Beyond Bennett

POWER 50

If nothing else, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is full of surprises. If you ask him, he might tell you his whole life has been one big surprise.

The veteran lawmaker and Bradenton businessman reached the pinnacle of his 10-year legislative career when he rose to the number two position in the Florida Senate in November — Senate President Pro-tempore.

In his acceptance speech, Bennett, who turned 66 Jan. 1, acknowledged his unlikely ascent, saying, “ ... I have reached a position that my mother, father, brothers and sisters would all agree was well beyond anything any of us ever dreamed of.”

Bennett will hold that seat for the next two years until term limits force him out of the Legislature. Bennett served in the Florida House of Representatives for one two-year term before being elected to the Senate in 2002.

Not bad for a Minnesota native, who moved to Florida when he was 10 years old, struggled through Sarasota High School, and at 18 found himself in rescue helicopters dodging bullets for the next four years in Vietnam, from 1963 to 1967.

That experience has made him a champion for veterans in the Legislature and a focus of his Pro-tem acceptance speech. Paraphrasing President Ronald Reagan, Bennett said, “Many of us ask ourselves, 'Will or has our life made a difference?' A vet never has to ask that question.” Bennett will serve on the military affairs, space and domestic security committee again this year.

His is not quite a rags to riches or outhouse to White House story ¬— more like principal's office to pro tem's office. In between, he managed to graduate from Drake University in 1975, get an MBA a year later, stay married to his wife Dee for 44 years, run a successful electrical contracting business, and become president of the Greater Sarasota Sertoma Club. He lives on Sarasota Bay in south Bradenton.

The Navy veteran is known as much for his frankness (he admits he speaks sometimes too much like a sailor) and a sense of humor, as his ability to weigh in on a wide range of issues: from health care to growth management, or what he calls “growth planning.”

He'll also be on the health regulations committee and the banking and insurance committee, but other committee chairs know to expect him to show up when they're debating a bill he's passionate about.

Bennett's well known for sponsoring or co-sponsoring the most bills in the Senate, a reflection of his wide policy interests and also his desire to have issues debated whether they have a chance to get to the floor or not.

A Senate rule change pushed through by Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, now gives Bennett a vote on any committee that Haridopolos directs, allowing Bennett to influence which bills come to the floor and when.

As chairman again of the community affairs committee, Bennett will have much to say about the future of growth management and the department of community affairs. And he won't have DCA Secretary Tom Pelham to contend with anymore. Pelham resigned effective Jan. 3.

In his November speech, Bennett touched on a number of issues, including the economy, jobs, property taxes, education, pension reform, illegal immigration, permitting, and government land purchases. He's already filed an Arizona-style immigration bill, proving again that he doesn't shy away from controversy.

The speech shows Bennett's fiscal conservative side, but also that he's a moderate on social issues. Last year he voted against the health care bill that would have required ultrasounds or a signed waiver prior to abortion procedures.

“Those kinds of decisions are personal decisions,” he says. “You cannot legislate morality.” He opposed the Terri Schiavo bill (“Terri's Law”) to keep the 15-year vegetative patient connected to a feeding tube to keep her alive. He calls it “the best, toughest bill I ever debated.”

Bennett's concerned that those kinds of social issues could distract from the main task at hand: the economy and jobs.

“Let's look at cutting property taxes in a way that doesn't kill local government. Let's look at the surplus lands that the state owns; can we give it or sell it to private companies that would use it to create jobs and get that property back on the tax rolls which would help our local governments?”

Bennett adds, “Let us stay focused on all of the people of the state of Florida, stay focused on jobs and economy, and avoid the temptation to stray into areas of our individual social agendas.”

As chairman of the community affairs committee, a contractor and developer, Bennett can be expected to wield his most power on growth and regulatory issues.

He's upset about the state, and his district, which stretches from Manatee to Lee counties, losing the boating industry to other states. The solution, he says, is to cut down on duplicate regulations at the state level and “find a way we can cut down on the time it takes for a company to come to Florida to create jobs.”

That might make some environmentalists tie themselves to the nearest live oak, but Bennett supports renewable energy efforts and is an avid fisherman who appreciates the Florida outdoors.

That may come as a surprise to some, but Bennett says, “I think you can have growth in the state and protect the environmental assets that makes Florida so great. You can have a healthy environment and a healthy economy.”

There may be more surprises in store if the Gulf Coast gets another Congressional district — or even if it doesn't. He may run for Congress in 2012. Says Bennett, “Public service is very important to me.”