BETTY'S ON THE PROWL

Had the opportunity to attend the Polk County Democratic Women's Club New Officer's Installation/Brunch today in Lakeland. The guest speaker was former Education Commissioner/USF President/Gubernatorial Candidate Betty Castor. Mrs. Castor has since founded and is President of a new Political Action Committee, Campaign For Florida's Future, and is hearing from people asking her to run for Governor next year. When I spoke with her about it today, she simply said that she had received feedback from supporters about it.

The new PAC will deal with several issues, but during her brief remarks today at the Cleveland Heights Golf & Country Club she focused primarily on it's plan to promote fair elections and reapportionment. Very soon a petition drive will begin calling for adding to the state constitution:

--- An independent, bi-partisan commission to draw district boundries for the U.S. Congress and State Legislature.

--- Creating standards governing reapportionment, including consideration of geographic boundries and protection of existing communities. In short, no more long, winding districts from Jacksonville to Orlando and the elimination of one county (Marion) being part of FIVE congressional districts.

--- Making such reapportionment effective with the 2008 election.

Ms. Castor was looking good today...but it looks like we won't know for some time what her intentions are for 2006. If she were to announce, it would I believe preempt several other lesser known individuals from thinking about it. Ms. Castor has the obvious name recognition, as well as much of the support from her most recent campaign that would be ready in a much shorter period of time if called upon. She'll be putting much of that to good use with this new PAC.