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The black Senate minority leader says what people hear is his exciting vision for Florida.
By WES ALLISON
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 29, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- State Sen. Daryl Jones has heard it before.
With the exception of one Supreme Court justice, not since Reconstruction has a black person been elected to statewide office in Florida. And with a fat field of high-profile Democrats vying to take on Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, he would only get in the way.
But Jones, who spoke Tuesday to the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, pitched himself as the only candidate with the experience and vision to beat Bush.
And he noted that in every election he has won, from high school to law school to his first Senate race nearly a dozen years ago, black voters had never been in the majority.
"It's never been a problem. I don't think it will be a problem this time," Jones, the Senate minority leader, said after his 20-minute speech.
"When people listen to me, they don't hear (race). What they hear is an exciting vision for Florida," he said. "The race issue is only important when you're dealing with mediocrity."
His Senate district, which covers South Miami-Dade and the Keys, is an eclectic mix of million-dollar homes, Liberty City shanties and agricultural interests. It is roughly one-third black, one-third white and one-third Hispanic, and he said he has many Republican supporters.
Republicans and Democrats in the room said he appeared likable and confident. Tiger Bay member Jim Gillespie said he reminded him of Jeb Bush. "I'm a Republican, and I think he came across very smoothly with a very progressive presentation," Gillespie said. "He's young, telegenic, he speaks well. He speaks very well."
The Democratic field is crowded and may become more so. Declared candidates include Jones; former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson, who was reappointed by President Bush before resigning to run for governor; Tampa attorney Bill McBride; House Minority Leader Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach; and Miami Beach gay rights activist Bob Kunst.
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, a Miami native who could rob Jones of his South Florida base, is expected to decide soon whether to run. So is U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa.
Jones, 46, avoided mentioning his fellow Democratic contenders, except to say his legislative experience puts him on top.
He rarely mentioned the governor, either, although he criticized Bush's approach to public education.
Asked by Tiger Bay member Robert Eschenfelder whether he would step aside if party leaders asked him to, Jones said firmly that he would not.