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Republicans take a Bahamas break with Willie Logan
By PETER WALLSTEN © St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 1998 Now Logan's getting a boat trip in the Bahamas. Slade, the state Republican Party chairman, will continue courting the Opa-locka Democrat today, when Logan flies to Marsh Harbour to join him on the boat. Incoming Republican House Speaker John Thrasher will join them, along with a couple of Thrasher's friends. "We're going to do some bonding," Thrasher, R-Orange Park, said of the three-day adventure. "Me and Willie have been bonding a lot lately, but we're going to do a lot more." The GOP has been reaching out to Logan since January, when he was ousted from leadership in the state House Democratic caucus. The incident prompted a racial rift in the party that persists. Last week, Slade and Thrasher hosted a fund-raiser for a new political action committee begun by Logan that will boost candidates seen as favorable for African-Americans in Florida. During a lunch speech by Logan, Slade put on his waiter's uniform and brought the food. Logan said he plans to swim, snorkel, relax and catch up on some reading during the Bahamas trip. He also plans to share a book with Thrasher on black elected officials in post-Civil War Florida. And he will lobby Thrasher on changing the state song. The current song, Old Folks at Home, has language that is racially offensive. Logan wants to hold a contest for children to come up with a new song. "Wouldn't I be a fool to have the speaker of the House who cannot swim well on an island in the middle of tha Atlantic Ocean and not talk about issues I have an interest in?" Logan asked.
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ALLAHASSEE -- Already, Tom Slade has donned a black satin vest and bowtie to serve lunch to state Rep. Willie Logan.
