Steve Crisafulli and I might not agree on every issue, but I can tell you with absolute certainty, the right man fell into place after Chris Dorworth lost his 2012 re-election and the path to the speaker's chair.
Understated Crisafulli, still only 44 -- man of great conviction -- has been an outstanding speaker of the House for Florida.
Consider for a moment how little opportunity the Merritt Island citrus farmer had to prepare. On the day of his investiture, the only committee he had ever chaired was State Affairs. Where other speakers have led one of the two (or both) powerful learning vehicles -- Appropriations and Rules -- Crisafulli had only been the vice chair of Appropriations and vice chair of Agriculture/Natural Resources Appropriations.
Chamber leaders will tell you, there's a huge difference between being chairman and vice chairman.
Yet, Crisafulli was elected by his colleagues unanimously. As Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, once told me, "Steve is rock-solid." That apparently escaped an arrogant Senate in 2015. From Day One, senators treated Crisafulli as if he wasn't up to their leadership standards.
Crisafulli is probably doomed to be remembered for his early sine die in 2015 over Medicaid expansion. It's unfortunate and it's unfair. Those who looked below the surface saw the seeds of the session meltdown weren't planted overnight. They were watered into the Senate soil in about the second week of March, when -- completely out of the blue -- Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, had the upper chamber take up Medicaid expansion.
Crisafulli opposed Medicaid expansion. So did the majority of House members. They were opposed to it under Will Weatherford, and there was no pre-session agreement between the two chamber leaders to make it a priority. The Senate, often with Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, leading the charge, treated the speaker as if he were weak. Big mistake.
Crisafullli protected the institution of the House and the wishes of his conservative membership. I'm guessing the decision to turn the lights out was one of the most difficult of his life. No one wants something like that as part of his legacy. And even though the court ruled against his decision, I believe he would have been hard-pressed to do anything else. The only constitutional responsibility the Legislature has is to pass a budget. Crisafulli knew that wasn't going to happen, the environment was toxic, and the best thing that could happen would be to push the pause button.
"I would not have chosen for us to have as many special sessions as we did," he told House members during his portrait unveiling ceremony Thursday, "but ... I am so proud of this House ... for how we fought for our principles."
Say what you like, the way Crisafulli conducted himself last year was why the session this year has gone so smoothly, even during a challenge-packed election year. At the end of the day, the Legislature produced a better budget for the speaker's integrity and resolve.
When Gov. Rick Scott sent him his $1 billion "want" list, Crisafulli wanted to be supportive of the the governor, but he also did what few speakers bother to do. He went to both future speakers, Richard Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, and Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, and told them, a lot of this is going to be recurring money ... if you're not on board with it, we're not going to do it.
That's what Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, meant Thursday when he stood up and said about Crisafulli, "You've managed to lead this chamber while not dominating its members."
That was Crisafulli's style. He never made his two years in charge about himself. It was always about the institution, about "keeping this institution on hallowed ground."
His parting advice to his colleagues who fancy moving in or moving up: "Check ego at the door ... remember how you got here and where you come from and that the title you carry is just that. It's a title. It should not be abused nor should it be underestimated, for it is an honor to carry it and to serve the people we represent."
Some say Crisafulli, a seventh-generation Floridian, will next run for agriculture commissioner. Certainly he didn't tip his next move, but it would surprise no one who understands his background. Public service runs in his blood. His second or third cousin, Doyle Carlton, was governor of Florida during the Great Depression, and his grandfather and mentor, Vassar Carlton, served as the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.
For now, though, he claims that when the session ends he will go back to the family agriculture business and his college-sweetheart wife, Kristen, and their two girls, Carly and Kennedy.
Steve Crisafulli and I may have disagreed on a number of issues over the years. But he walks so softly, sometimes I always had trouble recognizing our differences. How could I not admire that? I wish him well.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
