Rick Scott finally let out one of the worst kept secrets in Tallahassee this week when he named Jimmy Patronis to the Public Service Commission (PSC). Patronis had been the subject of rumors for the post for months now.
In naming him to the PSC, Scott extended Patronis time in Tallahassee. Even before he was elected to the Florida House back in 2006, Patronis was familiar with state affairs. He served as an intern for the Senate, sat on the board of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and did stints with the Florida Elections Commission and the Florida Council on Vocational Education.
Even with an eye on Tallahassee over the years, Patronis never neglected his Bay County roots. Besides his work at popular Panama City restaurant Captain Andersons, Patronis moved up the ladder in Bay County by tying himself to the growing airport there.
When Allan Bense retired in 2006, Patronis won the Republican primary and has easily kept his seat since then. One of the most congenial members of the Florida House, Patronis was a solid worker, rising to chair the Economic Affairs Committee. Despite his occasional flashy style -- ranging from his passion for seersucker suit day in the House to his beloved FSU Seminoles -- Patronis has never shied from putting his nose to the grindstone.
Patronis jumped in to run for Don Gaetzs Senate seat in 2016 and did pretty well with raising cash. With both of them familiar with social media, Patronis exchanged shots with Matt Gaetz who was also running for his fathers seat. As well as Patronis did with fundraising, it paled in comparison with what the younger Gaetz was pulling in. Last summer, Patronis ended his bid, saying he wanted to spend more time with the family.
Getting out of the Senate race was probably a shrewd move for Patronis. The GOP leadership was starting to line up behind Matt Gaetz and there was no way Patronis would have been able to match his fundraising.
Still, Patronis is only 42. For the moment, he had nowhere to go politically unless he wanted to return to Bay County where he would do well, to be sure. But state politics appeared a different matter. Patronis had Matt Gaetz blocking the path to the Florida Senate, at least until redistricting. If he ever wants to run for Congress, Patronis would have to elbow aside other Republicans.
Being appointed to the PSC, of course, keeps Patronis involved in state affairs over the next four years. But it also adds an experienced, popular and hard-working legislator to the PSC who generally goes right on economic issues. Even as he heads out of the Florida House, Patronis will stay on the stage in Tallahassee.
Tallahassee-based political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
