The Governor's Whistle

Governor Chiles said he loved being in the executive because the game didn't start until he blew the whistle. Part of that executive authority is the right to a state airplane for public travel.

My arrival in Tallahassee by commercial flight tonight got me thinking about the state airplane and Chiles' use of it during the recovery from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The state plane may be a vanity exercise and pomp and circumstance in other states--not in Florida.

Florida is a massive state and the difference in culture and miles between Pensacola and Tallahassee and Miami and Orlando is big enough that they could be separate states.

A state plane is a practical necessity of being governor of Florida.

Florida will soon be the third-largest state in the Union.