FROM THE "WHERE ARE THEY NOW" FILE...

The I-4 Corridor Group, an independent, nonpartisan group of progressive political activists from throughout Central Florida, will hold it's monthly meeting Thursday evening, August 17, at 7:30 PM at the Ramada Inn Plantation House, 2011 North Wheeler Street in Plant City. There is no admission, and all area progressives throughout the I-4 Corridor area are invited and encouraged to attend.

Featured guest speaker for the evening will be former State Senator and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Daryl L. Jones of Miami.

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Jones graduated in 1977 from the Air Force Academy, and served in the U.S. Air Force as a jet fighter pilot. Part of his tenure in the military included service at Homestead Air Force Base, where he taught others to fly the F-4 Phantom II. He was nominated in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton to become Secretary of the Air Force, but was not confirmed.

Jones served 12 years in state government, beginning with a two year term in the Florida House of Representatives before being elected in 1992 to the State Senate. He finished a respectable third in the 2002 Democratic primary for Governor, and has been mentioned by a number of political pundits as a possible Lieutenant Governor running mate in this fall's election.

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

"Daryl Jones is one of the smartest, most ethical political people I've known," said Joe Geller, former Democratic chairman of Miami-Dade County. "It's hard for me to imagine a list where Daryl Jones is not on it, if not at the top of it."

He is a Miami-based attorney, receiving his Juris Doctorate in 1987 from the University of Miami, and is also in the real estate investment business.

To learn more about the I-4 Group, please contact Fred Williams toll-free in Tampa at (813) 885-6161, or Karen Landers in Winter Haven at (863) 299-7474. Or, for that matter, e-mail me at centralfloridaeagle1@verizon.net. It's easier that way, as my ISP runs on a dial-up connection.

I plan to be there, and am looking forward to hearing Mr. Jones speak. I met him when he was running for governor, and was very impressed with him. He ran an excellent campaign, and did very well in the face of better known and better financed candidates. We definately need more Daryl Joneses in Florida politics, and I hope that we have not seen or heard the last of him.