ed Bullard; Carl Littlefield and brother, Ken Littlefield; A.J. “Red” Ryan and son, Tim Ryan; Lincoln Diaz-Balart and brother, Mario Diaz-Balart.

There also are numerous instances of other Florida past and present legislators with family members in public service.

Peter M. Weinstein, Coral Springs, Senate 1982-1996. S. Curtis “Curt” Kiser, Palm Harbor, House 1972-1982, Senate 1984-1994. Dorothy Eaton Sample, St. Petersburg, House 1976-1988. Daniel Thomas “Dan” McCarty, Jr., Fort Pierce, House 1937-1941, Speaker 1941, Governor 1953. John M. McCarty, Fort Pierce, Senate 1963-1967. John Henry Eaton, Second Territorial Governor. Charles Oscar Andrews, Senate Secretary 1905-1907, 1909-1911, House, Orlando, 1927, Supreme Court Commissioner 1929-1932, U.S. Senate 1936-1946. Charles Oscar Andrews, Jr., Orlando, House, 1949-1951. Ben H. Fuqua, Palmetto, House 1937, Chief Clerk 1939-1941. Jesse Ben Fuqua, Palmetto, House, 1943-1953. Ernest R. Graham, Pensuco, Senate 1937-1943. D. Robert “Bob” Graham, Miami Lakes, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, Governor 1979-1987, U.S. Senate 1987-2004. W. Randolph Hodges, Cedar Key, Senate 1953-1963, President Pro Tempore 1959, President 1961. Gene Hodges, Cedar Key, House 1972-1988. Luther C. Tucker, Crawfordville, Senate 1949-1963. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978. H. H. “Horry” Hair, Live Oak, Senate 1957-1959. Mattox S. Hair, Jacksonville, House 1972-1974, Senate 1974-1988. David Crockett Jones, Sr., Naples, House 1951. David Crockett Jones, Jr., Naples, House 1953-1956. Joseph A. McClain, Jr., Tampa, Senate 1967-1969. David H. “Dave” McClain, Tampa, Senate 1970-1982. Sam Melville Gibbons, Tampa, House 1952-1958, Senate 1958-1962, U.S. House of Representatives 1962-1997. Mark Gibbons, Tampa, House 1984-1986. Irlo Overstreet Bronson, Sr., Kissimmee, House 1943-1951, Senate 1953-1966. Irlo “Bud” Bronson, Jr., Kissimmee, House 1982-2000. Frank D. Upchurch, St. Augustine, House 1921, Senate 1943. Hamilton D. Upchurch, St. Augustine, House 1978-1988. Tracy Upchurch, St. Augustine, House, 1992-1996. Vasco Peeples, Live Oak, House 1929. Vernon E. Peeples, Punta Gorda, House 1982-1996. William Lacy Mahon, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1953- 1956. Mark Harrison Mahon, Jacksonville, House 2000- . Leighton L. Baker, Lake, House 1962-1963. Carey Baker, Eustis, House 2000-2004, Senate 2004- . Doyle Elam Carlton, Senate, 1917-1919, Governor, 1929-1933. Doyle Elam Carlton, Jr., Wauchula, Senate 1953-1959, 1965-1966. Alexander McSwain, Walton County, House 1891. Charles Saxon Ausley, Tallahassee, Senate 1945. Loranne Ausley, Tallahassee, House 2000- . Lois Benson, Pensacola, House 1992-1994. Anna Holliday “Holly” Benson, Pensacola, House 2000- .Bruno A. Barreiro, Miami, House 1992-1998. Gustavo A. Barreiro, Miami, House 1998- . Larcenia J. Bullard, Miami, House 1992-2000, Senate 2002- . Edward B. “Ed” Bullard, Miami, House 2000- .Carl D. Littlefield, Dade City, House 1992-1999. Kenneth W. “Ken” Littlefield, Wesley Chapel, House 1999- . A.J. “Red” Ryan, Jr., Broward, House 1957-1962, Senate 1962-1967. Timothy M. “Tim” Ryan, Dania, House 1998- . Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Miami, House 1986-1989, Senate 1989-1992, U.S. House of Representatives 1993- .Mario R. Diaz-Balart, Miami, House 1988-1992, 2000-2002, Senate 1992-2000, U.S. House of Representatives 2003-.

FAREWELL ADDRESS

Representative S. H. Melton, styling himself “Uncle Steve,” addressed the House near the end of the 1905 session, in part, saying: “I am making a farewell address and want you to consider it so, for I will not come back to the Legislature again, ‘So help me God’… I am getting old the same as some others I see around me, and it is about time I was getting married and settling down in life. I hope others in my fix will do likewise.” (Despite his oath, “Uncle Steve” was back for the 1907 session.)

S. H. Melton, Jacksonville, House 1905-1907.

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FIFTH FLOOR CLUB

In the 1940s, a group of legislators and lobbyists reserved the entire fifth floor of the Floridan Hotel. During that period, the Floridan was a center of legislative activity. Along with the legislators and lobbyists residing there during sessions were correspondents representing the three then- dominant newspapers, The Miami Herald, Florida Times-Union, and Tampa Tribune. The Floridan’s porch, fronting on Tallahassee’s main street, saw congenial groups each evening rocking in high-backed chairs with an exchange of comments on the day’s legislative events. (The Floridan was Floridan Hotel . . . site of the Fifth Floor club demolished in 1985.)

The Fifth Floor Club had as its members: Sam Bucklew, Tampa Electric; W. J. “Funie” Steed, Florida automobile dealers; LeRoy “Chubby” Allen, Atlantic Coast Line; former House Speaker E. Clay Lewis, Port St. Joe; Representative (afterwards Senator) R. B. Gautier, Jr., Miami; Representative (afterwards Senator) George W. Leaird, Fort Lauderdale; L. C. “Bill” Leedy, also known as “Lead Pipe” Leedy, Orlando, Chairman of the House Finance & Taxation Committee; Senator Wallace E. Sturgis, Ocala; and Representative (afterwards Senator) George G. Tapper, Port St. Joe.

Originally, the group gathered in Bucklew’s room, where he served coffee; but it soon was decided to have a separate room for playing gin. There briefly were some who played checkers but this ended after Gautier offered to teach Sturgis how to play, with the usual result. Sturgis cleaned out Gautier so expertly that no one else could be conned into a game.

Steed decided one day to recuperate in his room from a headache. “Funie” was still in bed when the others came back from the Capitol. “Funie” inquired what had happened at the Legislature and Sturgis replied: “Oh, not very much. The Senate reported out a couple of new bills, none of which amounted to much. Oh, yeah, one of them put an additional tax on automobiles.” Steed sprang out of bed and grabbed for the telephone, saying he had to call some of his key automobile dealers. After Steed placed his calls, but before reaching any of the dealers, Sturgis confessed that he was kidding, and Steed collapsed in bed again.

Leedy once caused an after-midnight commotion when a cigarette set his mattress afire. The fifth floor was evacuated, with some of the members barely clothed, and the entire hotel was aroused.

There was a Fifth Floor Club rule that no ladies were permitted on the floor. When a wife came to Tallahassee for a visit, the husband got a room on another floor. The reason was that there was no air conditioning and the Fifth Floor members stripped to their shorts when there.

W. J. Steed, Kissimmee, House 1931. E. Clay Lewis, Jr., Port St. Joe, House 1927-1931, 1939-1943, Speaker 1931. R. B. “Bunn” Gautier, Jr., Miami, House 1943, 1947-1948, Senate 1949-1956. George W. Leaird, Fort Lauderdale, House 1939-1943, Senate 1947-1953, President Pro Tempore 1953. Loomis Chapman “Bill” Leedy, Orlando, House 1937-1945. Wallace Edwin Sturgis, Ocala, Senate 1943-1953, President 1951. George G. Tapper, Port St. Joe, House 1947-1951, Senate 1953-1956, 1965-1966, President Pro Tempore 1955.

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FILIBUSTER (1)

The longest filibuster of record in the Florida Legislature was conducted by Representative John E. Mathews, Sr., in 1931, when he held the floor for approximately 19 hours during the three legislative days of May 27-29. His longest day was the 28th, when he was on his feet for some seven and three- quarter hours. He prevailed. A fistfight broke out involving two other members with one bloodied by the cut of a ring. See HUNDRED-DAY SESSION

John Elie Mathews Sr., Jacksonville, House 1929-1931, Senate 1943-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1951-1955, Chief Justice January-April, 1955.

FILIBUSTER (2)

The requirement of the 1885 Constitution that bills must be read in full before the vote on final passage lent itself to obstructionism of another kind. This was used in 1967 when Representative Ray Osborne insisted upon the reading of the General Appropriations Bill. The reading clerks labored and the Chairman of the Committee on Rules & Calendar, former Speaker E. C. Rowell, who was presiding, instructed the Sergeants at Arms to keep all members in the Chamber, even using “seat belts if necessary.” Osborne, noting the distress of some of his colleagues who were reluctant to ask permission publicly to leave the Chamber, finally relented.

Ray C. Osborne, St. Petersburg, House 1965-1968, Lieutenant Governor 1969-1971. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

FILIBUSTER (3)

The same device was used in the closing hours of the 1939 session by those who were trying to prevent the House from reaching consideration of a bill to outlaw salary buying. They sought to accomplish this blockade by demanding the reading of a school code which was on the Calendar ahead of the bill they knew the House was certain to pass if it were reached. Malcolm Johnson, retired Editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, was there, and here’s how he tells the story:

Representative George Scofield followed the reading of the 300-page school code with his finger and demanded that the clerk go back and repeat any passage which was unintelligible. Tempers shortened. The reading clerk’s voice gave out. Some House members volunteered to read for him. Scofield held them to every word, too. Then Representative George Holt, a French scholar, started reading in French and skipping whole pages at a time. Scofield couldn’t follow the French. He stormed and roared, demanded that Holt read the bill in English. Speaker Pierce Wood consulted the book and ruled there was nothing that said a bill had to be read in English. The only requirement was that it be read in full. Then Representative Johnny Versaggi read a while in Portuguese, jumping from section to section. Next came Representative Marcus Frank, reading in Yiddish. Scofield was screaming. There was pandemonium. Representative George Leaird jumped up and shouted: “Mr. Speaker, this is the god-damnedest thing I ever heard of.”

And Henry Wrenn, Associated Press correspondent, sat down and wrote his famous news story lead paragraph: “Five languages, including the profane, were used in a filibuster in the Florida House of Representatives tonight.”

Incidentally, the filibuster was successful. After some hours of commotion and a cram course in foreign languages, the sponsor of the salary-buyers’ bill agreed privately to its withdrawal.

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Thereupon, the member who wanted the school code read word for word decided he was satisfied with the code. He never admitted his need for reading had anything to do with the salary-buyers’ bill, which, incidentally, sailed through both houses two years later.

George Walter Scofield, Inverness, House 1911-1912, 1927, 1933-1935, 1939, 1943. George E. Holt, Miami, House 1937-1941. George Pierce Wood, Sumatra, House 1929-1931, 1935-1939, Speaker 1939. John Versaggi, St. Augustine, House 1939-1941. Marcus Frank, Ocala, House 1939, 1949. George W. Leaird, Fort Lauderdale, House 1939-1943, Senate 1947-1953, President Pro Tempore 1953.

FILIBUSTER (4)

Pat Whitaker, as President of the Senate, once confided this story of a House filibuster he had nipped. Whitaker said he was a member of the House in 1925 and a one-man filibuster erupted against the General Appropriations Bill. This was being conducted on the final day of the session and its success would have necessitated a special session. During the noon break, Whitaker purchased a box of a chewing gum laxative. Seating himself beside the Representative conducting the filibuster, Whitaker offered what Uncle Lonnie [Alonzo Weeks] took to be gum but actually was the laxative. Uncle Lonnie began chewing four or five pieces, then arose to resume the talkathon as the recess ended. In about an hour, however, Uncle Lonnie broke off his remarks and fled the Chamber with the explanation that he was suffering stomach pains. Thus, explained Whitaker, the filibuster was ended and the Legislature finished its session on time.

Patrick C. Whitaker, Tampa, House 1925, Senate, 1927-1933, 1939-1941, President 1931. Alonzo W. Weeks, Bonifay, House 1923- 1929.

FILIBUSTER (5)

During a mini-filibuster in the 1982 Senate to delay passage of a bill to block a fuel pipeline, Senator Warren S. Henderson asked Senator Patrick Neal to name some citizens who would be adversely affected by the bill.

Picking up a Tampa telephone book, Neal read from the first page: “A-Able Bail Bonds, A-A11 Solar Power, A-Allen’s Used Auto Parts, A Better Way Mini Warehouses….”

“This is just a partial list of the people who would be affected,” said Neal, hefting the 625-page telephone book.

“He’s not talking about the bill,” complained an advocate, “all he’s doing is reading from the phone book.”

The debate was rather one-sided as supporters, confident they had the votes, said little since they wanted to bring the bill to a vote before the time of adjournment for the day. Finally, Henderson and others ran down and the bill passed, as it subsequently did in the House only to have the Governor veto it.

Warren S. Henderson, Venice, Senate 1963-1966, House 1966-1967, Senate 1967-1984. Patrick K. “Pat” Neal, Bradenton, House 1974-1978, Senate 1978-1986.

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FIRST LEGISLATURE

With the convening of the 17th Congress on December 3, 1821, President Monroe called to the attention of the lawmakers in his State of the Union message the need for setting up a government for the Floridas. The Senate passed an organization bill on March 8 and concurred in House amendments on March 27. President Monroe signed the act into law three days later.

The bill had moved swiftly through the congressional channels because the chief principles for territorial governments already had been established. A significant departure from the other organic legislation was, in the laws for Orleans and the Floridas, the establishment of a legislative council. In the others, only the governor and the judges were empowered to adopt or pass laws. Thus, citizen participation in the making of laws was rooted almost from the beginning of American government in Florida.

Thirteen of the Most Fit and Discreet

The act vested legislative power in the Governor, “and in thirteen of the most fit and discreet persons of the territory, to be called the Legislative Council, who shall be appointed annually, by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the citizens of the United States residing there. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the said Legislative Council, or a majority of them, shall have power to alter, modify, or repeal the laws which may be in force at the commencement of this act.”

The first session was to be in Pensacola commencing on the second Monday in June, 1822. Sessions after the first were to convene on the first Monday in May and be held in “such places” as the Governor and Council directed. The inclusion of Pensacola but omission of St. Augustine by name caused concern to citizens in East Florida. Since the Spanish provinces had capitals at Pensacola and St. Augustine, the omission of the latter community from the congressional authority to meet in other places could be regarded as early recognition of the impracticality of rotating the seat of government between these two centers of population which were separated by what was then calculated to be nearly 500 miles of wilderness.

Members of the Council were to be paid 3 dollars a day during sessions, plus 3 dollars for every 20 miles in traveling to and from sessions. They were also declared free from arrest — except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace — during sessions and while traveling to and from sessions.

A Representative Body

As originally appointed, Florida had a representative legislative body. There were seven lawyers, a physician, two prominent Spaniards, the mayor of Pensacola, the sheriff of East Florida, and a former auctioneer/commission merchant.

Of one fact we can be sure: the legislators who come to the Capitol for the Organization Session do so with far less inconvenience than was experienced by their predecessors of the first Legislative Council. Organization Session Delayed

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The organization meeting of the Legislative Council had been set for Monday, June 10, 1822, at Pensacola. On that day, several members appeared but not enough for a quorum because of the absence of the members from East Florida. The legislator from East Florida — which is to say, St. Augustine — could travel to Pensacola by two routes, the unsettled wilderness by land or the often stormy sea. Under the most favorable conditions, the land journey took a man on horseback several weeks.

On that occasion, therefore, the East Florida legislators elected to travel by ship. Four members sailed from St. Augustine on the sloop, Lady Washington, departing on May 30. Experiencing calms and squalls, the Lady Washington put into Matanzas, Cuba, on June 22, to renew her supplies of food, water, and wood. She continued upon her voyage and arrived off Pensacola on July 7, with her lawmaker passengers nearly a month late for their meeting. The Lady Washington was, however, unable to enter the Port of Pensacola because of heavy seas and lurched about for two days more until she upset. With passengers and crew clinging for safety to the side of the vessel, she was righted and afterwards ran aground on the beach of Ship Island, off the coast of Mississippi.

Those four legislators, presumably weary but glad to be alive, nevertheless fared better than one of their colleagues. He took a different vessel from St. Augustine and perished in a storm.

Forty-two days late, the first meeting of the first Legislative Council of Florida convened at 12 noon on Monday, July 22, 1822. Likely the session was held in the residence of Juan de la Rua, situated northeast of Pensacola on Escambia Bay. De la Rua’s three- story home probably was chosen not only because of its size and comfort but because neither funds nor a public building was available for the meeting.

Toll of Yellow Fever

Yellow fever appeared in Pensacola in August, and it was believed that it had been brought in by a ship from Havana. Two crewmen had died en route. The fever raged throughout Pensacola. John Coppinger Connor, the Clerk, died about August 28. Dr. James C. Bronaugh, the President, succumbed on September 2. The Council then decided to transfer its deliberations to Fifteen Mile House, the residence of Don Emanuel Gonzalez.

The records show that when the Council adjourned on September 18, it had enacted a total of 56 bills. Despite the delayed start and the toll of yellow fever, it had met the mandate of Governor DuVal and the federal government to provide the territory with a foundation of laws. Yellow Fever in Florida The second annual session of the Legislative Council was held in St. Augustine and the third in a log building at the newly designated capital of Tallahassee. Popular election of the Council began in 1826. Congress, on July 7, 1838, substituted a legislature for the territory with a House of

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Representatives and a Senate.

Florida’s present House of Representatives is the direct successor to the Legislative Council of 1822, which first gave the people of Florida a voice in the making of the laws governing them.

Juan de la Rua, Pensacola, Legislative Council 1823-1827. John Coppinger Connor, Legislative Council, Chief Clerk 1822. James Craine Bronaugh, West Florida, Legislative Council 1822, President. William Pope DuVal, Calhoun, Territorial Governor 1822- 1834, Constitutional Convention, 1839, Legislative Council (Senate) 1839-1841, President 1841.

FLOWERS IN THE CHAMBER

The House Chamber resembles a flower shop at the Organization Session. Each member will have at least one floral arrangement, and usually more. Some will have plants, and a few will have plants of such size as to obscure the legislator. Originally, when the House convened for organization in April, the flowers came from the gardens of Tallahassee wives as part of the community’s welcome. As time went on, and particularly after organization came in mid-November, the commercial florists took over the adorning of the Chamber. Nowadays families, constituents, friends and interests order the arrangements. Some of the perishable arrangements are Amid the traditional flowers, plants, and balloons of an Organization Session, Representative Beverly B. Burnsed, shared with Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical D-Lakeland, (left) and Elaine Gordon, D-Miami, talk Center and other institutions. See SPEAKER’S ROSE business before the convening of the 1983-1985 House.

FLY, SEE IF IT WILL

A favorite saying during the administration of Speaker Richard A. Pettigrew. His aides would unveil an idea, or perhaps the draft of a bill, upon a leadership group to “see if it will fly.” If agreement were reached on whether the concept would fly, the leadership would try to propel it off the ground.

Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Reorganization 1977-1980.

FOOTBALL, PROPOSED TO BE OUTLAWED . . . see if it will fly

Mr. Parrish of Manatee County introduced a bill at the 1903 session to outlaw the “playing of the game known as football.” The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Health, which reported it unfavorably.

Crawford P. Parrish, Parrish, House 1901-1903.

FOOTBALL, UF AND FSU

In 1955, Senator Nick Connor filed a bill to force the University of Florida to play Florida State University in football and other intercollegiate sports. It failed by a vote of 15 to 19. Governor Collins later worked out an agreement to establish such schedules. Doug Stenstrom said he got more critical mail over his vote against the bill than any other during his legislative career.

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James E. “Nick” Connor, Inverness, Senate 1953-1966, President 1965. Douglas Stenstrom, Sanford, Senate 1955-1959.

FOOTPRINT BLOTTER See YELLOW RIVER CODE

FRACTIONAL VOTING

During the years of legislative anguish over reapportionment, one plan caused more division in the House of Representatives than any other. That plan, in June 1965, was fractional voting. Each of the 67 counties could have at least one representative but some would be able to cast fractions of a vote down to one-tenth. The plan appealed to the members from many rural counties because it would have preserved their seats in the House.

The opposition came from Speaker E. C. Rowell, who had been regarded by the small county members as one of their own, for Sumter County would have been merged with other counties under any other arrangement. Rowell argued that computing votes under the fractional system would be beyond imagination but Rowell’s friends persisted. “Little county people who had always been close and dear to me wouldn’t speak to me,” Rowell said. “This went on for a week or 10 days. You talk about lonesome heart-rending times; that was it, when my friends turned their backs on me. But I stood my ground. I spoke against it. We defeated it.”

In subsequent reapportionments, Sumter County first was grouped with Citrus, Hernando, and Marion counties, and next with Polk. Sumter then had a population of 11,869, while Polk had 207,008. But Rowell won each time.

E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

FRATERNITY, THE HOUSE AS A

Once there were two Representatives locked in struggle for the Speakership. Early one morning during that session, each of those members received a telephone call from a person identifying himself as Sergeant McCormick of the Tallahassee Police Department. The Sergeant said a man was being held in jail who said he was a member of the House. The name given in each call was that of the opponent in the Speakership contest. The Sergeant asked if the Representative would please come to the jail and verify the identity of the prisoner. The stated offense was one of a particularly embarrassing nature.

Each House member hurriedly dressed and the two arrived at the jail at virtually the same moment, each with the purpose of getting his colleague set free, without formal charge if possible, or on bond if not. It was indeed a hoax, likely perpetrated by a Senator.

House members as a rule feel a kinship as members of a family, battling among themselves on occasion but united against outsiders. One of the victims of the prank became a two-term Speaker of the House, Thomas D. Beasley, and the other, Sam Gibbons, went to Congress.

Thomas DeKalb “Tom” Beasley, DeFuniak Springs, House 1939, 1943-1951, 1954-1960, Speaker 1947, 1959. Sam Melville Gibbons, Tampa, House 1952-1958, Senate 1958-1962, U.S. House of Representatives 1962-1997.

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FUNERAL EXPENSE

When Representative Arch Campbell of Liberty County died in 1862, a committee of five was appointed to attend the funeral service.

Subsequently, the committee reported the following expenses had been incurred:

A. Hopkins, acct. for shroud and gloves ...$10.25 Thomas Rawls, acct. for making coffin ...$15.00 P. B. Brokaw, acct. for transportation of corpse ...$30.00

The Legislature directed the Comptroller to audit and pay those charges.

Archibald Campbell, Gadsden-Liberty, House 1858-1859, Liberty, House 1860-1862.

GAMES LEGISLATORS PLAY

Representative Steve Pajcic, Speaker pro tempore in 1982-1984, once told the Florida Times-Union of a joke he would play upon a freshman legislator.

“We would send a note to one of the freshman members purportedly from a woman in a red polka- dot dress sitting in the gallery,” recounted Pajcic. “The note would say she has been watching him debate and that she thinks he is extremely attractive.

“If he is interested in going out for a drink with her he should walk to the front of the Chamber and scratch his right ear.”

Pajcic said he loved to see who took up the fictitious woman’s offer.

Steve Pajcic, Jacksonville, House 1974-1985, Speaker pro tempore 1982-1984.

GAVEL

Speaker Bo Johnson was known for a heavy hand when bringing the House to order. He broke seven gavels and hammered a number of striking blocks into sawdust during his term.

During a floor session one day, the head of a broken gavel flew past the front desk, missing Clerk John Phelps’ head by inches.

Later that day, Rep. Jack Tobin presented Phelps with a hard hat (actually staffer Mike Hansen’s motorcycle helmet) to wear for protection.

Clerk Phelps . . . wearing protective helmet At the Organization Session following his term as Speaker, the members gave Johnson the pulverized “remains” of his last striking block.

Bolley L. “Bo” Johnson, House 1978-1994, Speaker 1992-1994. John B. Phelps, House Clerk 1986-2006. Jack N. Tobin, House 1982-1998.

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GIN GAME, MARATHON

During the 1963 session of the Florida Legislature, Mallory Horne was Speaker of the House and F. Wilson Carraway was President of the Senate. Horne and Carraway both represented Tallahassee. Carraway, a wealthy banker, was an enthusiastic gin rummy player. On a legislative trip to Live Oak aboard a Seaboard train, Carraway, Horne, Senator J. A. “Tar” Boyd of Leesburg, and John McDermott, a political writer for The Miami Herald, decided to kill the time by playing cards. Carraway announced emphatically that he and McDermott would be partners.

Horne and Boyd won the first game and by the time they reached Live Oak, Carraway and McDermott were substantially behind. Since Horne and Carraway were scheduled to make speeches at noon during a forestry demonstration, Carraway announced that they would rush out to the site, shake a few hands, make the speeches, and return to an air-conditioned restaurant in Live Oak to continue the game.

At 3:00 p.m. when the train departed for Tallahassee, Carraway and McDermott were still behind. Carraway announced the game would continue on the train. It did until they pulled into the station at Tallahassee. The situation at that time was much the same. Carraway, who hated to lose, announced that the game would continue in the Senate President’s Office. The foursome walked up the hill to the Capitol, ducked into the Senate President’s Office, locked the doors and resumed playing.

At 7:20 p.m., Carraway and McDermott finally forged into the lead by 10 dollars. When that happened, the Senate President yawned, folded up the cards, and announced it was time to go home.

Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974. F. Wilson Carraway, Tallahassee, House 1945-1949, Senate 1955-1966, President 1962-1963. J.A. “Tar” Boyd, Leesburg, House 1951-1956, Senate 1957-1963, Senate 1966-1967.

GOING HOME BILL

As explained by Speaker Evans Crary, this is a bill passed by one house to fatten a legislator’s record in the last days of a session when there seems little chance of the bill passing the other house and becoming law. See TURKEYS

Evans Crary, Stuart, House 1937-1945, Speaker 1945, Senate 1947-1953.

GOLDBUG RAG

Representative Frisbee of Clay County, in the 1897 House, took exception to a Going Home Bill . . . newspaper critical of Frisbee’s choice for United States Senator in the election then pending in the Legislature.

In part, Frisbee said (and caused his remarks to be placed in the Journal): “Now, sir, my position is assailed by a dirty, contemptible goldbug which sets itself up to criticize the actions of a genuine silver Democrat….

“…Now if the correspondent of that puny sheet will get a fine-toothed comb and comb his own filthy head, then search Clay County from end to end, I believe he will find more six-legged insects in his head than Chipley men in the County of Clay.”

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When the joint session was next convened, Senator Bynum declared the “refinement, intelligence and dignity” of the joint session had been offended by Frisbee’s remarks. He wanted the remarks stricken from the record but settled for a counter-proposal to delete the words quoted above. The striking was a nullity for the language remains for those to see who use the 1897 Journal.

B. M. Frisbee, Doctor’s Inlet, House 1897, 1925, 1927. J. H. T. Bynum, Live Oak, Senate 1897, 1899.

GOLF ON SUNDAYS

The 1927 House voted to outlaw the playing of golf and baseball on Sundays. Representative MacKenzie of Lake County regarded the bill as a “joke,” and said: “Golf seems to me to be no more harm than going for one’s mail or riding in an automobile. It takes one out into the beauties of the great outdoors. I may say that I do not play golf or any game on Sunday, and do not play golf at all.”

No mention of the bill appears in the index to the Senate Journal.

William Alexander MacKenzie, Leesburg, House 1923-1927.

GOMEZ AMENDMENT

Language attached to bills raising the pay of State officials to enable legislators to qualify for these offices was known as the Gomez Amendment.

Article III, Section 5 of the 1885 Constitution prohibited the appointment or election of any legislator during his term of office to any civil office either created or the emoluments increased while he was a Senator or Representative. This remained until the 1885 Constitution was superseded by the Constitution of 1968.

Since many lawyer-legislators aspired to being appointed a judge, the prohibition had the practical result of blocking pay raises for judges.

The Legislature attached to an act raising the pay of judges what became known as the Gomez Amendment since this language first was used to give the semblance of legality to acceptance by Senator Arthur Gomez of a Circuit judgeship during his senatorial term. This proviso said any legislator accepting a prohibited civil office could do so at the original rate of pay during the balance of his legislative term. Thereafter he could receive the benefit of the pay increase.

Arthur Gomez, Key West, House 1915-1917, Senate 1931-1937.

GORDON RULE

Senator Jack Gordon of Miami Beach in 1982 wrote a controversial rule requiring college students to take at least 12 hours of English and humanities and six hours of math. Gordon said students should spend more hours writing and calculating. This regulation came to be known as the Gordon Rule.

Jack Gordon, Miami Beach, Senate 1972-1992, President Pro Tempore 1982-1984.

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GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE (1)

Ralph D. Turlington, former Commissioner of Education, recalls how Florida’s nationally acclaimed “Government in the Sunshine” law came about: “I do not remember the year, but the journalism fraternity, Sigma Delta Chi, in Gainesville, had as one of its objectives a proposal to have open public meetings of governmental bodies, such as county and city commissions. At that time, they invited our legislative delegation, more particularly J. Emory “Red” Cross and I, representing the House, to a meeting where we informally discussed legislation in general and this concept in particular.

“It was a biennial sort of an occasion because I believe this happened about three times. It could well have been about 1961, 1963, and 1965. I specifically recall relating to them an experience in Alachua County in which a decision had been made by the county commission in the 1950s in which the minute book reflected that an action had passed, but the book did not reveal who had made or seconded the motion or by what vote it had passed. There was little, if anything, else to indicate where the meeting was held or who was present. It merely said that the action had been duly passed. Obviously, the inability to even know that an action had been taken until days later when the minutes were prepared was an obvious shortcoming of the process sometimes used. “Red” Cross . . . persistence rewarded

“The specifics of the legislation were not discussed in every detail at these meetings, but the delegation was supportive of the concept. I think, in November 1966, Verle Pope was elected President of the Senate and I was elected Speaker of the House and each of us was conceptually favorable to the legislation. ‘Red’ Cross, then in the Senate, took an especially active interest in helping to pass and introduce the legislation. On the House side, I indicated to a number of members that I was supportive of the legislation and referred it to a committee that was supposed to be a committee that was felt to be extremely sensitive to the opinions of the Speaker. Nonetheless, the legislation ran into more difficulties in this committee than anywhere else and its passage required special urging and requests by me to have the bill reported favorable and then passed out of Rules for floor consideration. Some of the amendments proposed during this process were objected to, especially by Senator Cross; and I assisted and encouraged the working out of language to expedite agreement.

“I do not believe the bill would have passed the Senate without favorable support of Senator Pope, then Senate President, who had a special interest in such issues; and I am certain that my presence in the House as Speaker and having related with the Sigma Delta Chi journalism fraternity in support of the concept over a period of at least several years, was a coincidence in timing that would be essential for the success of such legislation. In addition, the 1967 apportionment, which greatly altered the composition of both the House and the Senate, helped to make possible the passage of such legislation.

“The courts have actually expanded on the ‘Sunshine’ somewhat beyond its original intent; but it certainly was intended by all that votes would have to be open and meetings would have to be open so as to obviate such a ridiculous situation as previously described. ‘Red’ Cross was always active in sponsoring and following the legislation in both the Senate and the House and he always quickly advised me when he felt that special support in the House was required.

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“It is my opinion that had it not been for the year and continued action of the journalism fraternity over a period of years that the legislation would not have received the priority of support which helped to make passage possible.”

Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. J. Emory “Red” Cross, Gainesville, House 1953-1957, Senate 1959-1968. Verle A Pope, St. Augustine, House 1943, resigned to enter military service before session, Senate 1949-1972, President Pro Tempore 1965, President 1966-1967.

GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE (2)

J. Emory “Red” Cross rounds out the legislative history of “Government in the Sunshine” in this reminiscence: “I attended a meeting of students and faculty members of the College of Journalism and Communications in 1956, here in Gainesville. At this meeting we discussed the need for a law that would require public bodies to conduct their meetings in the open to enable the public and the news media to attend and determine first-hand what was actually discussed and acted upon. I made it known that I was very concerned about the matter and that I intended to conduct some research to determine what other states had done in the area with legislation. I was surprised to find that no state at that time had a law concerning the matter with any substance or with any teeth in it. I was assisted in my efforts to determine what had been done in other states by the local chapter of Sigma Delta Chi Fraternity.

“After I completed my limited research on the question, I secured the assistance of the bill-drafting arm of the Legislative Reference Bureau in drafting the bill that was finally enacted. Under the circumstances that prevailed throughout the time the bill was under consideration, it was the best- worded bill we could pass.

“I introduced the bill in the House in 1957 and in the Senate in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, and 1967. It died in the committee each year except 1967 when it passed the Senate committee without a dissenting vote.

“One of the Judiciary committees of the House held up the bill in 1967 for two or three weeks, but it finally came out and passed the House with little difficulty.”

J. Emory “Red” Cross, Gainesville, House 1953-1957, Senate 1959-1968.

GOVERNOR TO JAIL LEGISLATORS

The 1917 Senate deplored, as a reflection upon the “integrity and honor” of the Legislature, public comment by Governor Sidney J. Catts that “the first member of the legislature who gets drunk will be sent to jail and kept there for sixty days.”

A committee of five was appointed to inquire. Later, it reported the Governor had denied in writing the use of the exact language, but, the committee said, “his communication justifies the inference that the Governor used...language of similar purport and meaning….”

The committee recommended the matter be dropped, stating, “we deem it beneath the dignity of the Senate to prolong an apparently useless controversy.”

Sidney Johnston Catts, DeFuniak Springs, Governor 1917-1921.

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GOVERNOR’S PORTRAIT, FACE TO WALL

Former Governor Sidney J. Catts was indicted by a Federal grand jury on April 9, 1929, on a charge of participating in a counterfeiting conspiracy. Representative Sol D. Moon introduced a resolution at the 1931 session to require the Secretary of State to turn the Capitol portrait of Catts’s face to the wall until the former Governor was acquitted. As Catts already had been acquitted at a second trial, the first having ended in a mistrial, the Moon resolution was laid on the table. The reason for the belated introduction of the resolution is not apparent from the House Journal.

Sidney Johnston Catts, DeFuniak Springs, Governor 1917-1921. Solomon D. Moon, Floral City, House 1931.

GOVERNOR SUES THE CLERK Former Governor Sidney J. Catts

The week before the 1998 regular session was to convene, Governor Lawton Chiles sued Clerk of the House John Phelps and others, on the procedural grounds that the Clerk had improperly retained possession of a bill beyond the window of time during which the Legislature could legally act to override a Governor’s veto.

The Governor’s position was that the bill had to be brought up for purposes of an override at the next session (regular or special) after the veto message was filed with the Secretary of State. He noted that a special session had convened during which the question of override had not been taken up but that the Clerk had retained possession of the bill rather than return it to the Secretary of State with the veto effectively sustained.

At a hearing on the matter, the Clerk was represented before the Supreme Court by Judiciary Council Tom Warner and House General Counsel Tom Tedcastle. In attendance on the front row were Rules Chairman, Rep. John Thrasher, and Judiciary Appropriations Chair, Alex Villalobos. The Court unanimously upheld the House position. The Constitution was later amended to clarify how veto messages should be managed.

Lawton M. Chiles, Jr., Lakeland, House 1959-1966, Senate, 1966-1970, U.S. Senate 1971-1989, Governor 1991-1998. John B. Phelps, House Clerk 1986-2006 . Tom Warner, Stuart, House 1992-1999. John Thrasher, Orange Park, House 1992-2000, Speaker 1998-2000. J. Alex Villalobos, Miami, House 1992-2000, Senate 2000- .

GREASING

Representative Carrie Meek brought a new term, “greasing,” to the Florida legislative lexicon. During debate in 1980 over taxicab regulation, Representative Meek said she wanted to call the attention of the House to a syndrome that is called “greasing.” This particular syndrome permits this body to allow bad bills to be infused with good bills.” Greasing . . .

Carrie P. Meek, Miami, House 1979-1982, Senate 1982-1992, U. S. House 1993-2003.

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HANDKERCHIEF, DROPPING THE

During the years when the House Chamber was at the north end of the Old Capitol and the Senate Chamber was in the east wing, the presiding officers could not see each other nor were they in telephonic communication. On those occasions when the houses adjourned sine die simultaneously, the House and Senate Sergeants would stand in the rotunda where they could be observed by the Senate President and House Speaker. The Sergeants would drop a handkerchief at the moment agreed upon for adjournment and the gavels would fall in each house to formally signal the end of the session. Sine die . . . in the traditional dropping of the handkerchief HAZING NELSON ceremony from the old days, House Sergeant at Arms Earnie Sumner (left) and Senate Sergeant at Arms Don Severance signal the end of the 2005 Florida legislative session in the Representatives Ralph Haben, Jr., and William O. “Bill” rotunda between the two legislative houses. Birchfield gave Representative C. William “Bill” Nelson some experience in defensive debating during the 1974 session.

Haben and Birchfield would scan the Special Order Calendar for a bill sponsored by Nelson. Haben sat in one area of the Chamber, Birchfield in another. They would enlist a third member from still another part of the Chamber. This seating spread gave the appearance of questions about the merits of Nelson’s bill “like a giant groundswell,” Haben afterwards confessed, “but it was only the three of us.”

Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982. William O. “Bill” Birchfield, Jacksonville, House 1970-1974, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. C. William “Bill” Nelson, Melbourne, House 1972-1978, U.S. House of Representatives 1979-1991, Commissioner of Insurance and Treasurer 1995-2000, U.S. Senate 2001- .

HIGHWAYMAN’S ROOST

In the 1930s, when Edward Ball and the Alfred I. duPont interests were seeking the building of highways in West Florida, this was the popular name for the Tallahassee residence used by the duPont lobbyists.

HISPANIC MEMBERS

Research indicates that Fernando Figueredo of Key West, a refugee, was the first Cuban American to serve in the legislature, representing Monroe County in the House in the 1885 session. After Cuba became a republic, Figueredo returned to Havana and became treasurer of the national government.

The first Hispanic American to serve in the House since 1925 (when J. F. Busto represented Monroe County) was Roberto Casas of Hialeah, Dade County, elected on January 26, 1982, and reelected until November 8, 1988, when he was elected to the State Senate.

Ileana Ros of Miami, the first Hispanic woman to Ileana Ros of Miami, elected in November 1982, was the first Hispanic woman serve. to serve in the Legislature, representing the 110th District, Dade County. She also made legislative history by wedding one of her Dade County colleagues, Representative Dexter

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Lehtinen of Perrine, the first marriage of two members of the Florida Legislature. They were wed on June 9, 1984. She thereafter was known as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Subsequently they made more legislative history by being elected to the State Senate in 1986. In 1989 she was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

More recently, brothers Lincoln and Mario Diaz- Balart who served in the Florida House and Senate are serving together in the U.S. Congress.

In 2005, the Republican Conference designated Marco Rubio as its candidate for Speaker of the House for the 2006-2008 term. Rubio, known for his persuasive oratory, will be the first Cuban American to ascend to that office. The designation event itself made further history by being broadcast live to Cuba.

Marco Rubio . . . Speaking in a committee meeting

Fernando Figueredo, Monroe County, House 1885. Juan Francisco Busto, House 1918-1925. Roberto Casas, Hialeah House 1982- 1988, Senate 1988-2000, President Pro Tempore 1996-1998. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Miami, House 1982-1986, Senate 1986-1989, U.S. House of Representatives 1989- . Dexter W. Lehtinen, Perrino, House 1980-1986, Senate 1986-1988. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Miami, House 1986-1989, Senate 1989-1992, U.S. House of Representatives 1993- . Mario R. Diaz-Balart, Miami, House 1988-1992, 2000- 2002, Senate 1992-2000, U.S. House of Representatives 2003- . Marco Rubio, Miami, House 2000- .

