U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris still trails incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, by 9 percentage points, according to new poll data released by Atlanta-based pollster Strategic Vision.

But it's not all bad news for Harris. When the 1,200 likely voters were asked if they had a favorable opinon of Nelson, 47 percent were undecided. That shows an opportunity for Harris and the Republicans to show people a negative view of Nelson. Just 14 percent have a negative view of him now.

For Harris, there just aren't as many people undecided about her, the poll shows. About 38 percent gave Harris a "favorable" rating, while 35 percent gave her a negative rating. Only 27 percent were undecided.

22. If the election for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2006 were held today between Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, whom would you vote for? (Republicans only)
Charlie Crist 47%
Tom Gallagher 35%
Undecided 18%

...

24. If the election for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2006 were held today between Congressman Jim Davis, State Senator Rod Smith, and former Florida Democratic Chairman Scott Maddox, whom would you vote for? (Democrats only)
Jim Davis 27%
Rod Smith 13%
Scott Maddox 10%
Undecided 50%

...

26. If the election for Governor were between Charlie Crist, the Republican and Jim Davis, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Charlie Crist 48%
Jim Davis 35%
Undecided 17%

27. If the election for Governor were between Tom Gallagher, the Republican and Jim Davis, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Tom Gallagher 47%
Jim Davis 33%
Undecided 20%

28. If the election for Governor were between Charlie Crist, the Republican and Rod Smith, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Charlie Crist 49%
Rod Smith 29%
Undecided 22%

29. If the election for Governor were between Tom Gallagher, the Republican and Rod Smith, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Tom Gallagher 48%
Rod Smith 26%
Undecided 26%

30. If the election for Governor were between Charlie Crist, the Republican and Scott Maddox, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Charlie Crist 49%
Scott Maddox 26%
Undecided 25%

31. If the election for Governor were between Tom Gallagher, the Republican and Scott Maddox, the Democrat, whom would you support?
Tom Gallagher 48%
Scott Maddox 25%
Undecided 27%

5. Would you like to see Governor Jeb Bush run for President in 2008?

Yes 33%
No 52%
Undecided 15%

6. Would you like to see Governor Jeb Bush as a Vice Presidential Candidate in 2008?

Yes 47%
No 37%
Undecided 16%

...

21. Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Mel Martinez's job performance?
Approve 42%
Disapprove 33%
Undecided 25%

FPL freezes rates; bills will still rise

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher will ask lawmakers to pass several proposals to find and punish methamphetamine producers, he said Monday.

Gallagher, who serves as the state fire marshal, cited fires caused by meth ''cooking'' and the risk to firefighters because of chemicals in meth labs.

Among the ideas is the creation of a strike force comprised of representatives from the Governor's Office of Drug Control, the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Health and the Department of Children & Families.

Gov. Jeb Bush knocked down speculation Tuesday that his newly reincorporated Foundation for Florida's Future, as reported last week by the St. Petersburg Times, is really a front to take on Florida's class-size amendment.

"That's not the intention right now," said Bush, whose allies said the foundation would be a vehicle to promote Bush's education record as he heads into his final legislative session

A push to strip the Legislature of its power to draw political districts and give it to an independent commission has hit a snag: One of the proposals has too many words.

Under state law, ballot language for citizen initiatives to amend Florida's Constitution can't exceed 75 words.

Secretary of state spokeswoman Jenny Nash said late Monday that elections officials should have considered word count in approving the petition for signature gathering. The office will spend today investigating, she said.

U.S. House Speaker Denny Hastert fishes near Lakewood Ranch. The leader of the Republican National Congressional Committee, Tom Reynolds, is house-hunting in Manatee County.

And one of the principal architects for the 1994 Republican Revolution, Bill Paxon, has been cruising Longboat Key for summer camps for his children.

They are among a growing list of power players from inside the Beltway who are turning Sarasota and Manatee counties into a political hot spot.

Under the terms of a special contract offered by BCC President Tom Gamble and the college's Board of Trustees after his 2003 election to the state Senate, Haridopolos is paid the same as a professor who teaches 10 classes a year -- $39,702 last year -- but isn't required to teach.

Instead, during the four-year term of the contract, the 35-year-old assistant professor and Republican senator from Indialantic has a special assignment to write a book about the history of the Legislature and his personal experiences.

