Bush in no rush to find Brogan's replacement

The lieutenant governor could get a new job today. But Bush says he's given little thought to filling the office.

©Associated Press
January 31, 2003

TALLAHASSEE -- Though straight man and confidante Frank Brogan is considered the frontrunner to be named president of Florida Atlantic University today, Gov. Jeb Bush seems in no hurry to replace his lieutenant governor.

"The process is just beginning right now since the governor has been busy with his budget and other issues," veteran Bush political adviser Cory Tilley said Thursday. "He'll give some thought to a wide variety of people with a wide variety of backgrounds."

Outgoing Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood, named last month by Bush to be secretary of state, said she was focusing on new duties and was not concerned about speculation she's in the mix.

"I guess I should be flattered," Hood said Thursday.

Another Orlando woman, former Senate President Toni Jennings, and state Rep. Dudley Goodlette from Naples, who had lunch Thursday with Bush, also are possibilities. A Democrat who has helped Bush through the years, former Public Service Commissioner Julia Johnson, is mentioned as a possibility.

Bush ally John Thrasher, a former House speaker who is now a lobbyist and chairman of the Florida State University board of trustees, is a name that won't go away.

Jim Smith, former attorney general and secretary of state, meets Bush's desire for someone qualified to be governor and might not have future political ambitions. Smith returned to the Secretary of State's Office last summer to supervise the fall elections after Katherine Harris' departure.

Bush says he hasn't spent much time worrying about a replacement for Brogan. "Haven't given it much thought," he said. "It's not necessary to rush into it. Not considering anyone right now."

Democrats are preparing possible legal action that would force Bush's choice onto the ballot for voter ratification in 2004.

"You would have the incumbent; and if there is a challenge from another party, there would be a challenger," state Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox said Thursday. "The people would decide who makes a better lieutenant governor."

FAU's trustees are expected to decide today whether to give the university's top job to Brogan or Thomas R. Hanley, a dean at the University of Louisville.

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