HOLDING THE WATCH

When a member launched a tirade of abuse against another in the 1965 session, Speaker E. C. Rowell charged up to shake a finger in the face of the offending member.

“We just don’t say things like that about another member of this House,” said Rowell. The member replied, “The people of Brevard County elected me and I will say what I want.”

Rowell warned he would have 10 minutes to apologize. If he failed to apologize within 10 minutes, he was told, the Speaker would appoint a special committee to escort him to the Rules room, where the unwritten code of behavior would be explained.

“I kept looking at my watch and then at him,” said Speaker Rowell, who had resumed his place on the rostrum. “He began fidgeting. After seven minutes, I held up my watch and stared at him. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer and asked for recognition to address the House on ‘personal privilege.’ He then apologized not only to the abused member but to the House as a whole.”

E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

HOME RULE, HOW DADE GOT

During the 1955 session, Senator R. B. “Bunn” Gautier of Miami, introduced the Dade County constitutional amendment (Joint Resolution) for Home Rule Government. It ran into strong opposition in the Florida Senate from Senator W. A. “Bill” Shands of Gainesville, then the leader of the “Pork Chop Gang” and Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments. Shands was expected to kill the Joint Resolution in his committee because his opposition was not a secret.

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On a following day, Gautier rose from his seat and asked to speak on personal privilege. In thunderous tones, he charged that Shands and his committee were in violation of the unwritten code of the “Senatorial Courtesy.” This was the almost sacred understanding among Senators that any legislation having to do only with their own county would be left alone by Senators from other parts of the state.

Gautier warned that if this Dade County Metropolitan Government Resolution were killed it would violate courtesy and terminate the most historic unwritten rule of the Florida Senate. His roaring voice created a charged-up, emotional atmosphere rarely seen in the Legislature. When he completed his remarks, he requested that the bill be withdrawn from the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and placed on the Calendar for immediate passage.

There was a tense, dramatic silence in the Chamber. Then, on a voice vote, the Home Rule Resolution was removed from the Rules Committee, placed on the Calendar, and immediately passed. Observers who watched the lips of Senator Shands failed to note any movement either for or against on the oral motion to withdraw the resolution. Only his ashen face reflected his thoughts. He did, however, vote for passage, as did every Senator since the resolution then was treated as a local bill.

The resolution laid the groundwork for a special election by Dade County voters in 1957. Voter approval brought into being the Metropolitan/Home Rule Government which exists today in Florida’s largest county.

Note: The compiler is indebted for the following recollection to John B. McDermott, who observed the proceedings as political writer for The Miami Herald.

R. B. “Bunn” Gautier, Jr., Dade, House 1943, 1947-1948, Senate 1949-1956. William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate, 1941- 1957, President 1957.

HOOCHY-KOOCHY DANCERS

The funniest incident observed by John B. McDermott, longtime legislative newsman and political columnist for The Miami Herald, occurred during the 1953 session.

As told by McDermott in 1981, the story went this way: “It was a dull afternoon in the Senate, where Turner Davis was presiding. At that time, he was zipping through non-controversial bills that the Senate was passing at about five per minute.

“Suddenly, a Senator in the front row jumped to his feet and opposed a bill on artesian wells for Sarasota County. It was the only bill that the Senator from that district, Onell Rogells, had introduced. Senator Rogells leaped to his feet in dismay and cried out: ‘There are three things that the State of Florida urgently needs: Number one, more artesian wells; number two, improved irrigation for Hoochy-Koochy Dancer . . . the wells; number three (Long pause), number three (Long pause), number three.’ He could not remember the third most urgent need of Florida.

“At that moment, Senator Sandy McArthur wheeled around in his chair and whispered loudly:

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‘More hoochy-koochy dancers.’

“Senator Rogells immediately echoed McArthur’s whisper by loudly crying out: ‘More hoochy- koochy dancers.’

“Needless to say, this broke up the Florida Senate and even caused a few tears to be shed by reporters who witnessed the event.”

W. Turner Davis, Madison, Senate 1943-1962, President 1955-1956. F. Onell Rogells, Palmetto, Senate 1951-1953. Alexander G. “Sandy” McArthur, Callahan, Senate, 1935-1937, 1943-1953, President Pro Tempore 1945.

HOPE AND FULFILLMENT

Now, as always, the Legislature finds it impossible to please everyone. Each session may be viewed at its convening as representing the hopes — usually conflicting — of all Floridians. Equally, each may be condemned at its sine die adjournment as having failed. For example, the Florida Times- Union hailed the convening of one session in these words: “An era of distinctive legislation is promised. The body is one of more than ordinary intelligence. Wise laws should be the rule.” Sixty days later, The Tampa Tribune passed judgment: “The actions of the present Legislature will go down in history as the deliberations of a body of the biggest set of nonentities that has ever been recorded in Florida.” The year was 1897.

HOSTAGE

“Hostage” has long been a term of common use among Florida lawmakers. Usually, it means a committee chairman in one house will hold a bill dearly desired by someone in the other house until action on the chairman’s bill has been taken there. Or, it may mean a bill will be kept off the Special Order Calendar until the desired action has been taken in the other house. “Hostages” are one reason why the Legislature delays acting upon many measures until the last hours of a session. Sometimes the Governor may be the target, with the Legislature holding up a bill or bills he wants until he has allowed some measure to become law either by his signature or delivering to the Department of State without his signature. Or, the Governor may hint at the veto of some Legislator’s pet bill until passage is assured of a bill he wants.

HOUSE, THE CHANGING

The House elected for the 1965 regular session may be regarded as the last of the old Houses. The House of 1967 was transitional in nature. The 1969-1970 House was the first of the new. This tabulation reflects the changes that the years have made.

Composition of 1965 House of Representatives

Total Women Blacks Hispanics Freshmen Democrats 102 2 0 0 31 Republicans 10 1 0 0 5 Total 112 3 0 0 36

Composition of 1985 House of Representatives

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Total Women Blacks Hispanics Freshmen Democrats 76 11 10 0 2 Republicans 44 11 0 7 12 Total 120 22 10 7 14

Composition of 1990 House of Representatives

Total Women Blacks Hispanics Freshmen Democrats 74 11 12 0 10 Republicans 46 9 0 7 9 Total 120 20 12 7 19

Composition of 2005 House of Representatives

Total Women Blacks Hispanics Freshmen Democrats 35 12 16 2 3 Republicans 85 18 1 13 16 Total 120 30 17 15 19

By 2005, a majority of the members elected to the House were born outside of Florida, further reflecting the changing character of the electorate.

HOUSEKEEPING BILL

Originally, it meant a bill of no significance beyond codifying or updating laws applying to an agency, primarily to eliminate obsolete sections. However, some “housekeeping bills” turned out after passage to go beyond a simple brushing up and now the term, particularly when used by way of preface to explanation by a floor sponsor, may cause a close scrutiny of the measure. Housekeeping Bill . . . HUMOR IN THE HOUSE

Speaker Frederick H. Schultz of Jacksonville, 1968-1970, once reflected on humor as an overlooked ingredient of the legislative mix. “Humor has played a very important part in the history of the Florida Legislature. Some of the most telling points during debate were made by humorous remarks or stories. One aspect of humor is the role it can play in creating an understanding of certain characteristics of the Legislature at varying points in history.”

Speaker Schultz illustrates with three of his favorite legislative stories.

When The Bill Was Explained To Stallings

“When E. C. Rowell was Speaker, George Stallings was part of his inner circle. They would meet most mornings to plan the events of the day. Unfortunately, George had failed to attend the meeting on the morning in question and, therefore, was unaware of a bill in which Speaker Rowell was interested. When this particular bill was taken up, George read it briefly, decided he didn’t like it

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and moved that it be laid upon the table.

“Speaker Rowell had relinquished the Chair and was patrolling the floor to make sure that things came out all right. When he heard George’s motion, he jammed his cigar in his mouth and stormed down the center aisle like a destroyer under full steam. George was on the front row and Speaker Rowell whipped around in front of him, jammed his finger under George’s nose and in a voice that reverberated through the Chamber yelled ‘No, No.’

“George was stunned for a moment but then he lifted his microphone and said, ‘Mr. Speaker, now that it has been explained to me, I withdraw my motion.”’

Watering the Tree

“When I first went to the Legislature,” recalled Schultz, “I stayed at a motel with a number of other legislators, including some veterans. One night early in the session we were sitting around talking and the suggestion was made that we go out to dinner. One of the veterans suggested that we call a lobbyist to take us out to dinner. In my naiveté I asked why a lobbyist would want to take us out to dinner. One of the veterans replied: ‘Those who wish to pluck the fruit must first water the tree.’”

“I Just Ain’t Been Flexed Yet”

“In my second session,” said Schultz, “I was handling a junior college bill which was strictly pro bono publico. I had approached one small county legislator several times to try to convince him to vote for the bill. He kept putting me off. Finally I said, ‘Representative, aren’t you flexible?’ His reply was, ‘Sure, I just ain’t been flexed yet.’”

Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker, 1968-1970. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965. George B. Stallings, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1959-1968.

HUMOR’S PLACE

The question, “Does humor have a place in lawmaking?” reminded Ronald R. Richmond, former Minority Leader, of an instance when he was handling a piece of alcoholic beverage legislation on the House floor. “The debate was rigorous and we had come to a parliamentary impasse. Speaker Hyatt Brown posed the question, ‘Mr. Richmond, what is your pleasure?’ At that point, I said, ‘I think I’ll have a martini.’ The levity helped break the impasse and the piece of legislation was then passed.”

Ronald R. “Ron” Richmond, Holiday, House 1972-1984. J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980.

HUNDRED-DAY SESSION

The 100-day Legislature of 1931 stands as a legislative landmark in the same manner as the Great Freeze of 1886, the Great Land Boom of the 1920s, and the Great Hurricane of 1926.

While the session is remembered primarily for the struggle over the legalization of pari-mutuel wagering, there were at the time numerous other events largely dominated by John E. Mathews, Sr.

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He led the big county bloc in a historic tax battle. See FILIBUSTER (1)

Mathews, then a 39-year-old, second-term Representative from Jacksonville, well could say with Ulysses, “I am a part of all that I have met,” for he was the pivot on which action turned in the House.

He spoke on and on in a three-day marathon of tongue and wind, interrupting himself at one time to kiss a passing pretty girl and again to patch up battling colleagues from a first aid kit which characteristically he kept in his drawer. He pushed aside with an imperative “keep your blasted hands off those men!” a physician-lawmaker because this man of medicine happened to belong to the opposite political camp.

Mathews investigated the Governor (Doyle Carlton). Mathews investigated the Cabinet. Mathews investigated a justice of the Supreme John E. Mathews, Sr. . .Three-day Court. Mathews investigated the state road board. Mathews investigated filibusterer Senators and Representatives.

A familiar, memory-clinging scene was John Mathews angrily pacing the well of the House, shouting defiance. Once he exclaimed: “You are trying to turn this into an investigation of John Mathews instead of an investigation of the state road department; and by the eternal gods I’m ready to be investigated!”

The House was an arena of thunder and lightning in those days. There were sideshows aplenty that session, including the besmirched birthing of legalized wagering on horse and dog racing, but the bitterest struggle was over how the gasoline tax should be divided among the counties.

A powerful small county bloc had rammed through the 1929 session a law dividing the tax equally among the counties, and after the Supreme Court, to which John Mathews had appealed from his colleagues of the House, struck it down as manifestly unfair, the stage was set for the great parliamentary fight of 1931.

Again, the small county faction held a comfortable majority. When Mathews, whose stormy temperament was matched by flaming red hair, and S. Pierre Robineau of Miami counted their votes they found only 33 out of 95 upon which they could rely. But by shrewd parliamentary strategy, vigorous debate, and a three-day filibuster, they managed to stay a bare hair’s breadth from defeat.

Another fiery political figure, J. Tom Watson of Tampa, afterwards Attorney General, was aligned with Mathews and Robineau in the vanguard of the minority. And it was Watson who traded punches with Raeburn C. Horne of Madison in a gory if indecisive fist fight on the floor during debate.

Later, Watson and Horne apologized to the House, clasping hands in J. Tom Watson . . . traded punches token of mutual forgiveness. Horne expressed personal regrets to

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Florida’s first woman lawmaker, Mrs. Edna G. Fuller of Orlando, who replied: “There is no need for a particular apology to me, Mr. Horne. There is no sex in official responsibility.”

Finding themselves frustrated at every turn, the majority held a caucus in the House Chamber to plan new strategy. The caucus ran on past the time set for convening the House and when minority members arrived they were asked by an unofficial sergeant at arms to remain outside.

It was then that Mathews seized a golden opportunity. Realizing that a few members of the small county faction were absent and the required quorum of 48 was lacking, he simply withdrew his group with the loud, indignant claim it had been barred from the Chamber.

To make certain nobody could be found and returned to the Chamber by the regular Sergeant at Arms to make the quorum necessary for the House to be convened, the minority scampered across the Georgia boundary to nearby Thomasville. By assuring the absence of a quorum, the minority thwarted the majority’s plan to hold the House in continuous session over Saturday and Sunday or until its bill could be passed.

The upshot of that maneuver, the Mathews filibuster, and the growing feeling among the majority of frustration was a compromise still on the law books today — division of the gas tax on a formula of area, population, and state road mileage.

One of the handicaps the Mathews-Robineau-Watson triumvirate faced was that they were unable to hold their own delegations in line. A few big county Representatives with statewide political ambitions attempted to gain favor in rural areas by voting with the majority.

At one point, Watson became so incensed that by common consent he removed his chair as far as possible from the other two members of the Hillsborough delegation.

However, the defections in the big county ranks were partly balanced by the aid given the minority by such small county men as Senator D. Stuart Gillis of DeFuniak Springs. Gillis termed the small county plan “a legalized steal,” and voted consistently with the minority.

Occasionally, there was a lull in the big county-small county fight as one side or the other paused from sheer exhaustion to reorganize. But even when this occurred the irrepressible Mathews kept the House in an uproar by demanding investigations of this or that State department or member of the Legislature.

Part of his investigation of the road department was exposure of an arrangement whereby the State bought trucks from firms of two State Senators at a price 102 dollars each above the competitive low bid.

Another Senator was tarred by the Mathews brush in a House-adopted committee report condemning the proposed State purchase of a Tallahassee office building owned by him. Sales by legislators to the State were branded “not conducive to good government.”

The Governor likewise felt the lash of Mathews’ indignation when he failed to respond to a House resolution calling upon him (along with other State officials, who did comply) to inform the lawmakers of family members on the State payroll.

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Mathews joined in a resolution that tartly said: “In an effort to save the chief executive of the state of Florida embarrassment in submitting the name of each and everyone of his relatives employed in the various departments of the state government, the said chief executive is hereby excused and relieved from the requirements and mandates of House Resolution No. 7-XX.”

And so, after 100 days of turmoil, the 1931 Legislature ended with the singing of “God Be With You Till We Meet Again,” led by Mrs. Fuller and Tom Watson, and John Mathews went home to receive not the gratitude of constituents whose tax dollars he had saved but instead defeat in his next political race.

Legalization of Pari-Mutuel Wagering

J. Kenneth Ballinger observed the 1931 session as Political Editor and Legislative Correspondent of The Miami Herald. Later a Tallahassee lawyer and author of The Florida Real Estate Handbook (The Miche Company), Ballinger also served as an Assistant Attorney General and member of the House. This was Ballinger’s story:

In 1931, the Florida Legislature, in a 100-day series of sessions, legalized horse and dog racing and jai-alai with pari-mutuel betting and increased the gasoline tax. In each instance the little counties that were in power at that time benefited by an equal division of the racing tax and a comfortable split of the gas tax that was not disturbed for another decade.

Two special 20-day legislative sessions were called by Governor Doyle E. Carlton when the Legislature became involved in how to distribute the new gas taxes so as to benefit the little counties. Pat Whitaker of Tampa was President of the Senate. E. Clay Lewis, Jr., of Gulf County was Speaker of the House of Representatives. It became a somewhat rowdy session after the regular 60-day session ended. The wives for the J. Kenneth Ballinger most part returned home. Members moved into the Cherokee and the Floridian Hotels.

George Hills of Jacksonville was given credit for solving the gas tax problems. He was not a member but a good friend of many of the legislators and moved in the top level of the administration. Millard Caldwell, at that time representing Santa Rosa County (along with W. A. West), had a big hand in the final gas tax decision. He and John E. Mathews of Jacksonville adopted the formula advanced by George Hills — proceeds from one cent of the new gas tax was to be allocated by area of each county for road building, one cent by population, and one cent by the contribution of each county to the State road system. When this was agreed upon, the appropriations bill was passed and the second special session ended.

The racing measure had been worked through the Legislature and over the Governor’s veto during the regular session. Dan Chappell, of Dade County, introduced the racing bill in the House. John Watson of Miami and John Taylor of Largo sponsored the Senate version. A method unusual to Florida politics was devised by Hayes Lewis of Marianna. It involved nullifying opposition votes of

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the squeamish by a system of pairing. One member favoring the racing measure paired himself with another in opposition, thus reducing the votes of opponents below the number required for two- thirds to override the veto. Such pairing was used also to get the racing bill out of committee and on Special Order. Dwight L. Rogers, of Broward County, was Chairman of the House committee holding the bill, with Chappell as Vice Chairman.

Only one big money issue surfaced. A special committee chaired by R. C. Horne of Madison County investigated a report that John T. G. Crawford, Chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee, had been paid 50 thousand dollars to lobby the racing bill through the 1931 session. The committee concluded that he got the money from racing interests, all right, but decided that Crawford’s activities on behalf of the racing bills were open and above board.

The Senate operated a little differently from the House. A group of Senators roomed at Goodwood, guests of Senator William C. Hodges of Tallahassee. Senate matters were decided in noon and evening caucuses at Goodwood. There have been reports in later years that money flowed like water, that the racetracks sent a trainload of ladies of the evening for the benefit of legislators. The small press corps covering the session saw no signs of either, and the members of the press were close enough to many legislators to know all that went on.

The final selling point in the racetrack legislation was a provision in the racing bill to divide racetrack taxes equally between the counties without regard to population. On the basis of this trade, many a small county in the intervening years has been saved from bankruptcy.

It is important to keep in mind the financial situation of the State and many of its people as a consequence of the collapse of the land boom in Florida, the subsequent national depression, and, in the Miami area, the 1926 hurricane. Such tourists as there were went to Havana and New Orleans where the horses were running.

Dan Chappell’s Conflict with the Governor

Everett A. Clay, once Sports Editor of The Miami Herald and later Director of Public Relations for Hialeah Race Course, wrote in the 1970s, a history of horse racing at Hialeah.

In the book entitled Win or Lose, he included an interview with Dan Chappell. Chappell said he had been drafted to run for the House in 1928 by some of the most influential people in the Miami area, including Frank B. Shutts, then publisher of the Herald; E. C. Romfh, President of the First National Bank; and N. B. T. Roney of the Roney Plaza Hotel. “Finally, I said, ‘Well, I’ll run under one condition. I will state that the prime reason I’m offering myself as a candidate is for the sole purpose of trying to bring back the tourist economy of Southeast Florida by legalizing pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing.’” He defeated four opponents in the first primary.

The bill Chappell introduced at the 1929 session failed, Chappell afterwards said, because all the revenue would go to the State. Legislators “had no incentive to vote for it, nothing they could alibi to the people why they should vote for it.” Chappell said he then devised, for 1931, the formula of having each of the 67 counties share the racing revenue equally.

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Governor Doyle E. Carlton asked Chappell to serve as his floor leader and Chappell said he had Carlton’s promise in return to allow the pari- mutuel bill to become law, if necessary without the Governor’s signature. Chappell said as a precaution he bottled up the Governor’s tax bills in committee. After the racing bill finally was on the Governor’s desk, a lobby informant warned Chappell the Governor would veto it. He went at once to see Carlton, who said: “Dan, I told you I wouldn’t but maybe I’m going to have to.” The Governor explained he was under heavy pressure to veto. Chappell replied: “Well, Doyle, if you’re going to veto my bill, as of this second I’m no longer your floor leader. I’m out.”

Chappell realized he did not have sufficient votes to pass the bill over Doyle E. Carlton, Sr. . . . name the Governor’s veto by the necessary two-thirds of the members present worth more than money in the Senate and House. Then he came up with the idea of producing the fractional situation by pairing. Meanwhile, Carlton’s tax bills did not pass.

After his success with the pari-mutuel bill, Chappell ran twice for the State Senate but lost. He later ran for the Dade Metro Commission and for Congress but lost those races, too.

A practicing attorney and horse-breeder, he operated the Sunshine Stables near Ocala for many years. He died in Miami on April 4, 1982.

The Governor’s View

Hampton Dunn, Tampa newsman and later automobile club executive, told Carlton’s side of the story in a 1966 interview with the former Governor.

Carlton said: “The interested parties were buying their way through the Legislature, and I refused to sign despite the letters and telegrams requesting me to do so. Finally, one gentleman came into my office and asked, ‘You know what your name is worth today?’ I replied: ‘I don’t know what you mean.’ He said, ‘It’s worth 100 thousand dollars on the racing bill.’ I answered: ‘If it’s worth that much I believe I’ll keep it. It’s worth more to me than anyone else.’ I promptly vetoed the bill. If the bill had been passed without purchase and in a straight, honorable way, I might have let it pass without my signature.” See PAIR and WICKER’S LAW

A Never-Told Story of the 1931 Session

A half-century later, Millard F. Caldwell related this incident of the House in the 1931 extraordinary session in a letter to then Clerk, Allen Morris:

Dear Allen:

I’m in the middle of raking over and fully enjoying the Legislature of past years. You will remember the man (whose name slips me) who started the Tallahassee News and wrote not only informative

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stories but scurrilous stories as well. An active, effective investigative reporter, he insisted that Governor Carlton was crooked and I insisted on the contrary. He insisted that everybody in the House was getting ready to take a bribe on the racetrack bill and I just said phooey.

I’d had lunch at the Floridian and was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch when he came by one day with a list and he said. “I guess you’d not believe those people are taking those bribes this afternoon, would you?” My reply was, “There’s not a word of truth in it.” But I did make a note of a man who sat three or four seats in front of me and whose name was there for $300.

It’s Six or No Dice

I sauntered up by his desk and leaned over to say, “Three hundred is not enough, point your finger and say it will have to be six or no vote.” He was astonished, shocked; he said he didn’t know what I could possibly be talking about. I said, “That’s all right. You just go by and point that finger at the paymaster and tell him it’s six or no dice.” He shook his head in a quandary and I came on back to my seat. But after a while, he walked up toward the front to the northwest corner where he stopped to talk with a member and finally back to the back seat near the door where he pointed his finger as I had told him to.

There must have been a little argument but he walked out and after a while the Dade delegate walked out. A while later my friend came back in and walked all around to the northwest corner of the House and to the water cooler and back to his desk. I walked up by him and leaned over to whisper a question: “Did it work?” He looked up just as he would have leaving the chicken roost and said, “Damn if it didn’t.”

John Elie Mathews, Sr., Jacksonville, House 1929-1931, Senate 1943-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1951-1955, Chief Justice January-April 1955. Doyle Elam Carlton, Sr., Tampa, Senate 1917-1919, Governor 1929-1933. Simon Pierre Robineau, Miami, House 1929-1935. J. Tom Watson, Tampa, House 1931, Attorney General 1941-1949. Raeburn C. Horne, Madison, House 1931, 1947-1948, Senate 1939-1941. Mrs. Edna Giles Fuller, Orlando, House 1929-1931. Donald Stuart Gillis, DeFuniak Springs, House 1918-1919, 1929, Senate 1925-1927, 1933-1939, President 1937. J. Kenneth Ballinger, Tallahassee, House 1953-1956. Patrick C. Whitaker, Tampa, House 1925, Senate 1927-1933, 1939-1941, President 1931. E. Clay Lewis, Jr., Port St. Joe, House 1927-1931, 1939-1943, Speaker 1931. Millard Fillmore Caldwell, Tallahassee, House 1929-1931, U.S. House of Representatives 1933-1941, Governor 1945-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1962-1969, Chief Justice 1967. W. A West, Berrydale, House 1925, 1931. Dan Chappell, Miami, House 1929-1931, 1935. John W. Watson, Kissimmee, House 1897-1905, Speaker 1901, Miami, House 1907, 1911- 1912, 1917-1919, Senate 1925-1935. John Stansel Taylor, Hillsborough County, House 1905, 1909, Pinellas County, House 1912- 1913, Senate 1921-1927, President 1925. Henry Hayes Lewis, Marianna, House 1897-1899, Senate 1931-1935. Dwight Laing Rogers, Broward County, House 1931-1937, Speaker pro tempore 1933, U.S. House of Representatives 1945-1954. William C. Hodges, Tallahassee, Senate 1923-1939, President 1935.

IMPEACHMENT (1)

Billy Joe Rish chaired the House Judiciary Committee in 1975 when Speaker Don Tucker directed him to impanel his committee to consider impeachment charges against three sitting Supreme Court Justices (David McCain, Hal Dekle, and Joe Boyd).

Only Justice McCain was actually impeached by the House. Shortly after this action, McCain and Dekle resigned from the Court before further legislative proceedings could take place.

Justice Boyd who had been alleged to have medical problems later was determined fit to serve and no further action against him was taken. Following the committee’s decision not to pursue charges, Justice Boyd famously ran for reelection as “the only certified sane Justice on the Supreme Court we have ever had in the state of Florida.” He won.

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The House later impeached and the Senate convicted Circuit Court Judge Samuel Smith of Lake City. Rep. Rish handled the prosecution of the case before the Senate. It is the only example in the state’s history of a conviction through impeachment proceedings.

William J. “Billy Joe” Rish, Port St. Joe, House 1970–1978. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974- 1978.

IMPEACHMENT (2) See MURDER IN THE SENATE

INSANE ASYLUM (1)

Representative Fred H. Davis of Leon County, afterwards Speaker, Attorney General, and Chief Justice, opposed an effort in the 1921 House to reduce the appropriation for the hospital for the mentally ill. Davis explained: “Among other good reasons, I vote ‘no’ on cutting down on the Insane Asylum appropriation for the reason that if we are to have an extra session of the Legislature with all the consideration and reconsiderations we have had in the past, with the consequent volume of argument and re-argument on same, I will probably be in the Insane Asylum at the end of the session; and I want the institution for the insane to be well provided for.

Fred Henry Davis, Tallahassee, House 1921-1927, Speaker 1927, Attorney General 1927-1931, Supreme Court Justice 1931-1937, Chief Justice 1933-1935.

INSANE ASYLUM (2)

Early in his political career, Jack Gordon ran for reelection to the school board in Dade County. During the campaign, his opponent was committed to an insane asylum in Michigan for perpetrating an attack on Governor Romney. In spite of being so committed, Gordon’s opponent got 38 percent of the vote.

Jack D. Gordon, Miami Beach, Senate 1972-1992, President Pro Tempore 1982-1984.

INVISIBLE CALENDAR

According to Senator Ken Plante, Senator Lee Weissenborn once complained to the President that he had been informed the Senate was working off an “invisible Calendar” but that he could find no such listing of bills in the printed Calendar of the Senate. He was then quietly informed by another Senator about the “end of session” practice of working off of a list of bills in the Rules Chairman’s coat pocket, which had come to be known as the “invisible Calendar” or “pocket Calendar.”

Kenneth A. “Ken” Plante, Oviedo, Senate 1967-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Lee Weissenborn, Miami, House 1963-1965, Senate 1966-1972.

“IT’S ALL GOING TO WORK OUT”

Joseph P. Cresse, a Public Service Commissioner in 1982 and former State Budget Director, learned the hard way about the legislative process.

Cresse was employed by the State Tuberculosis Board at a time when the then Governor caused to be introduced a bill to abolish the Board. The Board asked Cresse to work with then Senator John S. Rawls to seek to kill the Governor’s bill.

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“I introduced myself to Senator Rawls. ‘Joe,’ he said, ‘don’t worry about it. It’s all going to work out.’ Cresse became more and more nervous when the bill was reported favorably by Senate and House committees, but Rawls again said, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s all going to work out.’”

Within a few days the bill was called up in the Senate and passed. Again he was reassured by Rawls. “The day the bill came up in the House, I was sitting in the balcony. There was long debate. The bill passed second reading and then third reading. The friends I was sitting with turned and said, ‘Well, Joe, it’s all over — you lost your bill.’

“I looked down on the floor and up stood Welborn Daniel, a man whom I had not yet met. He said, ‘Mr. Speaker, I move we do now reconsider the bill we just passed.’ The passage was reconsidered and Daniel moved an amendment to strike out the enacting clause. The amendment passed and the bill was dead. My friends said, ‘Well, Joe, they were just having some fun. ”’

So Cresse learned to believe John Rawls when he said: “It’s all going to work out.”

John Samuel Rawls, Marianna, Senate 1955-1961, President Pro Tempore 1961. C. Welborn Daniel, Clermont, House 1956-1963, Senate 1964-1972.

JERKING OF THE NAVEL

A synonym for being agitated. If not coined by Glen P. Woodard, the grizzled lobbyist for Winn- Dixie Stores, he popularized the term among the legislative family. Representative C. Fred Jones, Chairman of the Committee on Transportation, twice used the words in preface to calming agitated colleagues in Chamber debate during the 1976 session. Jones also described his fellow members as walking around like “stiff-legged dogs” when a fierce floor fight was anticipated.

C. Fred Jones, Auburndale, House 1970-1992.

JOB-SEEKING

Senator Hayes Lewis of Marianna once, in the depression days of the 1930s, encountered one of his constituents weeping in a corridor of the Capitol. Inquiring, he learned she had been rejected for State employment. The Senator went to see Governor Dave Sholtz, who asked what the woman could do.

“She can’t do anything except cook mighty good biscuits and draw her pay every month.” Lewis’ candor so amused Sholtz that the woman got a job.

Henry Hayes Lewis, Marianna, House 1897-1899, Senate 1931-1935. David Sholtz, Daytona Beach, House 1917, Governor 1933- 1937.

JOE LUNCHBOX/JOE SIXPACK

Leading an unsuccessful fight in the 1982 Senate to keep a cap of 18 percent on bank consumer loans, Senator Richard H. Langley said, “Joe Lunchbox needs to pay his hospital bills or to repair his car.” Joe Lunchbox is kin to Joe Sixpack, whose name often has been used by legislators and editorial writers as a symbol of the harried workingman. See ONE-LEGGED BRIDGE TENDER

Richard H. Langley, Clermont, House 1972-1978, Senate 1980-1992, Constitution Revision Commission 1997.

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JOHNNY’S LUNCH BUCKET

When a lobbyist’s employer directs him to seek passage of a bill, this becomes Johnny’s lunch bucket, for failure may result in an empty dinner pail. Named for a bank lobbyist who successfully performed his assignment.

KAHUNA, THE BIG

As Republican Leader of the House during 1964-1972, Donald H. Reed, Jr., presented an unforgettable figure. Rules Chairman Murray H. Dubbin once referred to Reed as “the big Kahuna,” — Hawaiian for “Big Chief,” — and the nickname stuck.

As the House Republican Leader, Reed had negotiated an agreement with Republican Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr., by which legislative pay would be raised from 12 hundred dollars to 12 thousand dollars a year. Once done, the Governor told a joint session that he had vetoed the bill. See KIRK AND THE LEGISLATURE

An angry Reed took the floor and said: “I want to offer my apology to every member of this House who took my word, for the word of the man downstairs, that what just happened would not occur.”

The Legislature overrode the veto. Thereafter, the Republican members dealt with their party’s Governor at arm’s length. Some political observers believe this disruption, plus Kirk’s pursuit of the Vice Presidency, cost the Republicans their opportunity to present a unified party in Florida for a decade. Donald H. Reed, Jr. . . . The Big Kahuna

In debating a facetious, time-killing amendment to the uniform deceptive practices act, Reed said the amendment to outlaw falsies should be adopted as, “it’s about time we stop making mountains out of molehills.”

Dale Patchett turned to Don Reed for advice when he was set to become House Republican Leader in 1984. At the time, Democrats held a commanding majority in the House. According to Patchett, Reed told him: “Always negotiate, never give anything away. If you are asked what time it is, negotiate.”

Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Murray H. Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974. Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., Palm Beach, Governor 1967-1971. R. Dale Patchett, Vero Beach., 1976-1990.

KIRK AND THE LEGISLATURE

Republican Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr., was an advocate of the politics of confrontation. This brought him into frequent collision with the Legislature. Legislators got their first intimation of what was ahead at Kirk’s inaugural when, without prior warning, the Governor announced he was

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calling the Legislature into immediate session to submit a new Constitution to the electorate.

Kirk took direct aim at Senate President Verle A. Pope, calling him “Senator Claghorn” and running a candidate against Pope at the next election. One of the more spirited exchanges came in the Chamber of the House of Representatives on December 1, 1969, when Kirk at a joint session charged the Legislature with enacting a road-building program. As Kirk turned to step from the rostrum the unprecedented happened.

Pope had been succeeded by John E. Mathews, Jr., as Senate President. Mathews stayed Kirk’s departure and said to the Governor and the assembled legislators: “We have listened courteously to your recommendations for the Special Session. I am sure that you understand that among the diversity of opinions shared by people in these two bodies of both parties there are those that question the emergency nature of your recommendation as to how they are going to affect road building in 1970. There are those who want to know whether there are any political implications with reference to promises made about specific road projects and there are those who want to know exactly what would be accomplished by action of this Legislature in December of 1969 that could not be accomplished by action of this Legislature early in 1970. We do not feel that you can prepare for the decade of the 1970s in one week.”

As the Governor stood by his side, the President continued: “...we ask, Governor, that we receive your cooperation as the most important legislator in the state in working out this and other problems. I think that the attitude reflected by your comment, that you have now done all that you can and the rest is up to us, shows the philosophy that cannot possibly bring forth the best legislative work product. So we’re going to be here working full time. We ask that you continue to stay here, work with us.”

The last quoted sentence was a shaft at Kirk’s propensity for travel. See KAHUNA, THE BIG

Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., Palm Beach, Governor 1967-1971. Verle A. Pope, St. Augustine, House 1943, resigned to enter military service before session, Senate 1949-1972, President Pro Tempore 1965, President 1966-1967. John E. “Jack” Mathews, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1957-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President 1969-1970, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

KNUCKLES AND ELBOWS

That’s what Speaker-designate J. Hyatt Brown promised former Speaker E. C. Rowell for the two years ahead if Rowell, as lobbyist for the Florida Trucking Association, did not stay out of Brown’s efforts in 1978 to make the Public Service Commission appointive. The truckers wanted the Commission to remain elective. Brown won by one vote.

J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

LAW

Law is merely common sense as amended by the Legislature. — Chief Justice J. B. Whitfield, as quoted by Vernon Peeples.

Vernon E. Peeples, Punta Gorda, House 1982-1996.

LAW, ALL IT DOES IS CHANGE THE

One of the most illuminating explanations of a bill by a sponsor was, “All it does is change the law,”

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given by Representative Ray Mattox in the 1959 session. That, in its entirety, was his explanation. In the merriment, the bill passed.

Ray Mattox, Winter Haven, House 1956-1968, 1970-1976.

LAWYER, RED-HEADED

When Thomas D. Beasley, twice Speaker and later a Circuit Judge, addressed the House during the 1969 regular session, an old-timer could not help but be reminded of an incident of the 1939 session when Beasley was resisting a bill to increase the retirement benefits of Circuit Judges.

Beasley, who had no equal as a parliamentary gut-fighter, introduced the following amendment: “In Section 2, line 11, strike out the words ‘after the word retirement’ and insert the following: ‘Providing further that all red-headed lawyers in Walton County shall be retired at the age of 33 years on double pay, based on the gross receipts of such lawyer the year previous to this becoming a law.’” Beasley, of course, was the only redheaded lawyer in Walton County. The old-timer thought it best not to remind Judge Beasley of his past opposition to retirement benefits for Judges.

Thomas D. Beasley, DeFuniak Springs, House 1939, 1943-1951, 1955-1959, Speaker 1947, 1959.

LAWYERS, NUMBER OF

House of Representatives

Number of Total Session Attorneys Members Percentage 1929 33 95 35% 1939 45 95 47% 1949 35 95 37% 1959 43 95 45% 1961 39 95 41% 1963 48 125 38% 1965 42 112 38% 1967 47 119 39% 1969/70 44 119 37% 1971/72 45 119 38% 1973/74 46 120 38% 1975/76 34 120 28% 1977/78 33* 120 27% 1979/80 29** 120 24% 1981/82 31 120 26% 1983/84 21 120 26% 1985/86 27 120 23% 1987/88 30 120 25% 1989/90 29 120 24% 1991/92 34 120 28% 2004/05 33 120 28%

* Additionally, three House members with law degrees but not actively practicing.

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** One deceased (Cherry)

Senate

Number of Total Percentage Session Attorneys Members 1929 13 38 34% 1939 16 38 42% 1949 23 38 60% 1959 17 38 45% 1961 15 38 39% 1963 15 45 33% 1965 14 44 39% 1967 22 48 46% 1969/70 21 48 44% 1971/72 20 48 42% 1973/74 12 40 30% 1975/76 11 40 28% 1977/78 13 40 32% 1979/80 13 40 32% 1981/82 10 40 25% 1983/84 10 40 25% 1985/86 12 40 30% 1987/88 11 40 27% 1989/90 10 40 25% 1991/92 14 40 35% 2004/05 14 40 35%

LEADERSHIP

A leader must be honest with people who depend on him. A leader must rather be respected than loved. In politics, most people would rather be loved. — Hyatt Brown

J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980.

LEARNED MEMBERS

According to Doug Stenstrom, Volie Williams “was known as the conscience of the House. He could not get anything passed but he could kill a bill.” Mack Cleveland recalled a day when there was heated argument over a bill in the House. Volie “took the floor and went to the well.” He was a gifted orator but on this day he overreached by putting the rhetorical question to the House. “If there be anyone in this House more learned [about this matter] than I let ‘em stand up!” The whole House stood up.

Douglas Stenstrom, Sanford, Senate 1955-1959. Volie A. Williams, Jr., Seminole, House 1951-1955. Mack N. Cleveland, Jr., Sanford, House 1953-1963, 1966-1967, Speaker pro Tempore 1957, Senate 1963-1966.

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LEARNING THE ROPES

There is no better place to learn the legislative and the political ropes and the human chemistry ropes of politics than in the Florida House of Representatives. — Bob Graham

D. Robert “Bob” Graham, Miami Lakes, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, Governor 1979-1987, U.S. Senate 1987-2004.

LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT OF 1982

The Legislature of 1982 gave Florida its first one-man, one-vote apportionment. The apportionment put an end to any Floridian having to share representation in a multi-member House or Senate district.

For representative or House districts, the “ideal district population” was determined to be 81,219 persons by dividing the 1980 population of the state by the 120 districts.

As passed by the Legislature and approved by the Florida Supreme Court, the largest House district was District 8 with a population of 81,392, which was a deviation from the ideal of 173 people or .21 percent. The smallest House district was District 10 with a population of 81,014, which was a deviation from the ideal of 205 people or .25 percent. The total deviation between the largest and smallest House districts was 378 people, or a .46 percent deviation.

The House plan was characterized by the National Conference of State Legislatures as having the lowest deviation from the ideal of any state.

The plan of apportionment for the Senate had a maximum deviation from the “ideal” of plus 1,287 persons in District 35 to minus 1,279 persons in District 22, or an overall deviation of 2,566 persons from the largest to the smallest district.

The National Conference of State Legislatures found Florida’s Senate plan to be second only to Iowa in terms of population deviation from the ideal.

The plan created seven House districts with black population majorities in 1980 and five additional black access districts with black populations in excess of 30 percent. Likewise, the plan created seven House districts with Hispanic population majorities and two additional Hispanic access districts.

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Committee Room . . . The business of the Legislature largely is conducted in committee. Speaker Bense and President Lee are shown here addressing the appropriations conference committee in 2005.

