State: Democratic Party chairman Poe to resign

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Democratic Party chairman Bob Poe said Thursday he will resign in January, bowing to pressure to step aside after the November election left the party with effectively no power in the state Capitol and a weaker presence in Washington.

Poe's decision to step down on Jan. 4 opens the door for Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox to take over the party, a position he has been maneuvering for since the election generated criticism about Democratic leadership.

In announcing his decision, Poe said he wanted to prevent a debate over leadership from fracturing the Democrats.

"Unity, unity, unity are the top three things that the party needs to focus on," Poe said. "Getting behind a new leader, getting the excitement. There will be excitement and anticipation and change in new direction."

Despite calls for his resignation, Poe had maintained as recently as a week ago that he would stay with the party through a transition period and possibly finish off his term, scheduled to end in December 2004. But he said it became obvious that a change of leadership would be the main topic of discussion when party leaders meet Jan. 4.

Pressure had mounted for Poe to relinquish the party's reins following last month's election in which Republican Gov. Jeb Bush won another term and the GOP increased its overwhelming majority in the state Legislature. The Democrats also lost three seats in Congress.

But some Democrats stood by him and said he was not to blame for the party's demise.

"Anyone who says just changing the party chair is going to make a difference is flat out wrong," said former Attorney General Bob Butterworth. "The party has to look at itself completely, county by county, neighborhood by neighborhood. . . . To put it all at Bob Poe's feet is inappropriate."

Poe said Maddox appears to be the only person campaigning for the position and thinks he can help the party build a better base. Maddox lost in the primary in a bid to become attorney general. He recently was named chairman of the Leon County Democratic Party.

"He ran a very credible statewide campaign. He's traveled around the state. People know him. He has the benefit of being an elected official," Poe said.

Maddox said he will call around the state asking people to support him for the chairman's position. He said he will not seek re-election as mayor.

"The main thing we need to do is to come up with our message. We need to stand for something as Democrats and then communicate what we stand for. We also need to bring new faces to the table," he said. "The problem hasn't been that the people at the table are the wrong people but that there's not enough people."

Bush handily beat Tampa lawyer Bill McBride to become the first member of his party to be re-elected governor, while voters filled all three Cabinet seats with Republicans. The GOP also solidified its control in the state Legislature and increased its advantage in the state's congressional delegation to 18-7.

This year "was just a tough year for us all the way around," Poe said. "But nobody expected anything different. We met most other people's expectations. Unfortunately, this was not our year."

Republican Party of Florida spokesman Towson Fraser said Democrats should not blame Poe for the state of their party.

"Anytime any someone suffers a defeat that bad, whether it's a football team or a political party, they look for someone to blame," Fraser said. "But I don't think removing Bob Poe is going to remove the problems with the Democratic Party. Their message just doesn't inspire people to vote for Democrats -- that's what it boils down to."

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk