For the nearly two years Ken Pruitt was president of the Florida Senate, when most of the press labored to ignore his statesmanship, Don Gaetz was paying close attention. He admired the Port St. Lucie Republican's leadership style and said so Tuesday.
In fact, he said he wants to be president the Ken Pruitt way when he takes over officially next month.
"Ken Pruitt is one of my heroes," Gaetz told members of the Tallahassee press corps during an informal luncheon in the Capitol.
A reporter had asked the incoming Senate president how he would change his management style from outgoing President Mike Haridopolis'.
"I'm more like a Ken Pruitt kind of manager," Gaetz said. "He believed a Senate president has what he called just 'a thimbleful of power' -- so you have to be careful how you use it. You have to use it sparingly, and that's what he did."
The Niceville Republican said that in spite of the troubling economy Pruitt inherited when he took over in 2006, he never abused his authority. "He never forced his will down our throats, he just offered his guidance whenever we asked for it.
"I was just a freshman back then," Gaetz, a former superintendent of schools, explained. "It was so impressive to me. He made me committee chairman (Education K-12), said 'put your agenda together, if I've got any thoughts for you I'll offer them, but it's all yours to make happen.' In the whole of his two years, Ken Pruitt only asked me one time to vote for a bill."
A reporter asked him if he remembered what that bill was. He replied, "Ken came to me and asked, 'Don, could you see your way clear to vote for an elected education commissioner?" I told him I could, and I did, and it was easy because I believed in it anyway.
"I want to do things Ken's way. I want to find good people with subject expertise to put at the head of committees." Gaetz compared it to fantasy football. "And then I want to leave them alone, trust them to make good decisions and get the job done."
Pruitt, meanwhile, was just finishing up another day as property appraiser in St. Lucie County when he heard what Gaetz had said about him.
"That really makes my day,"he said. "The truth is, I had 39 solid senators. I figured we were all elected by about the same percentage of constituents. So, I was no more capable of knowing what was right than they were. All I did is direct traffic."
Pruitt remembers asking Gaetz for his vote. "Don co-sponsored the bill and actually carried all the water on it and got it passed."
Pruitt said there was one more vote he asked of Gaetz. "I remember, because I went around and asked it of every senator. We were one of the few Southern states that had not apologized for slavery. I asked for his vote on a resolution to make the apology.
"The slavery resolution passed.
"And when it was read on the floor," Pruitt added, "beautifully written by John Phelps, our staff director, it truly was a proud moment for me."
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
