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Frankel faults Gov. Bush on FCAT
By JORGE SANCHEZ
© St. Petersburg Times, SUGARMILL WOODS -- Local Democrats continue their efforts to build a head of steam going into the 2002 election to select Florida's next governor. House Minority Leader Lois Frankel, a seven-term member of the state House of Representatives, made a campaign stop at a meeting of the Sugarmill Woods Democratic Club. Frankel told the audience that "the governor's job is an attitude, not an agenda." She blasted Gov. Jeb Bush for supporting oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico: "It's a sellout". She also ripped Bush's education policies. "The governor has dismantled the university system. He's taken it upon himself to appoint every person on the board of regents. The same for the judiciary. He's appointed every person to the board that ultimately selects the judges." For a Democrat preaching to the faithful, ripping the incumbent Republican governor is easy. Frankel said she was in Citrus mostly to talk about herself. She said education reform would be one of her top issues, particularly re-examining the emphasis on FCAT tests. She told of visiting a school and being so impressed by the work the teachers and the students were doing. She said she was shocked when the principal told her the school had a D grade based on the standard FCAT. "It's a drain on our educational resources," she said of the FCAT. "Testing is a tool for education, but it shouldn't be an end-all and be-all," she said. Frankel also said she was ardently prochoice "And I don't need a license plate to remind me of that." She said that many people have wondered whether a candidate from West Palm Beach can get the North Florida vote. "My parents grew up in the Depression, and they taught me my family values, which are family, faith and hard work. People here believe in those same values," she said. Three other candidates seeking the Democratic bid are Tampa attorney Bill McBride, who visited Citrus in September, state Sen. Daryl Jones and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Republican Gov. Bush, brother of President Bush, has no primary opposition.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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