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For leader, Democrats turn to Broward lawyerBy TIM NICKENS Times Political Editor © St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 1998 Mitch Ceasar, who became chairman of the powerful Broward Democratic Executive Committee in December 1996, quickly emerged as the favorite Wednesday to succeed Terrie Brady as head of the Florida Democratic Party. Brady announced Tuesday night in a conference call with Democratic leaders from around the state that she is resigning after 51/2 years. Every Democrat who is elected statewide signed a letter backing Ceasar: U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, Chiles, Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay, Attorney General Bob Butterworth, Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford and Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson. MacKay, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for governor, already was receiving support from Ceasar. "He's a hard worker and a good organizer," said Butterworth, who rose through the ranks of Broward politics and has known Ceasar for nearly 30 years. "Mitch is a very good speaker and a quick thinker." Even with that high-powered support, Ceasar's selection is not a sure bet. Jon Ausman of Tallahassee, the vice chairman of the state party, is challenging Ceasar and counting on grass-roots support to be competitive. The Florida Democratic Party uses an arcane weighted voting system to select its chairmen. While there are 1,250 party votes, less than a quarter of them are controlled by the governor, Cabinet members and other elected Democrats. The rest of the votes are controlled by Democratic committeemen and committeewomen from each county. Their votes are weighted in proportion to the number of registered Democrats in their county. Brady's successor, who is expected to be selected next month, will take over a Democratic Party that is a shadow of the one that once ruled Florida. Registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans by more than 420,000, but Republicans control the Florida Legislature for the first time in a century and occupy half of the six Cabinet seats. Jeb Bush, the only Republican candidate for governor, is far ahead in fund-raising and in public opinion polls. Meanwhile, the Democrats are having trouble recruiting credible candidates for Cabinet seats and other races. The party raised just $1-million in the first three months of 1998; the Florida Republican Party raised nearly $4-million. "I think this presents a great opportunity for the Democrats to refocus," said former Democratic Party Chairman Charles Whitehead of Panama City, who recently met with a dozen other influential Democrats to discuss their concerns about the party's direction. "Whoever comes in with a new focus and new energies will certainly help get the party moving in the right direction." Grumbling among elected Democrats about Brady has increased since January. In addition to concerns about fund-raising and candidate recruitment, many felt she did little to heal a rift created by the House Democrats' ouster of a black legislator as their incoming leader. They also were concerned that Brady is not as visible as Florida Republican Party Chairman Tom Slade, who aggressively promotes his party's agenda and criticizes Democrats in the media. Butterworth and others noted that it was difficult for Brady to criticize Republican legislators because she lobbied them for the Duval teachers' union. "When they take positions to the extreme of moderate," Ceasar said of Republicans, "that has to be pointed out." Chiles, MacKay and other elected Democrats were careful to praise Brady after Tuesday night's conference call, and Brady said in a statement that demands on her time have become too considerable to continue as state chairman. But a change apparently was in the works for days. Ceasar said Chiles told him he wanted him to be the next party chairman in a conversation "within the last few days." Conversations involving Chiles, MacKay, Brady and Scott Falmlen, the party's executive director, also were taking place. Chiles, MacKay and Falmlen met in Orlando on Monday, apparently to discuss the situation, and Brady arranged the unscheduled conference call for Tuesday night. "It was kind of sudden," Brady said Wednesday.
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ov. Lawton Chiles and other statewide elected Democrats want the next chairman of their state party to be a lawyer-lobbyist from Broward County, home of more registered Democrats than any other county in Florida.
