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Bush names new leaders for two state departments

By wire services
Published March 1, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush filled leadership vacancies at two state agencies Monday, naming a former state representative to lead the Department of Elder Affairs and a Disney World executive to run the Department of Management Services.

Former Republican state Rep. Carole Green from Fort Myers was named Elder Affairs secretary.

Tom Lewis, a vice president of Walt Disney World Co. since 1999, was named Management Services secretary. The agency oversees state government infrastructure.

Green, 52, leaves her position as director of long-term care policy with Elder Affairs. She replaces Terry White, who was fired by Bush in January following sexual harassment allegations.

Lewis, 65, served as secretary of the Department of Community Affairs and assistant secretary of the Department of Transportation in Gov. Bob Graham's administration. He has been with Disney since 1987. He takes over for Bill Simon, who announced plans to resign in January.

JACKSONVILLE - Former U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler was hospitalized after suffering a brain hemorrhage Monday, her law firm said.

Fowler, 62, who was known as the "Steel Magnolia" for her quiet tenacity in Congress, suffered the hemorrhage at her Jacksonville home, according to an e-mail from Howell Melton, a managing partner of Holland & Knight, to members of the firm.

Fowler was at St. Vincent's hospital with her husband by her side, the e-mail said. The hospital declined to release information on her condition.

Fowler served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001, retiring after four terms to keep a pledge she made when first elected to serve only four terms. When she retired she was the most powerful woman in Congress: vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and fifth in the GOP hierarchy.

She joined the national law firm in February 2001, a week after her election to the board of directors of Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.

[Last modified March 1, 2005, 01:10:14]