John Thrasher wields much power for freshman Florida state senator
His hard-headed and ham-handed qualities when taking stands on divisive issues are those of a good leader, supporters say.
TALLAHASSEE - He is technically the lowest-ranking senator in the state. He said so himself a few weeks ago, when reporters crowded around him to ask about the state of the Legislature at its midpoint.
"I'm the 40th senator," said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. "That's a question to go ask the president, not me."
But the reality: Thrasher has emerged as a key figure in the Senate less than a year after his election to succeed the late Sen. Jim King of Jacksonville.
The most controversial bill of the session, a measure that would have eliminated some employment protections for new teachers and tied future raises for educators more closely to student achievement, bore his name. As did the top legislative priority for Attorney General Bill McCollum, Republican gubernatorial frontrunner, who teamed with Thrasher to successfully push through a measure limiting the size of contingency fees the Attorney General's Office could award outside lawyers.
Gov. Charlie Crist last week signed the attorney bill,