Dear Friends,
Prior to being elected to the Florida House of Representatives, I spent six years on the St. Petersburg City Council, and was fortunate to serve during our City’s renaissance. While there were some dark days and a few missteps, it was mostly an exciting time marked by being for good things, and not just against bad things – an unfortunate and sharp contrast to my tenure in Tallahassee.
On the City Council, ideas were valued. The absence of partisanship was dictated not just by the city charter, but by the preference of the members. There was one goal: To make the City of St. Petersburg a better place to live, work and visit. I believe that we accomplished that goal, which has helped our city endure this economic downturn.
Once elected to the House, I tried to bring that spirit of collegiality and focus to Tallahassee, but quickly discovered that there was little room for it.
In our state capitol, and especially in the House under the rule of Speaker Dean Cannon, politics trumps policy. The truth is that one is unlikely to accomplish great things as a Democrat in Tallahassee unless they are willing to compromise their core values. If you know me, you know that my values and guiding principles are not negotiable.
As a result, I learned to define success by ways other than the number of bills I passed or the projects I brought home. Rather, I focused on trying to enlighten and empower my constituents and other Floridians who are not always well-represented by powerful interests in the Legislature (and believe me, if you’re not a multi-million-dollar corporation, you’re probably not well-represented).
I consider it a bonus that several of the bills I sponsored are now law. Among them is a requirement that Floridians convicted of drunk driving carry increased auto insurance coverage; that vehicles must stop, not just yield, for pedestrians and bicyclists in crosswalks; and that the Florida Department of Education make service-learning curriculum available to our school districts. Additionally, I was the original sponsor of legislation to streamline government and to save public money by merging Pinellas County’s land and transportation planning agencies.
I’ve also shined a light on numerous problems; such as Florida’s woefully low personal needs allowance, the monthly stipend given to Medicaid-recipients in nursing homes.
And with the help of my friends in west St. Pete, we fought to require better notice when contamination threatens our health and our homes.
For me, success also meant defeating bad bills and amendments, and there have been plenty of them. I am most proud of my efforts at helping to keep oil rigs away from Florida’s coast. Oil drilling in state waters is a radical, shortsighted idea that puts the interests of Big Oil before the interests of Floridians. Most recently, I am proud of my efforts to block attempts at letting online travel companies off the hook for the taxes they owe our State.
Finally, success has meant solving a constituent’s problem. I have been fortunate to have had a fantastic office staff to assist me in helping to make people’s lives a little better.
While I am pleased by our occasional victories, and hold out hope that the political climate and dysfunction in Tallahassee will eventually improve, neither provides me with a good enough reason to return for two more years.
Therefore, in November, a dozen years after entering public service, I will leave the Florida House and my legislative family to spend a little more time in my house with my family. My wife, kids, and our Labrador retrievers are looking forward to it.
Being at home will also allow me to focus on my law practice, and to give extra attention to some of the fun things in my life, like my Karate and guitar lessons.
But know this, until November, I intend to work hard to re-elect our president, and to be helpful to other great candidates who are running for local, state, or federal offices. I’ll also be using the downtime to think about my own future, and how I can best serve our community.
In closing, I want to say thank you.
I have always believed that to hold public office is to hold a sacred trust, and I will forever be grateful for the trust that you placed in me time and again.
Respectfully,
Rick