Capitol newbies have a lot to learn and not much time | Steve Bousquet
Newly elected state Rep. Robin Bartleman of Weston made a startling discovery as she found her desk in the Florida House chamber for the first time.
She sits way in the back with the other Democrats. There are many more Republicans, and they sit up front. It’s one of many examples of how partisanship dictates life in the Legislature. The party in power controls everything from committee assignments to parking spaces, and that’s how it was when Democrats were in charge.
To Bartleman, who served 16 years on the Broward County School Board, it makes no sense.
“The spirit should be, we’re all in this together,” she said as she grabbed a late outdoor lunch with her daughter Emma at Andrew’s, a restaurant near the Capitol. “Red district or blue district, we all have people who are unemployed.”
That makes sense, but it’s not the way Tallahassee works.
This is part of the enormous challenge that freshmen legislators face — especially Democrats who must forge ahead while facing a far steeper climb. On a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis, they will be reminded they are second-class citizens.
At the same time, Democrats are in disarray. They lost ground in November as the GOP flipped five House seats. Turnover and term limits resulted in 16 newcomers in the 42-member House Democratic caucus, so it’s a very inexperienced group.
Only three Democrats in the entire House are “seniors” in their fourth and final terms, and all represent Broward: Bobby DuBose of Fort Lauderdale, Evan Jenne of Dania Beach and Joe Geller of Aventura. All the others from the Class of 2014 either lost or ran for other offices.
Bartleman is one of nine freshmen from Broward and Palm Beach counties, six of them Democrats. There are 22 more freshmen among the 78 House Republicans.
The newbies now know that winning an election was the easy part.
Now comes the real work of learning the ropes, mastering the issues and figuring out the arcane workings of the Legislature, or what’s called “the process,” and standing out in a crowd of 120 people.
The Legislature is high school for grownups, with cliques, geeks, jocks and nerds with all the nonsense that implies, yet with enormous consequences for the third-largest state.
“It’s the student council with live ammunition,” as a statewide business leader memorably and anonymously once described it in a Florida Chamber Foundation survey.
A high school locker room atmosphere was evident two weeks ago at a brief organizational session. As Republicans celebrated their success as a party caucus, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, as class president, passed out red football jerseys with the number 78 on them.
Many of those 78 Republicans will leave few footprints. They’ll stay in the background, their status diminished even more by a dictatorial, top-down House leadership style in which a handful of leaders make the big decisions.
The smaller, more seasoned Senate, with 40 members, is a vastly different place politically.
At the moment, House freshmen are busy hiring staff members, finding offices and preparing for training. State Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, was scouting sites for an office this week in between handing out turkeys to constituents for Thanksgiving.
“There’s a lot to learn,” Woodson said. “I know we don’t have the numbers, but I promise to do my very best to fight for the people. I will definitely work with the other side, but I’m not going to compromise my principles.”
For a long time, the attitude around the Capitol was that freshmen should be seen and not heard. It’s a canard, and a dumb one at that. There’s no time to waste. The challenges are too great.
Besides, redistricting is around the corner. In the next election cycle in two years, House members must run again, some in vastly redrawn districts with different voters. Republicans want to return to a super-majority of 80-plus seats, and they will decide what those districts will look like.
After watching the Legislature a long time, here are some suggestions for the newbies: Work hard. Master two or three policy areas. You won’t have time for much more.
Find an important cause and make a difference. It may be open government, sea-level rise or mental health.
If you give someone your word, don’t waver from it. Resist the temptation to hurl partisan bombs at opponents. It will attract publicity, but it won’t improve anyone’s life.
Never “take a walk” and skip a vote. It’s cowardly. You were sent there to act in the best interests of the people back home — always.
Steve Bousquet is a Sun Sentinel columnist. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on Twitter at @stevebousquet.
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