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Politics

Davis picks Jones as running mate

By ALEX LEARY
Published September 14, 2006

	[AP photo]
	Jim Davis made his announcement with Daryl Jones in Fort Lauderdale Thursday morning.

FORT LAUDERDALE – Democratic nominee for governor Jim Davis has selected Daryl Jones, a former state senator from Miami who was once nominated by President Clinton to be Secretary of the Air Force, to be his running mate.

“Daryl Jones has a record of leadership and a commitment to public service that the people of Florida can trust,” Davis said in a statement released early Thursday morning.

Davis, who last week beat Rod Smith for the Democratic nomination, will formally announce his decision at a 9:30 a.m. news conference in Fort Lauderdale.

Then he and Jones will embark on a two-day tour across Florida, ending in Miami on Friday evening with an appearance by presidential hopeful John Edwards.

The 51-year-old Jones would be Florida’s first African-American lieutenant governor.

A former fighter pilot, Jones was nominated by President Clinton to be Air Force secretary but failed to win confirmation in the Senate amid a series of allegations about his record and whether he gave truthful responses to questions asked during the process.

Jones, himself a candidate for governor four years ago, served 12 years in the state Legislature, including 10 as a senator from south Miami-Dade County.

He is married, has three children and holds a law degree from the University of Miami. The oldest of four children born to two teachers, Daryl Lafayette Jones was born May 31, 1955, in Jackson, Miss. He moved to Florida in 1981.

“He’s a quality guy,” said state Rep. Dan Gelber, who was on Davis’ short list for lieutenant governor, along with Rep. Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale.

Davis is said to have struggled with the decision and Jones did not get the call until late Wednesday.

Having Jones at his side could aid Davis in South Florida, an area flush with Democratic voters, and among African-Americans, some of whom were turned off by Davis’ 1990 vote against compensating two black men wrongfully convicted of murder.

Davis apologized to Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee on Tuesday, saying he viewed the case too much like a lawyer.

If Davis was on the wrong side of history on that vote, his running mate was leading the charge on another high-profile issue. While a state senator, Jones was a sponsor of the bill that provided $2-million to the survivors of the massacre at Rosewood, a black town destroyed by a white mob in the 1920s. Davis, now a congressman from Tampa, supported that measure.

Jones could benefit Davis in another way, by bringing in some of Rod Smith’s supporters who may still feel upset after a contentious primary. Jones backed Smith in the primary and was considered a possible running mate in that camp.

In making the pick, Davis positioned Jones much like he does himself, as having bi-partisan appeal. The news release touting the selection includes a comment from Gov. Jeb Bush during the 2002 Democratic primary, in which Jones finished third behind Bill McBride and Janet Reno.
“I was very impressed with Daryl Jones,” Bush told the Orlando Sentinel. “If I thought he could pull it off, I might vote for him.”

But Jones is not immune to criticism. His failed confirmation hearing is certain to come up in the election as could his 2002 run for governor, in which he failed to draw wide support from blacks.

Some African-Americans were surprised he did not talk about the 2000 presidential election. “Jones doesn’t talk about stolen votes in the black community,” Gary Salters, 39, Jacksonville taxi driver, told the St. Petersburg Times in 2002. “He needs to talk about it. That is an issue.”

Jones was more focused on educational issues, including a plan to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees at all 28 community colleges, and a tax cut for businesses that make charitable donations.

Three years prior to running for governor, Jones supported Bush’s plan to end affirmative action, a position that put him at odds with some other prominent black leaders. Under pressure, he withdrew his support for Bush’s proposal, called One Florida.

The waffling left Jones looking, to some, weak and politically inept.

Republican nominee Charlie Crist on Wednesday chose as his lieutenant governor running mate Rep. Jeff Kottkamp of Cape Coral, a trial lawyer with deep roots in conservative southwest Florida.

- Steve Bousquet contributed to this report.

[Last modified September 14, 2006, 08:31:27]