For the Senate, the plan provided one senatorial district with a black population majority and one additional black access district. Two senatorial districts were provided with Hispanic population majorities and two additional Hispanic access districts.

In 1992, the House and Senate separately prepared for this every-10th-year task of meshing legislative representation with population.

LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE

Of the 21 elected Governors since the turn of the century, from W. S. Jennings through Jeb Bush, only six came to Tallahassee without prior service in the Legislature. Legislative experience seems to help aspirants for higher office in these ways:

1. The Legislature provides an excellent statewide forum through which a person with something to say can make his name known in every section of Florida. The mayor of a large Florida city might perform excellent service for his community, for example, yet be little known outside his particular municipality.

2. The lawmaker, especially if he serves more than one term, generally gains enough acquaintances in all parts of Florida to provide the invaluable nucleus of a statewide campaign organization. Moreover, he becomes familiar with both state and local governmental problems — the things he’ll have to talk about when he starts campaigning.

3. The rough-and-tumble of House and Senate debate provides a good training school for no-holds- barred stump activity.

William Sherman Jennings, Brooksville, House 1893-1895, Speaker 1895, Governor 1901-1905. Jeb Bush, Miami, Governor 1998- 2006.

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LEGISLATIVE ORNITHOLOGY

Prompted by a series of objections from Representative Ed S. Whitson, Jr., to his bill regulating bingo operators, Representative George Firestone told the House in 1972 that he had identified a new bird in the Legislature.

“His name,” Firestone said, “is the ‘striped-white-tie nitpicker.’” Whitson was wearing a red and white broad-striped jacket, white tie, and blue shirt. “The striped-white-tie nitpicker can be identified by its colors — red, white and blue — and by the fact that it flies backward,” Firestone said. “This bird doesn’t know much about where he’s going, but he’s an expert on where he’s been. The male of the species lays the eggs,” Firestone continued, to rising guffaws, “and the eggs of this bird are square, which is the reason, Mr. Speaker, why the nitpicker rises from his perch so often.” Striped-White-Tie Nitpicker . . . “The nitpicker,” Firestone said, “has a ravenous appetite, consuming, on an average day, more than 6 thousand individual nits which weigh, all in all, less then five grams. The question here is whether we want to regulate bingo operators,” Firestone concluded with a chortle, “or whether we want to see how many nits a nitpicker could pick if a nitpicker could pick nits.”

“Mr. Speaker, this is going too far,” Whitson protested, laughing.

Ed S. Whitson, Jr., Clearwater, House 1966-1974. George Firestone, Miami, House 1966-1972, Senate 1972-1978, Secretary of State 1979-1987.

LEGISLATORS CAPTURED

The 1864 Legislature had an unusual problem: “Enemy (Union troops) [have] captured, taken off and hold as prisoners” two State Senators, one Representative and a number of other state and county officials. “Under existing statutes, no provisions of law exist to remedy the evils to the public interests caused by the absence of these officers.”

LEON COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY

Although an inland county, Leon would have become part of a port authority under a special act (SB 1665) that passed in 1967. The law was later found to have been improperly enacted by failing to follow constitutional requirements for publication and passage of local legislation.

“LION OF ST. JOHNS”

The Florida Legislature is composed of some of the outstanding citizens of the 67 counties. Even so, an occasional legislator towers above his colleagues. Such a man was Senator Verle A. Pope of St. Augustine, who was known to friends and newspaper readers as the “Lion of St. Johns.”

In talking about Pope, former Governor LeRoy Collins once said, “There was nothing orthodox about Verle Pope. He was an individual all the way. He was highly intelligent. He had a love for Florida history. He was compassionate. His mind never grew old. He had his dreams for a better Florida and then worked unceasingly to see that they come true.”

“Yet,” continued Governor Collins, “with all his virtues Pope was not a neat person in the

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conventional sense.”

Not a Neat Person

Coming to Tallahassee as a forty-year-old freshman Senator in 1959, Ed H. Price, Jr., had agreed to room with Pope. Arriving before Pope, Price hung up the three new suits he had bought to make a favorable impression during the special session. A call from the motel front desk advised Price that Pope had arrived and needed help with his gear.

“When Pope opened the trunk I saw more hunting and fishing gear than I had ever seen in my life. ‘Verle, where’s your suitcase?’ I inquired. He said, ‘That’s it,’ pointing to a little briefcase size bag. ‘Well, where’s your suit bag?’ ‘I don’t have one.’ In the back of the car Odd Couple . . . Verle A. Pope (left) and Ed H. Price shared motel room was half a case of Beechnut chewing tobacco. despite their disparate habits

“As I went to the car to drive to the Capitol, I saw all those brown stripes down the side and when I opened the door I found the seat was covered with brown specks. ‘Verle, what in the world are these?’ ‘Well,’ he replied, ‘I chew but I don’t swaller.’ I told him I wouldn’t ride in his car until he took it across the street to a filling station and had it washed.”

Price said there was a Senator from Miami who clashed with Pope. Once the Miamian taunted Pope for having his shirttail hanging out as he paced the Senate Chamber during debate. “Well,” said Price, “Pope didn’t say a word. He simply dropped his trousers and tucked his shirttail neatly in and put his pants in place and that was the end of the bill the Miamian was trying to pass.”

Former Senator Elmer O. Friday said Pope had a fiercely competitive spirit that left other Senators wondering where he was coming from, “so you stayed gun shy.” “Pope was perhaps not a great builder,” continued Friday, “but never doubt, never doubt, he was probably amongst the most skilled in killing bad bills.”

Friday said Pope, on occasion, denounced some bill, to the puzzlement of his colleagues “because we would be looking at the bill that had been called up for debate and listening to his comments and there would seem to be little relationship between them. Then, suddenly, we would realize he was talking about another bill than the one before the Senate. This having been pointed out to Pope, he would shift gears and start pushing the poor unoffending bill that he never had heard of before right off the floor just for the exercise.”

Right to Exaggerate for Emphasis

His cousin and Senate contemporary, Doyle E. Carlton, Jr., said Pope was a great storyteller. “I remember on one occasion when he was telling me the same story for the third time. The numbers

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kept getting bigger and there was some embellishment and exaggeration. I stopped him and said, ‘Verle, I believe when you told me that story before there weren’t as many people involved as you have involved here now.’ ‘Well, Doyle,’ he replied, ‘yeah, that’s true. Now don’t think I’m lying. I’m just emphasizing. You know it’s all right to exaggerate a bit for emphasis.’ And he laughed and I laughed and I thought, well, he always had an answer — you could never catch him short.”

Those were some of the anecdotes recalled by friends of Verle Pope when they gathered in Tallahassee in 1980 at the invitation of Governor Bob Graham to contribute to an oral history of Pope. But the newspaper readers of Florida during his service knew him as the “Lion of St. Johns” for his almost daily encounters with the “Pork Chop Gang” until the Senate’s apportionment was upset by the Federal court and Pope was transformed from a loner within a minority to the leader of the new majority as President of the Senate.

Robert Pittman of the St. Petersburg Times remembered Pope as saying in summation that his accomplishments as a legislator were in killing bad legislation and special-interest legislation and in bringing a community college within the reach of every Floridian. He stumped the state on behalf of the Junior College System. “I was not alone in that but it probably represents my most constructive accomplishment,” Pope said. Pope died in 1973. His wife, Edith, who predeceased him, was a novelist of renown.

The capstone to an evening of recollections was placed by Editor Pittman, who said: “Verle Pope lives. The legend of Verle Pope lives because he practiced the kind of politics that is timeless. The ideas of representing the people well, of equality of representation and voting rights are timeless in our society. His message to politicians today is, ‘Be right and you shall live forever.’”

Verle A. Pope, St. Augustine, House 1943, resigned to enter military service before session, Senate 1949-1972, President Pro Tempore 1966, President 1967. LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Ed H. Price, Jr., Bradenton, Senate 1959-1966. Elmer O. Friday, Fort Myers, Senate 1962-1970, Senate Secretary 1970-1974. Doyle Elam Carlton, Jr., Wauchula, Senate 1953-1959, 1965-1966. D. Robert “Bob” Graham, Miami Lakes, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, Governor 1979-1987, U.S. Senate 1987-2004 .

LOBBY SITUATION ROOM

The first public look at the inside of how a lobby functions came in 1939 with the hearings of the Temporary National Economic Committee established by Congress to investigate the concentration of economic power.

In its review of life insurance, the committee learned how that industry lobbied the Florida Legislature against the levying of an additional four percent tax, for a total of six percent, on life insurance premiums.

The assistant general counsel of the Association of Life Underwriters, a former Congressman from West Virginia, was in command of the Florida operation. First, each life agent was furnished with the names of members of the House and Senate in his locality and asked to ascertain the legislators’ attitude toward insurance.

When the session convened, a situation room was established at a Tallahassee hotel. Quoting from a memorandum prepared for the Association:

“In order to obtain the most effective contact with members of the Senate and House, the following

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course was followed:

“1. The geographical location of each Member was indicated upon a large map of the State by using red tacks for House and blue tacks for Senate members. Attached to each tack was the name and post office address of a particular member. The map was on a large scale and clearly discernible for ready reference.

“2. An individual card index was made for members of the House of Representatives and a similar index for members of the Senate. Each carried the post office address and personal data of the particular member. Notation was made in some instances as to the best method of approach. For example, if a particular life insurance agent was personally acquainted with a member, a notation was made to that effect.

“It was not considered wise, however, to place much personal information on these cards. This was carried on a separate memorandum. To indicate a member’s attitude toward insurance, or the names of the particular agents with whom he was on intimate terms, might be subsequently the cause of some embarrassment to both the member and ourselves in the event that the cards should come to the attention of unauthorized persons. Consequently, records as to attitude of members or each plan of contact were in most cases omitted from the card record, although preserved by independent means.”

LOBBY, KING OF

Legislative sessions long past, when he was “king of the lobbyists,” danced brightly in memory like the flames as McQueen Chaires rocked beside a fireplace in his home at Old Town when he reminisced with a newsman in 1957.

Then 86, the “king” could talk with the candor of age about secrets of his lobbying successes. And he was successful. He beat off the compulsory dipping of cattle for nine sessions. He supplied the votes for other causes: horse racing, the telephone company, and even expansion of the Capitol.

Talking of 1909 through 1927, he opined, “things are impossible now that were possible then,” like sneaking the House back into session after its formal adjournment for a weekend.

The heartiness of his laughter in reminiscence belying his age, the “king” recalled that day when he hired a legislative hanger-on to shinny up a tree to spy on a rival camp’s strategy gathering.

“A bunch of fellows, anti-race-track fellows, were up in the Leon Hotel,” explained Chaires. “I knew what room they were in on the third floor. So I gave that fellow 5 dollars to climb a big old oak right outside their window. He could see ‘em all. He could hear ‘em, too. And he came down with all I needed to know about what they were going to do.”

And then there was that time when the House recessed for the weekend — or so the opposition thought.

“There were two fellows fighting the racetrack bill like everything,” said Chaires. “We gave them to

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understand there wouldn’t be a session that Saturday. We even kind of helped those fellows get started on their way home downstate. But we passed the word for our crowd to stay in town. After those other fellows left Tallahassee, we convened the House and passed the bill. Of course, that wouldn’t be possible today.”

Old Bluesteel

In his heyday as a lobbyist, McQueen was known as “Old Bluesteel” because when he promised votes, he delivered them.

He maintained headquarters for the racetrack lobby in a big room which the Leon Hotel (located on the square presently occupied by Tallahassee’s Federal Courthouse) used otherwise Leon Hotel . . . this hotel, on site of present federal building on Park Avenue, was a for the display of salesmen’s samples. center of legislative fun and games from 1882 until destroyed by fire in 1925.

“It was conveniently located on the ground floor,” recalled Chaires. “We built a long table, running nearly the full length of the room, and every night spread out a big supper and plenty of beer and whiskey. The legislators could get what they wanted and all they wanted, and, of course, it didn’t cost them anything. The room would sometimes be so full that some would have to wait until others finished and left.”

The food and drink, in the Leon’s sample room or on chartered train excursions to Wakulla Springs, were important elements in creating a friendly feeling between legislators and lobbyists. But there were other factors. Vote swapping and money were among these.

“I’d see a Senator or a Representative who had a pet bill he wanted passed. I’d go to him and say that I had so many votes I could give his bill if he’d give me his vote for my bill. We’d trade.”

McQueen Chaires, Old Town, 1909, 1917.

Money Makes the Mare Go

NOTE: Digested from the column “Cracker Politics” by Allen Morris published in the St. Petersburg Times, Jacksonville Journal, Pensacola News-Journal and other newspapers for April 20-21, 1957.

As for money, McQueen Chaires expressed its worth in an aphorism still understandable in this motor age: “Money makes the mare go.”

“You see, the Legislature had been contaminated by some folks who used a lot of money to get what they wanted. They got the fellows into the habit of expecting money. You have to remember that the legislators were not in as good condition financially as those today. That means the fellows today can afford to stand on principle.”

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Here’s a specific case history of how it worked in those days:

“The folks in Tallahassee wanted an appropriation to expand the Capitol. I’ve forgotten the amount, but it was pretty big. The banker-mayor of Tallahassee came to me and said: ‘Mack, we’re short three or four votes. And we don’t know what we’re going to do unless you help us.’

“I was a member that session, and I said, ‘Why I’m for it, I’m voting for it.’ And he said, ‘But we want you to do something more — we want you to get us some votes — we’ve got to have them bad.’ I said, ‘Well, I guess I can get you some votes if you’ll furnish me some for my bill and I’ll need about 500 dollars to boot.’ He said, ‘I’ll get you the votes and the boot’ and I went to work. I went to the cowboys and said, ‘You know these people are giving us votes and we must give them votes for the Capitol.’

“And they said, ‘All right, we’ll do whatever you say.’ When the vote came, we gave him 16 more votes than he needed.”

Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995. McQueen Chaires, Old Town, House 1909, 1917.

LOBBYING, FIRESTONE’S EXAMPLE

As Chairman of the Committee charged with enforcing ethical standards, Representative George Firestone lectured freshmen on the strings attached to gifts from special interest lobbies.

“Probably the first lobbyist was Delilah when she was lobbying Samson,” Firestone told the rookie lawmakers. “I just want to remind you that when it was all over, he had lost his hair and gone blind.”

George Firestone, Miami, House 1966-1972, Senate 1972-1978, Secretary of State 1979-1987.

LOBBYISTS, PENALTIES

The 1976 Senate censured David R. Arpin, lobbyist for the Florida Hotel and Motel Association, for comments about Senator Kenneth M. Myers of Miami written by Arpin for the association’s legislative bulletin.

The Arpin Case

On May 28, the Senate Sergeant at Arms served Arpin with a letter giving him notice of the complaint and of a meeting of the Committee on Rules & Calendar to consider the Myers complaint. Arpin also was served with a subpoena directing him to appear at the meeting.

At the meeting, Arpin submitted a letter stating a retraction would appear in the next edition of the association bulletin.

The Committee, with Senator Lew Brantley of Jacksonville as Chairman, recommended that Arpin be censured, “a censure being an official, public reprimand by the Florida Senate, criticizing adversely as blameworthy, disapproving of dispraising and condemning with stern judgment Mr. Arpin for violating the obligations of a lobbyist as contained in Rule 9 of the Florida Senate.” The Senate adopted the recommendation. Arpin remained a lobbyist. He withdrew at the commencement

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of the 1978 session as representative of the Hotel and Motel Association but registered on behalf of “self” and then for the Food Service Lodging Association.

House Member Accused

In the House on June 4, 1970, the Committee on Ethics concluded there was no merit in a conflict of interest charge made against a House member by a nursing home lobbyist. The Committee did not take action against the lobbyist because the most severe penalty would have been banishment and the session ended the next day. A member of the Committee said his confidence in the lobbyist had been shattered and, “I think he is dead as a lobbyist. I think his effectiveness has been destroyed.”

Penalties

Sections 11.045 and 11.061, Florida Statutes, provide penalties for violations of the 1978 law requiring the registration of lobbyists. Any person swearing falsely can be found guilty in court of a misdemeanor. Any person declared guilty by the appropriate committee of the Senate or House may, by a majority vote of the Senate or House, be reprimanded, censured, prohibited from lobbying for the remainder of the legislative biennium, or placed on probation. Prior to enactment of the 1978 law, the penalty provided in the separate rules of the two houses was barring a violator from lobbying for the remainder of the session.

Kenneth M. “Ken” Myers, Miami, House 1965-1968, Senate 1968-1980. Lew Brantley, Jacksonville, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970- 1978, President 1976-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

LOBBYISTS’ BREAKFAST CLUB

Easily the oldest among Florida’s continuing legislative traditions is the Lobbyists’ Breakfast Club. Established in 1921 by Major A. D. Tomasello, the club opens for ham and eggs and business at 5:30 each morning of a legislative session.

The site of the club has floated with the times in Tallahassee, from the Cherokee Hotel to the Duval Hotel to the Holiday Inn-Downtown to the Hilton Hotel to Angelo’s and then the Governors Club. The club in the 1980s had some 20 members, lobbyists representing big business.

A long-time member was Glen P. Woodard, representing Winn-Dixie, who was quoted by The Miami Herald as growling, “We’re rough, tough, irascible, money-making bastards. We take a strong stand on issues we care about.”

Tomasello, who died in 1968, was known as “Major” because of service in World Wars I and II. He represented the Florida Trucking Association for a quarter of a century. Tomasello’s success belied the common belief that the most effective lobbying is done over a highball in a smoke-filled hotel room or elsewhere. A teetotaler, he insisted that “honesty and truthfulness” are the essence of good lobbying. He might have added “persistence.” In 1951 Tomasello saw a bill become law he had gotten through one house or the other eight times since it first was introduced in 1947. The bill had been vetoed by two governors. Tomasello’s younger brother, Peter, was Speaker of the 1933 House.

Primarily for the exchange of the day’s marching orders for the lobbyists as they sought to cope with

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legislative action in a myriad of committees and subcommittees as well as in the two chambers, the Breakfast Club also invited a few legislators to drop by for the ham and eggs.

Peter Tomasello, Jr., Okeechobee, House 1929-1933, 1939, Speaker 1933.

LOGJAM

Despite time tables and good intentions, every legislature and the Congress ends its sessions with a crush of “must” legislation to pass. Why? Ralph H. Haben, Jr., as Chairman of the House Committee on Rules & Calendar in 1979-1980, explained to a newsman: “When you’re dealing with human beings, number 1, they want to procrastinate, and number 2, they want to posture.”

Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982.

Logjam

LOVED TO DEATH

Now and then, a bill will reach the floor with a title broad enough for amendments to be added by members alert to the possibility of getting their own pet bill passed. Or, the bill will be loaded up with amendments that may reduce its likelihood of getting through the other house or approved by the Governor. The sponsor likely will claim the bill is being “loved to death.” Loved to Death MAJORITY, MINORITY LEADERS

In the Florida House, as in the United States Senate, the party leaders rely chiefly upon persuasiveness. As Donald R. Matthews wrote in U.S. Senators and Their World, a major share of their time “is devoted to lobbying — flattering, cajoling, appealing to the senator’s sense of party loyalty, arguing the merits of legislative measures. The more effective leaders are, in fact, conducting a continuous caucus on the floor, in the corridors and cloakrooms, over the telephone.”

The unfolding since 1967 of the two-party system in the Florida House has made a necessity of the majority and the minority leader offices to promote party cohesiveness. The task of those leaders has been compounded by the single-member districts which became operative with the Organization Session of 1982. It was felt these districts tended to cause members to be more parochial in viewpoint.

The first Democratic Majority Leader was Representative Carey Matthews of Dade County, appointed by Speaker Frederick H. Schultz for the sessions of 1969 and 1970. His Republican opposite number was Donald H. Reed, Jr., of Palm Beach County, elected at the GOP caucus. (That has been the pattern of selection: the Majority Leader, being an arm of the Speaker, being appointed by the Speaker. The Minority Leader has been elected by the GOP caucus.) See THE SHADOW SPEAKER

The leaders also are the center of a web of “whips” who pass information down to their party’s members and up to the leadership on the attitude of the members toward legislative proposals.

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Beginning with the 1985 session, the majority and minority offices performed member services beyond what had been offered previously. Each office, for instance, prepared “dummies” of newsletters which reported what the House had been doing on the main issues but allowed space for each member to personalize the newsletter with comments likely to be of special concern to the member’s constituency.

Carey Matthews, Miami, House 1961-1971. Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker 1968-1970. Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

MANNISMS

No legislator is remembered for more spur-of-the-moment quips than Representative Robert T. Mann. Here’s a sampling:

Rent-a-Legislator: In a debate over conflict of interest rules, Mann agreed with a member who said he resented the insinuation that a legislator could be bought. “Gentlemen,” said Mann, “we are all agreed that no member of this Chamber can be bought. The purpose of these Rules, however, is to assure the public that a legislator can’t be rented for several months.”

Akin to a Steer: Representative Mann said, in debate: “I ought to know what a steer feels like — I’ve had the same treatment politically this Robert T. Mann . . . rent a legislator entire session.”

Obesity Tolls: In responding to a witticism about obesity and its application to some members, Representative Jerome Pratt, a heavyweight, asked on whom the toll had been taken. Representative Mann replied: “Ask not for whom obesity tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Mosquito in Nudist Colony: Representative Ben Williams was one of the few colleagues who could stump Mann. Once Williams told Mann that he was like a mosquito in a nudist colony trying to decide where to light. See CONFUSION

Subtle Point: Mann, after being harangued, told the member, “You either have made a very subtle point or no point at all.”

Legislator’s Prestige: When the House was considering a bill to authorize special automobile license tags for legislators, Mann offered an amendment to include former legislators. In support of his amendment, Mann argued: “I see no reason for a legislator’s prestige to decline as the voters’ wisdom increases.”

Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, Public Service Commission 1978-1981. Jerome Pratt, Palmetto, House 1966-1970. Ben C. Williams, Port St. Joe, House 1962-1968.

MARK HIM DOUBTFUL

Representative Murray Dubbin of Dade County was understandably proud of the education law enacted by the 1974 Legislature. The law was so much a personal creation that his colleagues named it for him,

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“The Dubbin Act.”

Then Dubbin received a letter from Raymond O. Sheldon, Superintendent of Schools for Hillsborough County, which said: “This is probably the most unnecessary piece of legislation ever passed by the Florida Legislature: it will create more bureaucracy, bind us up in more red tape, and waste more time and money than any piece of legislation that I have ever known anything about.

“In short, the male aides who assisted you on this Act should be emasculated; your female aides should be boiled in oil; and you should be shot at sunrise.”

This was not a confidential appraisal. Sheldon sent copies to all other county superintendents and to the Hillsborough legislative delegation.

Dubbin, upon reading the letter, commented: “Better mark him doubtful.”

Murray H. Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974.

MARY ANN

Not a person but the code-name for the Florida Women’s Political Caucus Campaign Support Committee. Chairperson Nancy Traver of Miami was quoted by Bill Kaczor of TODAY newspaper as saying the committee’s name was too long for everyday conversation and FWPCCSC was an unpronounceable acronym. Somebody tossed out “Mary Ann” as a substitute and it stuck.

MEDITERRANEAN MALAPROPISM

Florida citrus was devastated in the 1930s by Mediterranean Fruit Flies that had the habit of laying eggs in fruit and making it unfit for shipment. In the 1950s, these pests returned with a vengeance and legislation was required to get them under control. As the freshman Chair of the Senate Citrus Committee, the duty to shepherd this legislation fell to Doug Stenstrom. As Stenstrom commenced his presentation on this serious problem, he noted Senators giggling at first and then outright laughing. He interrupted his remarks to ask his seat mate, Bud Dickinson, what was so funny. Dickenson replied that he, Stenstrom, had in every instance referred to the insects as “Mediterranean Flute Fries.”

Douglas Stenstrom, Sanford, Senate 1955-1959. Fred O. Dickenson Jr., Palm Beach, House 1955, Senate 1956-1959, Comptroller 1965-1975.

MEOW MIX

Phil Lewis recalls when Senator Jack Gordon suggested a package of tax increases that would be imposed exclusively on “Fat Cats.” This proposal was known as the “Meow Mix,” after the popular brand of cat food. According to Lewis, Gordon’s proposal was foremost among the causes that led to the formation of the Citizens Council for Budget Research, now known as Tax Watch.

Philip D. “Phil” Lewis, Riviera Beach, Senate 1970-1980, President 1978-1980. Jack D. Gordon, Miami Beach, Senate 1972-1992, President Pro Tempore 1982-1984

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MICROPHONES AT DESKS

Doyle Conner recalls that microphones were first installed at each member’s Chamber desk for the 1951 regular session. Before then, members would address their colleagues from “the well” of the House. See WELL OF THE HOUSE

Doyle Connor, Starke, House 1951-1959, Speaker 1957, Commissioner of Agriculture 1961-1991.

MINORITY LISTENING POST

From correspondence with Don Reed:

“During both the 1969 and 1970 sessions, my Minority Secretary was Marie Robinson and my two administrative assistants were Peter Dunbar (later to become an outstanding Republican member of the House) and Jon Shebel, a Viet Nam war hero (later to become President of Associated Industries of Florida). It was the best small staff ever to serve a legislator! Although Speaker Schultz was very fair and although I was included in most leadership meetings, obviously we were not privy to the strategy sessions of the Democrats, nor did we always know what bills the Rules Chairman was going to place on Special Order.

“For almost two years we appeared to know much more about what the Democrats were doing than we should have. Very simple – the Minority offices was relegated to a cubby-hole office above the House floor, which offices had been constructed so as to have two levels of offices in the old Capitol House wing where there had been only one. Our office was directly over the Rules Chairman’s office, and the two-story windows went directly up from his office to mine with sufficient space between windows and floor/ceiling for conversations to carry from one floor to the next. We could hear every word of every conversation Rules Chairman Rowell had in his office for two years!”

Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Peter M. “Pete” Dunbar, Crystal Beach, House 1978-1988. Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker 1968-1970. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965.

MINUTE, IT WON’T TAKE BUT A

Popularized by A. H. “Gus” Craig, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules & Calendar from the 1975 session through the 1978 session. With the House anxious to adjourn, Craig would plead for the taking up of another bill with the statement: “It won’t take but a minute.” He said it again and again until the saying became a standard introduction for anyone wanting to bring up a bill.

A. H. “Gus” Craig, St. Augustine, House 1956-1963, 1966-1978, Speaker pro tempore 1972-1974.

MISSING LINE, THE

As Governor-elect, Claude R. Kirk, Jr., observed the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention which provided the groundwork for the Constitution of 1968. He called the Legislature into four special sessions for constitutional revision. In short, Kirk evidenced an unmistakable interest in overhauling the Constitution of 1885. He was the first elected Republican Governor since 1873. He belonged to the confrontational school of politics, which brought him into frequent conflict with the Democratic majority in the Legislature, and in particular with House Speaker Ralph D. Turlington.

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When legislative action was completed on the three joint resolutions which were to be submitted to the electorate for ratification, Speaker Turlington directed the Clerk of the House, Allen Morris, not to transmit the resolutions until he received word from Turlington. Until then, joint resolutions went to the Governor although, unlike in the case of bills, the chief executive could not veto these. Perhaps the occasion never had arisen to deviate from the usual course of enrolling joint resolutions with a transmittal sheet that had a line and space for the Governor’s signature. Turlington had that line removed on the constitutional revision resolutions.

The call came from Turlington at the Mansion directing the Clerk to bring the documents there. The Clerk found Governor Kirk in the Mansion garden with a small table set up with a number of the orange-ink pens Kirk regularly used. Facing the table and the seated Governor was a battery of television cameras, the Tallahassee regulars augmented by others brought in from stations not usually represented in Tallahassee plus photographers from the State’s Development Commission to record this historic moment.

Kirk made some prefatory remarks, reached for a pen, and then discovered there was no space for his signature. This did not faze the Governor. He simply spread his oversized name on the pages.

Perhaps Turlington was the winner in the long run, for the passage of time has caused the orange ink to fade and likely to disappear.

Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., Palm Beach, Governor 1967-1971. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995.

MISSING PLAQUE

To the bill authorizing restoration of the Old Capitol, the 1978 Senate added this amendment: “A plaque shall be placed in the lobby of the new Capitol and shall be inscribed as follows: This plaque is dedicated to Senator Lee Weissenborn, whose valiant effort to move the Capitol to Orlando was the prime motivation for construction of this building.”

It has been presumed that the Senator responsible for the amendment had acted in a moment of whimsy, expecting the House to strike the amendment. This would have required return of the bill to the Senate for concurrence. The House sponsors were unwilling to risk loss of the bill and took the amendment.

The plaque, donated by Kenneth Plante of Oviedo after he retired from the Senate, was placed in the lobby in 1983. Plante despaired of the State acting. Weissenborn’s principal reasons for wanting to move the Capitol were his fear of flying and the long trip to Tallahassee from his district in Miami.

Lee Weissenborn, Miami, House 1963-1965, Senate 1966-1972. Kenneth A. “Ken” Plante, Oviedo, Senate 1967-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

MISSING SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION

The people ratified a new State Constitution in 1886. The passage below from the 1887 House Journal indicates that the version of the constitution submitted for ratification was missing a section adopted by the 1885 Convention. A thorough review of the Journal fails to reveal the substance of the missing section.

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“Your joint committee to whom was referred the investigation of loss of missing section of new Constitution of Florida respectfully beg leave to make the following report: That we have taken the testimony of several witnesses, which is on file with Senate report, and also examined the files and engrossed copy of Article XVI, of new Constitution, entitled Miscellaneous Provisions, and find that the so-called missing section does not appear in the engrossed copy. That when the engrossed copy was given to the Committee on Engrossing in the Constitutional Convention it was their duty to have carefully examined the same and certified its loss to the Convention, which was not done, but evidently overlooked, and therefore when engrossed copy was returned to the printer it was of course omitted in the Journals and does not appear. Your committee would also state that the original slip containing missing section was undoubtedly lost between the printer, Secretary of the Convention and Engrossing Clerk, but they do not intend to say that such loss was intentional, but that it was undoubtedly caused by the slips being accidentally detached and lost; and that its loss was not discovered by the committee who reported the Article as correctly engrossed, when such evidently was not the case.

“Your committee would further state that after full and careful examination and investigation of all the facts and circumstances connected with the loss of the so-called missing section, they cannot find any person wholly to blame in this matter, but that its loss was simply caused in the hurry and rush of business and overlooked. That Messrs. Dorr & Bowen, the printers for the Convention, who have been so severely censured and charged with the intentional suppression and concealment of the so called missing section are certainly not responsible for its omission in the engrossed copy, or any neglect of the Engrossing Committee, and are certainly blameless; and that the said charges so made by the Times-Union have not been sustained. Although Mr. C. H. Jones, the editor and proprietor, was invited by your committee to appear before them in regard to the matter of the missing section, he has failed and excused himself from so doing.

“That the Times-Union who published the said grave charges against Messrs. Dorr & Bowen did so willfully and without evidence to injure their good name.”

MONKEY BILL

The 1927 House of Representatives passed a bill, after prolonged debate in committee and Chamber, prohibiting, “the teaching as fact any theory that denies the existence of God, that denies the divine creation of man, or to teach in any way atheism or infidelity” The bill also banned the use of any textbook containing such material or “vulgar, obscene or indecent matter.” This was Florida’s version of the legislation enacted in other states which culminated in the so-called “monkey trial” of a teacher in Tennessee which pitted William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow. In Florida, however, the 1927 House bill died on the Senate Calendar after the Senate Committee on Education reported the bill “without recommendation.” In the House, a motion was made to spread on the Journal any “undelivered speeches.” Representative F. L. D. Carr responded to the invitation with the following verse:

I am now a legislator Ah, woe to me! I’m between the Devil And the deep blue sea. This bloody evolution Has already “got my goat.” On the blasted, bloomin’ question

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I don’t know how to vote. To gain my next election, I know the bill must pass, So I guess I’ll ape the monkey By voting like an ass.

Mr. Carr, however, voted “nay” on the bill’s passage. He did not return to the House at the next session.

Fielding. L. D. Carr, Tampa, House 1927.

MOTHERHOOD BILL

The kind no legislator expecting reelection can afford to vote against — in the opinion of its sponsor. In North Carolina, these are known as “dog” bills, for “Who would come between a man and his dog?” Motherhood Bill . . . MULTIPLE REPRESENTATION

Representative Robert J. “Bob” Starks, an airline pilot, earned the distinction of having been elected to the House from two distant districts. In the 1987-1988 House he represented District 118 (Dade County) and in 1991-1992 he spoke for District 36 (Orange County).

In prior years, these members represented two separate districts: Dewey M. Johnson was elected from Hernando County to serve in the 1939 and 1945 Houses and the 1941 and 1943 Senates. Moving to Quincy, he was elected from Gadsden County to the House in 1947 and 1949 and to the Senate in 1951 through 1965. He served as President in 1959.

Joel L. Potter represented Marion County in the 1941 House and Washington County in the 1947 House. L. C. Crofton represented Washington County in the 1921 House and Brevard County in the 1943 House.

John W. Watson represented Osceola County in the House for the sessions of 1897 through 1905, being its Speaker in 1901, and then Dade County in the House for the sessions of 1907 through 1919 and next in the Senate, 1925 through 1935.

Robert J. “Bob” Starks, Homestead, House 1986-1988, Maitland, House 1990-1992, Casselberry, House 1992-2000. Dewey Macon Johnson, Brooksville, House 1939, Senate 1941-1943, House 1945, Quincy, House 1947-1949, Senate 1951-1965, President 1959. Joel L. Potter, Ocala, House 1941, Chipley, House 1947-1948. John W. Watson, Kissimmee, 1897-1905, Speaker 1901, Miami, House 1907-1919, Senate 1925-1935.

MURDER IN THE SENATE

The 1877 House Journal includes the following passage calling for the impeachment of a circuit judge:

“Whereas, It is published that Hon. R. B. Archibald, Circuit Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of this State, as a witness before a committee of the United States Senate testified as follows:

‘The State Senate [of Florida] stood twelve Republicans to twelve Democrats, and Johnson was

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selected because his District was a close one, and deliberately murdered for the purpose of giving the Democrats the ascendancy in that branch of the Legislature. The evidence against Richard, the assassin, was clear, connected, and amounted to a certainty of mathematical demonstration, and yet the jury refused to convict him. The moment he was arrested, the whole Democratic Bar of Jacksonville, and nearly every Democratic lawyer in the State, volunteered their services in his defence (sic), while every effort was made by the best citizens to throw the officers of justice off the tract and facilitate the escape of the murderer.’

“Therefore Resolved, That the Committee on Judiciary be, and they are hereby instructed to procure a sworn copy of the testimony given by said Archibald before said committee of the Senate of the United States, and report to this assembly on the liability of said Archibald to impeachment on account of said testimony;”

The Journal shows that the resolution was adopted and several committee reports received but does not reveal that formal impeachment proceedings were convened.

MYSTERY BILL

From the Senate Journal of 1877, this excerpt in its entirety:

“Senate Bill No.___

“To be entitled an act in relation to _____

“Was read the first time by title, and on motion, the rule was suspended, and the bill was read the second time, and on motion, the bill was indefinitely postponed.”

NESTING

The name “nesting” was given in the 1982 legislative reapportionment where each Senate district would have three complete House districts within its boundaries. The House wanted nesting, the Senate did not and ultimately won.

NEWSBOYS IN CHAMBER

Representative J. M. Rivers urged the adoption by the 1903 House of a resolution prohibiting newspaper boys from “running at large in the House of Representatives during the session.” Representative John B. Johnston moved the resolution be laid upon the table, which was agreed to.

J. M. Rivers, Gainesville, House 1901-1903. John B. Johnston, Dade City, Constitutional Convention 1885, Dade City, House 1893, 1903-1905, Speaker 1893.

NICE DAY Newsboy Representative Gene Ready once told this story of a campaign exchange: “I passed this guy at the post office one day and asked him how he was doing. He replied, ‘I’m minding my own business like you should be doing.’ I replied that I thought I was minding my own business. Then he said, ‘Y’all politicians ain’t nothing but a bunch of crooks anyhow,’ and turned and walked away. So I grinned and called after him, ‘Have a nice day now,’ whereupon he yelled back, ‘I won’t if’n you want me to.’”

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Gene Ready, Lakeland, House 1976-1984.

NIGHT SESSIONS AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Night sessions have been risky at times because there is something about having a drink or two which will turn usually somber, serious legislators into jokers.

There was such a night session of the 1957 House (presided over, ironically, by Doyle Conner, a teetotaler). Orlando Sentinel reporter Jim Hardee wrote a news story about the festive evening. In an effort to mask the identity of the legislator purveying liquor to seatmates, Hardee referred to him only as “a prominent Central Florida House Member.”

The public outcry that followed virtually put an end to night sessions. And, at the next election, it spelled defeat for two prominent Central Florida legislators the voters suspected of being the guilty party. The real culprit was reelected easily.

Representative Louis Wolfson caused the removal of a partition separating the two rooms of his office just off the House Chamber in 1969. This enlarged space Wolfson furnished at his expense with two couches, a breakfront, artwork, ornamented desk, and matching chairs. He used the breakfront as a bar to serve invited members and lobbyists during a session. With each sine die adjournment, Wolfson had a stinger party, where members, lobbyists, and the newsmen proffered the brandy-and-creme de menthe cocktails.

A few close friends, both Senators and newsmen, occasionally gathered in the office of Senator Scott Dilworth Clarke, as Dean of the Senate, for a drink or two after a day’s session.

Doyle E. Conner, Starke, House 1950-1960, Speaker 1957, Commissioner of Agriculture 1961-1991. Louis Wolfson II, Miami, House 1963-1972. Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974. Scott Dilworth Clarke, Monticello, House 1907-1909, Senate 1931-1966, President 1947-1948.

NO MAN’S LIFE, LIBERTY, OR PROPERTY ARE SAFE WHILE THE LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION

Its source ungiven, this phrase was quoted in an 1866 opinion by Surrogate Gideon J. Tucker of New York.

The expression has become particularly popular nowadays among those who quite likely never troubled themselves to read Surrogate Tucker’s opinion, styled “The final accounting in the estate of A.B.” The case involved an estate which had been distributed on the basis of an opinion given heirs by “A.B.,” who in his lifetime was an eminent attorney. The suit was against A.B.’s estate. The Surrogate found that, after 40 years of the successful practice of law, the attorney had erred.

“He did not remember that it might be necessary to look at the statutes of the year before. Perhaps he had forgotten the saying, that ‘no man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.’”

The Surrogate held the lawyer could not be “excused for ignorance of the public statutes of the State.” Therefore, he assessed damages against the lawyer’s estate.

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NO QUESTIONS, ONLY ANSWERS

The committee chairman opened a meeting with the admonition that he was weary of questions and wanted only answers. Whereupon, the staff director brightly announced: “3.14159265.” The chairman looked at the staff director with mingled befuddlement and dismay and demanded to know: “What did you say?” The soon-to-be-going staff director responded: “You asked for an answer. That’s an answer: Pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.”

NON EST INVENTUS

The 1868 Senate directed its Sergeant at Arms to “arrest” Senator Alden and “bring him to the bar of the Senate, to answer the charge of contempt of the Senate.”

Subsequently, the Sergeant at Arms “reported that Mr. Alden was non est inventus.” Black’s Law Dictionary says the phrase means “he is not found.” Why the Latin was used in the case of Alden is unknown. However, Alden was shown as voting the next day. No mention was made of the order to arrest.

George J. Alden, Escambia-Santa Rosa, Constitutional Convention 1868, Senate 1868, Secretary of State 1868.

NORTH IS SOUTH

Senator Jack D. Gordon of Miami Beach, in nominating Senator Pat Thomas of Quincy in 1985 for President Pro Tempore observed that “the further north you get (in Florida) the more Southern it is.”

