Florida Senate President Don Gaetz is serious about seeing Florida live up to its state-line welcome-sign boast of being the Sunshine State. Last week he boldly named Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, to a legislative panel that will be charged with streamlining public access to state records and strengthening Florida’s Sunshine Law.
“Barbara Petersen is Florida’s respected guardian of open records, open meetings and open government,” the Niceville Republican said. Her “leadership of the First Amendment Foundation gives credibility and reliability to this important work.”
This is a serious move from a state leader who takes government openness and accountability seriously.
And it’s a message to any of our local leaders who still remain sunshine-reluctant: Get with the program.
Fresh off Petersen’s visit to Pensacola to deliver crash-course law lessons to our city, county and chamber of commerce leaders, Gaetz’s move is especially poignant. May the significance not be lost on them.
Since taking the reins of the Senate presidency, we have been continually impressed by Gaetz as one of the smartest, most reasonable and most effective leaders in recent legislative history. Not to mention his talent as an agile rhetorician who never fails to say what he means while delivering a great – and often humorous – quote. He has represented this region well as a pragmatic conservative deeply rooted in common sense as opposed to shallow ideology.
Within the labyrinthine bureaucracy of secrets, egos and ambitions that is the Florida Legislature, Gaetz is widely respected and a rare beacon of straightforwardness. Modern Florida history has been flooded with political power and money from Central and South Florida. To we, the people of Northwest Florida, Gaetz has been the bulkhead securing our region’s clout in Tallahassee. So much clout in fact, that the expansion of the Pensacola Bay Bridge will be state-funded without a toll – a feat that’s unheard of on many miles of highway in more-populated regions of the state.
For all these reasons, Gaetz is exactly the type of leader we need to move forward – be it on the state, federal or local level. He has proven himself the foil to so many petty, pointless, corrupt and ineffective leaders who wander like zombies across our political landscapes these days.
“Leadership.” Here in Pensacola – where we seem perpetually lost in shimmering visions of our own “potential,” swaying away in a lonely dance waiting for some prophesized partner to grasp and twirl us into all that we could be – we hear the word “leadership” lamented often. We bear witness to actual “leadership” rarely.
Well, here it is. And such is the gift of a good leader – for those who are leaderless, he shows you how it’s done.
So consider Gaetz a prototype. Guys like this give Northwest Florida clout in Tallahassee. Guys like this get results. Guys like this are the stuff of a successful future. And yes, guys like this embrace open government.
It’s for that reason we encourage our “leaders” to follow Sen. Gaetz’s lead. He is the sort of public representative our councilmen, commissioners and public officials must strive to become. Becoming articulate and knowledgeable defenders of Florida’s Sunshine Law is a darn good place to start.
His embrace of Petersen and government openness is more than just symbolism. It’s action. And that action is proof of a deeper philosophy that openness yields more effective, more efficient and ultimately, smaller and better government. Dare we say it? This is a case of a politician talking the talk and walking the walk.
Let’s hope it leads to more of our “leaders” talking and walking a little more like Don Gaetz.