The Return of Sidney Catts?

Tip of the hat to Bill Bledsoe from the Prohibition Party for bringing this one to my attention. James Moore, an attorney, will be doing performances at the Florida Chautauqua Assembly in January, as they offer "A Journey into Florida" in DeFuniak Springs. Moore will be playing the roles of two of Floridas most famous governors -- Andrew Jackson, who barely stuck around as military governor of the territory before hightailing it back to Tennessee, and Sidney Catts.

While not as well-known as Jackson, obviously, Catts ranks as one of the states most colorful political figures. He ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1916 and won -- only to have the Party bosses take the nod away from him. A preacher, Catts ran for governor on the Prohibition Party line and won -- the only time a third party candidate won one of the major statewide elections here in the Sunshine State.

I dont remember a time when I was not fascinated by Catts. Since encountering him in a history class in high school, I have found Catts endlessly interesting. He was a rabid anti-Catholic who was fine when one of his children married a Catholic. He was a reformer who faced corruption charges and an outsider who spent a good deal of his life running for office. I have read the aptly titled Cracker Messiah, Wayne Flynts biography of Catts, at least three times. Most of Floridas governors have been pretty forgettable but Catts was bewildering, a figure who represented the best and the worst of the Sunshine State when he came to power. Something tells me when Mr. Moore takes to the stage in January, Ill be there -- looking at the statesman/preacher/monster/family man who has bewildered me for more than two decades.