Gordon went on to say the people from North Florida attach importance to history, longevity, and place. “It’s an area of the state and of the country that is poor, and at the same time it is a place in which having material things is rarely the way in which people are viewed; whereas in urban areas, people are new, don’t know each other, and are very much more likely to view people in terms — or think of people — in terms of their material possessions, which is simply not a fact of life in this part of the state.”

Jack D. Gordon, Miami Beach, Senate 1972-1992, President Pro Tempore 1982-1984. Pat Thomas, Quincy, House 1972-1974, Senate 1974-2000.

NO SEE-UM GOVERNMENT

Senate President Phil Lewis often referred to “faceless bureaucrats” as the “no see-um” government because they made up rules but were in no way accountable to the legislature for their actions. This perception on the part of legislators was largely responsible for the passage of the Administrative Procedures Act in 1974.

Philip D. “Phil” Lewis, Riviera Beach, Senate 1970-1980, President 1978-1980.

NUTALL RISE See BLOOD OATH

OMNIBUS BILL

A bill relating to a single subject but combining

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many aspects. This well may join together different facets in such a way as to compel the Governor either to accept provisions he doesn’t want or veto the whole act. Today’s term “bus” for a multi- person motor vehicle is derived from omnibus. The legislative omnibus often combines the good and the bad for individual legislators as well as the Governor. Representative Betty Easley defined an omnibus bill as meaning, “we’re being taken for a ride.”

Betty Easley, Clearwater, House 1972-1986.

ONE-HOUSE BILLS

Measures which pass one house, usually in the final days of a session, which have no chance of passing the other. Justified as useful for political purposes, a sponsor well may tell interested constituents, “I passed your bill,” leaving the implication that the Senator failed them. In a recent session, the Florida House passed one-house bills until sine die adjournment because the leadership had committed itself to passing at least one bill that session for each Democratic member.

ONE-LEGGED BRIDGE TENDER

During the 1970s, the “one-legged bridge tender” came to symbolize the common man just as “Joe Sixpack” later did. Billy Joe Rish attributes its original usage to Bill Nelson. He said, after hearing Nelson’s reference to it, “that sounded like a good horse to ride. We need to help the poor and give them a chance to better themselves.” See JOE LUNCHBOX

William J. “Billy Joe” Rish, Port St. Joe, House 1971-1978. C. William “Bill” Nelson, Melbourne, House 1972-1978, U.S. House of Representatives 1979-1991, Commissioner of Insurance 1995-2000, U.S. Senate 2001-.

ONE MAN’S DREAM

Representative Alonzo Weeks had a lifelong ambition to be able to drive in his Model T Ford from the Alabama line in Holmes County straight to the Gulf of Mexico. This became possible only after his death; and by a 1939 resolution naming a bridge for him, the Legislature made a permanent record of the event.

“Uncle Lonnie,” as he affectionately was known, was remembered by his voice often having been raised in behalf of “Sally and the Babies” as he opposed increased State spending and taxation. See FILIBUSTER (4) and TEETH, GETTING INTO DEBATE

Alonzo W. “Lonnie” Weeks, Bonifay, House 1923-1929.

ORDER OF THE DAY

For a century and a half the daily order of business in the House of Representatives began, after prayer and roll call, with the introduction and reference of new bills. The legislative day thus commenced with the bedlam of members paying little or no attention to the reading of titles.

Instead they would talk with colleagues or read newspapers. Occasionally, a significant motion would be made and adopted without general attention.

Murray H. Dubbin of Dade County, as Chairman of the Committee on Rules & Calendar for the 1973 House, was agonizing with the Clerk of the House over how to bring order out of the daily

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disorder. Sitting quietly at the back of Dubbin’s office was his wife, Helene.

After listening to her husband and the Clerk discuss the problem without reaching any conclusion, Mrs. Dubbin said: “Why don’t you turn the Order of Business around so Introduction and Reference comes at the end of the day?”

It was so simple and logical a solution that it was adopted by the Rules Committee and the House. Thereafter, for the 10 years until an amendment to the Constitution allowed bills to be introduced by publication in the Journal, reading clerks would drone to a Chamber empty except for the Clerk’s desk staff and some first-termer tapped for the dubious duty of standing in for the Speaker. To this day, Introduction and Reference remains at the bottom of the Order of Business for regular session.

Murray H. Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974.

OTHER BILL ANDREWS, THE Willliam C. Andrews . . . there was another Bill Andrews Representative Bill Andrews left Gainesville during the 1974 campaign for the purpose of picking up his children from a camp in North Carolina. He had opposition but felt secure about leaving for a week. As he entered his home, the telephone was ringing. A dentist friend and campaign supporter demanded to know, “What the hell I had said to that newspaper?” Andrews replied, “Nothing because I have been out of the state for a week.”

The dentist told Andrews that the medical profession was raising 20 thousand dollars for his opponent’s campaign as a result of the statements attributed to Andrews in the Gainesville Independent and Free Advocate, When Andrews finally obtained a copy of the paper, he could not believe the answers attributed to him.

Examples: “...the space industry is like being married to a whore. One day she’s there and the next day she’s not.” Or, “While I believe in certain almost communistic things, I believe everybody is basically a Communist.” Or, “I know the problems, but I don’t know how to solve them either.” Or, “I believe in socialized medicine. But I believe in certain controls where the physicians have to give half of their working time to the state.…”

Andrews telephoned the editor the next morning and was told that the editor knew some politicians would try to repudiate what they said, so he had taken the precaution of having the interview taped. After listening, it was apparent to Andrews that the reporter had interviewed someone else. The reporter said she had called Andrews in Ocala, having obtained the number from directory assistance. After directory assistance said there was no listing for Representative Bill Andrews but there was a number for William R. Andrews, the editor called that number. The person answering was asked if he were Representative Bill Andrews. “Yes,” the Ocala Andrews responded. “Who do you represent?” asked the editor. “Two refrigeration and air conditioning companies.”

When the editor explained he had been mistakenly interviewed as a legislative candidate, the Ocala Andrews said: “I thought something was wrong. Nobody ever asked my opinion before.” The Free Advocate began its correction with: “We erred, goofed, made a mistake.”

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William C. “Bill” Andrews, Gainesville, House 1966-1978.

“OTHER BODY”

In the House of Representatives, this means the Senate. Under correct parliamentary procedure, it is not in order for a Representative to refer to a Senator by name or the Senate as a body in terms which impugn the motives or actions. A frustrated Representative may sometimes come close to breaching this prohibition.

In debate on adoption of the conference committee report on the 1976 General Appropriations Bill, a number of irritated Representatives were critical of the Senate. Speaker Donald L. Tucker, urging adoption of the report, in part replied: “You can throw all the stones you want at the Senate — and about half of them are yo-yos — but that doesn’t change the fact that we have to act responsibly.” Using “other body” skirts the rule.

This is a carry-over from the British Houses of Parliament, in which neither the House of Commons nor the House of Lords could be critical of the other house.

Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978.

OUTLAWED PROFESSIONS

The 1838 Constitution provided “no minister of the Gospel shall be eligible to the office of Governor, Senator, or member of the House of Representatives in this state.” Similarly, that Constitution held “no president, director, cashier, or other officer of any banking company in this state shall be eligible to the office of Governor, Senator or Representative” during office and for 12 months after quitting such office.

PAGES See ATTACHÉ

PAIR

In the Florida Legislature, a pair was once a gentleman’s agreement between legislators on opposite sides of a question to withhold their votes. Generally, this involves an absent member who (1) wishes to have his attitude recorded and (2) wants to be sure his absence will not affect the outcome. A pair, while recorded in the Journal, is not taken into account in tallying a vote.

Pairing occasionally became a tricky business because some types of legislation depend for passage upon a certain percentage of the members elected. Thus, pairing reduces the chances of such a measure for passage. An example is the two-thirds of the members present required to pass a bill over the veto of the governor or to advance a bill to third reading. Another example of an action requiring more than a majority vote is the three-fifths needed to adopt a constitutional amendment but that vote is a constant three-fifths of the elected membership.

Perhaps the best known of the overrides was that of Governor Doyle E. Carlton’s veto in 1931 of the bill to legalize pari-mutuel wagering at horse and dog tracks (and, subsequently, jai-alai frontons). This was engineered by a combination of persuading members either to pair or to absent themselves from the Chamber — to “take a walk.” It would seem that pairing “yea” votes with “nay” votes

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would do nothing more than reduce the totals on each side but because of the fractions involved in a two-thirds vote, this is not always true. In the case of the House vote on the Carlton veto, the actual result was 55 “yeas,” 26 “nays” with 54 “yeas” or two-thirds of 81 needed. Had 56 voted “yea” and 27 “nay,” 56 “yeas” or two-thirds of 83 would have been required. Thus, the uncounted pair votes were decisive. There were 12 paired votes. Pair voting was no longer permitted after 2002. See HUNDRED DAY SESSION

Doyle E. Carlton, Sr., Tampa, Senate 1917-1919, Governor 1929-1933.

PARKING PROTEST

When Representative George W. Leaird of Broward County found an automobile parked in his space during the 1939 session, he reacted violently.

Leaird kicked out the headlights of the car, which belonged to Branch Cone, brother of Governor Fred P. Cone and his Executive Secretary.

George W. Leaird, Hollywood, House 1939-1943, Senate 1947-1953, President Pro Tempore 1953.

PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS

Bob Graham describes a floor maneuver he learned from Ralph Turlington and Bob Mann as follows: “You have a very complicated bill, maybe several hundred pages long,” he said. The bill’s primary sponsor explains a relatively straightforward, possibly controversial part of the bill. An amendment is then offered on that part on which debate goes on and on for hours. After a vote on the amendment, which has no real import, another member then stands up “with an exhausted expression and a voice that cracked with overuse” and says “we’ve been debating this bill for three hours. It is time to call for final passage and move on to other matters.” Thus leaving the principal substance of the bill untouched.

D. Robert “Bob” Graham, Miami Lakes, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, Governor 1979-1987, U.S. Senate 1987-2004. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, Public Service Commission 1978-1981.

PAY AND ALLOWANCES AS OF 2006

(Information provided by the Office of House Administration) Salary – All members of the Legislature receive an annual salary of $29,916 payable monthly, with the exception of the presiding officers whose annual salaries are $41,484. Member salaries may change each July 1. Section 11.13(1)(b), Florida Statutes, establishes the method for setting member salaries.

Insurance and Retirement – Members may enroll in approved group insurance programs, and the Legislature pays the premiums for these programs — state-sponsored health, dental, disability, and life.

Members assuming elective office by election, reelection, or appointment are compulsory members of the Elected State and County Officers’ Class within the Florida Retirement System unless the member elects membership in another class or withdraws from the Florida Retirement System.

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Intradistrict Expense Allowance – Members of the House are entitled to receive a monthly allowance for intradistrict expenses in an amount set annually by the Speaker (Section 11.13(4), Florida Statutes). The current allowance is $1,872.

Intradistrict funds are disbursed for the operation of the district office and may not be expended to pay or supplement the income of any legislative employee. These funds are subject to certain IRS regulations, and members must account for these funds by filing a quarterly report with the Office of Legislative Services.

Members’ Staff – In accordance with House Policies and Procedures, a member is allowed two staff positions for his or her district office. On initial legislative employment, depending upon their qualifications, one individual may be classified as a district legislative assistant I or II and one individual may be classified as a district executive secretary I or II. House Administration provides information to members regarding the staffing of the district office.

Employment of relatives by members is prohibited by law, except for pages and messengers who serve during the regular sessions of the Legislature.

Member Expense Allowance Account – At the beginning of each fiscal year, members are allotted a specific amount set by the Speaker in a Member Expense Allowance Account. The current allowance is $9,450. The funds in this account may be spent only on official legislative business in accordance with House Policies and Procedures. Members are reimbursed from this account by filing a reimbursement voucher with all necessary supporting documentation.

Regular or Special Session Travel and Per Diem – Members are paid subsistence during regular, special, and extraordinary sessions in accordance with the Joint Policies and Procedures of the Presiding Officers.

During a regular session, a member is reimbursed for actual travel from the member’s home to the Capitol for not more than one round trip per week. Members are also reimbursed for travel to attend any special or extraordinary session of the Legislature.

Other Travel – Members are reimbursed for travel in connection with meetings of councils or committees of the House to which they are assigned, as well as other legislative travel when approved by the Speaker.

Travel Reimbursement – Travel is reimbursed in accordance with Section 112.061, Florida Statutes, the Joint Policies and Procedures of the Presiding Officers, and House Policies and Procedures. The current mileage allowance for travel by privately owned automobile is 29 cents per mile. Travel by aircraft is reimbursed at the most economical rate available. The current per diem rate is $50, reimbursed at $12.50 for each quarter of a day, or fraction thereof, when the member is away from the official headquarters overnight.

Members are reimbursed by filing a travel reimbursement voucher.

District Staff Session Subsistence and Travel – During a regular session of the Legislature, members may designate one of the legislative employees from their district offices to work in Tallahassee. Employees so designated, who change their place of residence in order to attend the

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session, are paid session subsistence in accordance with the Joint Policies and Procedures of the Presiding Officers. Reimbursement for travel is made for the initial trip to Tallahassee, two round trips home during the session, and the trip home following the session.

PEPPER: A SHAMELESS EXTROVERT

Florida’s best known political story concerns Claude Pepper, who was a member of the 1929 Florida House of Representatives from Taylor County. That thin thread perhaps justifies the inclusion here of what surely is Florida’s best known political anecdote and one of national renown. Pepper was unseated as a U.S. Senator in 1950 by U.S. Representative George A. Smathers of Miami in a Democratic primary campaign still cited for its bitterness. But it is this story circulated during that campaign which likely will live forever: “Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, practiced celibacy.”

Unknown reporter writing a story during the 1950 Senate Campaign

As Robert Sherrill wrote in The Nation for December 7, 1964, “It was a brilliant tour de force — ‘making Claude Pepper a pervert by assonance,’ in the words of William Buckley, ‘but funnier than effective.’” The anecdote often has been attributed to Smathers and although it is certain that campaign supporters repeated it, Smathers has vigorously disassociated himself from its telling. As early as 1952, Smathers offered 10 thousand dollars to anyone who could swear they had heard him say it and tell where. There was no taker.

In a 1980 telephone conversation with the Clerk of the Florida House, Smathers, who retired undefeated from the Senate in 1971, said he believed the story started with reporters following the 1950 campaign. The first couplet was invented by W. H. Lawrence of the New York Times, and newsmen competed in after-hours bull sessions to add to the original version. Among the lines other than those quoted above was, “Are you aware that Claude Pepper vacillated one night on the Senate floor?” Regardless of how the story started, it is certainly true, as Smathers said in 1980, “It’s gone into the history books.”

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Claude Denson Pepper, Perry, House 1929, Tallahassee, U.S. Senate 1937-1951, Miami, U.S. House of Representatives 1963-1989. Bruce A. Smathers, Jacksonville, Senate 1972-1974, Secretary of State 1975.

PET BILL SESSION

Not used as such in the House of Representatives in recent years, this procedure enabled each member in turn to call up for consideration a bill of importance to him. The Special Order and Consent Calendars have made this unnecessary to a considerable extent. A notable example of its use: In 1937, Senator Ernest R. Graham of Dade County used his pet bill option to call up and pass the anti-poll tax bill. See POLL TAX

Ernest R. Graham, Pensuco, Senate 1937-1943.

PIGGYBACK

Essentially, this is a device for getting half-passed bills before one house or the other without going through the Committee on Rules & Calendar. Howard Jay Friedman, longtime legislative strategist for the State Department of Education, invented the bypass in 1970 when he caused five major House education bills to be amended onto SB 656 in the House on the last day of the session. For concurrence in the House amendments, the Senate bill went directly to the floor of the Senate, bypassing the reference to committee or Calendar which would have been the case with House bills being newly introduced in the Senate (or vice versa).

The record use of the piggyback occurred in 1973 when the Piggyback House amended the titles and text of 12 other education bills onto SB 622. The Senate took off five of these, leaving the House with a net gain of seven. The Senate added 12 of its own, which the House accepted, thus the piggyback brought 20 bills to passage which otherwise would not have made their way through the process in the last hours of the last night.

Legislators sometimes amend onto the vehicle a bill which has not been passed, but a true piggyback consists of bills already passed by the amending house. Of course, a piggyback only can be used with bills of the same general subject as the vehicle.

In the case of the 1973 session, a new umbrella title, “The Omnibus Education Act of 1973,” was spread to cover all the educational matters contained in the completed bill.

In recent years the “piggyback” has become more commonly referred to as “trains,” as in a sequence of rail cars attached to a locomotive.

PISTOLS IN THE CHAMBER (1)

The 1939 session was enlivened by a pistol display. Raymond Sheldon was a member of the three- man Hillsborough County Delegation, and he claimed the attention of everyone in the Chamber the evening he arose, said his life had been threatened over a local bill, and waved a pistol.

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Representative Sheldon told the startled House that he was not carrying the pistol “for fun.” He said six men had taken him and a Hillsborough colleague to a hotel room and told them they “would never live to answer the roll call if [they] didn’t support” the pending bill. He promised to name names when the bill came up for passage at a local bill session the following evening.

That promise certainly assured full attendance and crowded galleries the next night. The bill’s sponsor started his speech that evening with a whimsical reference to Sheldon’s remarks. He waved his hands and told the House: “Gentlemen, I haven’t a gun.” At that moment, some prankster set off a giant firecracker. The sponsor covered his face and ducked for cover. So did half the House. When order was restored, it was explained that Sheldon and his colleague had been threatened with death, all right, but what was meant was political death. The bill passed, 61 to 20.

Raymond Sheldon, Tampa, House 1937-1941, Speaker pro tempore 1941, Senate 1943-1949.

PISTOLS IN THE CHAMBER (2)

The balloting for United States Senator in 1897 commenced on April 22 and by May 2 the fact that tempers were wearing thin may be judged from this paragraph in a Tampa Tribune account: “Senator Bailey gained recognition of the President, and made a characteristic speech in which he denied in a most dramatic manner that he had been improperly approached on behalf of Judge Raney as reported by Representative Crumpton. The Senator exhibited a big gun, some thought in a friendly manner, to back his judgment.”

Edward Bradford Bailey, Monticello, Senate 1889, 1895-1897, 1903-1905, House 1921. George Pettus Raney, Apalachicola, House 1868-1870, Tallahassee 1899-1901, Attorney General 1877-1885, Supreme Court Justice 1885-1894, Chief Justice 1889-1894, Senate 1903-1905. H. A. H. Crumpton, Levy County, House 1897.

PLAYING THE GAME

Legislating is not a textbook civics lesson, as John C. Van Gieson of the Orlando Sentinel once wrote: “If you took civics in high school, you may have a notion that bills pass or fail because legislators solemnly consider the merits of each proposal, then do what they think is right.” That happens. But not always.

Van Gieson’s Example No. 1: It was an innocuous resolution praising Taiwan, but it meant a lot to one important Senator. And so, when South Florida Representatives shot down his Taiwan resolution in 1977, Senator W. D. Childers fought back. Childers let it be known that a condominium reform bill the South Florida lawmakers were pushing would die in his Senate Commerce Committee.

Shortly afterwards, Representative Alan Becker, a sponsor of the condominium bill, urged the House to reconsider, saying, “In the last few minutes I realized some of my best friends live in condos in Taiwan.”

The House reversed itself and adopted Childers’ resolution. The condo bill came out of the Senate Commerce Committee and was passed.

Van Gieson’s Example No. 2: In 1978, Becker sponsored another condominium bill. Representative Gene Hodges sponsored a bill allowing his constituents to kill green turtles for food. The twain met when Hodges asked Becker to vote for his green turtle bill.

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“I told him, ‘All right, if it’s that important back home to you,’” Becker said. “I voted for the green turtle bill and got some others to do so. The next day the condo bill came up and I went over to him and said, ‘Gene, this is my green turtle.’”

Becker knew that a favorable speech by Hodges, a lawmaker known for his strong stands on private property rights, would help persuade the House to accept the condo bill. “The condo bill went right through,” said Becker. “Nobody ever said boo.”

Van Gieson’s Example No. 3: One way of helping other legislators is to vote for their bills in committee even though those proposals have little support. Representative George Sheldon explained: “We say, ‘Well, this bill will never get on the [Special Order] Calendar, so let’s go ahead and help old Joe.’ But sometimes there is nothing else to put on the Calendar, so old Joe’s bill ends up on the Calendar.” Few bills placed on the Special Order Calendar fail to pass the House.

Wyon D. Childers, Pensacola, Senate 1970-2000, President 1980-1982. Alan S. Becker, North Miami Beach, House 1972-1978. Gene Hodges, Cedar Key, House 1972-1988. George H. Sheldon, Tampa, House 1974-1982.

POLITICAL PARTIES OTHER THAN DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN

The membership of the Legislature has been predominantly Democratic or Republican but adherents of other political parties — Socialist, Populist and Whig — have won election over the years since Florida achieved Statehood. A. J. Pettigrew of Manatee, in Manatee County, served in the 1907 House as a Socialist.

Lori Wilson of Cocoa Beach was elected to the Senate as a no-party legislator, an independent spelled with a small “i.” There had been Independents (with a capital “I”) in prior Florida Legislatures, for example, one each in the Senate and Assembly in 1879, but apparently few, if any, who came to the Legislature in modern times with the same non-party determination of freedom. Senator Wilson served from 1972 through 1978, retiring voluntarily.

A. J. Pettigrew, Bradentown, 1907. Lori Wilson, Merritt Island, Senate 1972-1978. Lori Wilson . . . the independent

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, FLORIDA

* SINCERITY Always be sincere whether you mean it or not. — Governor Reubin Askew

* LOGICAL A year before the election everything is neat, simple, logical, and wrong — Morris K. Udall, quoted by D. G. Lawrence

* MONEY If they say its not about the money, its about the money. — Allan Bense

*WHAT’S IMPORTANT It’s important to be right, but it’s more important to be important. — Ralph Haben

*WHAT’S RIGHT God bless us when we do what the people want and we know to be right and God forgive us when we do what the people want and we know to be wrong. Or, put another way,

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the people have a right to be wrong, legislators, don’t. —Ken Plante

*COMPROMISE Half of something is better than all of nothing. — B. K. Roberts

* JUMPING FROG You can’t tell by the looks of a frog how far he can jump. — E. C. Rowell

* BLIND HOG Even a blind hog roots up an occasional acorn.

*TOO MANY FIGHTS I guess I have my dog in too many fights. — Paula Hawkins, U.S. Senate

*PROGRESS Everybody wants progress, it’s change they don’t like. — Murray Dubbin

* FIRST MISTAKE “The first mistake a ruler makes,” said Machiavelli, “is usually in the selection of his staff.” — Axiom framed on wall of office of Speaker Richard A. Pettigrew

Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979, U.S. Trade Commissioner 1979-1981. Allan George Bense, Panama City, House 1998-2006, Speaker 2004-2006. Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982. Kenneth A. “Ken” Plante, Oviedo, Senate 1967-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. E. C. Rowell, Wildwood, House 1956-1970, Speaker 1965. Murray Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974. Richard A. Pettigrew, Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Government Reorganization 1977-1980.

POLITICS

Representative Troy Peacock capsuled the situation when, after a frustrating day, he complained to the House on point of personal privilege. “All I’ve got to say is that there is too much politics in politics.”

J. Troy Peacock, Jr., Marianna, House 1937, 1947-1948, 1957-1959.

POLL TAX

U. S. Senator Spessard L. Holland was quick to give proper credit when someone sought to cast him as the legislator who, more than anyone else, was responsible for Florida’s abandonment of the poll tax in 1937. The credit was being urged upon Holland when his national amendment was ratified for elimination of poll taxes as a requisite for voting in all Federal elections in 1963.

“It was Ernest Graham who was the leader and I was happy to support him,” firmly insisted Holland. “When Ernest told me he was going to introduce a bill for repeal of the poll tax, I told him, ‘Well, I’m committed to it’ and ‘I’ll be glad to support you in it.’ Which I was and I did.” See PET BILL SESSION

In the beginning, the poll tax abandonment was without racial significance, for the election in Florida and elsewhere in the South was the white Democratic primary.

Almost forgotten, too, is the situation prevailing in Florida prior to the first free elections. Senator Holland talked about those days while he was in Tallahassee to address legislative committees in support of ratification of his anti-poll tax amendment to the Federal Constitution.

Poll Tax Influence

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The poll tax made its force felt in three ways: (1) many people overlooked paying the tax and were disqualified as voters; (2) the cost was 4 dollars for a man and his wife for two years; and (3) there was a feeling that manipulation of tax payments gave control in some counties to a courthouse ring. “Altogether,” opined Senator Holland, “it was a very real obstruction to expression of the popular will.”

Senator Holland’s support of anti-poll tax legislation went back to the 1937 session of the Florida Senate. For some reason, the Democrats of Polk County held a convention prior to the 1936 primaries, perhaps the only convention there since county conventions gave way to primaries.

“I didn’t attend the convention. I was out of the state, but one of the things they adopted was repeal of the poll tax,” recollected Senator Holland. “So when I ran in 1936, for my last four-year term in the State Senate, of course I ran on that platform. So when Ernest told me he was going to introduce such a bill I told him, ‘Well, I’m committed to it.’”

Spessard Lindsey Holland, Bartow, Senate 1933-1939, Governor 1941-1945, U.S. Senate 1946-1971. Ernest R. Graham, Pensuco, Senate 1937-1943.

POPULAR NAMES

Some legislative acts come to be known by the name of the sponsor. Occasionally, the sponsor’s name will be written into the law.

Among the best known and longest-lived, popular-named laws was the Buckman Act of 1905, recognizing Representative H. H. Buckman. The Buckman Act consolidated Florida’s public institutions of higher learning into three universities. Still another was the Murphy Act of 1937, named for Senator H. G. Murphy. This prescribed the means for disposition of lands forfeited to the state for failure to pay taxes largely during the post Florida boom of the 1920s and the national depression of the 1930s. References to the Murphy Act yet may be found in the present Florida Statutes.

When the Legislature enacted a code of ethics for public officials in 1974, the law was named “The John J. Savage Memorial Act,” in recognition of the labors in that area of the late Pinellas County lawmaker. Well known nowadays is the Baker Act, for Representative Maxine Baker, whose energies in the field of mental health brought about the enactment in 1971 of a comprehensive law. Reference also is made frequently by the public to the Myers Act of 1971, which classified intoxication as a disease rather than a crime, but its sponsor, Senator Kenneth M. Myers, was not named in the law.

Representative Murray H. Dubbin is remembered through the Educational Facilities Construction Act of 1974. “The Richard R. Renick Act” of 1975, for the protection of the coral and sea fans in the John D. Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the Florida Keys, was named for the Miami Senator, but the citation did not survive into the Florida Statutes. An extreme example of recognizing the legislative energies of lawmakers may be found in the “Dempsey J. Barron, W. D. Childers, and Joe Kershaw Cane Pole Tax Repeal Act of 1976.” Such bills sometimes are referred to as “tombstone bills.”

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POPULAR NAMES, INFORMAL

Legislation is often given a popular name by members. In the late seventies a bill before the House would have permitted law enforcement officers from one county to cross into another county if in “hot pursuit” of a person suspected of a serious crime. The bill came to be known as the “fleeing felon” bill. Later on a bill was filed to increase penalties for stealing agricultural products from retailers. This bill came to be known as the “fleeing melon” bill.

H. H. Buckman, Jacksonville, House 1905, Senate 1907-1909. Henry Garrison Murphy, Zolfo Springs, Senate 1933-1939, President Pro Tempore 1935. John J. “Jack” Savage, St. Petersburg, House 1965-1973. Maxine E. Baker, Miami, House 1963-1972. Kenneth M. Myers, Miami, House 1965-1968, Senate 1968-1980. Murray H. Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974. Richard R. “Dick” Renick, Coral Gables, House 1966-1972, Senate 1974-1978, 1980-1982. Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960- 1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Wyon D. “W.D.” Childers, Pensacola, Senate 1970-2000, President 1980-1982. Joe Lang Kershaw, Miami, House 1968-1982.

PORK BARRELISM

Defined by Senator Dempsey J. Barron as: “what the press calls money that a legislator gets for a district other than theirs.’

Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

PORK CHOP INFLUENCE IN ELECTORAL POLITICS

On the last day of the 1963 session, a young pig was led into the House Chamber for presentation to Representative David C. Eldredge of Miami. A Dade colleague was the donor of the pig. He had no malice but thought of the presentation only as a joke. In Dade County at the time, however, “Porkchopper” was to many a term of opprobrium and the pig as a symbol. In the next primary campaign, thousands of copies of this photograph were distributed, the inference being that Eldredge had allied himself with the Pork Chop forces in the legislature. There was agreement among political observers that the picture caused Eldredge’s defeat.

The accusation of being too friendly with the North Florida Porkchoppers brought down another Dade County legislator in 1964, Senator Cliff Herrell.

Herrell had been an influential member of the House of Representatives in the 1955, 1957, and 1959 sessions and then of the Senate in 1961 and 1963. Pig in the House Chamber

He had walked the tightwire of affiliation with other Senators to bring projects to Dade County. He was successfully accused of being a “Dade County Porkchopper” by Robert Haverfield. Haverfield was a Senator from 1965 through 1972 when he was appointed to the District Court of Appeal. Herrell, who later moved to Tallahassee, represented the greyhound tracks as a lobbyist.

Such was the political sensitivity of the time that a charge of reverse Porkchoppism resulted in the defeat of Representative John Robert Middlemas, a third-termer from Bay County.

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Middlemas was ensnared in the North-South, liberal-conservative ferment by an article in The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times which described him as a “sponsor of liberal causes and of civil liberties.” He was quoted in the article as saying his constituents were not “hard rock conservatives. My people want innovative State government. They don’t resist every change.”

His hometown newspaper, the Panama City News-Herald, led off its editorial of comment on the Herald and Times article by saying: “District 8 Rep. John Robert Middlemas has more guts than a second-story burglar when it comes to dealing in double-talk and hypocrisy....

“The voters of these three (Bay, Calhoun and Gulf) very conservative counties elected Mr. Middlemas to represent them on the premise that he was telling them the truth when he offered himself as a candidate on a platform for this important office opposed to federalism, big government and big spending. Now comes Mr. Middlemas emerging with a new face. He is described by one of his colleagues as ‘ultra-liberal and probably the most liberal member of the Florida legislature.’”

In the 1970 election, Middlemas was defeated by William J. “Billy Joe” Rish of Port St. Joe by a comfortable margin. Middlemas was brought back into unpaid governmental service by Governors Reubin O’D. Askew and Bob Graham largely because of his continuing interest in environmental regulation and postsecondary education.

David Cameron Eldredge, Miami, House 1959-1963. W. C. “Cliff” Herrell Miami, House 1955-1959, Senate 1961-1963. Robert M. Haverfield, Miami, Senate 1965-1972. John Robert Middlemas, Panama City, House 1966-1970. William J. “Billy Joe” Rish, Port St. Joe, House 1970-1978.

PORK CHOP POWER IN THE SENATE

During the Pork Chop Days, every effort by the House to gain more control over the legislative agenda was brutally put down, according to Mallory Horne. “I was at the vortex of one of those efforts” he said. “When Bill Chappell was Speaker, I was Chairman of the Rules Committee in the House. He [Chappell] wanted to get the Senate’s attention. He was a very impatient young man.” (Dewey Johnson was Rules Chairman in the Senate.) Chappell devised a strategy whereby Horne would move to refer every bill on which Dewey was first or second introducer to additional committees. Speaker Chappell’s idea was that Johnson would come down to the House on his knees and say boys what can we do? “And we were going to make some deal to equally recognize the Senate and the House and for the House to play an equal role.” So Horne said, “I proudly made those motions every day,” and yet Dewey Johnson never appeared. Then, about 10 days before the session was to end, “Dewey got up one morning and made a motion on the floor of the Senate to indefinitely postpone [that is kill] every darn House Bill. What he did was turn our own people [House members] against us and ‘brought me to my knees.”’ Speaker Chappell asked Horne to go down and find out what was wrong. “So I’d go down there to talk to Dewey and he wouldn’t ever see me. He sent me to my own Senator Carraway who then told me that ‘they did not need to pass a damn thing.’ The only way to resolve the situation was for me to go down there in an executive session and ‘humbly apologize for errors and intrusions of the House of Representatives.’ The Speaker would not go so I went. Back in those days, they could have an executive session and nobody was there. Not the Secretary of the Senate, nobody. They closed those doors and it was me and 38 Senators. They House chewed me up one side and down the other till I was almost in tears. If they hadn’t quit when they did, I think I would have fainted. I apologized up one way and down the other and told them that I would never be involved in such a plan anymore and that the Senate was preeminent.”

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Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974. William V. Chappell, Jr., Ocala, House 1955-1963, 1966-1968, U.S. House of Representatives 1969-1989 .Dewey Macon Johnson, Brooksville, House 1939, 1945-1949, Senate 1941-1943, 1951-1965, President 1959. F. Wilson Carraway, Tallahassee, House 1945-1949, Senate 1955-1966, President 1962-1963.

PORK CHOP PROMISES

The rural retreat of Florida Power & Light Company at Horseshoe Lake in Marion County was where John D. Pennekamp, editor of The Miami Herald, won the Everglades National Park from the Legislature at the poker table in 1947.

McGregor Smith, President of FPL, had invited Pennekamp to join some key legislators for a weekend at Horseshoe Lake. Pennekamp was the sparkplug of a campaign to acquire lands to be delivered to the Federal government for the park. After a meal of fried chicken, collard greens, and cornbread, the group settled down to a game of nickel-and-dime poker. Pennekamp later recalled: “I was a pretty good poker player in those days but not as good as I seemed that day. I couldn’t lose. I won hand after hand, made uncanny draws.” Senator B. C. “Bill” Pearce, already influential although a first-termer, finally laid down what he thought should be a winning hand, muttering nonetheless about Pennekamp’s luck. “Sorry, Bill, you’ll have to do something about these kings,” said Pennekamp, topping Pearce. The Senator asked, grumpily, “Just how much money do you need for that goddam park of yours?” Gambling again, Pennekamp, who had intended to ask the Legislature for 4 hundred Park Won at Poker Table . . . John D. Pennekamp, Editor of the Miami Herald, shown at thousand dollars just to buy the right as President Harry S. Truman spoke in 1947 at dedication of Everglades National Florida East Coast Railway land in the Park. proposed park, replied, “Two million dollars.” Pearce responded: “Why don’t you come on over to the Legislature and get it instead of taking it out of our pockets?”

It was one of Pennekamp’s favorite memories. He relished telling it again and again. “From that point on, we were in,” he would continue. “That was a commitment. That was the way with the Porkchoppers. When they said something, that was it.” As a direct result of that poker game, the Everglades National Park was put together. The appropriations bill was introduced in the Senate on April 14 (the session having commenced on April 8), passed the Senate on April 16, passed the House of Representatives the next day, and was delivered to the Governor on April 24.

Basil Charles “Bill” Pearce, East Palatka, House 1933, Senate 1947-1966.

PORKCHOPPERS

Legislative apportionment based on people, rather than, as was sometimes said, pine trees or county

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boundaries, has diminished the use of a term which passed into the vocabulary of Floridians during the 1940s-1960s: “Pork Chop Gang.”

However, the term remains current, generally through the accusation of “reverse Pork Choppism” by some legislator from a rural constituency complaining of the new urban dominance.

“Pork Chop Gang” was first used in an editorial written by James A. Clendinen for The Tampa Tribune of July 13, 1955, during the first reapportionment battle of the gubernatorial administration of Governor LeRoy Collins.

Editor Clendinen said it developed this way: “In a preceding editorial, I charged the opponents of reapportionment — specifically, the Senate group — with fighting for pork, rather than principle. In an editorial three days later I labeled them the Pork Chop Gang. Since the group was dominated by rural legislators, the pork chop struck me as being an appropriate symbol for their self-interest in this battle.”

Some Pork Chop Senators wore, as a badge of distinction, a lapel pin fashioned in the shape of a pork chop. Very briefly, opposition Senators were referred to as lamb choppers but this never caught fancy. In the 55-day reapportionment struggle of 1945, the opposing factions called themselves cockroaches (the rural Senators) and termites (the urban) but neither conveyed the imagery of Editor Clendinen’s later pork chop label and quickly passed out of use. There was brief use also of White Knights for the Senators seeking reapportionment. See PORK CHOP PROMISES

LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

PORKCHOPPERS, LAST OF THE

Senator L. K. Edwards, Jr., was known as the last of the Porkchoppers. He dropped out of the Senate in 1968 after 14 years.

In talking with D. G. Lawrence of the Orlando Sentinel in 1971, Edwards said the Porkchoppers were “proud of the name and why shouldn’t we be? The thing we had in common was our country background. A boy brought up on a farm learns early the value of things. If you do not eat all the cornbread on the table, you give it to the cat or the hogs, but you never waste. That was the philosophy we tried to live by in developing Florida.”

L. K. Edwards, Jr. . . . “last of the Porkchoppers” Lawrence quoted Edwards as remembering that critics sometimes called the Porkchoppers “tightwads.” Edwards remarked: “But we were there when the money was needed, although we made darn sure we were getting a dollar’s worth. Don’t forget it was us who established the new universities at Orlando and Tampa, Boca Raton and Pensacola.”

L. K. Edwards, Jr., Irvine, Senate 1955-1968.

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PRAYER

On June 23, 1845, after a quorum was declared at this, the first session of the House of Representatives under Statehood, “the Rev. Joshua Phelps was invited to engage in prayer,” thereby establishing a custom which has lasted through the years. Mr. Phelps was a Tallahassee Presbyterian minister, who apparently was drafted for the opening day.

Three days later, the first clergyman to be designated Chaplain of the House, the Reverend Samuel B. Foster, was chosen. Mr. Foster was a Methodist Episcopal minister from Hamilton County.

Journals for the following years reflect the prayer at the opening of the daily sessions. Beginning in 1947, upon motion of Representative Archie Clement of Pinellas County, the text of the prayer was published in the Journal for each session day. After the sessions, the collected prayers were published in pamphlet form.

Spreading of the prayer on the Journal lasted until 1979 when publication was discontinued by Speaker J. Hyatt Brown as an economy measure, the rationale being that the Journal was published primarily for the use of House members, virtually all of whom had heard the prayer.

This lasted until May 1, 1985, when Speaker James Harold Thompson directed the Clerk of the House to resume publication. Those prayers which had accumulated since the convening of the 1985 regular session on April 2 were published on May 15. Prayer in House, 1953 For the 1983 session, Speaker H. Lee Moffitt caused the daily Order of Business to be changed, placing the prayer ahead of the roll call to determine the presence of a quorum. Unsaid was the fact that this enabled Jewish members to absent themselves from prayers which, despite requests to clergymen to offer a non-sectarian prayer, largely were of a Christian nature.

Beginning in 1969 with Speaker Frederick H. Schultz, the House had a “minister of the day” rather than a chaplain who served the entire session. The “ministers of the day” were clergymen proposed by the members. They served for a uniform honorarium without reimbursement for travel. For a minister or rabbi to be able to inform his congregation that he had served the Legislature obviously was of considerable appeal, for the House never went without a visiting clergyman except when circumstances meant the House was meeting on a day not previously scheduled.

The prayer caused a brief furor on March 1, 1972, when the Reverend John B. Book of the North Side Church of Christ in Maitland, delivered an inflammatory prayer. In part, he said: “Our Heavenly Father, we know that schools used to be concerned with reading, writing and arithmetic and now that is replaced with romance, reproduction and revolution.” Speaker Richard A. Pettigrew privately directed the Clerk of the House not to print the prayer.

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When the Journal appeared the next morning, the sponsor of the Reverend Mr. Book, Representative Harvey W. Matthews of Orange County, moved to publish the missing prayer. His motion prevailed but after the issue shifted to censorship, with the motion prevailing, one after another of its proponents condemned the prayer but decried censorship. The vote to publish was 71 to 34.

