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Lunch is served, let the schmoozing begin

At the Governor's Day Luncheon, the state fair becomes a warmup for eager candidates.

By BILL VARIAN
Published February 14, 2006

TAMPA - Down the concourse from the booth promising "Giant Snakes" and the kennel house featuring pampered pups, another kind of attraction drew in the crowds at the Florida State Fairgrounds Monday.

Politicians by the dozens assembled inside the Charles M. Davis Special Events Center for the annual Florida State Fair Governor's Day luncheon, an election-year rite. The governor even made it to his namesake banquet for the first time in four years.

They stalked the room with all the stealth of the guy who wrestles the alligator. They shook more hands than the Ferris wheel operator took tickets.

"It sort of kicks off the political season," said state Rep. Bob Henriquez, D-Tampa, who has announced he'll run for Tampa City Council in 2007. "It's a place to see and be seen."

The luncheon ostensibly pays tribute to the fair, celebrating its 102nd year, and the importance of agriculture. For nearly 80 years, it's also when the Tampa Metro Civitan Club gives out its Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award, one of the biggest honors for people who do good deeds in Hillsborough County.

This year's award went to David Kennedy for his work helping to expand the reach of the YMCA in Hillsborough. Kennedy's wife, Liz, received the recognition three years ago, making them the second couple to have won the award since its inception in 1927.

Each year, the event draws roughly 1,000 people, most of them leaders in the community with civic groups, business and government. And where there's a crowd, expect politicians to follow.

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis greeted people wishing him well in his bid to replace Gov. Jeb Bush. Alex Sink worked the room, handing out envelopes to people who might wish to donate to her campaign for state Chief Financial Officer, her attorney husband and 2004 gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride in tow.

Nearby, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a former Fair Authority member, held court.

Attorney Michael Steinberg, running for Congress to succeed Davis, made the rounds. Asked if he had netted any campaign pledges, he laughed.

"No. I got some cards from people wanting me to give them money," he said, pulling out an envelope from Sink.

Afterward, more hand-shaking. County Administrator Pat Bean stopped to say hello to a prospective boss, Al Higginbotham, who heads the county's Republican Executive Committee and is running for Hillsborough Commission.

Higginbotham explains the gathering like this: For years, this is where farmers and businessmen met to trade goods and information. In time, it became a social gathering.

"Social leads to political," he said.

Bush sounded at ease, cracking a joke about Vice President Dick Cheney's shooting mishap before a crowd so replete with pols you could fire bird shot in the air and bag a dozen of them. He offered a bit of reflection on the past six years, as well as some highlights from his budget to suggest he's not done yet.

Unemployment in Florida is lower than the already low national average, Bush said. Dismissing his critics, he said his educational reforms are getting more children to read at grade level. And the state has been a model for disaster preparedness.

Bush singled out parts of his spending plan to diversify the economy with incentives that lure higher-paying employers. He said money has been set aside to fortify county emergency operations centers across the state so they can withstand at least a Category 3 storm, and for owners of older homes to modernize their castles.

There's also money to encourage farmers to diversify their crops, $15-million in each of the next four years to get them to grow the ingredients for alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol.

"I'd much rather be dependent on farmers than some tyrants across the Middle East," Bush said.

Outside vendors hawked elephant ears, funnel cakes and all manner of food on a stick, all bathed in enough grease to make a sizable dent in America's dependence on foreign oil.

--Times staff writer Ernest Hooper contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 14, 2006, 02:45:31]