Elect Charles Dean for State Senate, District 3

Tallahassee Democrat
June 3, 2007

Senate District 3
Best Bet: Dean

On Tuesday, an important seat in our 40-member Florida Senate will be a step closer to being filled.

Two Democrats and three Republicans are competing in party primaries for the privilege and considerable responsibility of replacing Nancy Argenziano, who resigned last month to accept an appointment to the Public Service Commission. Sixteen months will remain in her term as senator of District 3. The election will be decided on June 26.

Ms. Argenziano, a Republican from Dunnellon, has provided a no-nonsense and colorful voice for her 13-county largely rural district that stretches toward Ocala in the middle of Florida, east towards Jacksonville and includes 25,856 registered voters in eastern Leon County.

Of equal importance, however, has been her effectiveness as a watchdog for all the state's taxpayers, especially in the arena of privatization of state responsibilities and contracts as well as government operations affecting public employees.

So while this special election has come up quickly and the candidates have had little time to either raise money or pound the pavement for votes, it has the potential to be one of the most influential leadership positions in state government.

Ms. Argenziano has thrown her support behind former Citrus County Sheriff Charles S. Dean, who has represented Inverness in the House since 2002. Both Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell and Wakulla County Sheriff David Harvey support Mr. Dean, calling him a hardworking and honest elected official.

We add our editorial support for Mr. Dean as the Republican nominee, largely in appreciation of his approach to government. He is considerably more moderate than Rep. Dennis Baxley of Ocala, whose ideology is rigidly right of center and, subsequently, he's not terribly effective.

Mr. Dean, on the other hand, is noted for building consensus through negotiation and open-mindedness to ideas that can add to the long-term effectiveness of legislation that's aimed at solving problems rather than inadvertently creating new ones. He has a solid record in law enforcement and environmental protection.

Mr. Baxley's endorsements by the National Rifle Association and Florida Right to Life underscore his doctrinaire approach to government, which has quickly proven itself incompatible with the more harmonious leadership style of Gov. Charlie Crist.

The third Republican primary candidate, Don Curtis, is a 28-year career forester from Perry. But he lacks experience in dealing with broad public policy issues that confront and confound the most seasoned lawmakers and could easily result in District 3's needs being invisible and ignored.
Democrats' top choice

In the meantime, for Tuesday's election, we recommend Mr. Dean...