A rare outburst of laughter and applause followed the prayer on May 29, 1985 by the Reverend Donald L. Roberts of the United Methodist Church of Sarasota. In part, he said:

“We come as supplicants asking Your Divine guidance for this meeting of the House of Representatives. You see we have a lot of priorities to get resolved this day. Our problem is that Larry Shackelford’s number one priority is Jim Lombard’s priority number six, Senator Neal’s priority number 10 and Bob Johnson doesn’t even know it’s on the agenda.”

(Shackelford, Lombard, Neal, and Johnson represented adjoining Sarasota and Manatee counties in the House and Senate.)

Archie Clement, Tarpon Springs, House 1937-1949, Speaker pro tempore 1943. J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980. James Harold Thompson, Gretna, House 1974-1986, Speaker 1984-1986, Constitution Revision Commission 1997. H. Lee Moffitt Tampa, House 1974-1984, Speaker 1982-1984. Frederick H. Schultz, Jacksonville, House 1963-1970, Speaker 1968-1970. Richard A Pettigrew Miami, House 1963-1972, Speaker 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1974, U.S. Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Reorganization 1977-1980. Harvey W. Matthews, Orlando, House 1970-1976. Lawrence F. “Larry” Shackelford, Bradenton, House 1978-1986. James M. Lombard, Osprey, House 1984-1992. Patrick K. “Pat” Neal, Longboat Key, House 1974-1978, Senate 1978-1986. Robert M. “Bob” Johnson, Sarasota, House 1970-1984, Senate 1984-1992.

PRAYER IN HEBREW

Cantor Rita Shore of Temple Judea, Coral Gables, opened the House session of April 15, 1974, with a prayer (in part in Hebrew) and a song, “Grant Us Peace.”

PRAYER IN SPANISH

Prayer during the 1985 regular session also was notable for the twin offering, in English and Spanish, by Representative Arnhilda Gonzalez-Quevedo of Dade County. Representative Gonzalez- Quevedo was born in Havana. She offered prayer on the occasion of Cuba’s 1902 day of independence, May 20. In part, she said:

“We ask you today, O Lord, to bless this country which opened its doors to us and gave us the opportunity to advance and succeed in this great society…. We ask you, O Lord, to give us the opportunity that one day we will be able to celebrate the day of independence of Cuba in a free Cuba when we will be able to claim the principles that have made the United States of America a great nation, under one God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, Amen.”

Arnhilda B. Gonzalez-Quevedo, Miami, House 1984-1988.

PRESIDENT, DESIGNATION

Until the defeat of President-designate Harry E. King for reelection in 1956, Presidents were selected by the Democratic carry-over Senators from among the Senators facing election.

This meant that a majority of the Democratic Senators with a regular session remaining of their term, 10 or fewer in those years, could designate the next President. It also meant that the designated Senator was almost assured of reelection from his home district.

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The defeat of King (See DESIGNEES) caused the election of Senator W. A. Shands, a holdover. Since then, nomination (or designation) has been from the entire majority party membership, with the designee likewise coming from either the holdovers or those up for election.

Politically, designation from the body has meant aspirants have had a more difficult time. In the years when 10 constituted a majority of the 19 holdovers, the final pledges could be obtained by pleas in the nature of “don’t let the ship leave without you!”

Harry Eubank King, Winter Haven, Senate 1941-1956. William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 2000

For 36 days after the 2000 presidential election, Tallahassee was the center of the political universe. Packs of media from all over the world swarmed over the Capitol to cover the maneuvering as the Bush and Gore teams deflected the judicial or legislative parries of the other. Satellite trucks surrounded the Capitol.

After waiting weeks for a resolution of the dispute, Speaker Tom Feeney and President John McKay decided the Legislature needed to act. They were concerned that pending litigation could lead to delays causing Florida to have no lawful Electoral College delegation by

the December 12 deadline. Satellite trucks on Duval Street, between the Capitol and Supreme Court Building Feeney and McKay signed a joint proclamation calling the Legislature into a special session on December 8, 2000. The presiding officers called the session rather than the Governor because of Governor Jeb Bush’s obvious connection to his brother’s candidacy and the need for the process to be procedurally objective.

In accordance with the proclamation, the House of Representatives met and, after lengthy debate, designated a slate of electors committed to George W. Bush. Before the Senate could act, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and ruled that the vote recount in Florida had to stop, effectively deciding the matter in favor of Bush who held the lead in the last vote count certified by Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

An interesting, though little noted, element of this drama was the composition of the House of Representatives itself. The 2000 election was the first substantially impacted by the term limits law that passed in 1992. Sixty-three members out of the 120 elected were freshmen and the first vote they were asked to cast could have decided the election of the President of the United States.

A strikingly similar sequence of events occurred following the Hayes v. Tilden presidential election in 1876 when the legitimacy of Florida’s Electoral College delegation was also in dispute. The House Journals from this earlier period provided guidance in the year 2000 regarding the proper forms and procedures by which to designate electors.

Tom Feeney, Oviedo, House 1990-2002, Speaker 2000-2002, U.S. House of Representatives 2003-. John M. McKay, Bradenton, Senate 1990-2002, President 2000-2002. Jeb Bush, Miami, Governor 1998-2006.

PRESS See EXPULSION 2, 3, 6 and EXPULSION THREATENED

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PRESS ACCOLADE

The Legislative Press Corps of 1927 saluted Representative Alonzo W. “Uncle Lonnie” Weeks as “one of the damnedest scrappers we have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” Uncle Lonnie could, the press continued, “certainly raise more hell than at least half a dozen ordinary mortals.

“On days when ‘copy’ has been comparatively scarce, and we have needed something for a ‘headline,’ you have come gallantly to our rescue and have placed in our hands that which we needed to add life and color to the deliberations of the House. And we are duly appreciative.

“At times, when desultory debates have dragged their spiritless way, you have come nobly to the rescue, and though there have been times — at least several of them — when we have disagreed with you and felt you were wrong we have appreciated the spirit in which you have plunged into any affray, and have never doubted your sincerity.

“We salute you, veteran of a thousand legislative battles. We trust that neither your arm nor your voice ever will weaken, and that for many years yet you may come to Tallahassee in your present capacity, there to raise Supreme Hell as it gives you pleasure, to the final betterment of legislation and the glory of Florida.”

Signed by correspondents from the Florida Times-Union, Miami Herald, Florida State News, Associated Press, and International News Service. See ONE MAN’S DREAM and TEETH, GETTING INTO DEBATE

Alonzo W. “Lonnie” Weeks, Bonifay, House 1923-1929

PRESS, THE (1)

Ever since the first session convened under Statehood in June 1845, the Legislature has recognized the presence of the press. House Rule 42 of that session stated: “Reporters wishing to take down the debates and proceedings, may be admitted by the Speaker who shall assign such places to them on the floor or elsewhere, as shall not interfere with the convenience of the House.”

Through the years, the Legislature and the press have been tied together in something of a love-hate relationship. In most The Press . . . as viewed by the same legislator on different days instances the public manifestations of this relationship have been through verbal assaults on personal privilege but the Senate has gone beyond denunciation to expulsion of newsmen from its Chamber. See EXPULSION

The press remained on the Chamber floor of the House and Senate until the 1960s. A long table was placed adjacent to the rostrum in each house for the reporters.

Reporters in the Senate did not have the privilege of the floor but the House allowed them to visit at the desks of members until 1962, when areas known as “bubbles” were glassed-in at the two corners at the front of the House Chamber. A few years later, both houses placed press areas across the back

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of the Chambers at the gallery level. Similar accommodations were provided in the House and Senate Chambers when the Legislature moved into the new Capitol in 1978. See BUBBLE, THE

Fifty years ago, at the 1941 session, there were 20 reporters present: four representing the Associated Press; two from United Press; others from newspapers in Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Ocala; and a group of four radio stations. In 1980, there were 47 reporters and photographers on regular assignment from newspapers, radio, and television, plus about 20 more either on temporary assignment or serving in rotation to gain familiarization of the legislative process. Florida has the nation’s second largest press corps.

PRESS, THE (2)

Of the numerous reporters who have been regularly assigned to the Capitol during those 50 years, several stand out for one reason or another.

Martin O. Waldron

Chief among these is the late Martin O. Waldron, at the time of his death in 1981, head of the New Jersey bureau of the New York Times. Of “Mo” Waldron, it could be said that he illuminated a room by his presence. He was thoughtful and considerate and a brilliant workman as evidenced by two Pulitzer nominations. Waldron earned one for exposing in The Tampa Tribune an intriguing network of financial cooperation between members of the Pork Chop Gang. The other nomination, which ripened into an award of The Pulitzer Gold Medal for “disinterested and meritorious public service” to the St. Petersburg Times for Waldron’s aggressive investigation of spending by the State Turnpike Authority. Waldron’s articles led to the resignation of the Authority’s Chairman and major legislative reform of State auditing and bonding practices. The legislation likely saved the people of Florida many millions of dollars in subsequent financing.

Robert Sherrill, then of The Miami Herald, described Waldron at the time of the 1964 Pulitzer as being “the kind of newspaperman most journalism students want to be, energetic, absurdly fearless, realistically objective.” Sherrill said Waldron looked and sometimes Martin O. “Mo” Waldron . . . makes good use of legislative Journals acted “like a latter-day Falstaff who usually needed a haircut, roared when he talked, and possessed of a Southern accent as ‘thick as clabber’ and with spoken grammar ‘no classroom model.’”

Robert Sherrill

Bob Sherrill went on to Washington, where he wrote a number of books described in the London Sunday Times as the “literary equivalent of assault with a deadly weapon.” Sherrill was barred from the Johnson White House and earned a place on the Nixon enemies list. Later, returning to Tallahassee, Sherrill and his wife, Mary, labored at various literary tasks, textbooks, essays, and book reviews.

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Ann Waldron

There was another Waldron who achieved, by her own talents, recognition by both press colleagues and the public. Ann Waldron’s series for The Tampa Tribune in 1959 on legislative lobbyists created a sensation as the first profiles of the kind. Of Raeburn Horne, small loan lobbyist, Ann wrote, “He’s the archetype of the mysterious, behind-the-scene lobbyist.” Of the trucking association’s spokesman, Ann said, “A. D. ‘Major’ Tomasello is a king in the jungle where lobbyists dwell.” Of K. Griner, who successfully lobbied for a harness racing track in Broward County, Ann revealed the “K” stood for Kerfoot, “but he doesn’t want it generally known because he’ll have to waste a lot of time telling people how to spell it.” And of Winn- Dixie’s Glen P. Woodard, by 1982 the dean of the lobbyists but in 1959 “The Boy,” Ann said he was “accepted and admired by the six septuagenarians who comprise the inner circle... R. A. Scott of Florida Power and Light, A. D. Tomasello of the truckers and chain stores, Bob Hancock of the liquor wholesalers, W. S. ‘Chick’ Merritt of the beer people, Jim Butler of Eli Witt and Raeburn Horne of the small loans.” Ann Waldron has had published five books for young readers. As a freelance writer, she has been employed by Princeton University as a writer/editor and as a Ann Waldron and Allen Morris newspaper book reviewer.

Another author who earned a reputation for investigative journalism in Tallahassee for the St. Petersburg Times is Frank Trippett, who wrote The States: United They Fell and in 1991 was a senior editor of TIME.

Raeburn C. Horne, Madison, House 1931, 1947-1948, Senate 1939-1941. K. Griner, Cross City, House 1939, 1951-1953, Senate 1943-1945.

PRESS, THE (3)

“The Greening of the Legislature” was the title given by The Miami Herald in 1972 to a study of campaign contributions which resulted in a series of articles then and in years after.

The study, proposed by the then chief of the Herald’s Tallahassee bureau, William Mansfield, turned out to be the most comprehensive exploration of money in politics ever done anywhere. Mansfield, afterwards editorial page editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, and his bureau colleague, Bruce Giles, did most of the reporting, working with State Editor Pete Weitzel.

“Greening” attracted national acclaim from newsmen and from journalism schools. In Florida, campaign contribution reforms resulted. Mansfield, Giles, and the Herald won recognition. This included first place for public service in the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors contest and the Green Eyeshade Award from the Atlanta Sigma Delta Chi chapter. The series was among the finalists in several other contests, including the National Headliner Awards. The series was applauded in a number of publications, ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Reader’s Digest. It was at least partly responsible for the Citizens Research Foundation’s decision to publish the book Campaign Money, which looked at campaign financing in 10 states, including Florida.

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Bill Mansfield told the story in 1980: “The Greening project grew out of a number of lesser campaign contribution reporting efforts, the largest of which was a look at all of the contributions to Cabinet officers. Those stories ran over a period of time, whenever I could finish one, and were followed by a wrap-up in the Herald’s Viewpoint section.

“At the beginning, none of us had any idea the legislative project would take as long as it did. We began research in July 1971, and were writing the stories as they were running, the week before the Legislature opened, in April, 1972.

“Bruce Giles, researcher Jan Temko, and I spent the bulk of our time during all that period working on the project, although we did produce other stories as necessary. As it became apparent we could not complete it by ourselves, other researchers were added, one by one. By January, five other researchers were on the payroll. We also enlisted the help of the Herald’s city desk and outlying bureaus to make local connections we could not make in Tallahassee. (Lobby groups were not then required to file consolidated reports, so this aspect of the reporting was much more difficult than it is now.)

“For checks, we relied on city directories, lobby lists, and the like, but we did not hesitate to make calls to confirm identifications. The job was considerably larger than it would have been if we had confined ourselves to winners (which the Herald has done since) but we felt it was important to also include losers in the first effort so we could actually see how much impact special interest contributions had on winning.

“How much did it cost? We never tried to compute it. (Frankly, I did not want to. The home office would have been appalled if they had seen the cost as a single figure.) I think you could honestly say tens of thousands of dollars, if you include the time Bruce and I spent, as well as salaries for researchers, phone bills, the cost of copying thousands of pages of campaign reports, the purchase of file cabinets, etc.

“Was it worth the cost and effort? I think perhaps it was, if only to verify a Press Conference . . . Left to right, Herbert Bayer of the Florida Times-Union, Barbara lot of things we had always suspected.” Frye of United Press, Allen Morris of “Cracker Politics,” Malcolm Johnson of the Associated Press, and James Masses of the Jacksonville Journal interview Governor- PRESS, THE (4) elect Fuller Warren at old Silver Slipper in Tallahassee during luncheon on day before Warren’s inauguration in 1949. Newsmen covering the Legislature prior to the 1950s devoted much of their session energies to reporting on the progress of local bills.

The solitary reporter for The Miami Herald had the responsibility for six Gold Coast counties, still in that period of development that required local legislation. For example, at the 1941 session, there were 116 local bills introduced for Dade County.

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Most local bills were passed in the House in rapid-fire order at night sessions and even more informally in the Senate, where a note sent up to the Secretary often sufficed. This meant the prudent reporter had to check the next day’s Journal.

The burden of local legislation, often of greater importance then to hometown readers than statewide legislation, meant legislative correspondents had relatively little time for “think” pieces exploring state problems in depth.

PRESS, THE (5)

Barbara Frye came to Tallahassee in 1944 when she was 19 years old and had breakfast in the Governor’s Mansion her first morning.

Ever afterwards, as pointed out by a former Capitol press colleague Ann Waldron, Barbara was pretty much in the thick of life in Florida’s State government, often to the dismay of her competition.

Mrs. Frye was bureau chief for United Press International and for many years the doyenne of the Capitol press corps.

Then Barbara Landstreet, she and Chris McGill of The Associated Press were the first women to cover the Legislature, being accredited by the Capitol Press Club for the 1945 session.

She was fresh out of the University of Georgia and working for the UPI Atlanta bureau when she was transferred to Tallahassee to fill a vacancy. On the train down, a woman named Mrs. Holland was kind to Barbara who was both forlorn and weepy. The train didn’t stop at Tallahassee but near Monticello, and Mrs. Holland offered Barbara a ride to the capital.

Only after Barbara got off the train and saw highway patrolmen there to greet Mrs. Holland at 4 a.m., did she realize that the kindly Mrs. Holland was the wife of Governor Spessard L. Holland.

After breakfast at the Mansion later that morning, Barbara met the man she was replacing. “He pointed out the Capitol to me and left,” recalled Barbara. “From then on, it was sink or swim.”

Mrs. Frye, in 1982, had been swimming along for 38 years, covering governors, courts, legislatures, and State government in general, along with plane crashes, football games, and train wrecks. She worked harder than anybody else in the Capitol press corps, and, as Ann Waldron wrote, “grinds out copy like a sorghum mill produces syrup.”

Mrs. Frye died May 22, 1982. Her funeral was attended by dignitaries, including two former governors, and present and past members of the Capitol press corps. The Capitol Press Club established a journalism scholarship fund as a memorial.

Spessard Lindsey Holland, Bartow, Senate 1933-1939, Governor 1941-1945, U.S. Senate 1946-1971.

PRESS, THE (6)

Pulitzer Prize winner Lucy Morgan was the longtime Bureau chief of the St. Petersburg Times. Known for her hard-hitting reporting, the Senate Press Gallery was named after her when she retired

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in 2005. In remarks to the Senate following the naming of the Gallery she said that she would be back now and then to lob an occasional grenade in the door.

The Press Gallery in the House is named after David Lawrence, Sr., a renowned and much-loved political columnist for the Orlando Sentinel.

PRESS, THE (7)

There have been Capitol bureaus headed by females, Barbara Frye for United Press International, Mary Anne Rhyne of The Associated Press and Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times being examples, and single-person female bureaus, but the combined bureaus of the Orlando Sentinel and Fort Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel became the first multi-person all-female bureau in February, 1985. Donna Blanton was bureau chief for the Sentinel with Maya Bell as reporter. Linda Kleindienst was bureau chief for the News/Sun Sentinel, with Diane Hirth as reporter. Mary Hardeman served as clerk for both.

PRESS, THE (8)

NOTE: The following wrap-up — by Bob Shaw of The Miami Herald — of the closing hours of the 1978 Legislature is a revealing insight into how laws are enacted.

By Robert D. Shaw, Jr.

Shortly after the Legislature adjourned Thursday afternoon, a beaming Governor Reubin Askew hurried into the chambers of the Florida Senate. He brushed by Senate President Lew Brantley with a quick handshake and hurried over to an old political nemesis, Senator Dempsey Barron, D- Panama City.

The Governor ordinarily not a physically demonstrative man, threw an arm around Barron’s shoulders, looked him in the eye and said softly, “Good job.” After the Battle . . . this is the scene described by Shaw. Left to right, Senators Pat Thomas, W. D. Childers, and Dempsey J. Barron, Governor Reubin O.D. Askew, Senate President Lew Brantley. Then, as photographers ran over to get a picture of Askew with the man who once told him publicly to “stay the hell out of my Senate,” the Governor gestured toward another Panhandle Senator, W. D. Childers, D-Pensacola.

“Get over here, W. D.,” said the ebullient Askew. The three men linked arms for the photographers. Only then, as Brantley edged his way toward the trio, did the Governor finally invite the President of the Senate to get into the picture.

Brantley boosted himself up to sit on the top of Barron’s Senate desk. “I have to sit up here so I can be as tall as the rest of you fellas,” he said.

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The symbolic value of that moment was not lost on any of the four men.

For Lew Brantley, a man who desperately wanted to establish himself as a tough and decisive leader, was not at that moment the President of the Senate.

He had lost that office the previous Friday, June 2, when his inability to bring off a secret deal had plunged the Senate into something approaching chaos and sent the Legislature into adjournment.

And with that, two men, Barron and Childers, took over the Senate to ultimately help produce what Askew pronounced “my best session ever.”

They weren’t alone, of course: At the other end of the Capitol, House Speaker Donald L. Tucker, ending his legislative career, put all of his power and experience on the line for Askew.

And Speaker-designate Hyatt Brown, D-Daytona Beach, a merciless negotiator who at one point lined up six Panhandle representatives and ordered each to commit himself publicly to the program, twisted arms and tweaked egos to hold it all together.

Indeed, had it been up to Brown and Tucker, the Legislature could have finished its work June 2 and gone home.

Brantley’s Dilemma

But they could not deal with Brantley; the Senate President, shaking and sometimes incoherent, ultimately could not deliver on the promises he had made to the House. The reason: Brantley had made other promises, deals he hoped would help him win the office of Mayor of Jacksonville.

First, a little background:

By June 1, the 59th day of the 60-day session, four issues were inextricably intertwined; and the leaders of both houses had their egos on the line. Brown was insisting on Senate passage of a bill to make the Public Service Commission appointive, a bill he’d been trying to pass for four years. It had failed in the Senate 22-18 in April, although Brantley voted for it. Brown rammed it through the House 60-59 on June 1.

Brantley was just as adamant about reforming workmen’s compensation insurance. He was under heavy pressure from, among others, Glen Woodard of Jacksonville’s Winn-Dixie Stores, who had personally demanded that Brantley reject a House-Senate compromise because Woodard felt it would not cut rates. Brantley did so, forcing the measure into a conference committee that reported out a new bill late in the evening of June 1. And the President let it be known that Brown’s Public Service Commission bill could not pass unless the House approved the compensation bill.

Brown, however, had a hostage of his own: a $15.3 million package of tax breaks essential to the paper mills and chemical plants that dot North Florida.

By threatening to kill it, Brown had “persuaded” six Panhandle representatives to reverse their

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opposition to the commission bill.

In the Senate, Childers was willing to do whatever was necessary to pass that bill.

Finally, there was a sovereign lands bill demanded by Askew to reestablish the state’s title to millions of acres of submerged land whose ownership was in doubt because of a 1976 Supreme Court ruling. Whatever else the lawmakers did, or didn’t do, the Governor served notice he would not let them go home for good until that bill was passed.

Shuttle Diplomacy

At the dawn of the session’s last day, it appeared that all of this could be worked out. The shuttle diplomacy that characterizes the closing hours of any session — House leaders visiting the President’s office, Senate leaders racing down to see the Speaker, Askew on the phone to both sides — began. But then the deal, and Brantley’s presidency, began to unravel.

The first sign of trouble came in early afternoon when an angry House, egged on by the powerful trial lawyer lobby, rejected the compromise compensation bill, 70-50.

Brantley angrily denounced the vote from the podium and plunged the Senate into a series of recesses. Barron set out to negotiate another compromise and did. That’s when everything went awry.

“Brantley was nervous. He was shaking. He was almost incoherent. We couldn’t get him to really talk about it,” said one of the negotiators.

Said another, “Every time a comp compromise was suggested, he’d start questioning it. I started wondering what the hell was going on, because Brantley doesn’t know (expletive deleted) about comp.”

There was good reason for Brantley to be nervous: unbeknownst to the House or even to his own negotiators in the Senate, Brantley had made a deal with Guy Bostick, head of the Commercial Carrier trucking lines of Auburndale and the incoming board chairman of the big business lobby, Associated Industries of Florida.

The truckers flatly opposed an appointive Public Service Commission, fearing an end of the favorable regulatory treatment their industry had received. Brantley agreed to help kill the PSC bill, even as he was attempting to trade its passage for House approval of the comp bill, a bill avidly sought by Winn-Dixie’s Woodard.

Having made promises to two powerful lobbyists, unable to satisfy one without offending the other, Brantley collapsed.

Even though the House leadership capitulated on the comp bill, promising to pass the one Brantley wanted, the President stalled.

Finally, in one last attempt to adjourn the Legislature for good, Brantley tried to pass the sovereign lands bill. “Had he done that, all of his troubles would have gone away,” said one House member.

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Askew would have let the lawmakers leave; the Public Service Commission bill would be dead and Brantley could blame the House for killing the comp bill.

Strategy Failed

But the strategy failed. The sovereign lands bill bogged down, and Senator Kenneth Plante, R- Winter Park, a Brantley ally, demanded that the Legislature adjourn.

Barron and Childers were furious. Barron had seen two days of hard work on the comp bill go down the drain, and he suspected he had been had. Childers, who knew a $150 million paper plant and 2,200 Pensacola jobs were riding on the economic development package, had lost the one bill he had to have.

And so, they took over the Senate.

Throughout the weekend, the two men spent hours on the phone with Askew, who had called a special session on the sovereign lands bill as everyone had known he would. Brown and Tucker got the word on the Senate from the Governor, who then passed on to the two Senators what was happening in the House. And from all the discussions, an idea evolved.

A New Strategy

Sources said it was Childers who thought of it first. Three votes had to be turned around to pass the Public Service Commission bill in the Senate. Barron and Childers had each voted against it in April; Senator Tom Tobiassen, R-Pensacola, who wanted the tax package as much as his hometown colleague, would be the third vote.

At that point, secrecy was essential. To take up the Public Service Commission vote in special session required a two-thirds majority, since Askew had not included it in his call for the session. If an opponent in the Senate knew what Barron and Childers had done, he could block introduction of the bill.

Meanwhile, Tucker, Brown and Representative Sam Bell, D-Daytona Beach, met with Askew at the governor’s mansion Tuesday night to orchestrate what would happen on the House side. The Senate would be allowed to consider all the bills first, they agreed. Then Askew would expand the call, eliminating the need for a two-thirds vote on the Public Service Commission bill that would have been impossible to get in the House.

On Wednesday morning, the Senate convened, and the anti-Public Service Commission forces went to work counting votes. They asked Childers: “I’m for elected,” he said. They asked Tobiassen: “So am I,” was the reply. Finally, they came to Barron: “I’m not telling. I may take a walk (leave the chamber and not vote.)”

So Brantley and Plante, convinced they had the votes to kill the bill and thus void any subsequent demand by Askew that it be taken up, agreed to allow a two-thirds vote for consideration. “Let’s take it up and kill it,” said Plante.

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But first, the Senate passed the tax package, satisfying Childers. The comp bill passed, mollifying Brantley. Sovereign lands passed, placating Askew. Then Brantley confidently unlocked the voting machine for the Public Service Commission bill.

A Wavering Smile

Tobiassen’s light was green, signifying a “yes” vote. Brantley’s smile started to waver. Then Childers’ button lit up, also green. And finally Barron, who had ostentatiously left the chamber, dashed back in to vote yes.

Brantley was no longer smiling. He stared long and hard at the lights on the board. Finally, after everyone else had voted, Brantley sighed and pushed his green button. The final vote: 21-18.

Thursday morning, Brown and Tucker went to work. Using the tax package as a lever, Brown bludgeoned Panhandle representatives to vote for the Public Service Commission bill. Then the House went on to stick it to Brantley one more time; warned not to change “one comma” of the Senate’s comp bill, the House added a major amendment and sent it back to Brantley.

After a long lunch break, and under heavy pressure from Barron, Brantley accepted, although he insisted on an amendment repealing the entire law next year unless it could be thoroughly reformed by a study commission. When the bill passed, Barron graciously offered to restore Brantley’s dignity.

Barron led the Senate in a standing ovation for Brantley, who looked like he was going to cry.

Less than 90 minutes later, Dempsey Barron stood arm-in-arm with his old Senate colleague, Reubin Askew. “You know, Reubin,” said Barron, “we’re the last of the Pork Choppers.”

“You know, Dempsey,” replied the Governor, “you’re right… it was a fine session.”

Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979, U. S. Trade Commissioner 1979-1981. Lew Brantley, Jacksonville, House 1966-1970, Senate 1970-1978, President 1976-1978. Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Wyon D “W.D.” Childers, Pensacola, Senate 1970-2000, President 1980-1982. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978. J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978- 1980. Kenneth A. “Ken” Plante, Oviedo, Senate 1967-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Thomas J. Tobiassen, Pensacola, House 1968-1974, Senate 1974-1982, House 1982-1992. Samuel P. Bell III, Ormond Beach, House 1974-1988.

PRICE OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Mallory Horne once said “When I became president of the Senate I was worth 2 and a half million dollars, when I got out I was bankrupt. I spent too much of my time in the Senate and too little on my company and law practice. I have never recovered from that.

“It almost gets to be an obsession. You forget that you are a part of any world except that one [the Senate]. You don’t pay any attention to your finances, you don’t pay any attention to your personal life. If you are worth a damn you do that.”

Mallory E. Horne, Tallahassee, House 1955-1963, Speaker 1963-1964, Senate 1966-1974, President 1972-1974.

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PRINTED BILLS

According to Rep. Sam Gibbons, five copies of bills were required to be filed with the Clerk up through the 1953 session. The Clerk retained a copy and distributed the others to key House and Senate offices. Any person, including legislators, would have to pay to have a bill copied by stenographers who had set up shop in the hall outside the House Chamber. Printed bills were first made available without charge to the members in 1955.

Sam Melville Gibbons, Tampa, House 1952-1958, Senate 1958-1962, U.S. House of Representatives 1962-1997.

PROFILE IN COURAGE See ROTATING DISTRICTS

PROHIBITION ON BANKERS, MINISTERS, AND DUELISTS SERVING IN OFFICE

Florida’s first Constitution (1838) prohibited any officer of any “Banking company” or “Minister of the Gospel” from serving as “Governor, Senator or Member of the House of Representatives of this State.” The Confederate Constitution (1861) likewise prohibited any person “who shall hereafter fight a duel or send to accept a challenge to fight a duel.”

PROXIES

Once broadly employed in committees, the use of proxies was outlawed in the House in 1955 and in the Senate afterwards. Proxies were signed authorizations for another legislator to vote for an absent member. A proxy might be of a general nature allowing the holder to vote on any matter coming before the committee or limited to a specific bill with instruction to vote “aye” or “nay.” Proxies made it possible for absentee members to kill or favorably report a bill. The reduction in the number of committees and the scheduling of these to minimize conflicts in meeting times destroyed the excuse for proxies.

An anecdote from the proxy days: A House member appeared to urge a Senate committee to report favorably his bill. Seeing no one present except the Senate chairman and the committee secretary, he assumed the meeting would not be held for lack of a quorum. The chairman encouraged him to go ahead with his presentation.

When the House member finished, the Senator said he originally had intended to vote against reporting the bill favorably but he had been persuaded by the Representative of its merit and now would vote in favor. Then he directed the secretary to call the roll on the bill. As each name was called, the chairman said, “No, by proxy,” until finally the chairman’s own name was reached at the end of the roll. True to his word, the chairman voted “yes.” Then, with a profession of regret, he announced the bill had failed.

This was not an uncommon occurrence. It happened to Senator Ed H. Price, Jr. when he took a bill to abolish capital punishment before the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Senator M. B. “Bart” Knight was chairman in 1959. As Senator Price recalled in 1979, “The two of us met in one of the old Senate meeting rooms. The secretary called the roll, and Bart announced that a quorum was present by proxy. The only bill to come before the committee was my bill to abolish the death penalty. Bart told me to proceed and, since the press was present I

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made a 10 minute presentation. When I finished, Bart advised that there were no questions and he moved the bill by proxy. When the roll was called, he voted three proxies ‘no’ out of his left coat pocket and two proxies ‘no’ out of his right coat pocket. Of course, I (as a member of the committee) voted a loud ‘aye.’

“Bart looked at me with that devilish gleam in his eyes and said: ‘Senator, that was a great presentation and because you almost persuaded me, I am going to vote aye.’ Bart concluded the meeting by saying: ‘Senators, by your vote you have killed the bill. Meeting adjourned.’”

Ed H. Price, Jr., Bradenton, Senate 1959-1966. Marion B. “Bart” Knight, Blountstown, House 1953-1956, Senate 1957-1959.

RAIL, BEHIND THE See BEHIND THE RAIL

RATING THE LEGISLATURE

The Citizens Conference on State Legislatures in 1971 rated the Florida Legislature fourth overall and first in independence among the 50 states. That was the sum of rankings in five categories resulting from a 14-month study.

CCSL reported that Florida had “made dramatic progress in the last three years toward acquiring the resources and making the structural and organizational improvements necessary for an effective lawmaking environment.” The Citizens Conference later became the National Conference of State Legislatures.

REMARKS FORCE RESIGNATION

An article in The Tampa Tribune on June 5, 1953, quoting Sam F. Davis of Tampa, State Beverage Director, caused the Senate to put off sine die adjournment that day until Davis had apologized and resigned. Davis and the reporter had been summoned to explain.

Davis, in a telegram to the Senate from Tampa, said his “casual observation that a clique of six Senators have great influence over the Senate” was not intended to disparage Senator S. D. Clarke, the Dean of the Senate, identified as one of the six. “My point in mentioning this was made from the standpoint of a Senator elected from such a small county exercising so great an influence over Senate legislation. In this regard I am speaking of generalities and not necessarily the individual.”

Governor Dan McCarty wrote the members of not only the Senate but the House that Davis’ remarks, as quoted in the Tribune, caused him “surprise and sincere regret.” The Governor said Davis had demonstrated considerable administrative ability, “but such remarks constitute a variance from my announced policy of diligently respecting the separation of powers. I have today received the resignation of Sam Davis as Beverage Director. For the best interest of everyone concerned, I have accepted his resignation.”

The Senate took Journal note of its intention to adjourn sine die at noon but that this had been delayed until the Davis matter was concluded. Meantime, the House stood in informal recess. With the resignation, the Senate agreed this “unfortunate matter” was finished “without dignifying the author of the incident by any further official action.” The Senate adjourned at 3:00 p.m. Thus, the Davis incident required the Legislature to remain in session about three hours longer than the members had intended.

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Scott Dilworth Clarke, Monticello, House 1907-1909, Senate 1931-1966, President 1947-1948. Daniel Thomas “Dan” McCarty, Jr., Fort Pierce, House 1937-1941, Speaker 1941, Governor 1953.

REPRIMAND (1)

Senator Ralph R. Poston, Sr., was reprimanded and fined 5 hundred dollars by the Senate at a special session on December 13, 1977, called for the purpose of considering charges he had violated laws and rules relating to standards of conduct.

Poston was accused of using his public office to seek business, through the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, for an Orlando-based wheelchair-ambulance service he owned.

He was defeated for reelection.

Ralph R. Poston, Sr., Miami, House 1964-1966, Senate 1966-1978.

REPRIMAND (2)

Representative Gene Flinn was reprimanded by the 1980 House after a select committee inquired into charges by two former Flinn female aides of sexual harassment and misuse of employees.

The vote on adopting the resolution of reprimand was 109 to 4. Flinn abstained, but in a Journal statement said he was not guilty of wrongdoing. Two of the negative votes came from members who said, in Journal statements, they felt Flinn should be expelled.

The committee, speaking through House Resolution 1250, declared Flinn violated House Rule 5.6 which states legislative office is “a trust to be performed with integrity in the public interest,” and subsection (6) of section 112.313, Florida Statutes, which prohibits misuse of public office.

Subsequently, Karen Shields, the principal witness against Flinn was prosecuted for falsifying her job application. On January 14, 1981, she pleaded nolo contendere, in absentia, and was fined 50 dollars. Flinn also sued the aide for libel, asking 5 million dollars in damages. Although Flinn won a summary judgment when Ms. Shields failed to defend, Flinn declared this was insufficient vindication and, in November 1981, the case was ready for jury trial.

Meanwhile, Flinn was defeated for reelection in November 1980.

Gene Flinn, Miami, House 1978-1980.

REPRIMAND (3)

Representative John Thomas, Jacksonville, was recommended by a select committee on August 12, 1985, for censure by the House after his conviction in Federal Court on four felony counts of making misstatements on a Small Business Administration application for a loan. Thomas had been placed on four years probation by the Federal judge and ordered to pay 12 thousand dollars restitution.

John Thomas, Jacksonville, House 1978-1986.

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REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS

The first Republican elected to the House in the 20th century was Lambert M. Ware of St. Andrews Bay, now an enclave of Panama City. Ware was elected in 1903 and was the sole member from his party. House Journals indicate that one of his bills became law and a history of the 1903 session indicates that he was popular with the Democratic members. He later ran for Congress but lost.

The sweep of 1928, when Republican Herbert Hoover defeated Democrat Alfred E. Smith both nationally and in Florida, carried two Republicans into the Legislature from Pinellas County. They were Senator Albert R. Welsh of St. Petersburg and Representative Kenneth W. Kerr of Dunedin. Senator Welsh died after serving one session, and a Democrat was elected to complete his term. Representative Kerr also served in one regular session.

Lambert Ware . . . of St. Andrews Bay Three other Republicans served in the House early in this century: A. D. Whitman of Wauchula represented Hardee County in the 1931 Legislature; Dr. Henry C. Hood of Palm Beach, from Palm Beach County, in the 1917 Legislature; and Lambert M. Ware of Washington County in the 1903 House.

Republican members ceased to be novelties after Pinellas County sent up an entirely GOP House delegation to the 1951 session: Representatives William C. Cramer and Donald C. McLaren of St. Petersburg and B. E. Shaffer of Clearwater. The Republican nature of the Pinellas delegation was rounded out two years later when J. Frank Houghton of St. Petersburg came to the Senate.

The Republicans gained sufficient legislative muscle in 1969 to become an effective opposition — one that was able to sustain vetoes by GOP Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr.

With minority strength came a greater need for party apparatus: a Minority Leader (corresponding with the majority party’s President or Speaker), a Minority Leader pro tempore (matching the majority’s President or Speaker pro tempore), and Whip (the majority’s floor leader). The presence of the minority was recognized through passage of a law in 1969 establishing the Minority Leaders as among the offices of the Legislature.

While Republicans chose a leader beginning with William C. Cramer of St. Petersburg in 1951, this was little more than a ceremonial gesture until the GOP surge of 1967. Thereafter, the shepherds had flocks capable of strategic maneuvering.

After his designation as Leader, Cramer said he was invited to the Governor’s Office by Fuller Warren because, the Governor said, “I wanted to be sure Republicans did not have horns.”

Lambert M. Ware, Washington County, House 1903. Albert R. Welsh, St. Petersburg, Senate 1929. Kenneth W. Kerr, Dunedin, House 1929. A. D. Whitman, Wauchula, House 1931. Henry C. Hood, West Palm Beach, House 1917. William C. Cramer, St. Petersburg, House 1951, U.S. House of Representatives 1955-1971. Donald C. McLaren, St. Petersburg, House 1951-1953. B. E. Shatter, Clearwater, House 1951-1959. J. Frank Houghton, St Petersburg, Senate 1953-1959. Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., West Palm Beach, Governor 1967-1971. Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House 1939, Governor 1949-1953.

REPUBLICAN WOMAN, FIRST

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A court-ordered reapportionment gave Pinellas County three additional seats in the House of Representatives, to be filled at special elections just before the convening of the 1963 regular session. Mary R. Grizzle of Indian Rocks Beach defeated three other Republicans by receiving a majority vote in the primary and also beat a Democratic opponent in the general election. She thus became the first Republican woman to serve in either the Florida House or Senate. She rarely had opposition after those first elections, and the opponents never were successful.

She was recognized by her Republican colleagues in the House through election in 1974 as Minority Leader pro tempore and by Democratic Speakers through appointment to significant committees. In 1976, for example, she was a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Education, and Rules & Calendar. She retired from the House in 1978 to seek election to the State Senate and was elected. Had she remained in the House, Mrs. Grizzle would have become for the 1979 session, by seniority, the Mary R. Grizzle . . . Dean of GOP women first woman to be “Dean of the House.”

Mary R. Grizzle, Indian Rocks Beach, House 1963-1978, Senate 1978-1992.

RIDING THE TUMBREL

Not all legislative humor occurs in the House Chamber. Carl Carpenter, Jr., as Chairman in 1986 of the Committee on Regulated Industries and Licensing, had separate requests for a luncheon appointment from lobbyists representing opposing sides on a telephone regulatory bill to informally present their positions.

Carpenter sent word to each lobbyist, former Speaker Ralph H. Haben, Jr.., and Ron Brower, to meet in his office upon House adjournment, adding he would arrange transportation.

Haben and Brower were nonplussed when they encountered each other in Carpenter’s office, and even more so when Carpenter guided them to the House garage and to a pickup truck whose front seat already was occupied by the House Sergeant at Arms and several lobbyists. Carpenter waved Haben and Brower to folding chairs on the bed of the truck. Carpenter joined them.

