State: Reno becomes first to qualify to run

TALLAHASSEE -- Wearing her familiar blue suit and a string of pearls, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno on Monday became the state's first candidate to formally qualify for governor.

As she filed the formal paperwork and forked over a check for $7,210.26, Reno filed forms disclosing for the first time that she was paid more than $628,000 in speaking fees last year.

Reno said the fees ranged from $5,000 to $50,000 for various speeches made around the country after she left office in January 2001. She said the largest fee was paid by a law enforcement group in Vancouver, Canada.

Reno walked into the state Division of Elections about 12:30 p.m. with a handful of state employee union representatives who support her candidacy.

Last night, she appeared at a Democratic town hall meeting to answer questions from an audience of about 100 people.

Reno repeatedly was interrupted by applause as she offered words of support for state employees, questioned the way the death penalty is used and favored a change in the law that would allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children.

"Public service is the most rewarding occupation I know," Reno told the crowd. "You get cussed at and fussed at, but there is nothing more rewarding."

"It continues what we started," the Miami Democrat told reporters as she qualified to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. She became the first candidate for governor to qualify without naming a running mate. For the first time this year, candidates can wait until after the September 10 primaries to name running mates. In response to questions later, Reno said she would consider both of her Democratic opponents.

Reno also filed a copy of her 2001 tax return with financial disclosure reports, indicating she has a net worth of $2.4-million.

Her principal income last year was $628,722 in speaking fees paid by the Greater Talent Network Inc., a New York speakers bureau. Income from all other sources, including her last month on the federal payroll, was $18,170. The copy of her return indicates she is paying $237,879 in federal income tax this year.

Reno lists her house in Miami-Dade County, her state pension and a deferred compensation fund as her principal assets. She indicates she has been repaid all but $23,000 of a $75,000 loan she made to her own campaign last year. She lists no other debts, save a $31,000 tax bill due in April 2003.

State elections officials initially rejected Reno's qualifying check, saying it was not the correct amount. But Elections Supervisor Clay Roberts tracked Reno down at a rally outside the Capitol a few minutes later and publicly apologized, saying her original check was correct.

"Let the record reflect that this check was correct and I was in error," Roberts said. "I am sorry to put you through this."

"You are a gentleman and a scholar," Reno said as she thanked him for the apology.

Only a dozen or so state employee union members attended the midday event, but the small group cheered as she questioned Gov. Jeb Bush's attempts to privatize functions traditionally performed by government.

"We rank 47th among the states in state employees per capita," Reno said. "It indicates to me we are lean in terms of state employees. I'm concerned about the privatization of state functions. In the private sector the bottom line is profit; in the public sector the bottom line is the best interest of the people of the state of Florida. I don't think we can allow the disintegration of government."

Florida can learn from the private sector, but critical functions should be handled by the state, she added.

Bill McBride, the Tampa lawyer who is Reno's leading opponent for the Democratic nomination, will qualify Wednesday. Gov. Jeb Bush, in England on a trade mission this week, will send his oldest son, George P. Bush, to file his paperwork today. Candidates have until noon Friday to file.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk