Return to political responsibility in Florida

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G.O.P. Lawmakers Deal a Setback to Governor Bush in Florida

By ROBIN POGREBIN

MIAMI, May 12 — Seven months before Gov. Jeb Bush leaves office, his chance of leaving a legacy on his signature issue of education has been significantly impaired by state legislators from his own Republican Party.

Two of Mr. Bush's education priorities were voted down by the Legislature last week at the end of this year's session. The constitutional amendments would have reversed a State Supreme Court decision invalidating school vouchers and loosened strict limits on class size.

Six of the Senate's 26 Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the class-size initiative; four did the same against the voucher plan.

Politicians of both parties acknowledge that Mr. Bush's losses marked a change for a Republican-led Legislature that typically fell in line behind the two-term governor.

Newspapers have made much of these setbacks for Mr. Bush. The Orlando Sentinel called them "the biggest defeats of his eight years in office." The Miami Herald said they were "some of the most stinging defeats of his political career." The St. Petersburg Times said, "Florida is entering a period of profound transition: the post-Jeb era."

Democrats are clearly enjoying the moment. "The voucher thing — it's his baby," State Representative Ron L. Greenstein, Democrat of Coconut Creek, said in an interview. "It's a sour note to leave on."

Some suggest that Mr. Bush is paying the price for his status as a departing officeholder — and maybe even for that of his brother President Bush. "They're both lame ducks," said State Representative Dan Gelber, a Miami Democrat who is the incoming House minority leader. "On the other hand, they are still the Republican family in the country. It's hard to deny the power of that family, certainly in the Republican Party and in the nation."

The two amendments were at the heart of Mr. Bush's efforts to reduce the influence of teachers' unions and to allow private schools to become a more accessible alternative to those run by the state. His office nonetheless continues to emphasize Mr. Bush's legislative victories, like the passage of his "A++" education plan that allows high school students to select majors and minors.

"We have seen great accomplishments out of the session," said Alia Faraj, Mr. Bush's communications director. "Economic development, tax cuts, hurricane preparedness — it's been a banner year."

Mr. Bush's supporters play down the significance of the two legislative defeats, saying his education agenda has always been larger. "His accomplishments in the education field have been historic," said Bob Martinez, whom Mr. Bush appointed to the State Board of Education. "It doesn't get done overnight."

Class sizes in Florida were limited in 2002 by a ballot initiative that was approved by voters and supported by teachers' unions. The law calls for gradually cutting class sizes by 2010 to 18 students in kindergarten through third grade; 22 students in fourth grade through eighth grade, and 25 in high school.

While running for re-election in 2002, Mr. Bush made the class size issue central to his platform, warning that it would cost billions of dollars to build schools and hire teachers to comply with the limits.

He has since tried repeatedly to offer enticements to eliminate the limits, tying the plan to teacher salary increases and to a requirement that school districts direct at least 65 percent of their money toward classroom spending. The amendment most recently defeated would have raised the class size limits by five students, among other changes.

Mr. Bush's voucher proposal would have amended the State Constitution to allow public money to be used for scholarships to private schools, overturning a Florida Supreme Court ruling that declared them unconstitutional.

State Senator Dennis L. Jones, Republican of Seminole, was one of the Republicans who broke with his party on the issue. During the debate, he pointed out that voters have opposed vouchers in referendums in Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon and Washington State. "Quit using public money to send our kids to private schools," Mr. Jones said, as reported by The Tallahassee Democrat.

State Senator Evelyn J. Lynn, an Ormond Beach Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, also joined Democrats in voting against the plan. Ms. Lynn said vouchers did not belong in the Constitution and called the plan an attack on the public school system.

State Senator J. Alex Villalobos, a Republican from Miami who opposed both amendments, was fired as majority leader by the Senate president, Tom Lee, Republican of Brandon. Mr. Villalobos said he chose to vote with his constituents and his principles.

"I think what it signals is the senators aren't rubber stamps," he said. "I voted with my district, which is overwhelmingly Republican. How the party line is 'stick it to South Florida schools' is beyond my imagination."

But others say the crossing of party lines signals a political shift to the middle as the state prepares to elect a new governor in November.

"It's important on a lot of levels, showing there's a moderate center that held," said State Senator Rod Smith of Alachua, a Democratic candidate for governor. "The Bush administration is hitting the shoreline. He's more popular than his policies."

One political pollster warned against making too much of a governor's last legislative hurrah.

"He didn't have a great session, but I don't know how much that affects his popularity in the state," said the pollster, Brad Coker, the managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research. "The legislative stuff is really more insider baseball."

Mr. Coker said that compared with other two-term Florida governors in recent history, Mr. Bush falls squarely in the middle in terms of approval ratings, with 63 percent. Gov. Lawton Chiles had a 54 percent approval rating toward the end of the 1998 legislative session, and Gov. Bob Graham had 83 percent in July 1986.

"Each of them faced rough last-term sessions," Mr. Coker said. "When you have a two-term governor, I think people tend to evaluate over the full eight years of office. One bad session is not going to hurt you."



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/13/us...html?th&emc=th