Haben, the Beau Brummell of the House, climbed aboard, as did the equally stylish Brower. As they rode from the Capitol to the Capitol Inn some ten blocks away, there were cheers and applause from passersby. Haben and Brower likely had a sense of French aristocrats riding a tumbrel on the way to the guillotine during the Revolution.

But the hazing was not over. With Carpenter at the head and Haben and Brower on each side and the other lobbyists filling out the seats at the table, Carpenter directed Haben and Brower to state their arguments. When they finished, Carpenter called upon the others present to vote. It was, of course, a tie.

Again in the back of the pickup, they returned to the Capitol, hair tousled and dignity askew. There was a formal meeting of Carpenter’s committee later to resolve the telephone problem.

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Carl Carpenter, Jr., Plant City, House 1978-1991. Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982.

RIGHT TURN ON RED

William Dean “Wig” Barrow tells a story of driving through Crestview with his dad and Dempsey Barron after a hunting trip. The town had only one stop light and you could see a half mile in either direction of it. Barrow said as they approached the stop light, “Daddy never slowed down, he just went right on through it, saying ‘I’m not gonna let a machine tell me to stop or not, time is life’s most precious commodity. It is the only thing in which we are equal and marks the passage of life itself.’ ” His father’s philosophy of time convinced Barrow of the wisdom of the “right turn on red” law because it would save much of this “precious commodity.”

Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. William Dean Barrow, Crestview, Senate 1966-1972.

ROTATING DISTRICTS

These were districts made up of two or more counties where there was a gentlemen’s agreement that each county would in turn elect the Senator.

There is an anecdote about the Senator from a rotating four-county district who, in 1949, urged the Senate to show political courage by voting for an across-the-board sales tax. Senator W. A. Shands sidled up to the Senator after he had concluded his plea for his colleagues to demonstrate political backbone. Shands snorted: “You old humbug! You’re a holdover in a district where you couldn’t even run again for 16 years and you are 68 years old now. Some courage!”

The “gentlemen’s agreements” usually were entered into by county Democratic committees. By the 1950s, objectors began appealing to the voters over the heads of the committees and while seldom successful, the agitation doomed these agreements, particularly where there was disproportionate growth among the counties in a district. The court-ordered reapportionments of the 1960s saw the last of the rotating districts.

William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957.

SADOWSKI’S ADVICE TO MEMBERS

After he left the House, Bill Sadowski put together what he labeled “Observations on Legislative Service.” In somewhat abridged form, these “observations” follow as admonitions to succeeding legislators:

1. Always respect another person’s right to hold their own views; just as you want others to respect your right to hold independent views. Don’t question people’s motivations; consider what they say on the merits — a good idea from a scoundrel is still a good idea.

2. Lobbyists are citizens, or represent citizens, who are exercising their constitutionally protected right to seek redress for grievances. It is an important right; respect it.

3. Avoid publicly committing to a position on an issue until you have a satisfactory understanding of the issue and its implications.

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4. The Legislature makes its worst decisions when it has not had the benefit of effective and competing advocacy on an issue.

5. Your satisfaction from, mastery of, and effectiveness in, the legislative process will be a result of the amount of time, effort, and enthusiasm you put into the job.

6. Remember at all times that a legislator is merely a citizen who, for a limited period of time, is granted a modest portion of government’s power. You are but a temporary part of the government. Moreover, never forget that the people, in their Constitution, retained all political power to themselves.

7. Your power and responsibilities, along with those of other branches of government, are defined by the people in their Constitution. Your existence as a legislator arises solely from that document. Read the Constitution and know it. It is a living document.

8. And don’t forget that the people, in addition to granting power to the branches of government, also declared certain protections for themselves. Be sensitive to those protections, such as their rights to be free from unreasonable governmental interference and to freedom of speech and association and do not violate them.

9. Public office is a public trust, both legally and conceptually. Never violate that trust.

10. Your family is a source of strength and a point of real-world contact. Preserve and protect that strength at all costs.

11. A legislative session is in many ways an artificial world. Don’t lose touch with the real world.

12. You have two constituencies: one that elects you and one that you serve. The one that you serve consists of all the citizens of Florida.

13. You are a politician in a democracy. Take pride in that. Use your office to generate public debate on important issues of the day.

Farewell Speech – William Sadowski

Speaker Haben’s Remarks:

“While we are checking last minute items, I would like to say one thing. We have already said goodbye and I certainly enjoyed it. I am advised that one person is leaving that I was not aware until just a moment ago and that is Representative Sadowski and I would just like to say that there is no living man that has a philosophy so diametrically opposed to mine who I respect any more. Representative Sadowski, you are one of the few people. There is nothing better than a liberal that will stand up and fight you tooth-and-nail and take those hard positions when everybody else thinks you are marching to a different drummer and I respect that in a man more than anything else and it is a pleasure to serve with you.

Representative Sadowski you are recognized.”

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Representative Sadowski’s remarks:

“On a point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker. It’s always difficult to interpret the intent behind applause [laughter] and on this occasion [leaving the House] it is always troubling.

“Somebody was asking me why it took me so long to come to a decision and it had something to do with my heritage, I suspect. I may be Polish but I’m not dumb, and I think that the decision is one with which I feel comfortable but with which I obviously will have some regrets.

“I do want to thank each of you for being who you are and the people, citizens, for allowing me an opportunity to serve in the Legislature, and you, Mr. Speaker, for letting me do what I have been doing for a while and enjoying very much.

“And to the people who aspire to public office, I would just like to say that it is an aspiration that you should keep and pursue because there really is no greater more satisfying feeling, I think, and I suspect each of you in your own way experience the same kind of sentiment, than serving in public office and political office especially. And in the Legislature, which is perhaps the most political office of all.

“It has been intellectually stimulating, it has been fascinating, psychologically, it’s a zoo. But in terms of a sense of accomplishment, a sense of contribution, participation, a reinforcement of one’s confidence in our form of government, this really is it. And it is fascinating to me these diagrams we see on paper in school, bicameral and all this sort of thing, separation of powers; the damn thing works, it really does. I’m not always certain about the bicameral part but clearly the separation of powers does work and the process of our government works.

“So to each of you, I thank you again, I wish you well in your endeavors and on some of your issues. And to each of you who are currently occupying seats which don’t belong to you, I would like through you to speak to colleagues of mine in the past and just sort of share those same sentiments with those folks; because it’s a special relationship we have here and it’s one that we will all value greatly and I know we all hope afterwards that we will be able to continue some kind of a participation in the process, and I share that kind of hope along with you and I wish you well. Thank you very much.”

At the urging of Governor Lawton Chiles, Bill Sadowski returned to Tallahassee to serve as his Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs. Sadowski was killed in the crash of a State plane in 1992.

William E. “Bill” Sadowski, Miami, House 1976-1982.

SALES TAX, THE LONG CAMPAIGN

When the 5-thousand-dollar homestead tax exemption was submitted to the voters by the 1933 Legislature, there were those who believed the loss of revenue inevitably would lead to a sales tax.

In 1933, the State was in the throes of a double-depression — the aftermath of Florida’s own failed land boom followed by the national collapse — so the Legislature could be certain the voters would ratify the amendment to the State Constitution both to protect their homes from tax foreclosure and to reduce immediate taxes.

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The House of Representatives approved the homestead amendment by a vote of 85 to 7, the Senate, 27 to 10. The voters obliged in the 1934 general election by a vote of 123,484 against and 401,842 for.

Prophetically, Representative W. McL. Christie of Jacksonville, Speaker in 1937, caused this judgment to be spread upon the House Journal: “I am voting against this Resolution because I believe it would completely break down our tax structure.”

He was right, as were those who saw the enactment of a sales tax as their goal, but this did not come about until 1949. Its enactment was both nudged and retarded by subsequent events, including World War II.

First Drive for Sales Tax

The first drive for a sales tax occurred during the 1935 session, with Representative G. Pierce Wood (See CAUCUS) of Liberty County, Speaker in 1939, working for its enactment from inside the Legislature and Edward Ball of the duPont interests directing the campaign from the outside.

The sales tax bill, HB 1282, finally came to a vote on May 30, 1935. The bill failed of passage by a vote of 42 to 51.

Legalization of Slot Machines

Called up in the House on the next day was a bill to legalize slot machines. This was amended to include a reverse local option, allowing any county to prohibit slot machines and not to participate in revenue from these if its voters rejected the slot machines at a referendum called upon the petition of 20 percent of the qualified electors. Then the bill passed, 44 to 36. Those totals meant 15 members failed to vote. Slot machines were legal for two years.

Abolition of State Property Tax

The next significant nudge toward a sales tax came in 1939 when the Legislature submitted, and the voters ratified in 1940, another constitutional amendment which abolished ad valorem (property) taxation for State purposes. This proposal had passed the Senate by a vote of 24 to 10 and the House by 66 to 17. Voters ratified by a vote of 106,622 to 76,050.

Abolition of the State’s property tax again narrowed the tax base. As Representative Winder H. Surrency of Sarasota complained in the House Journal, “No other State in the Union has gone to such unreasonable extremes in this matter as we have gone, by the use of exemptions and by limitations on taxing power. The lifting of the State tax on land significantly reduced taxes on timberlands, farms, and groves.

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The State government continued to be pinched for money in 1941. As the year began, the State Comptroller had unpaid bills amounting to more than 1.7 million dollars. The new Governor, Spessard L. Holland, as a Senator in 1933, had voted against the homestead resolution. His alternatives to a sales tax as means of producing revenue were increases in the automobile license rate and the levies in pari-mutuel wagering. Governor Holland observed in his message to the Legislature that the “present ridiculously low level of valuation has operated to bring entirely under the homestead tax exemption, properties which are worth as much as thirty or forty thousand dollars, or even more.” This meant local government looked to the State for replacement funds.

World War II’s ban on pleasure driving reduced the State’s yield from the gasoline tax and pari- mutuel wagering. Governor Holland, in his message to the 1943 Legislature, recommended the enactment of Florida’s first tax on cigarettes: three cents on a package of 20. The Governor said he wanted “to make it perfectly plain that in 1940 I went on record specifically against this tax.” But, as other governors found upon winning the office, campaign promises had to give way to the realities of office.

The War Surplus Spent

The State treasury surpluses largely carried the government through the administration of Governor Millard F. Caldwell, but his successor, Governor Fuller Warren, told the 1949 Legislature that a strange paradox existed: the State was enjoying “abundant prosperity” but the State government “stands strapped financially, and indeed it is almost insolvent.” Warren added: “The war surplus has been spent. The day of reckoning is at hand.”

Already pledged during his campaign to veto a sales tax if enacted, Governor Warren proposed the passage of 16 new or additional taxes. These included levies on banks, lodgings, phosphate, cigars, admissions, forest lands, public utilities, insurance premiums, small loan licenses, intangibles, documentary stamps, and corporate stocks.

“This tax program will meet with determined and even desperate opposition,” Warren warned the Legislature. “Certain interests,” he continued, “have grown rich and powerful, partially as a result of the State’s past policy of not requiring them to pay their fair and just share of the cost of government, and its even more lenient policy of giving them certain exemptions from taxation.” He said, “These aggregations of wealth and power have equipped themselves with well paid lobbyists.”

“I trust you will listen politely to the lobbyists and then vote according to your conscience,” continued Warren. “I also hope you will be on your guard against a threatened coalition among all the lobbyists. It is believed that lobbyists representing all this rich aggregation of power and wealth will combine their forces in an effort to beat down every revenue bill. I know you will not let such a conspiracy wreck the financial integrity of the State.”

Governor Warren’s faith was misplaced. The coalition defeated the program. In the last hours of the session, the Legislature accepted a conference committee’s unfunded general appropriations bill. Representative Thomas T. Cobb of Daytona Beach had this judgment spread upon the Journal: “A vote for this appropriations bill is a vote for a sales tax.”

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State In the Red

Reacting to his prophecy that the State government would be “in the red” by September, the Governor warned the public of impending fiscal disaster. Among his stage-setting actions were writing the presidents of the three State universities to prepare to shut down the institutions. This letter was leaked to the press.

Sufficient groundwork having been laid, Governor Warren, on August 16, 1949, issued a proclamation for a special session to convene on September 7, for the “sole purpose” of raising money to stave off “chaos.”

In his message to the special session, the Governor did not indulge in recrimination. Instead, he said the members had “placed themselves squarely on the side of those who believe in Florida and its magnificent destiny.”

If the tone of the special session message differed from that of the regular session litany of needed taxes, it was because different fingers were applied to the typewriter. The writers of the special session message agreed the needs had been stated and no further detailing was necessary. Also, if no specific taxes were itemized there could be no box score for newsmen to compile of the Governor’s successes and failures.

The Writing of the Governor’s Message

The message was written by three newsmen: Herbert Bayer of the Florida Times-Union, Stanmore Cawthon late of the St. Petersburg Times, and Allen Morris, “Cracker Politics” columnist.

On the Sunday before the convening on Tuesday of the special session, Bayer, Cawthon, and Morris gathered in Morris’s office in the Capitol to cope with the challenge of fashioning a message that would enable the Governor to skate the thin ice of the inevitability of a sales tax and his campaign pledge to veto such a tax.

Morris set about establishing the mood by bringing to the meeting a portable phonograph and a record of Abraham Lincoln’s farewell address to his friends and neighbors of Springfield from the rear platform of the train taking him to Washington.

Morris also contributed a verse from the Bible to serve as an opening and closing statement and a midway bridge: “Where there is no vision the people perish.”

Cawthon put his fingers to a portable typewriter’s keys to praise legislators past and present for specific evidences of vision. Bayer’s part already was half-finished for he had persuaded Governor Warren to entrust the message to the trio.

Stanmore Cawthon . . . His fingers A nervous Governor was fended off until late in the afternoon of to the keys Monday when the trio gathered in Warren’s office. Bayer made an

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opening statement setting the reasons for the tone of the message. Morris read the speech with gestures and emphasis. Governor Warren declared the document needed not the change of a single word but the trio knew him to be a person who had to put his mark on everything written.

To make sure this would not happen; the three thanked Warren and marched out with the only copy of the speech. They promised to get it back to him with sufficient copies in ample time the next day. That was just before the legislative committee arrived to escort him to the House Chamber.

Some legislative critics grumbled in private about not finding anything in the message to complain about but publicly they applauded the address, as did the State’s editorialists. After all, who could deny the Legislature’s need for vision?

Negotiating the Tax Bill

Meantime, a sales tax bill was being negotiated elsewhere: the den in the residence of a Supreme Court Justice, the law library of a State Senator, and the hunting camp of a former Speaker of the House. Exemptions were swapped for votes, among these: cheesecloth for use in shading tobacco, nets and other gear of commercial fishermen, and fertilizer, sprays, equipment, and machinery used in the cultivation and protection of citrus.

Speaker Don Tucker recalled that his father, Senator Luther Tucker, was committed to oppose the sales tax. Governor Warren prevailed upon Senator Tucker to vote for the sales tax because he was “one vote shy in the Senate.” According to Speaker Tucker, the Governor said “Luther, I will give you anything; I have got to have this [sales tax].” So Senator Tucker relented saying, “OK, here is the deal. Whatever I ask you for my district, you will give it to me.” The Governor agreed. Speaker Tucker said, “One of the things he asked him, apparently, was to help out the people of Carrabelle because…every city street in Carrabelle [became] a dedicated state road.”

In the House, the conference committee report was accepted by a vote of Luther Tucker . . . got his roads 55 to 33, in the Senate by a vote of 21 to 14. Senator LeRoy Collins of Tallahassee, afterwards Governor, entered the only explanation of vote in the Journal: “I vote ‘aye’ because it is imperative that the State have additional revenue to carry forward a progressive program. This bill has many errors, and will be difficult and expensive to administer. It is our only chance, however, for a revenue program to support our schools, health, institutional and welfare programs for the next two years.”

The sales tax was one part of a three- part revenue program. The sales tax law, proclaimed “The Florida Revenue Act of 1949” levied a three percent tax on sales at retail, rentals, and storage of tangible personal property, admission

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above 41 cents to amusements, and rental of accommodations to transients. There were many exemptions, the chief of these being uncooked food and medicines. The “Aid to Cities Act of 1949” permitted cities to levy a tax up to five cents on a pack of cigarettes upon the condition that at least 50 percent of the proceeds be used to reduce ad valorem taxes. The “Secondary Roads Assistance Act of 1949” gave counties the proceeds of the seventh cent of the gasoline tax, with the Legislature’s stated intention that the money be used to reduce local ad valorem taxes.

Governor Warren allowed the sales tax to become law. He stated that his campaign pledge to veto a sales tax spoke to a “general” sales tax, while the act before him was a “limited” sales tax by reason of the exemptions. Nevertheless, the public was inclined to hang the tax around Warren’s neck. In countless stores, the tax was deposited in jars labeled “pennies for Fuller.” When he ran again for Governor in 1956, Warren finished fourth, after LeRoy Collins, then Governor, Sumter L. Lowry and Farris Bryant. Ironically, surveys at the time indicated few, if any, members of the 1949 Legislature were defeated solely because of their votes for the sales tax. Certainly the leadoff men in each house, Senator W. A. Shands and Representative Richard H. Simpson, did not suffer at the hands of the voters in the 1950 election.

The 18-day session saw the Legislature turn the corner on a quarter-century of spot taxing, with heavy dependence upon alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and pari-mutuel wagering. In an explanation at the time, it was said the legislators had adopted a revenue plan “designed to stabilize budget making not only of the State government but also of its counties and cities, affording each the ability to make long-needed public improvements. The Legislature endeavored also to ease the burden of local property taxation.”

William McLean Christie, Jacksonville, House 1933-1939, Speaker 1937. George Pierce Wood, Sumatra, House 1929-1931, 1935- 1939, Speaker 1939. Winder Hillman Surrency, Sarasota, House 1939. Spessard Lindsey Holland, Bartow, Senate 1933-1939, Governor 1941-1945, U.S. Senate 1946-1971. Millard Fillmore Caldwell, Jr., Milton, House 1929-1931, U.S. House of Representatives 1933-1941, Governor 1945-1949, Supreme Court Justice 1962-1969, Chief Justice 1967. Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville 1939, Governor 1949-1953. Thomas Tracy Cobb, Daytona Beach, House 1947-1956. Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995. Donald L. Tucker, Crawfordville, House 1966-1978, Speaker 1974-1978. Luther C. Tucker, Crawfordville, Senate 1949-1951, 1961-1963. LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961. C. Farris Bryant, Ocala, House 1947-1956, Speaker 1953, Governor 1961- 1965. William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957. Richard Henry Simpson, Monticello, House 1939- 1951, Speaker 1943.

SAWMILL TALK

Language with the bark off, from the vernacular of West Florida. A phrase popularized by Senator W. D. Childers who described “sawmill language” as plain talk, understandable to all participants in a conversation. Sawmill talk helped decide several campaigns for the Senate presidency.

Wyon D. “W.D.” Childers, Pensacola, Senate 1970-2000, President 1980-1982.

SCHOOL BELL

In the pre-electricity years, a bell similar to those used to summon boys and girls to class was employed to notify legislators of the convening of sessions. The Laws of 1865 refer to a session allowance of 20 dollars for “the servant for ringing the bell.”

SEATING

The 1889 House settled the troublesome question of seating by having the name of each county placed in a hat, from which the Sergeant at Arms drew the slips. Members selected seats from those

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remaining, as the name of their county was called.

SEATING CHALLENGE (1)

The 1949 House received complaints about the qualifications of two members-elect, F. W. Bedenbaugh and George Keith. A select committee appointed by the 1947 Speaker and the 1949 Speaker-designate prior to the convening on April 5, 1949, of the regular session (there being no Organization Session at that time) recommended that Bedenbaugh and Keith stand aside when the other members were given the oath. The committee also recommended that a member-elect offer the formal challenge. This was done by the Chairman of the select committee, known as the Committee on Elections.

On April 6, the day following the organization of the House, the standing Committee on Elections recommended that Bedenbaugh and Keith be seated. The Committee found that “no evidence of wrongdoing, fraud or misconduct on the part of George Keith was presented to the Committee.” The Committee said Bedenbaugh, in its opinion, “has not been convicted of a felony or an infamous crime under the laws and Constitution” of Florida.

The Committee also commented that “because of the evident equities a majority of the voters” in Martin and Columbia counties had favored the election of Keith and Bedenbaugh. According to the House Journal, the complainants before the Committee were two opponents of Keith in the primary election of 1948. In the case of Bedenbaugh, the Committee’s report referred only to “complainants” and did not specify the charges.

The Committee, in conclusion, said it was “of the opinion that the procedure followed in the above cases although proper and warranted is most extraordinary and recommends that the Rules Committee clarify the procedure by which a member may be challenged.”

Because of the constitutional requirement for an Organization Session, the Rule became less workable and modification was desirable. The Rule now states, “In the case of a contest for a seat in the House, notice setting forth the specific grounds of such contest and the supporting evidence must have been received by the Clerk not less than 5 days before the organization session of the Legislature. No motion to disqualify a member shall be in order at the organization session until a Speaker has been elected in accordance with the Florida Constitution. In the case of a special election, notice must have been received by the Clerk not less than 5 days before the next regular or special session convenes. If the election is during a session or less than 5 days before the next session, the notice must have been received on the next legislative day following the receipt of certified election results. A contest setting forth facts sufficient to warrant review shall be referred by the Speaker to an appropriate committee. The committee shall conduct hearings as required and report its findings and recommendations to the House. Upon receipt of the committee report, the House shall convene with all dispatch to determine the contest by a majority vote.”

Inasmuch as the Organization Session usually lasts about two hours, the procedure suggested by the Rule raises questions.

Frank Willoughby “Shorty” Bedenbaugh, Lake City, House 1945, 1949, 1953, 1961, 1963. George Keith, Stuart, House 1949.

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SEATING CHALLENGE (2)

The Florida Supreme Court, in Flynn v. McPherson, held that courts lack jurisdiction to inquire into a person’s qualifications to hold office when that person already has been duly elected and has taken office as a State Representative.

The case originated in 1981 when former Representative Bill Flynn, Democrat, charged his successful opponent, Scott McPherson, Republican, with having filed a false candidate oath because McPherson was neither a resident nor a qualified elector from the legislative district. Flynn charged McPherson had misled the voters by this false oath.

“Generally,” said the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Alan C. Sundberg, “there is no inherent power in the courts of this state to determine election contests and the right to hold legislative office. The courts in this state are without jurisdiction to determine the right of one who has been elected to legislative office.”

Article III, section 21, Florida Constitution, makes each house the sole judge of its members’ qualifications, and Article III, section 15(c) establishes the standing qualifications for a legislator, who must be “an elector and

resident of the district from which elected.” Thus, the Seating Challenge . . . Supreme Court declared, “The Constitution grants the sole power to judge these qualifications to the Legislature in unequivocal terms. The courts of this state, therefore, have no jurisdiction to determine these constitutional qualifications.”

Bill Flynn, Miami, House 1974-1976, 1978-1980. Scott McPherson, Miami, House 1980-1982.

SECRETARIES FURNISH OWN TYPEWRITERS

Today’s legislative secretaries would be flabbergasted if they were asked to comply with a directive of the 1917 House: “Application having been made for typewriters by House stenographers and clerks, your committee recommends that such stenographers and clerks furnish their own machines.”

SEGREGATION, OPPOSITION TO

The July 26, 1956 Journal included an explanation by Representative Jack Orr of his votes against several bills that would have impeded integration of the public schools as required by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka. It reads: “Gentlemen, I wish to explain my votes on the several segregation bills which have been passed during this Special Session. Due to the delicacy of the subject matter, I have written this speech.

“I appreciate and understand how strongly many of you feel about the necessity of preserving segregation even though it has been declared to be violative of our basic law. I trust that you will attempt to understand my position. I will state it as succinctly as my control of language permits.

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“First, I favor the gradual integration of our public school system. In view of the fact that our custom of segregation is one of long standing, I realize that this cannot be changed overnight as the consequence of governmental edict but I do not understand the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to require that abrupt a change. I believe, moreover, that had we devoted as much energy, time, and talent to discovering means to live under the law instead of in defiance of it, we could have discovered a way.

“I believe segregation is morally wrong. The existence of second class citizens is repugnant to our great democratic principles. The fact that the custom is one of long standing makes it no less wrong. Surely not many of you would argue today that slavery was morally justifiable and yet this was a custom of long standing.

“The pigmentation of one’s skin is no rational basis for setting him apart. But proponents of segregation say that God intended this; that He created the European continent for the white man, the Asian for the Yellow, the African for the Black, and the American for the Red Man. Of course, the logical inference from this type of reasoning is that we should give the country back to the Indians. No, I believe that God intended us to live in harmony under the Brotherhood of Man, and that Jack Orr . . . opposed segregation His plan has been sidetracked from time to time by humans who have felt the necessity of having someone to look down upon. I believe that most of our problems, most of our wars, are a consequence of this type of inferiority complex.

“Examine the effect of our Southern attitude on international affairs. We of the White race are a minority group. Our diplomats preach, and are backed up by our Constitution, that we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or creed. Each time that we do not practice what our officials preach, the Communists score a propaganda victory. They have used this with alarming success against us in Asia. We have provided them with ammunition more effective than the hydrogen bomb in this Special Session. If we hope to maintain our leadership among the free peoples of the world, if we hope to give hope to those subjugated peoples behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains, we must demonstrate by our acts as well as our words that our democratic form of government places no artificial barriers on the opportunity to live and work with our fellow man.

“Passing from the moral and international problems, what has been the effect on our economy?

“We have not provided equal but separate educational facilities and I don’t believe this is possible. As a consequence of the disparity in educational facilities, we in the South have had over the years a large segment of our population which has been poorly educated. The result has been that the living standards of all of us have been pulled down. Our wage rates are lower, our disease rates are higher. Every facet of our life has been adversely affected by the artificial barrier we have created and maintained.

“In recent years we have made much economic progress in the South. I believe this has been due, in part, to the elimination or reduction of discrimination in many fields. More Negroes are participating in our political life. They serve on our juries; they vote in our elections; they serve on our police departments and serve as judges. It might be well to mention here that they fight beside us in time of war.

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“To continue to progress, I believe we have an obligation, not just to the Negro, but also to ourselves to provide the same educational facilities to all children regardless of race or color or creed. This cannot be accomplished in a segregated system.

“I predict that none of the measures passed or proposed will accomplish the result you seek. Despite the clever language employed, the Supreme Court will surely see through the Fabisinski Committee Bills and will strike them down.

“Neither will interposition work. Interposition is that doctrine which requires one side to put on blue uniforms and the other side gray ones. We tried that before and I doubt that General Lowry will be able to accomplish what General Lee failed to do.

“None of these attempts will succeed ultimately and furthermore upon their failure, complete integration may be imposed immediately upon us without our having made adequate plans to orient our people to the change.

“But perhaps the most dangerous byproduct of our activity in this Special Session and of the political campaigns that preceded it, and are responsible for it, is the attitude of disrespect for our laws and the principles of common decency that is developing. To defy the highest court in our land is unthinkable to me. As a lawyer, I’ve frequently disagreed with decisions of all of our courts — most particularly when they rule against me — but I wouldn’t think of telling my clients to ignore the decisions. Neither would you.

“You wouldn’t cheat on an examination and you wouldn’t condone cheating of graders. Yet the efficacy of the student admission plan to maintain segregation depends on who grades the papers or who gives the tests. This is demonstrated by the colloquy that occurred during the committee hearing. One member expressed doubt that this plan would prevent integration because some colored children would be as bright as the white children and would come from homes of comparable backgrounds. His doubt was dissipated when reminded by another — ‘who will be giving the tests.’

“The development of this kind of attitude will surely weaken the moral fiber of our government and of our community life. For us to set an example of hypocrisy and deceit — of disrespect for our laws — will surely do more harm to our children than will result from their being seated in a classroom next to one whose skin is of a different hue.

“It is not my intention to condemn any of you personally. I have great respect and personal admiration for most of you. I simply felt constrained to point out what I believe to have been a grave mistake.

“When we finally have to face up to this problem, and we surely will be required to, I hope that God gives us the wisdom and strength to conquer prejudice and bigotry and to renew our faith in our Constitution.

“Meantime, I will take solace in the prayer our chaplain delivered last Tuesday: ‘Help us, thus, to see that it is better to fail in a just cause that will ultimately succeed, than to succeed in an unrighteous cause that will ultimately fail.’”

Orr’s was the only nay vote.

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John B. Orr, Jr., Coconut Grove, House 1955-1957.

SEMINOLE LEGISLATORS

The short-lived Florida Constitution of 1868 stated, “the tribe of Indians located in the southern portion of the state, and known as the Seminole Indians, shall be entitled to one member of each House of the Legislature. Such member shall have all the rights, privileges and remunerations, as other members of the legislature.” There is no record of these seats having been filled.

For other provisions of a Florida Constitution that might be regarded today as curiosities, See OUTLAWED PROFESSIONS.

SENATE SPECIAL ORDER REQUESTS

Because of Billy Joe Rish’s close relationship with powerful Senate Rules Chairman Dempsey Barron, House members would often slip him messages requesting that he ask Barron to put their bills on the Senate Special Order Calendar. Rep. Rish said he would always take the messages but never hand them over to Senator Barron. He said the requests never got any bills passed in the Senate but sure helped him get his bills passed in the House.

William J. “Billy Joe” Rish, Port St. Joe, House 1970-1978. Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

SENATE, HOUSE DIFFERENCE

What’s the difference between serving in the House and serving in the Senate? George W. Leaird, who had served in both houses, repeated the question, then replied: “It’s the difference between living in a college dormitory and living in a fraternity house.”

George W. Leaird, Fort Lauderdale, House 1939-1943, Senate 1947-1953, President Pro Tempore 1953.

SENATE-HOUSE RELATIONS

Senate-House relations always have been a touchy area, with House members inclined to believe Senators regard themselves as superior. The Journals reflect many instances when this feeling has found its way into the official records, For example, at the 1889 Extraordinary Session, the Senate insisted upon the House passing the Senate’s bill to defray the expenses of the State Board of Health, instead of the Senate taking up the House-passed companion measure. One hurt member recorded his “disapprobation at the discourteous attitude the Senate has assumed,” while another Representative observed for the record, “I am willing to indulge the babies in the other end of the Capitol — I love babies — and to satisfy their vanity. I will indulge the Senate once more and vote ‘yes.’”

SENIORITY

Longevity of service in the House and Senate has no formal recognition beyond preference in the administrations of some Presidents and Speakers in parking spaces, offices, and seating. The member longest in service earns the honorific of “Dean.” This title no longer has meaning since the advent of term limits.

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SESSIONS, ANNUAL VS. BIENNIAL

Between 1822 and 1969, Florida’s Legislature alternated between annual and biennial sessions.

• 1822-1846 Annual • 1847-1857 Biennial • 1858-1873 Annual • 1874-1968 Biennial • 1969-To date Annual

The Constitution Revision Commission in 1967 took up the question of whether to return to annual sessions or continue meeting biennially. Its transcripts reveal good arguments being made on either side. Commissioner Don Reed opposed annual sessions because he feared it would keep many highly qualified and public-spirited professionals and entrepreneurs from running for legislative office because of the demands placed upon their time during the busiest time of the year for tourism. Commissioner Reubin Askew also opposed annual sessions, believing that they would cause departments of government to spend all their time developing budgets. Commissioner Lawton Chiles feared that with annual sessions legislators would become career politicians, salaries would have to be increased, and too much legislation would be passed.

These arguments were countered by Commissioner Ralph Turlington who favored annual sessions because he believed they would lead to a younger, stronger legislature that could more effectively hold the executive accountable.

Those favoring annual sessions won the day. The first annual session under the 1968 Constitution was held in 1969.

Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979, U.S. Trade Commissioner 1979- 1981. Lawton M. Chiles, Jr., Lakeland, House 1959-1966, Senate 1966-1970, U.S. Senate 1971-1989, Governor 1991-1998. Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987.

SESSION, LONGEST

The longest session technically lasted 520 days but saw the Legislature actually in session 74 days, a record by either accounting. This was the legislative reapportionment session of 1955. The Legislature was deadlocked on the 74th day but could not adjourn sine die since the Constitution mandated that the Legislature remain in session until reapportionment had been accomplished. The Legislature recessed until its life expired with the general election. The session ran from June 6, 1955, until November 6, 1956. The longest daily session was on May 30-31, 1957, when the House was in continuous meeting from 9:30 a.m. on the 30th until 1:46 p.m. on the 31st. In a parliamentary snarl as to whether another legislative day commenced at midnight, the House adjourned at 12:23 a.m., to reconvene immediately and remain in session for a total of 28 hours and 16 minutes.

SESSION, SHORTEST

The shortest session occurred on November 17, 1970, when the Legislature, already in Tallahassee for organization, was called into special session to pay the pre-inaugural expenses of Governor-elect Reubin O’D. Askew. The House was in session 21 minutes and the Senate, 15.

Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979.

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SESSIONS

The Legislature should meet for two days every 60 years, instead of the other way around. — John P. Stokes

John Patrick Stokes, Pensacola, House Speaker pro tempore 1909, Senate 1911-1913, 1918-1923, President Pro Tempore 1911.

SESSIONS, RECORD NUMBER OF

The six special sessions, “C” through “H” of 1982 constituted a record number. However, the number of days in session was far from a record. Four of the sessions lasted only a single day. Another session lasted one day for the House and four days for the Senate. The remaining session had a life of 10 days. Three of the sessions were concerned with the unfinished legislative and congressional reapportionments. The regular 60-day session had been extended seven days.

SHOVING

A duel between Jacksonville vs. Miami over a Senate bill involving the control of banks changed in the 1982 House from a parliamentary struggle to a physical shoving encounter.

Right in front of the Speaker’s podium, House sponsor Ron Silver shoved both hands into the chest of John Lewis, who had led the successful 49-54 fight to kill Silver’s bill.

“I came over to shake his hand,” Lewis said later. “He wouldn’t, and I said ‘Ron, that’s being a baby.’ Then he called me something unprintable.” And Silver, 240 pounds, shoved the 140-pound Lewis.

Another legislator stepped between the two.

After an eight-minute closed-door counseling in the Speaker’s office, Silver and Lewis publicly shook hands and hugged each other.

Silver explained he had been hurrying to get a vote sheet to see if any last-minute parliamentary maneuvers were available to resurrect the bill. “I told him that I didn’t want to shake his hand,” Silver told the House. “Our bodies did brush against each other. It probably was not the proper conduct.”

Lewis said he was ready to forgive and forget. “At the end of the Session, tempers get frayed. It’s unfortunate that this took place up in front of the House.”

Ronald A. “Ron” Silver, North Miami Beach, House 1978-1992, Senate 1992-2002. John W. Lewis III, Jacksonville, House 1974- 1986.

SINE DIE

“Sine die” means “without day,” and this is the action which concludes a session of the Legislature. A concurrent resolution may be adopted by the two houses to fix the hour of adjournment sine die, but one house has been known to adjourn sine die without coordinating with the other. Thus, one house may be in session after the other has gone home.

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When the Governor Adjourned the Legislature

The 1885 Constitution had a provision which empowered the Governor to adjourn the Legislature if the two houses could not agree upon a resolution for this purpose. Included in the Executive article, the provision was little-known and, until 1956, never used.

That year, the House delayed agreement upon sine die adjournment because of the determination of some members to adopt a resolution of interposition. Interposition was a theory that a state could nullify an opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court. Public school integration was the issue then.

Governor Collins adjourned the extraordinary session from 3:30 p.m. on August 1 1956, until April 2, 1957, the date for the convening of the next regular session. His proclamation literally caught the principal advocate of interposition in mid-sentence.

The 1968 revision of the Constitution requires the Governor to give each House notice in writing 24 hours before exerting this power.

LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

SING FOR YOUR VOTES

When freshman Daryl L. Jones, Democrat of Miami, presented his first bill of the 1991 session, colleagues insisted he sing for their votes. Jones, attorney and F-16 fighter pilot, obliged to the tune of TV’s “Hee-Haw”:

Colleagues and friends, I’ve toiled and I’ve labored, Worked, oh so hard, with excitement and zeal. It’s been through the subs and many committees, Please press the “yes” button, ‘cos it’s a good bill.

The green “yes” lights on the vote board expressed the approval.

Daryl L. Jones, Miami, House 1990-1992, Senate 1992-2002.

SLOW MOVING CANDIDATE

As told by Ken Plante, in 1970, Lawton Chiles and his seatmates in the Senate (Plante himself, Louis de la Parte, and Reubin Askew) were talking on the floor one day about how to get attention for Chiles’ impending candidacy for the U.S. Senate. They came up with idea of a “whistle-stop” tour like Harry Truman’s but this time using a motor home with a platform built on the back.

Chiles later came back and told them he had decided to walk across the state, an idea suggested by his wife, Rhea. On the last day of the session, Senator Plante and others presented Chiles with an aluminum “slow moving vehicle” sign outfitted with straps, so he could wear it while walking in traffic. Slow moving vehicle

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Kenneth A. “Ken” Plante, Oviedo, Senate 1967-1978, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Lawton M. Chiles, Jr., Lakeland, House 1959-1966, Senate 1966-1970, U.S. Senate 1971-1989, Governor 1991-1998. Louis de la Parte, Tampa, House 1962-1965, Senate 1967-1974, President Pro Tempore 1972-1974. Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979.

“SNEAKING BILLS THROUGH”

During the final days of the 1972 session, when motions were being put to the Chair from everywhere in the Chamber, a bewildered Senator inquired: “Mr. President, what order of business are we on?” Grinning, President Jerry Thomas replied: “Sneaking bills through.”

Jerry Thomas, Riviera Beach, House 1961-1963, Senate 1965-1972, President 1970-1972, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury 1976.

Sneaking Bill Through . . . SNOOKER

To take advantage of another by parliamentary maneuver. As Representative A. H. “Gus” Craig once said when an amendment was pending whose practical effect on his bill he could not at once perceive, “Mr. Speaker, I believe someone is about to be snookered and I’m afraid it’s me.” Likely from the pool game called snooker, in which the purpose is to prevent an opponent from making another move.

A. H. “Gus” Craig, St. Augustine, House 1956-1963, 1966-1978, Speaker pro tempore 1972-1974.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Usually, there are three formal affairs for each legislative biennium. There will be two receptions honoring the Senate President and the House Speaker. Generally, but not invariably, these are sponsored by the Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce. Sometimes a President or a Speaker will forego the honor. At least one President levied upon each Senator the cost of the evening. The third reception is given by the Governor to welcome the members of the new Legislature. The Tallahassee Chamber has an annual cocktail party to greet the legislators. Numerous interests also entertain the lawmakers during a session.

Oldest and best known of the dinner parties was given between 1967 and 1981 by the Florida Phosphate Council. This featured stone crab claws, shrimp, oysters, salad and cake. The Council’s on-the-scene lobbyist, T. E. “Red” Holcom, now retired, and his wife, Maxine, had much to do with the preparation of the food, including the baking of the cakes by Mrs. Holcom. Invitations were prized. The Holcoms served 1,000 lawmakers, aides, and friends in 1979. The party was discontinued with the retirement of Holcom.

The “red neck” fish fry, with Representative Gene Hodges as host, is another affair which attracted hundreds. Its popularity influenced the discontinuance after the 1984 party. Still another kind are the socials for legislative wives. Mrs. Lillian Carter, mother of the President, was the attraction at one of these in 1979.

Fred Nelson Fondly Remembered

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The Kalfas family, proprietors of the Silver Slipper, fondly remembered Fred Nelson, harness racing lobbyist, as perhaps their biggest spender of the time. During the sessions of 1961, 1963 and 1965, Nelson ran up dinner tabs, excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco, of 5 thousand to 6 thousand dollars a session.

Nelson, inviting all members of the Legislature and their spouses over several evenings a session, would serve hot stone crab claws and steaks. In 1980, Nelson reckoned his parties of the 1960s consumed several thousand pounds of stone crabs a session. He served special cut steaks which even then cost from 10 to 15 dollars. He handed out cigars ranging in value from 30 cents to one dollar. And he supplied alcoholic beverages costing an untold amount in dry Tallahassee. His total expenditures for a pre-inflation session likely exceeded 10 thousand dollars.

