Senate President Jim King with the 1838 Florida Constitution in the Senate chamber. (Florida Photographic Collection)

Gov. Jeb Bush probably wishes that state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, hadn't thrown his support behind Sen. Jim King's bid to become Senate president last year. Lee's support for King prevented former House Speaker Daniel Webster --- a conservative Bush ally who is now in the Senate --- from rising to the presidency of that body. Instead, the independent-minded King now holds the gavel in the upper chamber.

And thank goodness that he does.

The Florida Senate has a long history of being the more deliberative body of Florida's Legislature. Former Senate President Toni Jennings was the saving grace of the 2000 Legislature, championing such causes as the welfare of state employees, kids, consumers and the integrity of government through campaign finance reform. She wasn't always successful, but her efforts saved the Legislature from making some embarrassing mistakes.

King has now risen to fill Jennings' shoes --- pumps perhaps, although I wouldn't suggest that King try to walk down a flight of stairs in them.

King's emergence as the de facto leader of Democratic ideas became evident last week, when he changed his mind about a measure to limit awards for victims of nursing home negligence. After facing resistance from several fellow senators, he quickly backed off. It would have been easy for him to order the health care committee to pass the nursing home bill. But instead the bill was tabled and pronounced dead for the year.

Since that day, the disenfranchised have had a voice in the Senate.

The state teachers' union will probably be spared the pain and suffering House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and the governor are foaming at the mouth to impose. A House bill would institute "paycheck protection," forbidding the teachers' union from using dues money for political purposes. The Florida Nurses Association and Police Benevolent Association --- both of which supported Bush's re-election --- aren't covered by the bill, so "paycheck protection" seems more like a payback production. King voiced his displeasure at this childishness.

State workers are certain to look to the Senate for support in getting a pay raise, which the governor did not include in his budget proposal. The governor also plans to eliminate 2,905 state positions this year, but King isn't so eager to empty state office buildings.

This week, King has been sceptical of a ploy by the speaker to offer teachers higher pay in order to build support for the governor's plan to ask voters to reconsider their vote on the class-size amendment. The promise of higher pay for teachers, a laudable goal, is an expensive Trojan horse when tied to Bush's devious plans.

Voters demanded lower class sizes, not higher pay for teachers --- and King has been clear that he will adhere to the will of the people as expressed in the recent constitutional amendments. While the House's teacher-pay red herring is typical Bush-inspired deviousness, the Senate has been democratic, focusing its attention on requiring school districts to lower class-size averages. A Senate plan would force districts that don't to take tough measures including rezoning, year- round classes, extended sessions and double sessions.

The Senate president's support of non-Republican constituencies is a welcome surprise to those who hold record low representation in the House and Senate. "He's a reasonable voice among unreasonable people," said Scott Maddox, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Florida. "He doesn't put party politics above public priorities."

Without King's support for causes outside the mainstream of Republican politics, the Florida government would be acting in conservative unison. Instead, a needed check and balance has been placed before our governor and House speaker. This is, of course, the way government is supposed to work.

The president's independence is most refreshing when it comes to dealing the coming economic crisis. To the dismay of many senators, King sent a shock through the halls of the Senate this week by dispatching a blunt form letter informing senators that special budget items for roads, bridges, stadiums, water and sewer works are taboo this year. It's a sacrifice that is needed. And providing support for issues and ideas that resonate with trial lawyers, the teachers' union and state workers isn't exactly the stuff that Republican dreams are made of. But occasionally public priorities really do trump partisan politics.

So why is King supporting these issues? A cynical explanation would be that he's interested in statewide office. Another explanation would be that he's interested in the welfare of Florida. Whatever his motivation is, he is acting as a sentinel against the unseemly forces of revenge politics.

And for that, all of Florida should be relieved.

Mike Pope is letters editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him at (850) 599-2173 or mpope@tallahassee.com.