Train champion gets support from wife

C. C. Dockery pitched his vision for Florida's bullet train to a House committee that includes his wife, Paula. She will sponsor the train's legislation.

By DIANE RADO

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001

TALLAHASSEE -- C. C. "Doc" Dockery, the Lakeland businessman who almost single-handedly sold Florida voters on high-speed rail, gave his pitch about the bullet train to the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

Among the lawmakers listening: Dockery's wife, Paula, a Republican representative from Lakeland who sits on the committee.

As her husband continues his push to get the controversial bullet train built in Florida, Rep. Dockery will be there to help. She plans to be a chief sponsor of legislation that will set up financing for the train -- including $70-million a year in state money -- and establish a train route that will spur development in communities in its path.

A draft of the legislation -- which C. C. Dockery helped write -- states that the first segment of the train will connect the greater Tampa Bay area to the greater Orlando area, with a stop in Lakeland/Winter Haven in Polk County -- home of the Dockerys.

A former chairman of the Florida High Speed Rail Transportation Commission, C. C. Dockery spent at least $2.7-million of his own money on the campaign that put the bullet train on the ballot last November. Voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring construction of the train beginning in November 2003.

The Dockerys said they will not personally benefit from the project. They are not part of any company that will build the train. They say they own no land in the path of the train, and she said they don't intend to purchase any.

"The little bit of land I've got, I don't want it to go through," C. C. Dockery told the Transportation Committee Wednesday.

Committee chairman David Russell, R-Brooksville, said after the meeting that he does not believe Paula Dockery has a conflict of interest as she sits on the Transportation Committee and sponsors legislation that will set the bullet train in motion.

However, "If it comes to a vote, we would ask for an opinion," on whether Dockery should recuse herself, Russell said.

Paula Dockery compared the situation to a state lawmaker who is an attorney and sits on a committee considering legislation affecting lawyers, or an insurance broker sitting on a committee overseeing insurance legislation.

The Legislature is a part-time body in which lawmakers also have private careers in a variety of fields. Often, lawmakers are placed on committees that deal with their own professions or interests.

Dockery, 39, said she has no financial interest in the bullet train project, and therefore no conflict in sponsoring legislation that will help her 67-year-old husband realize his dream of high-speed rail for Florida. They were married in 1989.

"The only conflict is that it's costing us money," she said, referring to her husband's investment in the project.

Told of Russell's comments about seeking an opinion prior to a vote on the legislation, Paula Dockery said: "I can see where there could be the appearance of a conflict, but when you get right down to it, no one can really articulate what it would be."

The bullet train has generated controversy in the Legislature because of its price tag: Up to $21.9-billion to build. Fearing the project could require a tax increase, some lawmakers want private industry to pick up the tab. Others want to put another constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters to rethink their approval of the train.

David Hill, a pollster hired by C. C. Dockery, insisted that voters knew what they were doing. Prior to the November vote, people involved in focus groups were informed of the negative arguments -- including that the train could cost billions. Six of 10 people said they would vote for the train anyway, Hill told the House Transportation Committee.

Legislation in the House envisions setting up a Florida High Speed Rail Authority that would issue revenue bonds to finance the rail system. The train would be built in segments and could ultimately have stops in more than a dozen cities, including Tallahassee, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville, Miami, Daytona Beach and Sarasota/Bradenton.

The state would contribute $35-million the first year, and $70-million each year after that. In addition, the bullet train could be financed by grants and loans from the federal government, franchise fees from businesses that set up shops in train terminals, passenger fees, and name rights sold to corporate and individual sponsors that want their names on transit stations.

Recent coverage

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No blank check (10/05/00)

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