Incoming Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford offered advice for almost 30 aspiring political candidates Thursday, and his chief insight: have principles and beliefs in place before entering the fray.
Otherwise, he said, “you will be lost at sea.”
Weatherford spoke to members of the Jacksonville Political Leadership Institute at their monthly meeting at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Conference Center.
The organization is associated with JaxBiz, the political affiliate of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, and is an educational program for people interested in public leadership.
Weatherford, a Republican from Wesley Chapel in the Tampa area, graduated from Jacksonville University and returned to Northeast Florida to share his insights.
“Use this time you have now and have an understanding of what you believe,” he told the group. “You can’t wait for the game to start and expect to get better. That happens in the offseason.”
He said that political aspirants should have their “feet solid on the ground” on some issues or face the risk of being influenced in other directions in tough circumstances.
He went on to tell the group that two types of people run for office: those who want to achieve something and those who simply want to be someone.
He urged the group to be the former and to be more in-depth than the talking points on bumper stickers.
“Serve with courage, serve with a boldness about you,” he said.
Weatherford also discussed some issues in the upcoming legislative session, including redistricting. As incoming speaker, he serves as chairman of the House Redistricting Committee charged with redrawing political boundaries every 10 years.
“My job is to follow the law and that’s what I am going to do,” he said.
He discussed his votes in favor of the merit-pay bill for teachers, which currently is being challenged by teachers’ unions in court, and said the measure is a step to help Florida education evolve and improve.
He called the topic one of his bigger focuses.
Another issue that arose in a question-and-answer session was the pension system and unfunded liabilities that he said are a growing problem. The public sector “is 25-30 years behind the private sector” in that regard and he advocated an overhaul to defined contribution plans instead of defined benefits plans.
A controversial issue in Northeast Florida also was a point of discussion. Toll roads currently planned for the Outer Beltway as a funding source have garnered criticism, but Weatherford said he doesn’t foresee future major roadways being built without a “paying as you go” funding source.
While praising PLI’s class members for their aspirations, he also has high marks for the local political leaders within the delegation.
“Jacksonville has a great crop of new leaders,” he said.
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