by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Newly minted Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Scott Maddox was in Jacksonville just three days after announcing his candidacy. His first order of business? Lock up the lawyer vote.
Maddox, a former mayor of Tallahassee and Florida Democratic Party chairman, was ushered into the Jacksonville Bar Association’s annual meeting Thursday at the Deerwood Country Club by Spohrer Wilner partner Bob Spohrer. Spohrer and Maddox made the rounds, shaking hands and handicapping the Democrats’ chance to take back the governor’s office.
Early polls have Maddox running second among Democrats, trailing only congressman Jim Davis. The latest poll saw Maddox jump eight points to 15 percent and Maddox actually polled better than Davis when matched up against potential Republican rivals, which include State Attorney General Charlie Crist, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and Lt.Gov. Toni Jennings.
If Maddox wants to return to elected office in Tallahassee, he knows he’ll need the support of Florida’s legal community. It used to be a given that lawyers would overwhelmingly pull the Democratic lever on Election Day, but some of that support has eroded with Jeb Bush in the governor’s office. Maddox said he was well aware that there were plenty of cars in the Deerwood parking lot that day with “W” stickers on their bumpers.
An attorney himself, Maddox said he knows the message that will appeal to lawyers when it comes to both voting and fundraising.
“The government should stay out of meddling with the independent judiciary in this state and allow them to do their job,” he said.
Maddox said the state had made several heavy-handed forays onto the turf of the legal community. A recent constitutional amendment capped how much attorneys can make on medical malpractice cases. Maddox pointed to that ballot initiative and the legislature’s and governor’s involvement in the Terri Schiavo case as examples where the state government has overstepped its bounds.
That message is likely to resonate in the legal community. It’s essentially the same message retired judge Joseph Hatchett threw down at the FBA’s Law Day Luncheon.
Hatchett said legislators were challenging the concept of governmental checks and balances through repeated criticism of judges and through filing retaliatory legislation in some cases.
Maddox agreed that the legal profession has taken a beating in Tallahassee lately. He said it’s time for lawyers to stand up for themselves.
“We need to be up front about how we feel about our profession,” said Maddox.
Although Jacksonville has been a Republican stronghold in recent elections, Maddox said he has plenty of opportunities to pry away Duval County votes from Florida’s new power party.
His experience in Tallahassee has given him a first-hand look at the issues important to North Florida voters, he said. Water rights and smart development are two areas of common ground.
“Tallahassee and Jacksonville have a lot more in common than I-10,” he said.
But Maddox does face one significant hurdle when campaigning in Jacksonville. His Tallahassee heritage includes undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University. To his credit, Maddox doesn’t hesitate to announce his affinity for the Seminoles in a room largely crowded with University of Florida grads.
“It can be a little bit of a handicap honestly,” said Maddox. “There are a lot of Gators up here.”