The contract has raised concerns from some BCC faculty members and inevitable questions about the value of the deal for taxpayers who provide Haridopolos almost $70,000 a year, including his Senate job.

"I am what I am," Gallagher says, characteristically curt. "I'm happy to say I'm married and have a child. It's one of the most important things I've ever done. . . . It's helped me to have a balanced life, and I'm proud of that."

As for his concern for family issues, Gallagher hasn't outlined much more than opposition to abortion and gay marriage and fostering adoptions, but he says he hopes to build an agenda that "supports the foundations of the family."

"Families are the base of our society," he says. "Families produce the leaders of tomorrow. Strong families keep down the cost of government. We have to do everything we can to support them."

Politicians who are term-limited, such as Gov. Jeb Bush, are aware the [lame duck] label's going to be attached to them sooner or later.

Political foes want to plant it on their rivals' lapels sooner, to position them as lamely fading out. Supporters of the governor might acknowledge a little winding down eventually, or not at all.

One of Bush's longtime allies, South Florida attorney Justin Sayfie, told me in an e-mail Thursday, however, that he considers Bush "perhaps a tad weaker than his former demigod-like self, but still much stronger than a typical American governor in his seventh year in office."

Adds GOP patriarch Thom Rumberger, "I've never seen anything like it in 40 years. His brother's the president and Jeb's got potential to run. Then there's the fact that Jeb hasn't given up the party money. All the big players are hanging in there with him."

Here in the capital, of course, plenty of Democrats and beleaguered state employees are more than ready to vote Jeb off the island right now.

Democrats looking at their prospects in the governor's race often eagerly predict a bruising Republican primary between Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher. So far, though, it's the Democrats who are taking the most shots at one another.

In St. Petersburg last week, state Sen. Rod Smith questioned the electability and effectiveness of U.S. Rep. Jim Davis: "I've made a much bigger difference wherever I've been."

But that's a lot more gentle than Scott Maddox was when he spoke to the National Postal Mail Handlers Union in Orlando recently. He used a football analogy in assessing his Democratic rivals:

"Jim Davis is solid, he's going to run the ball up the middle, on 4th and 40.

Critics mention that Bush has spent nearly one-fifth of his presidency at the ranch and that his recent stay is the longest such break for a president in decades.

Bush has countered that the time off is a necessary respite to clear his head and reconnect with life outside of Washington. And it may be hard to claim that his Crawford, Texas, ranch is all that relaxing given the throng of anti-war protesters that have invaded the area this summer.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the extended vacation, the president's views of vacationing contrast sharply with those of his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush.

Gov. Bush is entitled to four weeks of vacation per year, but has traditionally taken less than half of that for two annual Bush family vacations to Kennebunkport, Maine, and Boca Grande.

Legislators must fully fund class size reductions because that is their obligation to the voters. But they also must fully fund all of the state's other educational needs. If more revenue must be raised to achieve that, so be it.

On paper, Tampa Congressman Jim Davis looks like the front-runner in the Democratic primary for governor.

His base in an Interstate 4 corridor metropolitan area and a congressional seat that has kept him in the eye of the public for eight years should give him advantages over his two competitors, state Sen. Rod Smith, of Alachua, and former state Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox.

But with the race just starting, Davis - though off to a slight lead - hasn't put much distance between himself and Smith, who is in second place in fundraising and early polls.

Davis supporters say it's too early to jump to any conclusions.

Grading systems should be logical. Being rational isn't such a bad idea, either. The collision between Gov. Bush's A+ grading system and the federal No Child Left Behind scheme continues to produce an illogical, irrational pile of wreckage.

"Steal This Vote" ... a very judicious work, despite its title - Andrew Gumbel, a U.S. correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, provides the best overview I've seen of the 2000 Florida vote. And he documents the simple truth: "Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election."

A coalition of conservative religious groups said Friday that it will soon have enough signatures to trigger a court review of an amendment to ban gay and lesbian civil unions and same-sex marriage in Florida.

Florida4Marriage, working with the Christian Coalition and the Liberty Counsel, said it had nearly all of the 61,000 valid voter signatures needed to seek Florida Supreme Court approval of its proposed constitutional amendment.

