Gotcha!

The Chiles legacy brims with stories like these...It's something no other Florida governor can claim.

“Once Chiles pulled a ‘gotcha’ on a Tampa Tribune reporter. A malfunctioning turn signal in the governor’s limousine made a tick-tick, like an egg timer—or a bomb. With the reporter in the car and the passengers, including Chiles’ grandson, acting nervous over the ticking, Chiles faked a telephone conversation with Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents who ordered him to immediately evacuate the car. The limo screeched to a halt by the side of the road, at which the Tribune reporter bolted from the back seat and began to run, when he noticed the governor laughing.” Chiles smiled, ‘Gotcha.’

Credit:

Talev, Margaret and David Cox. “More to legacy than just politics.” The Tampa Tribune.

December 13, 1998.