Nelson, a resident of Daytona Beach, described himself in 1980 as a “successful failure.” By that he meant he put himself out of the lobbying trade by achieving what he sought to do, principally the legislative conversion of a dog track permit at Key West for a harness horse racing track at Pompano. Nelson is not forgotten in Tallahassee’s steak house society. Chris Kalfas of the Slipper, with a nostalgic smile, spoke of Nelson as a “high roller.” See STEAK HOUSE SOCIETY and WAY IT WAS

Gene Hodges, Cedar Key, House 1972-1988.

SPEECH CANCELLED

Rep. Ken Sorensen had announced his intention to be absent from a daily session but his plans later changed and he was able to attend. Since his presence was a surprise to some members, he prefaced his remarks on a certain bill by saying “The speech that was scheduled to be cancelled will now be heard.”

Ken Sorensen, Key Largo, House 1999-2006.

STAFF, FIRST YEAR-ROUND

The Office of Clerk of the House was created in 1957 and that of Secretary of the Senate in 1959. Prior to those years, these officers served only for the duration of a session plus sufficient time afterwards to complete the records. This meant the Clerk and Secretary had other employment.

The last part-time Clerk of the House was Lamar Bledsoe, Assistant Director of the Florida Development Commission (predecessor of the Department of Commerce), and the last part-time Secretary of the Senate was R. W. Davis, Chief Deputy Insurance Commissioner. In each instance, the part-time recording officers were elected to become full-time legislative officers.

The custom of borrowing from other State departments was not limited to the recording officers. The staff directors for the Senate and House appropriations committees were on loan from the Office of the State Auditor, then an Executive agency whose administrator was appointed by the Governor. The secretary to a succession of Speakers was borrowed from a Justice of the Supreme Court.

Mrs. Lamar Hickey Bledsoe, House Chief Clerk 1945-1966. Robert Wyche Davis, Jr., Senate Secretary 1929-1943, 1947-1963.

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STATUS OF MEN

Senator Pat Frank appeared on May 8, 1980, before the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations in its consideration of abolition of the Commission on the Status of Women.

An amused committeeman suggested, if there must be a committee on the status of women, there should be one on the status of men.

“Gentlemen,” said Senator Frank, “there is a committee on the status of men...,” pausing for emphasis, “...it’s called the Florida Senate.”

The abashed committee voted to continue the Commission.

Pat Collier Frank, Tampa, House 1976-1978, Senate 1978-1988. Pat Frank . . . Status of men

STATUTE STEALING

An act repealing the legal advertising law having been “stolen by some unknown party or parties,” a committee of the 1874 Assembly (as the House then was called) found that “statute stealing has come to be somewhat systematized in Florida.”

The committee reported it had “made a most patient and persistent effort to uncover the thief in question. The testimony in the case is not sufficient to convict the thief. The Chief Clerk of the Assembly, however, testifies most unqualifiedly that he delivered the bill to the then private Secretary to the Governor, but the Governor’s Secretary testifies with equal clearness that he did not receive it….”

STATUTES, GROWTH OF

The 1967 edition of the Florida Statutes was the last edition produced under biennial sessions. It consisted of two volumes and 3998 pages. By 2005, under annual sessions, the Statutes had grown in length to five volumes and 10,193 pages, a 255 percent increase over 38 years. These figures do not include indices.

STEAK HOUSE SOCIETY

If New York had its cafe society, the Florida Legislature for many years had a steak house society. While lobbyists still wine and dine legislators, in the years before the 1960s, when Tallahassee was brown bag country alcoholically, the steak houses had a different flavor. Joe’s on the outskirts of town on the Jacksonville Highway and the Silver Slipper on South Monroe Street had private rooms, including some which could be entered from the outside. The business of slipping into a private room and drinking forbidden liquor conveyed a feeling of illicit activity.

Lacy Mahon recalls, in 1955, when state beverage agents one evening made a sweep of Joe’s, confiscating liquor bottles from tables. The next day, the Senate arose in all its offended majesty, introduced and whipped through three readings, passage, and immediate transmittal to the House, a bill hobbling the powers of the beverage department. Better judgment afterwards prevailing, the Senate recalled the bill from the House and killed it by unanimous vote.

William Lacy Mahon, Jr., Jacksonville, House 1953-1956.

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STONE, STATE

When the 1979 House tackled the question of deciding whether agatized coral should be the State Stone, Representative John Mica sought to substitute “the gallstone,” indicating it was more prevalent in Florida than agatized coral. This caused Representatives Richard S. Hodes, Samuel Bell, and Ralph Haben to move to strike “gall” and insert “kidney.” After the laughter subsided, Dr. Hodes withdrew his substitute amendment, the House defeated the Mica amendment, and agatized coral was designated.

John L. Mica, Winter Park, House 1976-1980, U.S. House of Representatives 1993- . Richard S. “Dick” Hodes, M.D., Tampa, House 1966-1982, Speaker pro tempore 1978-1980. Samuel P. Bell III, Daytona Beach, House 1974-1988. Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982.

STOPPING THE CLOCK

A legislative body formerly would extend its constitutional session of 60 consecutive calendar days by literally stopping the Chamber clock just before midnight of the 60th day. The session thus irregularly extended might be carried forward additional hours or days. In those years the President and Speaker had to sign bills, when passed, in open session, announcing what they were doing. Continuing a session enabled the Clerks to enroll the legislation piled up at the end of the 60 days. The Journal, however, showed the Legislature completing its work within the constitutional period and no Stopping the Clock . . . official notice was taken in the Journal of the demand of legislators for this organ to show the session had been carried beyond the deadline. Finally, however, the Supreme Court hinted that it might take evidence as to the actual time of adjournment, thereby perhaps invalidating the vast amount of legislation that always goes through on the final day. The Legislature proposed, and the people ratified, in 1954, an amendment to the Constitution permitting the Legislature, by a three-fifths vote of each house, to extend the regular session. Thus, it no longer was necessary to artificially extend the session by stopping the clock.

The Florida Supreme Court helped by ruling that the lawmaking session ran to the end of the 60 consecutive days and the clerks, therefore, could have a reasonable time afterwards to enroll the bills. This narrowed the time for gubernatorial review as the Governor’s 20 days was not extended. Still later, at the urging of Allen Morris as Clerk of the House, the Constitution was amended to start the clock running on the Governor’s review time from the day of presentation of an Act to the Governor regardless of when the session ended.

Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995.

“SUNSHINE AMENDMENT”

Climaxing the first successful initiative campaign in Florida, the electorate by a vote of 79.26 percent of the 2,227,566 voting, approved the “Sunshine Amendment” in a November 1976 general election referendum. Spearheaded by then Governor Reubin O’ D. Askew, this amendment established a comprehensive ethics statement in the State Constitution (Article II, Section 8). It declares at the outset that “a public office is a public trust” and guarantees “that the people shall have the right to secure and sustain that trust against abuse.”

Principal among its provisions is a requirement that elected constitutional officers and candidates for

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such offices make “full and public disclosure of their financial interests.”

The Sunshine Amendment also requires full and public disclosure of campaign finances by all elected public officers and candidates for such offices.

The Sunshine Amendment also:

1. Establishes liability to the State by any public officer or employee who breaches the public trust for private gain.

2. Provides for forfeiture of retirement benefits upon conviction of a felony involving breach of public trust.

3. Prohibits members of the Legislature and statewide elected officers from personally representing another person or entity for compensation before the government body or agency of which the individual was an officer for two years following vacation of office.

4. Prohibits members of the Legislature from personally representing clients for compensation during term of office before any State agency other than a judicial tribunal.

The Commission on Ethics has the duty of investigating and making public reports on all complaints concerning “breach of public trust.”

Reubin O’D. Askew, Pensacola, House 1958-1962, Senate 1962-1970, President Pro Tempore 1968-1970, Governor 1971-1979.

SUPREME COURT, INGENUITY OF

Prior to 1968, the Constitution required the reading of every bill “by its sections” (in full) at the time of taking the roll call on passage. It was a matter of common knowledge that this reading in full was seldom if ever done. (See FILIBUSTER) Once this omission was challenged in the Supreme Court.

A show-cause proceeding was brought by Attorney General Rivers H. Buford against the Mayor and Commissioners claiming to be officers of the Town of Belleair. It was contended a local bill to incorporate Belleair was “not passed by the Legislature…in that the said document was never read by its sections, either in the House of Representatives…or in the Senate….”

The House Journal showed 56 bills were passed between 8:15 and 10:15 p.m. on May 24, 1923. The Belleair bill was among these. There were 56 roll calls. In that year, before electric roll call recorders, a roll call required the calling of the names of each of the 84 members. Attorneys seeking to invalidate the law also said the bills passed during that two-hour period amounted to 320 printed pages of the Session Laws of 1923 and thus could not have been read in full. (Similar figures were given for the Senate.)

First, the Supreme Court held that if the Journals showed “explicitly, clearly, and affirmatively” that the constitutional requirements had been followed in the passage of a bill, then the law must stand as other evidence was not admissible.

The Justices considered, and rejected, the hypothesis that at least some of the bills were read

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simultaneously. The court declared the Constitution did not require that the Journals “affirmatively” show that the bill was read in full and the assumption would be that it was.

Finally, the Justices came to grips with the contention that it was “absolutely impossible” for all of the bills to have been read in full during the time span. Even if, “by judicial consideration of natural laws,” the court found it was a “physical impossibility” for each of the bills to have been read, “yet only one of the bills is here involved and that one could easily have been separately ‘read by its sections’” on final passage.

The Justices also found the Constitution did not require the entering upon the Journal the times for convening and adjourning. Thus, as Justice Thomas F. West reasoned in a concurring opinion, “Journal entries of things done in compliance with mandatory constitutional requirements, in order to give validity to the act, cannot be impeached or rendered negatory by other Journal entries not required to be made and not material and in the absence of which the validity of the act would be in no wise affected.”

“To adjudicate here, where only one bill is involved,” concluded the court, “that all of the bills passed at the particular sitting of the legislative body are invalid because all of them could not possibly have been read by sections, as required by the Constitution, within the time the body was in session, would be an ineffectual attempt to determine rights of parties who are not before the court and who have had no opportunity to be heard. Such an adjudication would be a nullity as to bills not involved here. In performing its high judicial function, the court should be careful to keep within the constitutional limits of its own power, and to proceed ‘by due course of law.’”

Rivers Henderson Buford, Wewahitchka, House 1901, Attorney General 1921-1925, Supreme Court Justice 1925-1948, Chief Justice 1932-1933, 1943-1945. Thomas Franklin West, Milton, House 1903, Senate 1905-1907, President Pro Tempore 1905, House 1911- 1912, Attorney General 1913-1917, Supreme Court Justice 1917-1925, Chief Justice 1925.

TAINTED MONEY

There was a Senator who would winter in Miami Beach during the lush days of open casino gambling. Back home during the next campaign, he heard grumblings about his having taken “tainted” money from casino operators. He faced up to the charge at a rally on the courthouse square, saying, “I have been accused of taking ‘tainted money’ — friends, the only thing tainted ‘bout it is, ‘t’aint enough.’” He was reelected. In those years, it was difficult to convince the typical citizen of the Panhandle that it was wrong for a homeowner to skin the gamblers who were in turn skinning the rich Yankees patronizing the casinos of the faraway Gold Coast.

TALLAHASSEE IN 1823

In 1823, Dr. William Simmons of St. Augustine and John Lee Williams of Pensacola were appointed by Governor DuVal as Commissioners “to select the most eligible and convenient situation for the seat of government for the Territory of Florida.” The personal journals of Simmons and Williams appeared in the 1903 House Journal. The fragment below describes, in Commissioner Williams’ own words, his impressions the day he first arrived at the Indian village that was to become Florida’s Capital.

“Oct. 28 – At half past 7 [a. m.], we proceeded eastward. The land continually improving; in about an hour it rose into a delightful high rolling country, clothed with excellent oak, hickory and

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dogwood timber on a soil of chocolate colored loam. We here often observed traces of the old Spanish highway, which we had also seen on the west side of the Ocklockney (sic) river. At 1 o’clock p.m., my colleague [Simmons] and the guide having left the trail to observe the face of the country to the northward, I arrived at the new Tallahassee village. Seeing a fine, stout Indian in a nut patch I left my horse and accosted him, asking for information, where the chief of the village might be found. He very strongly demanded what wanted (sic) and said he was Neomathala (sic). I told him we were sent to him by Governor DuVal to inform him that he wished to build a house in which he might meet his council; that the distance to St. Augustine was so great, that he wished to select a spot near the center of the territory. That in order to make such a selection he had sent Dr. Simmons and myself, and he was requested to assist us with his advice and counsel. After some hesitation he asked me if the Governor had given me any paper. I produced to him my commission. He immediately recognized the seal painted to the signature under it and asked whose name it was. I told him it was Col. Walton’s. He seemed pleased; his strong muscles for the first time began to relax. He said Col. Walton was a good man, his friend. After satisfying his curiosity and suspicions, by several pertinent question (sic), he said he would consider the matter. He then took me to his shed and offered me cigars and roasted nuts. Here the rest of our company arriving, my colleague was introduced to him, and our guide, Ellis, with whom he was acquainted, annoyed him exceedingly by incessant talking, which I found difficult to prevent. Neomathala directed our horses to be turned loose in his field and our baggage deposited in one of his council houses, which we afterwards occupied.”

Dr. William H. Simmons, East Florida, Legislative Council 1823-1824. William Pope DuVal, Territorial Governor 1822-1834, Constitutional Convention 1839, Legislative Council (Senate) 1839-1841, President 1841.

TAMPERING

Opportunity for intentional tampering with legislation has been reduced materially by high-speed computers and copiers plus year-round staff and the ease with which sessions may be continued. This was not always true.

Saving His Job

Dewey B. Hooten once related to Allen Morris in the 1940s how he had preserved the tiny agency where he worked between legislative sessions and which the Governor sought to put out of existence.

Hooten, as a Senate committee clerk, had been given the task of putting into final form the Conference Committee’s version of an appropriations bill. Working by himself, in the rush of completing the revised bill before the session ended, Hooten said he typed in an appropriation preserving the agency.

The addition passed unnoticed for in those years there were only a few carbon copies of the original and, as Hooten explained, he saved both the agency and his job. (Today, each legislator and committee staff has a copy of such bills produced by a computer and copiers.)

The Hooten story and the Overstreet story that follows were told in print in Reconsiderations for the first time.

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Correcting a Bill

Representative H. Earnest Overstreet of Miami was a legislative lieutenant of Governor Spessard L. Holland. Overstreet told Allen Morris that he had been called to the Governor’s office after the adjournment of the 1941 Legislature. An act increasing the tax on motor vehicles, based on weight, had been improperly enrolled.

In the haste of turning out the finished product, with the Speaker and the President required to announce in open session that they were signing the enrolled Act which would go to the Governor, the poundage figures had been scrambled.

Overstreet, familiar with the correct figures since he had handled the legislation in the House, was given a key to the Governor’s office, told where the flawed Act could be found, and pointed to a typewriter. With the office otherwise empty on Sunday, Overstreet corrected the figures.

Ironically, perhaps, the advent of the computer and the copier meant the post-session period of enrollment was substantially reduced. Too, the volume of local legislation fell away from several thousand acts to several hundred as counties and cities were given home rule powers. All this means today’s Acts can be proofed more carefully and chances for error reduced.

In 1953, a local bill relating to regulation of a trade passed both houses and became law before someone observed the final version was not the same as that passed by the House. Subsequent investigation indicated the staples holding the bill together had been opened and a page substituted. Because of that, all bills introduced in the Senate and House are validated by a device which punches holes spelling out “Senate” or “House.” Any change of page would be signaled by the fact the holes no longer showed through.

Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966-1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995. H. Earnest Overstreet, Miami, House 1937-1941. Spessard Lindsey Holland, Bartow, Senate 1933-1939, Governor 1941-1945, U.S. Senate 1946-1971.

TAYLOR COUNTY, HOW TO SUCCEED IN POLITICS

Buddy MacKay remembers a time he attended a political function in Taylor County and noticed that Dempsey Barron, who represented the county in the Senate, was absent. After asking one of the locals why Barron did so well in Taylor County, MacKay was told, “You know why we like Dempsey Barron? He’s never been here in 14 years. We like that.”

Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1966-1967, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

TEETH, GETTING INTO DEBATE

Fuller Warren told of how in the 1927 session, the fiery Representative Alonzo W. Weeks, affectionately known as “Uncle Lonnie,” was fulminating furiously against an extremely obnoxious bill. He became so vehement in his denunciation of this dastardly measure that his upper artificial teeth were caused to hurtle from his cavernous mouth into the nearby derby hat of Representative L. P. Hagan. This splendid headpiece was something very special to Hagan. He didn’t hang it on the regular hat rack in the rear of the House Chamber. He carefully — almost lovingly — laid it, crown upturned, on his desk, which was adjacent to Uncle Lonnie’s desk. He kept his derby spotless by

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dusting it several times a day with a chamois skin cloth. When Uncle Lonnie’s missing molars landed resoundingly in Hagan’s hat, he seized it and twirled it aloft, after the manner of an Indian brandishing a tomahawk. He finally dislodged the detached dentures. The truant teeth landed in the drip bucket of the House water cooler and received a much-needed ablution. See ONE MAN’S DREAM and PRESS ACCOLADE

Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House 1939, Governor 1949-1953. Alonzo W. “Lonnie” Weeks, Bonifay, House 1923-1929. Lovick P. Hagan, Sanford, House 1927-1931.

TELEVISION

Television coverage of State government has changed a great deal over the years. In 1973, Today in the Legislature — an hour-long program summarizing daily legislative action — was launched and began airing on Public Broadcasting stations around the state. In 1993, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Florida Legislature during regular sessions commenced and “The Florida Channel” was born. In the fall of 1997, WFSU-TV assumed the contract to produce the television coverage originating from the Capitol and expanded the programming offered. With the regular session of 1998, came the premiere of Capitol Update, a daily half-hour news program summarizing the daily action of the legislature. The year 2002 saw the most significant change when WFSU-TV/The Florida Channel began delivering programming 24/7 with coverage of all three branches of State government.

According to Beth Switzer, program director for the Florida Channel, Florida covers more meetings, press conferences, and events than any other state public affairs network in the country.

THIRD HOUSE

Usually the term “third house” means lobbyists and “fourth house” refers to the media, but in Florida, for many years before urban reapportionment, “third house” meant the evening in the House when legislators changed places with their aides. Some of the members wore feminine apparel and wigs. With little else to do in Tallahassee in its years as a provincial capital, “third house night” was the

Third House Night . . . On Third House Night, now abandoned, House members and their secretaries exchange roles for an evening of frivolity.

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entertainment highlight of a session. The skits often were funny, sometimes crude, depending upon the taste and talent of the participants. One governor’s family stalked out of the House gallery when he was portrayed as a barefooted, country bumpkin.

THUMBS

The gladiatorial signal lives in the Florida House as members evidence their preference on a roll call by a “thumbs up” for “yea” or “thumbs down” for “nay.”

The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, or their designees, signal their followers as to how they want their members to vote. Other members, in their exuberance, join in the “thumb” message.

TOBACCO SMOKING AND SPITTING

The 1903 House adopted a resolution prohibiting smoking in the Chamber while in session and one- half hour prior to convening. Later, the 1903 House resolved that “The Sergeant at Arms stop anyone from spitting on the floor of the House of Representatives, in the hall, or on the floors or steps.”

TOMATO ALERT

There is a small block of wood for the presiding officer’s gavel to strike at the rostrum of the House of Representatives. The podium obscures the striking pad from the wielder of the gavel.

During the 1984 session, Speaker H. Lee Moffitt had called Gene Hodges to preside while he met in his office with university presidents. It was the day a large tomato had been placed on the desk of each member.

Without Hodges being aware, a member slipped in the concealment of the front of the rostrum and placed a tomato on the striking block. Virtually the whole House, except Hodges, saw what would happen when Hodges gaveled for order. Even the public television camera focused on the tomato.

It was the television monitor in the Speaker’s office that caused Moffitt to suddenly become aware of what was about to happen. With barely an “excuse me,” Moffitt dashed into the Chamber, mounted the rostrum, and snatched away the tomato just as Hodges was about to strike.

H. Lee Moffitt, House 1974-1984, Speaker 1982-1984. Gene Hodges, House 1972-1988.

TOMBSTONE BILLS See POPULAR NAMES

TRAILERS, THE

A legislative tradition of 13 years ended in 1979 when the Florida Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Association shut down The Trailers for the last time with the close of the session.

Robert A. Hugli, the industry’s spokesman, was quoted in the Florida Times-Union as explaining: “The Trailers served its purpose very well. In its time, it was very effective, but there is a different sort of legislator today.” Off in a corner of a mobile home park in Tallahassee known as Paradise

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Village West, the association tied together several large mobile homes to form a complex called “The Trailers.” There, three times a week, inch-thick steaks and drinks were served to legislators and their guests. In 1978, there were 1,700 meals served.

It was a point of honor for Hugli and his predecessor, William Olsen, who retired in 1978, not to mention pending industry legislation. The Trailers did afford an opportunity for association members who came to Tallahassee and The Trailers on a rotating basis during each session, to become better acquainted with legislators. In 1979, the last year of operation, Hugli reported spending $3,912.60 to feed those who were guests of The Trailers.

TRAIN-NAPPING

Along with being Representative from Highlands County, J. M. Lee was county attorney. As such, he staged a coup which won him widespread attention and a leg up to election in 1932 as State Comptroller.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad refused to pay taxes in counties along its Florida trackage because of a dispute over assessments. Highlands County desperately needed the money.

Lee discovered one train a week of those entering Highlands County did not carry mail. He had learned he could not interfere with the movement of the mail. Further, this particular train dead- ended in the county after completing its Sunday run.

Accordingly, Lee had the sheriff seize this train and mount guard over the engine and coaches as a preliminary to sale for the tax delinquency. Railroad Attorneys at first pooh-poohed the idea that a train could be levied upon, but thought again after exploring the matter. The ACL paid the taxes and regained its train.

James Martin Lee, Avon Park, House 1927-1931, Comptroller 1933-1946.

TURKEYS

Bills to appropriate money for parks, local projects, and the like which have not been recommended by the departmental careerists for inclusion in the year’s program, but believed dear to the heart of some members’ constituents. Some are added by floor amendment to the General Appropriations Bill and often knocked out in conference committee. It shows the member has been in there pitching, anyway. Those which stay are written into the bill by the Senate and House committees or by the conference committee. As Chairman Jack Gordon of the Senate Committee on Appropriations in 1981-1982 once said: “What one person calls a turkey, another person sees as a necessity.”

Turkey . . . Florida lawmakers used to call their pet goodies “pork-barrel” projects but somehow the meat metaphor changed to turkey.

TWO-STATE LEGISLATORS

As a frontier state, drawing upon other states for large numbers of its citizenry, Florida has had many legislators who first served elsewhere. The first two Governors under Statehood are examples: William D. Moseley had been a member of the North Carolina Senate while Thomas Brown had been elected to the Virginia Legislature. Both then served in Florida’s Legislative Council.

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In more recent times, J. Ben Fuqua of Palmetto had been a member of the Tennessee Legislature of 1903 and 1905 before having been elected to represent Manatee County in the Florida Houses of 1943-1953. He had been preceded in the Florida House by a son, Ben H. Fuqua, who was a member in 1937 and Clerk of the House in 1939 and 1941.

David Crockett Jones of Naples had served in the Kentucky Houses of 1924 and 1926 and in the Kentucky Senates of 1940 and 1942 before coming to Florida in 1935 to establish a winter residence. He became a year-round resident in 1947. He was elected to the 1951 House and reelected, dying of a heart attack in Tallahassee a few hours before the convening of the 1953 House. He was succeeded as Representative from Collier County by a son, D. C., Jr., who served in the 1953 and 1955 sessions.

Kentucky also was the state of prior legislative service for John J. Savage of St. Petersburg. Savage served in the Kentucky House of 1940-1941, and, having moved to Florida in 1953, he was elected to the House from Pinellas County in 1965. He was a member at the time of his death on July 2, 1973.

John “Jack” Miller of Hollywood had been a member of the Pennsylvania House in 1951 and 1953 and in the Pennsylvania Senate in 1953 through 1965. He moved to Florida in 1968 and was elected to the House from Broward County in 1972 and reelected in 1974.

William Dunn Moseley, Jefferson County, Legislative Council (House) 1841, (Senate) 1845, Governor 1845-1849, Putnam County, House 1855. Thomas Brown, Leon County, Legislative Council 1829, 1838, President 1838, (Senate) Secretary 1844, (House) 1845, House 1845, Territorial Auditor 1834-1836, Constitutional Convention 1839, Governor 1849-1853. Jesse Ben Fuqua, Palmetto, House 1943-1953. Ben H. Fuqua, Palmetto, House 1937, Chief Clerk 1939-1941. David Crockett Jones Sr., Naples, House 1951. David Crockett Jones, Jr., Naples, House 1953-1956. John J. “Jack” Savage, St. Petersburg, House 1965-1973. John ”Jack” Miller, Hollywood, House 1972-1975.

UNICAMERAL

The government organized by President James Monroe and the Congress in March, 1822, for the management of the newly acquired territory in Florida, included a one-house legislature known as the Legislative Council. This unicameral legislature lasted 17 years, from 1822 until 1839. Efforts to revive the one-house lawmaking body did not commence until a century later. Notable among these early efforts was the introduction by Representatives James D. Bruton, Jr., of Hillsborough and M. M. “Jack” Frost of Duval of a joint resolution on May 2, 1935, calling for a unicameral legislature. The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments reported the joint resolution without recommendation. It died on the Calendar. The Bruton-Frost resolution received front-page coverage and some editorial endorsements. In 1980, Bruton, then a retired Circuit Judge residing at Plant City, wrote Allen Morris: “Maturity encourages improvement in judgment. If I were occupying a House seat now, at age 72, instead of occupying a seat in 1935, at age 27, I would vigorously oppose a unicameral legislature, notwithstanding its success in the cornfields of Nebraska.”

James D. Bruton, Jr., Plant City, House 1935. M. M. “Jack” Frost, Jacksonville, House 1933-1935. Allen Morris, House Clerk 1966- 1986, House Clerk emeritus/Historian 1986-1995.

VEHICLE

A “vehicle” is a bill that can be amended to encompass another bill (or bills) which pertains to the same subject area. See PIGGYBACK

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In 1981, Senator Tom Tobiassen unexpectedly had received a House-passed bill allowing an oil company to drill in East Pensacola Bay. Tobiassen’s problem was that the Senate President had referred the bill to a committee which was not scheduled to meet again. Tobiassen scanned the Calendar for a bill which would serve as a vehicle. This he found in a bill by Senator Sherman Winn that would have transferred the Governor’s Energy Office to the Department of Community Affairs. Since Winn’s bill spoke to an energy issue, the Tobiassen bill could be attached as an amendment. The bill already was scheduled for floor consideration.

Winn was upset when he heard of what Tobiassen planned, so he waited until a lull in the Senate’s disposal of routine legislation. Then he quietly moved that his bill, using only the bill number, be withdrawn from further consideration. “Without objection,” intoned the presiding officer, as sponsors routinely withdraw their bills nearly every legislative day.

It wasn’t until later that someone informed Tobiassen that he had lost his vehicle. “How could you do that?” he wailed. “You should have been paying attention,” Winn retorted. “What’s fair is fair.”

Thomas J. “Tom” Tobiassen, Pensacola, House 1968-1974, Senate 1974-1982, House 1982-1992. Sherman S. Winn, Miami, House 1970-1972, Senate 1972-1982, President Pro Tempore 1976-1978.

VOTE SYSTEM

The first electric roll call system was installed for the session of 1939, the first in the new House Chamber. Installed by the American Signal Corporation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the system cost $42,205.44 or $439.64 for each member unit. A special committee of the 1937 House declared the electrical system would save 12 legislative days in time and 30 thousand dollars in legislative expense at each regular session over the old method of calling the roll orally. At a special session in 1966, the Senate first used the system, then installed and maintained for both houses by the International Roll Call Company of Richmond, Virginia, successor to American Signal. The annual fee for servicing both houses was 15 thousand dollars. When the Legislature moved into its new Chambers in 1977, an electronic system, purchased from Daktronics, Inc., Brookings, South Dakota, was installed. The Senate installation cost $97,923 and the House $113,523, for a total of $211,446. The systems have since been updated to take advantage of technical innovations.

VOTES, 100% OF THE

Summing up his perspective of legislative debates, Doyle Conner said “Until I got 100 percent of the votes, I knew there were some people out there that did not think the same way I did. When I get 100 percent of votes I’d be perfect. Until then I’ll be just another human being and there was another side to that issue. If I had any success it was because of the respect I had for my opponent in debate.”

Doyle E. Conner, Starke, House 1950-1960, Speaker 1957, Commissioner of Agriculture 1961-1991.

VOTES, WHEN SHANDS HAD THE

Glen P. Woodard of Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. in 1979 the dean of legislative lobbyists, once told how it could be known when Senator W. A. Shands, spokesman for the Porkchoppers, had the votes for some big business bill. “Bill Shands would rise,” said Woodard, and say, ‘Mr. President, this

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matter is of great public import. This is going to affect the destiny of this state. We must give it thorough and mature consideration. Let’s don’t rush into this thing headlong.’ That meant Shands didn’t have the votes. We had to work that night,” Woodard said. “But if he said, ‘Mr. President, members of the Senate, there ain’t no use fooling around here. This Legislature is costing 12 thousand dollars a day. We all know what we are going to do, let’s get on with the people’s business.’ That meant Shands had the votes.”

William Augustine Shands, Gainesville, Senate 1941-1957, President 1957.

VOTING RECORD, PERFECT

Using first a conch shell and then a clothespin, Representative Louis Wolfson II maintained a perfect voting record for a number of sessions during his service in 1963-1972. He would wedge the shell or clothespin against his voting button so that he would be recorded as “yea” on all votes taken on the electrical voting machine.

This method of voting allowed more freedom of movement to Wolfson, a member who liked to get around. He would wander about the Chamber, go to his office, or even leave early for lunch without losing his chance to vote. When present in the Chamber or adjacent office, he could keep abreast of the proceedings through the public address system with sufficient time to get to his desk and release the shell or pin if he wished to vote “nay.”

William R. Amlong of The Miami Herald quoted Wolfson as saying during the 1970 session, “My conch shell has a better voting record than I do.” He went on to explain, “I personally don’t like using the clothespin, but my conch shell wore out.”

The buttons on the member desks in the present Chamber apparently Louis Wolfson II . . . Perfect voting record cannot be wedged in a fixed position as Wolfson was able to do in the old Chamber. See CLOTHESPIN

Louis Wolfson II, Miami, House 1963-1972.

WARNING AGAINST “HOOKERS”

In the 1967 session, Speaker Ralph Turlington warned House members that it had been reported to him that some “hookers” (that’s what he called them) had been brought to Tallahassee to take advantage of member loneliness and to get some of them into incriminating and embarrassing positions.

Turlington warned the members to act accordingly, which in Turlingtonese meant “stay away if you know what’s good for you.”

Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987.

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WAY IT WAS, THE

As told by Allen Morris: Most of us here for my first session in 1941, legislators, staff, and reporters, worked hard and, I must confess, we played hard. Reporters and staff shared with the members their triumphs and their defeats. The relationship was much closer in those days than now, for the members milled about in the Chamber with the secretaries, families, and the press. The secretaries sat next to the members, taking dictation in the Chamber during sessions, because members didn’t have offices. There were few private offices.

I can remember as though it were yesterday sitting among the three members of the Dade delegation, occasionally pushing the switch of the voting machine when a member absent from his seat would signal me to do so. And it was an even more stirring emotion to sit occasionally with the Speaker on the rostrum, exchanging gossip while debate droned on. That Speaker was Dan McCarty, afterwards Governor. It was a noisy Chamber.

There was the clatter of kicked spittoons and collapsing metal folding chairs, the hum of a hundred conversations, the shout of members trying in debate to make themselves heard without microphones. The Speaker really could isolate a member by seating him on a back row, particularly if the member were not strong of voice. He could cry, “Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker” from the session’s first day until the last without the Speaker ever hearing him. The open galleries contributed to the bedlam and to the haze of tobacco smoke which hung over the Chamber. Interestingly, perhaps, the size of the spittoon was a distinguishing difference then between the House and the Senate. Long after need had disappeared with the passing of tobacco chewers, the House used low, nickel-plated cuspidors while the Senate had high, brass spittoons. There was even the whimper of a dog that came with its master to a seat just behind the Dade delegation and occasionally was inadvertently kicked by someone trying to thread a passage between the desks.

Five chandeliers served more as ornamental rather than useful lighting fixtures. Open windows complemented a weak air conditioning system. The House met in night session two or three times a week.

There were four copies of bills, the original, and one carbon copy for use of members, for the Senate, and a fourth shared by the press and public. Actually, a member almost invariably had to take the bill sponsor’s word for what it did.

The atmosphere of a temporary camp was enhanced by the fact that the Legislature met in regular session every other year, with seldom a special session. The Legislature had no full-time, year-round employees. Employees, from the Clerk of the House to secretaries, were called attachés and uniformly paid 6 dollars a day. The depression was slowly lifting from Florida, and there were still several applicants for every job. That meant most of those chosen considered themselves fortunate to be here.

There was a half-moon of rooming houses and boarding houses about the Capitol. Nearly all the attachés lived in these. Most members, lobbyists, and the press stayed at the Floridan or Cherokee Hotels. Some rented houses. There were a few night spots: The old Silver Slipper and Joe’s, each having private rooms with doors to the outside so guests and brown bags of liquor could

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be slipped into these rooms. Leon County was dry. There were allegedly “black market” steaks and dancing at Governor John W. Martin’s one-time residence, Forest Inn, on the old Perry Highway; and, there was Edgewood on the Jacksonville Highway. The Cotton Club was nearby and Capital Gardens was just across the Wakulla County line and briefly the scene of real casino gambling. There were two drive-ins at the foot of the hill on Monroe Street, nearer than any package store today, where an affidavit-face and 5 dollars would produce a bottle. And there were two places just across the Wakulla line where whiskey could be purchased.

In the pre-air conditioning yesteryears, the House Chamber, because of the wide open windows to admit the breezes, served as home for birds, to the dismay and hazard of the Representatives and others seated below the lighting fixtures which were roosting places.

All this nearness, in the Chamber, committee rooms, and away from the Capitol made those good old days indeed in a very personal sense. There were real tears in the eyes of many of us when the Speaker’s gavel came down for the last time on the 60th day and our little family departed the Chamber to the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” for all of us knew we would never meet again as a group. And there were those who privately said, “I love you, honey, but the session’s over.”

Allen Morris, The Miami Herald, sessions of 1941-1943, Clerk of the House 1966-1986, Clerk Emeritus/Historian 1986-1995. John Wellborn Martin, Jacksonville, Governor 1925-1929. Daniel Thomas “Dan” McCarty, Jr., Fort Pierce, House 1937-1941, Speaker 1941, Governor 1953.

WEATHER REPORTS, FALSE OR MISLEADING

The 1903 House passed a bill prohibiting the publishing of “false or misleading reports, relative to the climatic weather conditions in this State and the result thereof.”

WELCOME HOME, FRED

As Representative Frederic H. Burrall drove into his hometown after his first legislative session, he observed people calling and waving to him from the sidewalk.

“They really do appreciate what I tried to do at Tallahassee,” thought Burrall, glowing with pleasure but unable to hear because of the car’s air conditioning.

Then he discovered he was driving the wrong way on a street which had been made one-way during his absence.

Frederic H. Burrall, Punta Gorda, House 1974-1984.

WELL OF THE HOUSE

The area between the rostrum and the first rows of seats in the House Chamber is known as the well. Legislators may request permission to “go to the well” when they wish to present a matter they deem of special importance. The well also is used for the presentation by committees of such complex or lengthy bills as the General Appropriations Bill. The well is not used as frequently now as in the days before each Member had access to a microphone. As with many American legislative terms, “well” is probably a transplant from England. The English law court called the well the space set off immediately in front of the judge’s bench. In the Florida House, this space is rounded off by the first row of member seats. To one side of the well is a lecture stand with microphone. The Senate does

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not have a well as such. When a Senator is given permission to go to the well, this means a microphone and lectern at the east end of the desk of the Secretary of the Senate. This is the microphone used by the clergy offering the daily prayer.

WHATEVER’S FAIR

Representative Dick Clark popularized this saying during his Majority Leadership of the House in the 1975 and 1976 sessions. “Whatever’s fair,” Clark would assure colleagues, but some felt he had tongue in cheek. It could be interpreted as “Don’t worry, we’ll treat you fairly.” Only most favor- seekers want more than a fair deal. Former Representative Betty Easley defined “whatever’s fair” as “the answer when there isn’t any answer.”

The phrase was originated by a spokesman for Southern Bell Telephone, Dave S. Walker, Jr., when confronted unexpectedly in committee by questions about a bill affecting his company. Because he had not had the opportunity — as was his rule — to discuss privately with the sponsor of any bill he felt it necessary to oppose, Walker dodged direct answer by saying, “whatever’s fair.” The quip was taken up by Clark and became his trademark.

Dick Clark, Miami, House 1968-1976. Mrs. Betty EasleyClearwater, House 1972-1986.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

When U.S. Senator Richard “Dick” Stone was a member of the State Senate and contemplating a race for Secretary of State, Stone asked Senator L. K. Edwards, Jr., what name he should use in campaign advertising and on the ballot, since some people called him Richard and others knew him as Dick. Edwards replied: “Use everything you’ve got.” Thereafter, Stone was Richard “Dick” Stone, even on official documents.

Richard B. “Dick” Stone, Miami, Senate 1967-1970, Secretary of State 1971-1975, U.S. Senate 1975-1981. L. K. Edwards, Jr., Irvine, Senate 1955-1968.

WHEN DO THEY SING?

The solemnity of a joint session of the 1955 Legislature, attended by the seven black-robed Justices of the Supreme Court, was momentarily shattered for a few moments by a remark from blond Priscilla Gautier, one of the eight-year-old twin daughters of Senator and Mrs. E. William Gautier.

Priscilla, accustomed to hearing a church choir each Sunday, stared fixedly at the Justices for a long moment, then turned to her father and inquired: “Daddy, when are they going to sing?”

On another occasion, former Governor LeRoy Collins said the robed Justices reminded him of penguins as they waddled down the center aisle of the House Chamber to take part in a joint session.

Earnest William Gautier, New Smyrna Beach, Senate 1951-1966. LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

WHITE KNIGHTS

A group of young legislators, among them LeRoy Collins, afterwards Governor, and Charles E. Bennett, afterwards Congressman, were so dubbed by a newspaper columnist at the 1941 session.

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The characterization enjoyed a brief revival during the reapportionment tussles of the 1950s. By then, Collins was Governor.

LeRoy Collins, Tallahassee, House 1935-1939, Senate 1941-1943, 1947-1953, Governor 1955-1961, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce 1965-1966, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. Charles E. Bennett, Jacksonville, House 1941, U.S. House of Representatives 1949-1992.

WHO STRUCK PATTERSON?

The Journals of the House sometimes contain enigmatic, tantalizing entries. For instance, the 1858 Journal shows this: “…the Attorney General be requested to give to the House at as early a day as practicable his opinion as to the name of the individual who struck Mr. William Patterson.” The motion lost, and so there remains the question of who struck Mr. Patterson and indeed who was Mr. Patterson. He was not a member of the Legislature.

WHY RUN FOR THE LEGISLATURE

There are a number of reasons why people run for a seat in the House of Representatives. It is likely that some really do not know exactly what motivated them to become candidates.