Bill Stephens, director of the Christian Coalition, said gay marriage in Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as nonmarital domestic partnerships in some states, has been harmful to children.

A petition drive to ban gay marriage soon will be ready for Supreme Court review, leaders of the Christian Coalition and Florida Catholic Conference said Friday.

The Florida Catholic Conference is an agency of the Catholic Bishops, established on February 1, 1969. It speaks for the Bishops in matters of public policy, serves as liaison to government and the legislature, and coordinates communications and activities between the Church and secular agencies. The Bishops of the seven dioceses in Florida constitute its Board of Directors.

A Democratic gubernatorial candidate passed through North Florida on Thursday, shaking hands, smiling and asking for support.

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa, a University of Florida law school graduate and former state legislator, focused on families for much of the hour he spent in Lake City.

"I am running a campaign to bring (Floridians) back together using our greatest wealth - our children," Davis said. "I don't have all the answers. That is where democracy comes in - we hold open and honest debates."

Seventeen months before he leaves office, Jeb Bush and some of his most loyal supporters are preparing a public relations offensive to promote the governor's record on reforming Florida's education system.

Bush allies last month quietly incorporated the Foundation for Florida's Future, a nonprofit group that will concentrate on touting Bush's record on schools. It's a relaunch of a public policy foundation that preceded his 1998 gubernatorial campaign, but this time is organized to be a potentially potent political advocacy group.

"We're just getting this started," said Mandy Fletcher, a former Bush-Cheney presidential campaign staffer who is the part-time executive director of the new foundation. "It's an issue-advocacy organization to promote the policies and achievements that the state has seen under the leadership of Gov. Jeb Bush."

Attorney Joseph Welch is often credited with bringing U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy's recklessness to a halt with this famous retort: "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

In the Wilton Dedge case, one has to wonder what happened to the state's sense of decency.

Four days before Florida Power & Light Co. appears before a state commission to request a rate hike for its customers, a consumer group is raising questions about whether a fair decision can be reached.

Common Cause of Florida, a Tallahassee watchdog organization, on Thursday joined a growing list of consumer advocate groups opposed to the proposed increase and accused the Public Service Commission of having too close a relationship with FPL officials.

The Democratic Party must "uncover the right wing" and prevent Republicans from claiming the moral high ground on family issues, state Chairwoman Karen Thurman told Tallahassee activists Thursday.

Thurman said the GOP should be vulnerable on Social Security, taxes, civil rights, environmental protection and conducting the war in Iraq. But she said Democrats must match the Republicans in letters to newspaper editors, calls to talk-radio shows and other grass-roots efforts to frame the debates of 2006.

State Rep. Loranne Ausley, introducing Thurman at a Capital City Democratic Women's Club luncheon, said the party has often spent too much time on internal fights. Instead of "letting little differences divide us," Ausley said, Democrats should publicize the big differences between their party and the Republican Party.

"I want to talk about experiences that I never had. I never had to fight for the right to vote," said Thurman, a former member of Congress and ex-state legislator from Marion County. "Women before me gave me the right to vote, and why did they give that to us? Because of the Democratic values."

A dozen or so well-heeled Florida Republicans jetted out of town last Friday to grab lunch with President Bush and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. The guests are known in fund-raising circles as Regents because they and their spouses gave $25,000 to the Republican Party in the 2004 election cycle.

Those savoring a barbecue lunch and the president's company included Tampa businessmen Patrick Michaels and Al Austin; Fort Lauderdale cardiologist Zachariah Zachariah; and Pat Roberts, executive director of the Florida Association of Broadcasters.

Main Entry: re·gent
Pronunciation: 'rE-j&nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French, from Medieval Latin regent-, regens, from Latin, present participle of regere to rule --

1 : one who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign

They are troubling statistics that once again raise questions about Gov. Jeb Bush's One Florida Initiative: black students make up an ever-shrinking share of the state university system's freshman class.

A former top aide to Gov. Jeb Bush has collected nearly $32,000 during the past two years from the Republican Party of Florida for expenses including airfare and meals, but says he never violated a state law that bars state workers from electioneering while they are on state time.

As chief of staff for Bush until early July, Denver Stutler was responsible for carrying out his boss' policies, running the governor's office and staying on top of what was happening at the state agencies under Bush's direct control.

