POLITICAL POSSIBILITIES BEGINNING TO EXPAND

Reviewing some of the state's political columns during the past week, we see that more individuals are considering a run for public office.

Of course, 13th Congressional District Representative Katherine Harris is known as such a lightning rod since her days just over four years ago in the dual role of Secretary of State and Florida's campaign chairman for President Bush.

According to Jeremy Wallace in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, retired banker and Democratic primary runnerup from 2004 Christine Jennings has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission allowing her to begin fundraising for a 2006 attempt to unseat Harris. The person she lost to in the Democratic primary, attorney Jan Schneider, is reportedly considering another campaign, but is not ready to make a decision yet.

Speaking of possible candidacies, Fort Myers News-Press columnist Betty Parker is reporting that State Senator Burt Saunders (R - Naples) is eyeing the Attorney General's seat currently held by Charlie Crist, who is expected to seek the governor's office next year when incumbant Jeb! succumbs to term limits. Saunders, who chairs the Senate's Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee, would have to vacate his Collier/Lee county district seat two years early if he decides to seek statewide office.

From the Palm Beach Post: How far would you go as a candidate against your opponent? In Palm Beach Gardens, Councilwoman Annie Marie Delgado's reelection signs feature her first name in typeface quite similar to that used in the Broadway musical Annie, enough so that critic Tim Frohling contacted Tribune Media Services, who owns the trademarks to the show in apparant hopes that the corporation would seek a cease-and-desist order for trademark infringement. No word yet from the Chicago-based media giant.

Remember the constitutional amendment voters approved last November which approved local option votes for citizens in Broward and Dade counties to decide on slot machines? The South Florida Sun Sentinel is reporting that pro-slots forces got a double whammy today: The Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce came out in opposition to the referendum, and enough members of the Broward Fair Campaign Practices Committee found probable cause that the pro-slots advertising was false and misleading to force a hearing on the matter tomorrow.

And I4J sends it's condolonces and prayers to the family of former Congresswoman Tillie Kidd Fowler of Jacksonsville, who served the northeast Florida area for eight years (1992-2000). Mrs. Fowler passed away earlier today after suffering a massive brain hemmorage Monday. She was the first woman --- and the first Republican in over a century --- to serve as president of the Jacksonville City Council in 1989 before her election to Congress. An advocate of term limits, Ms. Fowler "walked the walk" and declined to seek reelection in 2000, although she had risen to become the fifth ranking Republican in the House, where seniority means greater power within the leadership.