The day that was in Florida politics – Feb. 26

Friday we got another chapter in an on-going series about the ouster of Gerald Bailey. The Tampa Bay Times secured a draft of an opinion piece Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had prepared last month about the abrupt dismissal of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement director.

A spokesperson explained the commentary wasn’t submitted to state newspapers because Putnam was talking to capitol reporters and suggested publishing it would have been redundant.

Former state senator Paula Dockery joined the League of Women Voters Board of Directors. The former Senate Majority Whip was termed limited out of the legislature in 2012.

“I’ve long admired what the League does for our political process, and I feel that the League stands for many of things that I believe in,” said Dockery.

During her 16 years in the Legislature, Dockery supported the League on voting rights issues and efforts to reduce gerrymandering.

Two south Florida Democrats have an idea on how to improve the relationship between police and the neighborhoods they protect. Sen. Chris Smith and Rep. Reggie Fullwood want to create law enforcement academies at historically black universities to “foster greater understanding and respect for racial and cultural differences.”

SB 772 and HB 1057 would establish the academies at Florida A&M and Florida Memorial universities.

The Sadowski Coalition gathered representatives from its 30-member group Thursday to call on lawmakers to use all the money in an affordable housing trust fund on housing.

“As this year’s Home Matters report shows, Florida ranks third in the nation for the highest homeless population; and the number of very low income Floridians who are paying more than half their income on housing has increased from 900,000 to 920,000,” said Jamie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition.

And Jeb Bush is beginning to look more and more like a presidential candidate. The night the former governor was a guest on the Hugh Hewitt radio show. Hewitt asked whether he would be “overly cautious about using force for fear of having a third Bush war occur.

“No, that’s an interesting question and I’m glad you asked it,” said Bush.

You can read the transcript here.