But another part of his job -- and part of the job for the two chiefs of staff who preceded him -- was to be the eyes and ears for Bush on political issues, including last year's reelection of President Bush.

Stutler, who has been secretary of the Department of Transportation since July, says that's why he was able to ask the state GOP to reimburse him $31,822 for travel, meals and telephone expenses.

TV host Joe Scarborough says he is unlikely to run for the U.S. Senate, but he is consulting with his family and political leaders before making a decision.

Scarborough, a former U.S. representative from Pensacola who hosts a talk show on MSNBC, said he has been urged to run for Sen. Bill Nelson's seat by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Dole recently met with Scarborough for three hours in New York.

Dole and her aides "talked about why they thought I should run and why I could win," he said.

Dole and other top Republicans have been seeking to have someone run other than Rep. Katherine Harris of Sarasota because they are concerned she cannot beat Nelson. They also courted Allan Bense, speaker of the Florida House, but he decided not to run.

You can lead a governor to water, but you can't make him drink. Jeb named his Board of Governors, but his appointees have not exactly rushed out to take over. The Bush-flavored board has been, at times ... indifferent. ...

Rumors and conflicting speculation abound as to what direction the governors will take. The process seems to be driven by the Bush appointee who serves as the board's chairman, Carolyn Roberts. Even this seat-of-the-pants feel to the process does not befit a major state and a major university system.

It can't be a quick hire. It can't be just one more bureaucrat whose job is to parrot weakly the party line.

Neither can it be some state senator looking for a job. Not some politician or Bush hanger-on. ...

If this were a first-class state with a first-class university system, the only possible process would be a big-deal, formal national search. It would be the kind of search that made other great universities around the country worry about holding onto their talent.

When Republican leaders gathered in south Florida last weekend, state GOP Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan said she hoped party officials they would remain neutral in Republican primaries. Two GOP chairmen from Charlie Crist's home turf aren't listening.

On Thursday, the Pasco County Republican executive committee will probably endorse Republican Attorney General Crist for governor over Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, said Pasco Republican chairman Bill Bunting. Pinellas Chairman Tony DiMatteo said he expect's Crist's home county will do the same in October.

two-thirds of Florida schools [have] earned A's or B's under the state grading system this year ....

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, a Tampa Democrat, said "restoring democracy" will be one of his key goals if elected Florida governor in 2006.

"We believe everybody's voice should be heard," Davis said. "We have lost that." ...

"I voted against the energy bill," Davis said. "It was a waste of money. Now that they've got Alaska, they're coming for the Gulf of Mexico. We will not let them destroy our beaches."

He also came out against privatizing Social Security and said the troops in Iraq should get paid before Haliburton gets any money.

"What's my toughest job? Keeping (Rep.) Tom Delay from imposing his family values on your family," he said.

Davis was not happy that education funding is last in the nation behind Mississippi.

Scott Maddox, a Democratic candidate for governor and former head of the Florida Democratic Party, proclaims he's a strong supporter of union rights, but the city he headed may have used illegal tactics to keep workers from joining a union.

The "Maddox for Governor" Web site says he's running to help working people and tells how his grandfather "had no union" to protect him when he was fired from a job hauling chunks of ice.

Yet when Maddox was mayor of Tallahassee four years ago, the city waged what union leaders call a "brutal" campaign to keep blue collar city employees from joining a union.

City efforts included spending taxpayer money to create a video of city employees urging fellow workers to reject the union. Legal experts say the video violates state law and the Florida Constitution, which guarantees government workers the right to join a union.

"The only person she would step aside for is Jeb Bush," [Harris campaign manager Jim] Dornan said. "If Joe Scarborough or any other Republican candidate runs, we are in this race to stay."

State Sen. Rod Smith, a Democratic candidate for governor, was endorsed Tuesday by Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, Public Defender Carey Haughwout and County Commissioner Addie Greene.

Smith got six other endorsements from Palm Beach County Democrats including state Sen. David Aronberg of Greenacres and state Reps. Richard Machek of Delray Beach and Priscilla Taylor of West Palm Beach. Also backing Smith are former state Sen. Tom Rossin, who was the 2002 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor; Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Ed Oppel; and Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock.

Alarmed at a continuing shortage of teachers in Florida, members of the state Board of Education endorsed a budget increase for the 2006-07 fiscal year.