[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
Gov. Jeb Bush and Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan wave at a rally at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa before their re-election.

TALLAHASSEE -- For four years, Floridians have watched Gov. Jeb Bush deliver on his promise to reshape state government. Tax cuts, vouchers, standardized student tests and privatization were hallmarks of Bush's first term.

Now, with his power enhanced by voters and his self-confidence boosted by his decisive re-election victory, the second half of Bush's reign as governor is quietly emerging with even bigger changes in store.

"In structure and in patronage, you are probably seeing the strongest governor in the past hundred years," said Curt Kiser, a lobbyist, former Pinellas County legislator and student of state government. "More power has been consolidated with him and his agencies."

Bush has rejected the notion of a top-down government run by "Mount Tallahassee." But that proverbial mountain is topped by a single person: Jeb Bush, scion of America's ruling political dynasty. He has many opportunities to reshape the political landscape.

Bush must soon choose a new Supreme Court justice to replace the retiring Leander Shaw. It will be Bush's third since taking office, counting Peggy Ann Quince, who was chosen jointly by Bush and Lawton Chiles.

He also may have to appoint a new lieutenant governor if Frank Brogan departs for the presidency of Florida Atlantic University. Chants of "four more years" reached a crescendo at the end of the recent campaign, but Brogan could be gone in four more weeks.

Bush also must choose a secretary of state, four years after voters approved a change in the Constitution making the office appointed and not elected. For the first time, the chief state elections official will be on the governor's payroll.

That change carries an element of risk as Bush's brother, President Bush, prepares for his own re-election campaign in 2004 -- a race where Florida could again be pivotal. But that is more than outweighed by another benefit for Bush: having a brother in the White House.

"He will have the most power that any governor has ever had," said Tom Slade, a former state Republican Party chairman. "And the power of having your brother as president of the United States, in political terms, is just awesome."

More change is ahead. Bush is thinking of merging the Department of State with the growth management and disaster preparedness agency, the Department of Community Affairs. Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood is seen as a contender.

"I like Glenda Hood very much. She's a good friend and a very talented public servant," Bush said. "But I haven't talked to Glenda about the job. We're just focusing on how the structure will comply with the change in the Constitution."

All that is in addition to Bush's insistence on resignations by senior aides, a gesture meant to reinforce the loyalty of his subordinates in his second term.

A half-dozen agency heads had quit by Friday, including the heads of two of the largest departments, Transportation Secretary Tom Barry and Corrections Secretary Mike Moore. Also leaving are the secretaries of the agencies managing the lottery, businesses and professions and growth management, and Cynthia Henderson, who had a sometimes-rocky four years overseeing privatization and technology.

Among those who are staying are Education Secretary Jim Horne, child welfare Secretary Jerry Regier, health Secretary Dr. John Agwunobi and David Struhs, Bush's environmental secretary.

Supremely sure of himself and without any nagging worries of two-party competition, Bush can govern with a free hand, and a stronger hand than ever. He has something else he didn't have the first time around, too: experience.

"He was just re-elected and now he's got a little bit better handle on the job," said Bush's friend, lobbyist and former House Speaker John Thrasher. "Trust me. He's up to the challenge."

Bush's predecessors in the modern era -- Chiles, Bob Martinez, Bob Graham , Reubin Askew and Claude Kirk -- each put a unique stamp on the state's most powerful office. But all came to rely on the power of their personalities to get things accomplished. Each also had to wrestle with an unwieldy six-member elected Cabinet that was a source of frustration to each of them.

No more. Voters in 1998 shrunk the Cabinet from six members to three and in so doing added muscle to a historically weak governorship. At the same time, the Republican Party was rocketing to power and the Democratic Party was being reduced to its weakest role in the state's history.

Not only is Bush sharing policymaking power with half as many people, but they also now are all fellow Republicans. The last Democratic holdout atop state government, Attorney General Bob Butterworth, was replaced by a Republican, Charlie Crist of St. Petersburg.

Along the way, Republican-controlled legislatures gave Bush more control of appointments to boards that nominate judges. His power over 11 state university trustee boards, while diminished when voters changed the Constitution last month, remains stronger than it was before Bush took office.

Little wonder, then, that as he embarks on his second term, Bush is not content with mere changes in policy. A man with unflagging optimism and faith in God, he wants to "change the culture," as he told members of a transition team on reading this week.

"I honestly believe we can change culture," Bush said. "It doesn't happen overnight, and we may not see the changes with the naked eye, but over time I think we can make a huge change in the lives of people by changing the culture."

He wants to transcend politics, and he wants to do it with books.

Reading is Bush's top priority in the second term. By building what he calls "a state of readers," Bush envisions a trifecta of triumphs: lowering crime, sending more kids off to college and expanding the state's pool of skilled labor.

All is not rosy for Bush. He must contend with a lean budget, and a substantially changed Constitution. The same voters who enhanced the powers of governor hamstrung Bush by demanding the state spend billions for smaller classes, and pay a bigger share of county court operations and build a high-speed rail system.

"If you had given him a paintbrush and an easel, you would be hard pressed to design a better scenario for him, except for the economic difficulties," Slade said.

If Bush is to face political obstacles in the coming year, they are likely to come from the state Senate, a body that jealously protects its co-equal status. Senate President Jim King has put Bush on notice, telling him that senators won't be "lemmings," even if a majority belong to the same political party. One agency secretary, Kim Binkley-Seyer at Business and Professional Regulation, was forced to leave because the Senate signaled it would refuse to confirm her reappointment.

For now, Bush is seizing the moment. Aides say his frenetic work pace may even intensify because he knows that every day that passes is one day closer to the end of his career as governor. Much of what he hopes to accomplish must be tackled in the first two years of his second term; after that, the inevitable whispers about a "lame duck" governor will become louder.

As Bush told his reading advisers: "I'll only be re-elected as governor once."

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk