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GOP's quiet power broker

State Sen. Dennis Jones of Treasure Island is a strong Republican who doesn't hesitate to oppose Jeb Bush.

By ADAM C. SMITH
Published May 14, 2006

TALLAHASSEE -- With his prized school voucher program heading down the tubes in the final days of the legislative session, Jeb Bush and his allies worked ferociously to flip some key votes. Who better to pressure than state Sen. Dennis Jones, a strong Republican who displays pictures of Barbara Bush in his Treasure Island home and George W. in his office?

On the final morning of the legislative session, I stopped by his office to see how Jones was holding up under the pressure. He ambled in around 8:30 a.m. and cheerfully greeted the assorted Pinellas educators and teachers union representatives hanging out in his sitting area and occasionally helping themselves to soda from a fridge.

Pressure? Jones hadn't heard a peep from Bush and his allies. They knew better than to think Jones might be cowed by the governor.

"Why would they bother? Since way back when I have always been absolutely against vouchers," the product of Pinellas schools and son of Pinellas educators said. "From what I've seen, for the most part it hasn't been successful. ... If this was a restaurant and we put this on the menu and after three or four years it wasn't selling, let me tell you, it would be gone."

Dennis Jones, 65, may be the most influential state legislator to only occasionally earn headlines. The Jeb Bushes, Lawton Chileses and Bob Grahams come and go in Tallahassee. But almost nobody understands the levers of legislative power better than the no-nonsense chiropractor from Treasure Island.

"He's like the dean of the Senate," said former Florida Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, who calls Jones his mentor. "People go to him with all kinds of requests. ... He may not have a high profile but he affects more things that get done - and more importantly that don't get done - than most people here."

He's also the quintessential old-school Pinellas Republican: moderate and with a Midwestern, nonideological brand of conservatism. He is one of the few Republicans who has not hesitated to disagree with Gov. Bush on key issues, whether it's education policy, restricting medical malpractice lawsuits or using more managed care for Medicaid.

"After you've been here awhile and you have some seniority or institutional knowledge, then there comes a point when you need to be voting your conscience and voting for your constituents," said Jones, who said his constituents overwhelmingly supported his votes against the governor's education priorities.

Pinellas is the cradle of Republican success in Florida, and today is the biggest swing county in America's biggest swing state. That makes Jones, a powerhouse Pinellas Republican, a voice worth hearing:

On education spending in Florida: "I truly believe that if we're going to attract the teachers we need, we have to have an adequate pay, and right now we have teachers in Pinellas County who have a bachelor's degree who are single coming out of college with a student loan and literally can't work in Pinellas County because they can't afford to live there on the salary that they start at."

On scaling back the class size amendment to reduce the expense: "Smaller classes are going to prepare students better. This is an absolute no-brainer. ... Quit bellyaching about it, and build the schools."

On shrinking state government: "That might sound good, but frankly a lot of the things we've outsourced we haven't saved any money. ... You might say, 'Well we've got less government employees,' but if the service isn't as good and you're paying more, what's the point?"

As speaker pro tempore in the state House in 1999, Jones voted for Bush's A+ Education Plan, and as Senate majority leader in 2003 he voted to to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case to force the reinsertion of her feeding tube. He hated both votes but felt obligated to back his legislative leaders.

"Unfortunately when you're speaker pro tem or majority leader you have to drink the Kool-Aid. ... On Schiavo I was sick when I went home. My wife was in Phoenix, called me on the phone and said, 'Have you lost your mind?' And I thought I might have."

There are those who see Jones as an arrogant poster child for term limits. Who else but someone never worried about re-election would regularly butt heads Jeb Bush; make no apologies for flying to Canada on the dime of a gambling company with interests before his legislative committee; vote for a telecom bill reviled by consumer advocates; or stand on the Senate floor to clarify publicly that lobbyists can still buy dinners for his wife under a recently passed ethics law?

Jones, a chiropractor, pushed for years to create the nation's first public chiropractic school in Florida, and many observers expected him to wind up leading the publicly funded school. Some colleagues think Jones has never forgiven Bush for helping to kill that controversial school, but both the governor and Jones deny any personal animosity.

"I have enormous respect for him, and I think he's been a very able legislator for his constituents back home," said Bush.

The open question is: Who is the real voice of Florida Republicans, the conservative activist Bush or the fiercely moderate Jones?

Bush is the one leaving public life; Jones is sticking around. Jones thinks state government inevitably will move more to the moderate middle, and he's looking forward to it. He's also helping his son, Rod Jones, run for the state House and has some advice should he win.

"My main advice to him will be, When you make a decision be firm and not wishy-washy. You're never going to make everybody happy. Whatever your principles are, just stick by them."

Adam C. Smith can be reached at (727) 893-8241 or asmith@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 14, 2006, 06:02:36]