Former Representative Frank Williams had no doubt. He appeared before the House Governmental Organization & Efficiency Committee at the 1972 session as Director of Civil Defense for Bradford County, seeking greater legislative recognition of that program. He had waited three days to read a prepared statement running about three minutes. Unhappily, it was Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle Conner’s legislative appreciation day and since the clock was pushing 5 o’clock and the members were anxious to leave, the committee granted Williams one minute, interrupted with questions, and then cut him off as he exceeded the minute.

In exasperation, Williams asked: “What does an average citizen have to do to get heard by this committee?” A member, Colonel William L. Gibson, responded: “Son, I suggest you be a member of the William L. Gibson . . . How it got heard Legislature.” Williams instantly decided he would do just that and exited with this parting remark to the committee, “Well, fellows, I’ll see you in November,” — which he did at the Organization Session in November of that year. He was appointed to the Governmental Operations Committee.

Frank Williams, Starke, House 1972-1984. Doyle E. Conner, Starke, House 1950-1960, Speaker 1957, Commissioner of Agriculture, 1961-1991. Colonel William L. Gibson, Orlando, House 1967-1976.

WICKER’S LAW

“I honestly believe if hell was for rent and carried a promise of remuneration, Miami would be the first to offer to lease the place.” (Representative N. J. Wicker, during debate in 1931 on the override of Governor Doyle E. Carlton’s veto of the act legalizing pari-mutuel wagering.)

Newton J. Wicker, Coleman, House 1917-1919, 1931, Senate 1923-1925. Doyle Elam Carlton, Sr., Tampa, Senate 1917-1919, Governor 1929-1933.

177 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

WILDCAT’S TAIL

A bill in the 1889 session to repeal the reward then given to kill wildcats brought about this discussion, as spread upon the House Journal, of the length of the tail of a wildcat: “Our County Commissioners secured the skin of one of these so-called wildcats and on examination found that said animal had a very short tail, and on that account the Commissioners decided that said animal was a catamount and not a wildcat, which has a very long tail; but a good many hunters in Jackson County differ with the Commissioners and hold that the wildcat has a short tail and not the catamount; therefore they claim the bounty….”

WITH YOU ALL THE WAY, SECRETLY

When Representative Ralph Turlington was a candidate for Speaker of the House in 1966, one House member was equivocating on his pledge. When Turlington learned his rival, Representative Robert T. Mann, was about to concede, Turlington made another call to the member but found him still hesitant. About an hour after Mann’s concession, the member reached Turlington by telephone in the Miami office of Representative Murray H. Dubbin. The member said he hadn’t been doing Turlington right and pledged his support. When Turlington advised him of the belated pledge, Dubbin laughed and mocked the convert, saying: “Congratulations, I was with you all the way, secretly.” Years later, when Turlington, by then Commissioner of Education, heard that Representative J. Hyatt Brown had the votes to be Speaker in 1979-1980, Turlington sent him a letter. It said: “Congratulations, I was with you all the way, secretly.”

Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville, House 1950-1974, Speaker 1966-1967, Commissioner of Education 1974-1987. Robert T. Mann, Seffner, House 1956-1968, Public Service Commission 1978-1981. Murray H. Dubbin, Miami, House 1963-1974. J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach, House 1972-1980, Speaker 1978-1980.

WOMEN AS PRESIDING OFFICERS (1)

Edna Giles Fuller of Orlando was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, and she was the first woman ever to preside over a House session. Fuller presided on July 14, 1931, during that year’s second Special Session.

Next to preside was Mary Lou Baker of Pinellas County who was called upon by Speaker Evans Crary to preside over the House for the passage of one bill during the 1945 session. Crary suggested she be addressed by the members as “Miss Speaker.” In later years, those women who occupied the Chair were addressed as “Madame Speaker.” Known professionally as Miss Baker, she was Mrs. Seale H. Matthews. She served in the 1943 and 1945 sessions.

Mrs. Beth (George W.) Johnson of Orlando was the first to serve as Mrs. Edna Giles Fuller . . . First presiding officer by election of the Senate. Senator Johnson was elected woman elected to the House temporary presiding officer for the Organization Session on November 15, 1966. Earlier, on May 26, 1965, she had served as temporary presiding officer by invitation of the President.

Mrs. Edna Giles Fuller, Orlando, House 1929-1931. Miss Mary Lou Baker, St. Petersburg, House 1943-1945. Evans Crary, Stuart, House 1937-1945, Speaker 1945, Senate 1947-1953. Mrs. Beth (George W.) Johnson, Orlando, House 1957-1962, Senate 1962- 1967.

178 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

WOMEN AS PRESIDING OFFICERS (2)

When Representative Betty Easley substituted for Speaker Ralph H. Haben, Jr., in the 1981 session, members stumbled over their words as to how she should be addressed.

Some called her “Madame Chairman.” Others absently addressed her as “Mr. Speaker.”

Representative Easley came to their assistance by announcing that “Madame Speaker, Mrs. Speaker, or Your Majesty” would be just fine.

Lawmakers understood the thrust of her preference and for the next hour Representative Easley was greeted as “Your Grace,” “Your Highness,” “Your Exalted Majesty,” “Your Excellency,” and “Mother Superior.”

Mrs. Betty Easley, Largo, House 1972-1986. Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto, House 1972-1982, Speaker 1980-1982.

WOMEN AS READING CLERKS

Miss Carolyn Rennick, a student from Tallahassee at Florida State University, was one of two reading clerks selected for service in the

House of Representatives at the 1973 Regular Betty Easley . . . “Your Exalted Session. Miss Rennick was the first female Majesty” reading clerk to serve in the House of Representatives since 1945 when Miss Verna Thornton of Tallahassee, afterwards Mrs. Verna Thornton Catlett, was a reading clerk. Miss Thornton first was an assistant reading clerk in the House for the Extraordinary Session of 1929. Mrs. Margaret Dorman Croy of Tallahassee was a reading clerk at the regular and two extraordinary sessions of 1931. Miss Kate B. Inman, of Live Oak and Tallahassee, was a reading clerk for the Senate from 1923 through 1957.

Miss Myrtice McCaskill . . . Served as So far as can be determined from the Journals, Miss Myrtice McCaskill of Reading Clerk in House and Senate, then was one of the first two women Perry was the first woman reading clerk in each house. She served two who in 1922 were candidates for regular sessions, 1917 and 1919, in the House and one, 1921, in the Senate. election to the House.

WOMEN LEGISLATORS

Orange County elected the first women to serve in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Edna Giles Fuller of Orlando represented Orange in the five regular and special sessions of the 1929 and 1931 House. Mrs. Beth (George W.) Johnson of Orlando was elected to the Senate in 1962 after having served Orange County in the House. She first was elected to the House in 1957 to fill a vacancy and then reelected in 1958 and 1960.

Mrs. Edna Giles Fuller, Orlando, House 1929-1951. Mrs. Beth (George W.) Johnson, Orlando, House 1957-1962, Senate 1962-1967.

Beth Johnson . . . First woman Senator 179 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

WRONG QUESTION

Representative Don Hazelton received advice as a first-term legislator from a county colleague and Minority Leader, Don Reed. Hazelton turned to Reed for counsel on whether an upcoming bill on the day’s Calendar was a good bill. Reed assured him it was, so Hazelton voted for the bill. He was astonished to discover Reed had voted against the bill: Hazelton demanded to know of Reed, “I thought you told me this was a good bill!” Reed responded, “Yes, I did, but you asked me the wrong question.”

Donald F. “Don” Hazelton, West Palm Beach, House 1970-1978. Donald H. Reed, Jr., Boca Raton, House 1963-1972, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978.

YELLOW RIVER CODE

Senator William Dean “Wig” Barrow introduced the Senate to the Yellow River Code. Barrow’s forebears came to the Yellow River area of West Florida from Warren County, Georgia, in 1800-1812. The unwritten code included the precept that a man’s word was his bond and need not be accompanied either by a handshake or a written document.

Barrow recalled: “Dempsey Barron was a close friend of mine. Dempsey came to me and asked me to pledge my support to him for Presidency of the Senate. I told him that I had already pledged to George Hollahan, and I would not and could not back out on my commitment to him, because I lived by the Code. Dempsey said, ‘Wig, I tell you what to do. Come on over to my ranch and blot out your footprints from all around it, and I’ll do the same at yours.’ After that, I went and got an empty shoe box, and wrapped it in some white paper, and labeled it, ‘Footprint Blotter.’ I inserted a broomstick into the top for a handle. “Wig” Barrow . . . the “Yellow River Code”

“At the sound of the gong to convene the next day’s session, I proceeded to Dempsey’s desk, blotting footprints all around him. I have never seen Dempsey cry but a time or two, but he had tears in his eyes then. We had a good laugh about it, and things were back to normal. I went to George Hollahan and told him I intended to live up to my pledge to him in spite of the fact that Dempsey was a close friend. George said he would gladly release me from my pledge to him, which solved the whole problem. If only I had talked with him to start with, we never would have had a problem.”

After leaving the Senate Barrow wrote a book called The Yellow River Code and other Stories. In it he expands upon the Code to include, among other things.

• Never let the other fellow get the drop on you • You’ll get out-figured if you’re not expecting it • Common sense is better than no sense at all • Never assume anything • Never forget your friends, never forgive your enemies • Never oppose your colleagues when they are in trouble • Always avenge transgressions against your family • Share the fruits of your harvest • A handshake is a contract • Never mention rope in a family where there’s been a hanging

180 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

William Dean Barrow, Crestview, Senate 1966-1972. Dempsey J. Barron, Panama City, House 1956-1960, Senate 1960-1988, President Pro Tempore 1967-1968, President 1974-1976, Constitutional Revision Commission 1978. George L. Hollahan, Jr., Miami, House 1957-1963, Senate 1963-1972.

YOUNGEST, OLDEST LEGISLATORS

Oldest House Member

Representative J. A. (Jefferson Alexis) Hendley of Dade City in Pasco County, well may have been the oldest House member. He appears from conflicting biographies to have been 87 when he served in the 1945 House. Interestingly, he was among the youngest members, at 27, of the 1885 Constitutional Convention. Born March 19, 1858, in Western Kentucky, he read for the bar at Lexington, Virginia, served as a cowboy and ranger in Texas, and was elected first County Attorney of Mitchell County, Texas. He came to Florida in 1881 and settled in Hernando County (afterwards, Hernando, Citrus and Pasco Counties). In 1884, he was elected County Surveyor and in 1885 was elected to the Constitutional Convention. He served in the Senate in the sessions of 1897 and 1899. Mr. Hendley died on March 28, 1947. The 1937 House recognized Hendley as the sole living member of the 1885 Convention.

Jefferson Alexis Hendley, Pasco County, Constitutional Convention 1885, Senate 1897-1899, House 1945

Youngest House Member

A number of members of the Florida House of Representatives were elected when 21, the lawful minimum. Actually, some were chosen when 20 since Democratic nominations prior to the 1960s usually were the equivalent of election as there were relatively few Republican nominees.

Fuller Warren of Blountstown was among those nominated while 20. He served Calhoun County in the 1927 House and as Governor in 1949-1953. Walter Warren (no relation to Fuller Warren) was nominated at 20 in 1934 to serve Putnam County in the 1935 House.

Doyle E. Conner, afterwards Commissioner of Agriculture, was elected at 21 while a student at the University of Florida to serve Bradford County in the 1950 House. At 28, Conner was the youngest Speaker of the House. He was also the youngest person elected to a cabinet office.

Oldest State Senator

There is no accurate accounting of the ages of members of the Legislature but Scott Dilworth Clarke of Monticello, as a Senator in 1966, surely was among the oldest. Senator Clarke was born March 31, 1881, and in 1966 would have been 85. Known as “Judge” Clarke by reason of his service as Jefferson County Judge from 1909 to 1921, he died December 28, 1966.

Fuller Warren, Blountstown, House 1927, Jacksonville, House 1939, Governor 1949-1953. Walter Warren, Palatka, House 1935. Doyle E. Conner, Starke, House 1950-1960, Speaker 1957, Commissioner of Agriculture 1961-1991. Scott Dilworth Clarke, Monticello, House 1907-1909, Senate 1931-1966, President 1947-1948.

Scott Dilworth Clarke Youngest State Senator

181 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

Dennis J. Patrick O’Grady of Inverness, a Republican who represented the 19th District in 1967- 1968, appears from available records to have been the youngest member of the State Senate.

O’Grady, born December 9, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, was elected on March 28, 1967, in a special court-ordered statewide apportionment general election. O’Grady was a building contractor and nurseryman. When elected, he was 23 years and 3 months old.

Johnnie Wright of DeFuniak Springs, a Democrat who represented the 3rd District in 1948-1951, was born April 5, 1925. He was elected on November 2, 1948, and then was 23 years and 7 months old.

Dennis J. Patrick O’Grady, Inverness, Senate 1967-1968. Johnnie Wright, DeFuniak Springs, Senate 1949-1951.

YOUR PLACE OR MINE

H. Lee Moffitt, afterwards Speaker, was moving a bill outlawing pornography during the 1980 session when Representative Toni Jennings, with a show of innocence, stated she did not know the meaning of some of the acts the bill defined as obscene.

Moffitt, half flustered, finally said he would explain to Jennings after the adjournment of the House.

“Your place or mine?” inquired Jennings, eyelashes fluttering, as the House exploded with laughter.

Toni Jennings, Orlando, House 1976-1980, Senate 1980-2000, President 1996-2000, Constitution Revision Commission 1997 Lieutenant Governor 2003-2006 (appointed 3-7-2003).

182 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

. . . ABOUT THE COMPILER

Allen Morris has served each of the three branches of the State government.

He served from 1947 as Consultant on Rules and Procedure to the House of Representatives and, since July 1, 1966, was Clerk of the House. On November 28, 1986, he withdrew to become Clerk Emeritus and Historian. He died in 2002.

He was among the founding members of The Judicial Council, and helped bring about adoption by the Legislature and the electorate of that portion of Article V of the 1885 Constitution, which related to the Supreme Court and established the District Courts of Appeal.

In the Executive Department, he was Vice Chairman of the State Advertising Commission, Secretary of the Industrial Development Council, and Secretary of the Council on Economic Development, all predecessors of the present Department of Commerce. He serves as Consultant on Protocol for the Department of State and as a member of the State Library Council. Allen Morris . . . Like Kilroy, he was here

He has been the compiler of The Florida Handbook, 1947-present. Co-author of: Florida Under Five Flags with R. W. Patrick, Your Florida Government with Ann Waldron, How to Win in Politics with Fuller Warren, and Legal Background to the Government of Florida with James B. Whitfield. Author of: Our Florida Government, Florida Industrial Case Book, Florida Business Profiles, Florida Place Names, The Language and Lore of Lawmaking in Florida, Practical Protocol for Floridians, and articles for the Florida Historical Quarterly.

He received Outstanding Citizen awards from the Florida Library Association in 1974 and 1976. He was President of the Legislative Correspondents Association in 1947, and was awarded the Florida State Junior Chamber of Commerce Good Citizenship Plaque in 1949. In the bicentennial year, he received The Florida Patriots Medal. The House of Representatives in 1977 named its main committee room “Morris Hall.” In 1985 he was presented the “Ambassador of the Arts” medal and citation by Secretary of State George Firestone in the presence of the House of Representatives.

In an unprecedented joint session of the Florida Legislature, attended also by the Governor, Cabinet members, Justices of the Supreme Court, and other dignitaries, Florida State University in 1973 awarded Morris the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. The honorary degree cited his contributions “to a sense of state pride” through his efforts as a journalist, historian, founder of the State Photographic Archives, and biennial compiler of The Florida Handbook. His hobby: reading Journals of past sessions of the Florida House.

183 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

. . . ABOUT THE OTHER COMPILER

John Phelps has served on the staff of the House of Representatives for 32 years.

After a brief research career with NASA and several intervening positions, Phelps joined the staff of the House of Representatives as a policy analyst. He subsequently worked as a committee staff director, executive assistant to the Speaker and Deputy Clerk before his election as Clerk in 1986.

Phelps has received numerous honors as a parliamentarian and international consultant. He presently Chairs the Mason’s Manual Commission which updates the principal parliamentary authority used by most of the legislative chambers of the states.

In 2005 he received the Joe Beek Award for John Phelps . . . reading for the 2000 Session on Presidential Electors Distinguished Service from the American Society of Legislative Clerks & Secretaries, an honor conferred on only nine clerical officers over the past sixty years.

In 1990, Phelps was elected President of the American Society of Legislative Clerks & Secretaries and in 1999 as Staff Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

He has authored numerous articles for professional research journals in the U.S. and Germany.

Internationally, Phelps has assisted with the institutional development of legislatures in Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. For the past year, he helped draft the rules of procedure and create a staff support structure for the newly constituted legislature in Iraq.

John Phelps has deep roots in Florida and the South. His maternal great-great-great-great grandfather, Major William Hall, after whom Lake Hall was named, moved his family to Leon County in 1825. On his father’s and mother’s side, Phelps has relations who fought for the Confederacy from South Carolina and Florida.

Phelps’ grandmother, Edith Phelps, taught Allen Morris when he was a student at Miami High.

He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Eckerd College.

184 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

. . . About the Illustrator

There’s a saying that goes. . .

In order for a woman to succeed she must Work like a dog Think like a man and act like a lady.

That fit Florida’s Betty Easley.

She achieved rare attention in the House through a combination of intelligence and pixie charm, sharp verbal elbows, quick wit, tenacity, and the ability to get herself into photogenic situations.

Although a member of the minority party, Representative Easley demonstrated such ability and political moxie that leadership appointed her to two prestigious committees: Appropriations Betty Easley . . . versatile Representative and Finance and Taxation (along with Criminal Justice) at the 1979-1980 sessions. She did not seek reelection after the 1986 session and became first, Assistant Secretary of State, and then Public Service Commissioner.

Before becoming a member in November 1972, she had been a newspaper columnist, medical Illustrator at Walter Reed Medical Center, medical secretary, legal secretary, accountant, and the owner of a bookkeeping and accounting service.

She was born in Victoria, Texas. She attended the University of Texas, where she was an Alpha Delta Pi. She came to Florida in 1957. Her husband was Kenneth E. Easley, an attorney. Betty Easley died in 1994.

185 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

INDEX

Brantley, Lew, 100, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139 Bronaugh, Dr. James C., 65 A Bronson, Irlo, Jr., 60 Alden, George J., 110 Bronson, Irlo, Sr., 60 Allen, Joseph B., Jr., 30 Brower, Ron, 144 Allen, LeRoy, 24, 61 Brown, J. Hyatt, 17, 79, 90, 92, 127, 136, 137, 138, 139, 180 Alston, Augustus, 54 Brown, Joe, 26, 41 Alston, Willis, 54, 55 Brown, Thomas, 172 Amlong, William R., 175 Brummell, Beau, 145 Andrews, Charles O., 60 Bruton, James D., Jr., 173 Andrews, Charles O., Jr., 60 Bryan, William Jennings, 107 Andrews, William C. "Bill", 113 Bryant, C. Farris, 15, 152 Andrews, William R., 113 Bucklew, Sam, 61 Archer, Hugh, 15 Buckley, William, 117 Archibald, R. B., 108 Buckman, H. H., 122 Arpin, David R., 99, 100 Buford, Rivers H., 166 Ash, Jim, 12 Bullard, Larcenia, 60 Askew, Reubin O’ D., 21, 120, 124, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, Bullard, Ed, 60 158, 159, 161, 165 Bullock, R. B., 14 Associated Press, 37, 62, 130, 131, 134, 135 Burks, John S., 34 Ausley, Charles S., 60 Burns, Haydon, 17, 40 Ausley, Loranne, 60 Burrall, Frederic H., 177 Bush, George W., 7, 129 Bush, Jeb, 93, 129 B Bush, Tom, 41 Bailey, Edward Bradford, 23, 119 Busto, J. F., 74 Baker, Carey, 60 Butler, Jim, 132 Baker, J. Edwin, 59 Butt, Noah B., 34 Baker, Leighton L., 60 Bynum, J. H. T., 70 Baker, Mary Lou, 180 Baker, Maxine E., 122 C Ball, Edward, 74, 148 Ballinger, J. Kenneth, 24, 82 Caldwell, Millard F., 25, 58, 82, 85, 149 Barreiro, Bruno, 60 Call, Richard K., 55 Barreiro, Gus, 60 Call, Wilkinson, 23, 24, 174 Barron, Dempsey J., 19, 25, 26, 122, 123, 135, 136, 137, 138, Camp, Clarence II, 58 139, 145, 157, 169, 182 Campbell, Archibald, 68 Barrow, William D., 21, 145, 182 Carlton, Doyle E., 60, 80, 82, 84, 85, 114, 179 Bayer, Herbert, 150, 151 Carlton, Doyle E., Jr., 60, 96 Beall, Philip D., Sr., 40 Carpenter, Jr., Carl, 144 Beasley, Thomas D., 15, 18, 19, 67, 90 Carr, Fielding L. D., 47, 107 Becker, Alan, 119 Carraway, F. Wilson, 69, 124 Bedenbaugh, F. W., 153 Carroll, Jennifer, 28 Bell, Maya, 135 Carter, Lillian, 162 Bell, Sam, 49, 138, 164 Casas, Roberto, 74 Bennett, Charles E., 178 Catts, Sidney J., 72, 73 Bense, Allan, 52, 120 Cawthon, Stanmore, 150, 151 Benson, Anna "Holly", 60 Chaires, McQueen, 97, 98, 99 Benson, Lois, 60 Chappell, Dan, 83, 84 Birchfield, William O. "Bill", 21, 56, 74 Chappell, William V., Jr., 124 Black, R. Lucas, 37, 38 Cherry, Gwendolyn Sawyer, 6, 27, 91 Blanton, Donna, 135 Childers, W. D., 51, 119, 122, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 153 Bledsoe, Lamar, 163 Chiles, Lawton, 73, 148, 158, 161 Bloom, Elaine, 14 Chipley, William D., 23 Bonowitz, Abe, 12 Christie, Flavius T., 30 Book, John B., 127 Christie, William McLean, 34, 148 Bostick, Guy, 137 Clark, Dick, 177 Bowen, Reeves, 50 Clark, Dill, 21 Boyd, J.A. "Tar", 69 Clark, John R., 19 Boyd, Joe, 86 Clarke, S. D., 110, 141, 183

186 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

Clay, Everett A., 83 Feeney, Tom, 12, 129 Clement, Archie, 127 Figueredo, Fernando, 6, 74 Clendinen, James A., 125, 126 Firestone, George, 50, 51, 94, 99, 185 Cleveland, Mack N., Jr., 92 Flinn, Gene, 142 Cobb, Thomas T., 150 Florida Real Estate Handbook, 82 Collins, LeRoy, 6, 30, 34, 37, 42, 67, 95, 125, 152, 160, 178 Florida State News, 130 Cone, Branch, 115 Florida Times-Union, 24, 29, 61, 68, 77, 106, 130, 150, 171 Cone, Fred P., 115 Floridan Hotel, 61 Conner, Doyle, 43, 104, 109, 174, 179, 183 Flynn, William "Bill", 154 Conner, Nick, 66 Foley, Mark, 4 Connor, John Coppinger, 65 Fort Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel, 135 Correll, Shirley, 48 Foster, Samuel B., 126 Cox, Bill, 51 Fountain, David, 26 Craig, A. H. "Gus", 105, 161 Frank, Marcus, 62 Cramer, William C., 143, 144 Frank, Pat, 163 Crary, Evans, 69, 180 Friday, Elmer O., 95 Crawford, John T. G., 83 Friedman, Howard Jay, 118 Cresse, Joseph P., 87 Frisbee, B. M., 69, 70 Crofton, L. C., 108 Frost, M. M. "Jack", 173 Cross, J. Emory "Red", 71, 72 Frye, Barbara, 134, 135 Crotty, Richard, 41 Fuller, Edna G., 81, 82, 180, 181 Croy, Margaret Dorman, 181 Fuqua, Ben H., 60, 172 Crumpton, H. A. H., 23, 119 Fuqua, J. Ben, 60, 172 Culbreath, John R., 51 Futch, Eli, 27

D G Daniel, Welborn, 87 Gainesville Independent and Free Advocate, 113 Darrow, Clarence, 107 Gallespie Construction Company, 37 Davis, Fred H., 41, 47, 86 Gaskins, John L., 15 Davis, R. W., 163 Gautier, Earnest William, 178 Davis, Sam F., 141, 142 Gautier, Priscilla, 178 Davis, W. Turner, 76 Gautier, R. B., Jr., 61, 75, 76 de la Parte, Louis, 161 Gersten, Joseph M., 10, 11 de la Rua, Juan, 65 Getzen, S. W., 14 Dekle, Hal, 86 Gibbons, Mark, 60 Dell, Philip, 17 Gibbons, Sam, 19, 21, 60, 67, 140 Denison, Ed., 32 Gibson, William L., 179 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln, 60, 75 Gilchrist, Albert W., 59 Diaz-Balart, Mario, 60, 75 Giles, Bruce, 132, 133 Dickinson, Fred O., Jr., 22, 104 Gillis, D. Stuart, 81 Dolley, Robert D., 56 Gomez, Arthur, 70 Dubbin, Helene, 112 Gong, Edmond, 40 Dubbin, Murray H., 88, 103, 112, 120, 122, 180 Gong, Joe Fred, 40 Dughi, Donn, 4, 48 Gonzalez, Don Emanuel, 65 Dunbar, Peter, 104 Gonzalez-Quevedo, Arnhilda, 128 Dunn, Hampton, 84 Gordon, Elaine, 7, 14 duPont, Alfred I., 74 Gordon, Jack, 48, 70, 86, 104, 110, 172 DuVal, William Pope, 65, 167 Gore, Al, 7, 129 Gorman, William D., 19 Graham, D. Robert "Bob", 51, 60, 92, 96, 115, 124 E Graham, Ernest R., 60, 117, 121 Easley, Betty, 4, 111, 178, 180, 187 Graham, Richard S., 49 Eaton, John, 10, 60 Griner, K., 132 Edge, L. D., 14 Grizzle, Mary R., 144 Edwards, L. K., Jr., 126, 178 Eldredge, David C., 123 H Elliott, M Leo, 37 English, J. Colin, 56 Haben, Ralph H., Jr., 9, 10, 11, 12, 74, 101, 120, 144, 145, Ervin, Richard, 56 147, 164, 180 Hagan, L. P., 169 Hair, H. H. "Horry", 60 F Hair, Mattox, 60 Farris, Ion L., 15 Hancock, Bob, 132

187 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

Hansen, Mike, 68 K Hardee, Gary A., 15 Hardee, Jim, 109 Kaczor, Bill, 103 Hardeman, Mary, 135 Kalfas, Chris, 162 Harrell, F. Bamberg, 34 Keith, George, 153 Harris, Katherine, 129 Kelley, James H., 31 Harris, Marshall S., 44 Kennelly, Joseph G., Jr., 40 Hart, Delma, 42 Kerr, Kenneth W., 143 Harvell, J. H., 48 Kershaw, Joe Lang, 6, 27, 122 Haverfield, Robert, 123 King, Harry E., 49, 50, 128 Hawkins, Paula, 120 King, Jim, 39 Hazelton, Don, 29, 181 Kirk, Claude R., Jr., 88, 89, 105, 143 Henderson, Warren S., 48, 63 Kiser, S. Curtis, 59 Hendley, J. A., 183 Kleindienst, Linda, 135 Herrell, W. C., 123 Knight, M. B. "Bart", 141 Hill, Meredith, 4 Hills, George, 82 Hirth, Diane, 135 L Hobbson, T. Frank, 18 Langley, Richard H., 88 Hodes, Richard S., 164 Lawrence, D. G., 120, 126 Hodges, Gene, 52, 60, 119, 162, 171 Lawrence, David, Sr., 135 Hodges, W. Randolph, 60 Lawrence, W. H., 117 Hodges, William C., 83 Leaird, George W., 57, 61, 62, 114, 157 Holcom, Maxine, 162 Lee, J. M., 172 Holcom, T. E. "Red", 162 Leedy, L. C. "Bill", 61 Hollahan, George, 182 Lehtinen, Dexter, 7, 75 Holland, Mrs. Spessard L., 134 Levy, O' Neal, 52 Holland, Spessard, 37, 38, 121, 134, 149, 168 Lewis, E. Clay, 61, 82 Holt, George, 62 Lewis, Hayes, 83, 87 Hood, Henry C., 143 Lewis, John W. III, 159 Hooten, Dewey B., 168 Lewis, Philip D., 48, 104, 111 Hoover, Herbert, 143 Littlefield, Carl, 60 Hopkins, William D., 50 Littlefield, Ken, 60 Horne, Mallory E., 17, 22, 58, 69, 81, 124, 140 Lombard, James M., 128 Horne, Raeburn C., 29, 38, 80, 83, 132 London Sunday Times, 131 Houghton, J. Frank, 143 Lowry, Sumter L., 152 Hugli, Robert A., 171 M I MacKay, Buddy, 169 Inman, Kate B., 181 MacKenzie, William Alexander, 47, 70 International News Service, 130 Mahon, Lacy, 47, 60, 164 Mahon, Mark, 60 J Mallory, Stephen R., 24 Manatee River Journal, 53 Jacksonville Journal, 99 Mann, Robert T., 16, 17, 35, 36, 45, 102, 115, 180 Jacksonville Metropolis, 59 Mansfield, Bill, 31, 58, 132, 133 Jennings, Toni, 14, 39, 184 Martin, John W., 176 Jennings, W. S., 93 Martyn, Searle, 54 John H. Perry Newspapers, 58 Mathews, John E., 38, 62, 80, 81, 82 Johnson, Beth, 180, 181 Mathews, John E., Jr., 89 Johnson, Bolley L. "Bo", 68 Matthews, Carey, 102 Johnson, Dewey M., 107, 124 Matthews, Donald R., 101 Johnson, Malcolm B., 37, 52, 62 Matthews, Harvey W., 127 Johnston, John B., 12, 109 Matthews, Seale H. Mrs., 180 Jones, C. Fred, 87 Mattox, Ray, 90 Jones, C. H., 106 McArthur, A. G., 57, 77 Jones, Daryl L., 160 McCain, David, 86 Jones, David Crockett, 60, 172 McCarty, Dan, 10, 43, 60, 142, 176 Jones, David Crockett, Jr., 60, 173 McCarty, John M., 60 Jones, Dennis L., 42 McCaskill, Myrtice, 181 Jones, J. Hampton, 46 McClain, David, 60 McClain, Joseph A., Jr., 60 McDermott, John B., 5, 22, 58, 69, 76

188 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

McGill, Chris, 134 Peacock, Troy, 121 McKay, John M., 129 Pearce, B. C. "Bill", 125 McLaren, Donald C., 143 Pearce, Charles H., 59 McPherson, Scott, 154 Peeples, Joe H., Sr., 43 McSwain, Alexander, 60 Peeples, Vasco, 60 Meek, Carrie, 27, 73 Peeples, Vernon, 60, 90 Melton, S. H., 60 Pennekamp, John D., 122, 124 Merritt, W. S. "Chick", 132 Pensacola News-Journal, 99 Metser, Yuval, 48 Pepper, Claude, 53, 116, 117 Miami Herald, 5, 22, 24, 31, 40, 57, 58, 59, 61, 69, 76, 82, Pettigrew, A. J., 120 83, 101, 123, 124, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 175 Pettigrew, Richard A., 18, 19, 35, 36, 51, 66, 121, 127 Miami News, 51 Phelps, Edith, 186 Mica, John, 164 Phelps, John, 2, 26, 41, 68, 73, 186 Middlemas, John Robert, 123 Phelps, Joshua, 126 Miers, Dr. Miley L., 19 Pittman, Robert, 96 Miller, John "Jack", 173 Pitts, Jay, 25 Miller, Les, 28 Plante, Ken, 86, 106, 120, 138, 139, 161 Moffitt, Lee, 10, 12, 14, 127, 171, 184 Pope, Edith, 96 Monroe, James, 64, 173 Pope, Verle A., 71, 89, 95, 96 Moon, Sol D., 73 Poston, Ralph R., Sr., 142 Morgan, Herbert F. "Herb", 33 Potter, Joel, 108 Morgan, Lucy, 135 Pratt, Jerome, 102 Morris, Allen, 2, 5, 59, 85, 99, 105, 150, 151, 165, 168, 173, Price, Ed H., Jr., 95, 141 175, 185, 186 Pride, Don, 58 Mortham, Sandra, 13 Moseley, William D., 172 Murman, Sandra, 14 R Murphy, Henry G., 52, 122 Raitano, Dr. Harry, 42 Musgrove, Martha, 51 Randell, Ted, 19 Myers, Kenneth M., 99, 122 Raney, George Pettus, 23, 119 Rawls, John S., 87 N Read, Leigh, 54, 55 Reader’s Digest, 132 Nation, The, 117 Ready, Gene, 109 Neal, Patrick, 63, 128 Reed, Donald H., Jr., 12, 13, 18, 19, 45, 88, 102, 104, 158, Nelson, C. William "Bill", 74, 111 181 Nelson, Fred, 162 Reed, Thomas, 9 Neomathala, 167 Renick, Richard R., 122 New York Times, 117, 131 Rennick, Carolyn, 181 Newman, Rex, 58 Rhyne, Mary Anne, 135 Nichols, Don, 40 Richardson, Dr. Joe Martin, 28 Richmond, Ronald R., 79 Riddle, E. Bert, 58 O Rish, Billy Joe, 86, 111, 124, 157 O’Grady, Dennis J. Patrick, 183 Rivers, J. M., 59, 109 Odham, J. Brailey, 58 Roberts, B. K., 120 Olsen, William, 171 Roberts, Donald L., 127 Orlando Sentinel, 26, 109, 119, 126, 135 Robineau, S. Pierre, 80, 81 Orr, John B., Jr., 40, 155 Robinson, Marie, 104 Osborne, Ray, 62 Rodriguez-Chomat, Jorge, 39 Overstreet, H. Earnest, 168 Rogells, Onell, 76 Rogers, Dwight L., 83 Rogers, Nell Foster, 29 P Romfh, E. C., 83 Pajcic, Steve, 68 Roney, N. B. T., 83 Palm Beach Post, 12, 51 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana, 6, 7, 74 Panama City News-Herald, 25, 123 Rountree, Helen, 18 Papy, Bernie C., Sr., 58 Rowell, E. C., 7, 13, 16, 17, 19, 44, 62, 67, 75, 78, 79, 90, Papy, Sr., Bernie C., 58 104, 120 Parrish, Crawford P., 66 Rubio, Marco, 7, 75 Parrish, J. J., 14 Ryals, John L., 35, 36, 51 Patchett, Dale, 88 Ryan, A. J. “Red”, 60 Patrick, R. W., 185 Ryan, Tim, 60 Patterson, William, 179

189 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

S 142 Tapper, George G., 61 Sadowski, William E. "Bill", 146, 147, 148 Taylor, John, 83 Sample, Dorothy E., 9, 10, 60 Tedcastle, Tom, 73 Savage, John J., 13, 122, 173 Temko, Jan, 133 Scales, Joseph H., 37 Thomas, Jerry, 45, 161 Schultz, Frederick H., 12, 35, 36, 78, 79, 102, 104, 127 Thomas, John, 143 Scofield, George, 62 Thomas, Pat, 33, 110 Scott, R. A., 132 Thompson, James Harold, 11, 14, 127 Sentinel, 135 Thornal, Campbell, 49 Sessums, T. Terrell, 14, 36, 49 Thornton, Verna, 181 Shackelford, Lawrence F. "Larry", 128 Thrasher, John, 39, 73 Shaffer, B. E., 143 Thurston, George L., III, 32 Shands, W. A., 52, 57, 75, 76, 128, 145, 152, 174 Tillett, Boone D., 49, 50 Sharit, Joe, 37 TIME, 132 Shaw, Bob, 135 Tobiassen, Tom, 138, 139, 173 Shaw, Eugene F., 19 Tobin, Jack, 68 Shebel, Jon, 104 TODAY, 103 Sheldon, George H., 119 Tomasello, A. D., 100, 132 Sheldon, Raymond, 34, 56, 103, 118 Tomasello, Peter, 34, 101 Sherrill, Robert, 117, 131 Traver, Nancy, 103 Shields, Karen, 142 Trippett, Frank, 132 Sholtz, Dave, 87 Trumbull, Steve, 57 Shore, Rita, 128 Tucker, Donald L., 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 60, 86, 113, 136, Shutts, Frank B., 83 138, 139, 151 Sikes, Robert L. F., 34 Tucker, Gideon J., 110 Silver, Ronald A. "Ron", 159 Tucker, Luther, 60, 151 Simmons, Dr. William, 167 Turlington, Ralph D., 19, 31, 32, 35, 50, 56, 71, 105, 115, Simpson, Richard H., 152 158, 175, 180 Slappey, E. H., 37 Turnbull, T. T., 14 Smathers, Bruce, 33, 117 Smathers, George A., 116 Smith, Adam, 39 U Smith, Alfred E., 143 Udall, Morris K., 120 Smith, Emma Sechrest, 41 United Press, 48, 131 Smith, Ken, 49 United Press International, 48, 134, 135 Smith, McGregor, 125 Upchurch, Frank D., 33, 60 Smith, Samuel, 86 Upchurch, Hamilton, 60 Sorensen, Ken, 163 Upchurch, Tracy, 60 Spicola, Guy W., 36 St. Clair-Abrams, Alfred, 59 St. Petersburg Times, 17, 39, 57, 58, 96, 99, 123, 131, 132, V 135, 150 Valdes, Carlos, 39 Stallings, George, 13, 78, 79 Van Gieson, John C., 119 Starks, Robert J. "Bob", 107 Versaggi, Johnny, 62 Stearns, Marcellus L., 15, 17 Villalobos, J. Alex, 73 Steed, W. J. "Funie", 61 Steinberg, Paul B., 27 Stenstrom, Douglas, 67, 92, 103, 104 W Still, Christopher, 7 Waldron, Ann, 132, 134, 185 Stokes, John P., 159 Waldron, Martin O., 131 Stone, George G., 16, 35, 50 Walker, Dave S., Jr., 178 Stone, Richard "Dick", 178 Wall Street Journal, 132 Sturgis, Wallace E., 61 Wall, John P., 23 Sundberg, Alan C., 154 Ware, Lambert M., 143 Surrency, Winder H., 149 Warner, Tom, 73 Sweeny, Jr, James H., 19 Warren, Fuller, 21, 22, 43, 144, 149, 150, 151, 152, 169, 183, Switzer, Beth, 170 185 Warren, Walter, 183 T Waters, Leslie, 14 Watson, J. Tom, 38, 80, 81, 82 Tallahassee Democrat, 52, 62, 132 Watson, John, 83, 108 Tallahassee News, 85 Webb, Frank, 41 Tampa Tribune, 23, 24, 34, 61, 77, 119, 125, 131, 132, 141, Webster, Daniel, 14, 39, 46

190 RECONSIDERATIONS – Second Glances at Florida Legislative Events

Weeks, Alonzo, 63, 112, 130, 169 Whitson, Ed S., Jr., 94 Weinstein, Jeremy, 59 Wicker, Newton J., 179 Weinstein, Moses, 59 Williams, Ben C., 45, 102 Weinstein, Peter M., 59 Williams, Frank, 179 Weissenborn, Lee, 86, 105, 106 Williams, John Lee, 167 Weitzel, Pete, 132 Williams, Volie A., Jr., 92 Wells, Gordon W., 42 Wilson, A. M., 53 Welsh, Albert R., 143 Wilson, Lori, 120 West, Thomas F., 166 Winn, Sherman, 173 West, W. A., 82 Wolfson, Louis, II, 42, 109, 175 Wetherell, T. K., 49 Wood, G. Pierce, 6, 34, 37, 62, 148 Whitaker, Patrick C., 24, 52, 63, 82 Woodard, Glen P., 87, 101, 132, 136, 137, 174 Whitfield, J. B., 90, 185 Wrenn, Henry, 62 Whitman, A. D., 143 Wright, Johnnie, 184

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