Our take: Florida Senate President Don Gaetz

Editorial Board interview with Florida Senate President Don Gaetz.

More thoughtful

The Florida Senate has long been viewed as more deliberative than the state House. Dare we say, more moderate?

We continue to be hopeful that the Legislature as a whole will behave in a more thoughtful, less dogmatic manner this year under the leadership of Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford.

A wide-ranging interview Friday with Gaetz was encouraging (we'll publish a Q&A with Gaetz next week; for now you can see excerpts at OrlandoSentinel.com/opinion).

Gaetz spoke passionately about the need for ethics and fundraising reform. He acknowledged having his own political committee (known as CCEs) for fundraising but indicated it wouldn't break his heart to see those outlawed in exchange for higher individual campaign contribution limits. That's reasonable. And he scolded politicians who use fundraising committees to subsidize "filet mignon lifestyles."

He's on board with election reform and making charter schools more accountable. He's opposed to new gun control measures but rejects the NRA's suggestion to put volunteer armed guards in schools. He advocates a sensible approach that would help school systems fund the kind of security they most need.

We were less taken with the new president's absence of ideas on restoring environmental protections, though he pledged to give a fair hearing to serious proposals.

We're not naive enough to believe that the majority's fringe elements will go into hiding. But we are starting to think that next time a Docs vs. Glocks-type bill comes up, it won't get very far.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/orlandosentinel/news/opinion/~3/Xe--YWgGVdU/story01.htm

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