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Late Gov. Chiles' son plans run for governor

TALLAHASSEE - Lawton "Bud" Chiles III will run for governor in 2006, hoping to capture the seat his late father held for eight years before Gov. Jeb Bush took office.

Chiles, a Democrat, who has never run for political office, said Tuesday he has decided to run, though he stopped short of a formal announcement.

"The primary reason I'm running ... is because I feel like people's access to government is limited by money, power and politics," Chiles said. "The average Joe citizen is pretty much disenfranchised from the system."

Chiles, 51, lives in Orlando and runs a coastal development company. He returned to Florida almost two years ago after working as a vice president for Hope Worldwide, a charity that provides education and medical services for poor families abroad. Before that, he owned a Tallahassee public relations company.

Lawton Chiles Jr. walked 1,003 miles from Pensacola to the Florida Keys in 1970 to help win a U.S. Senate campaign. He served until 1988 and won the governor's seat in 1990. He died during in 1998, in his final month in office.

[Last modified January 12, 2005, 00:29:10]