Former Congressman Kendrick Meek recalls his entry into Florida politics when, as the first Black captain in the Florida Highway Patrol, he served as travel aide to then-Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay.

Bill Cotterell is a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at [email protected].

A big crowd filled a big church in Ocala Wednesday to celebrate the life of Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay, who briefly served as Florida’s 42nd governor under trying circumstances in 1998.

Mackay served as Florida’s governor for less than a month in 1998 after Lawton Chiles’s sudden death. However, his passion for environmentalism and politics was not short-lived.

In that latter year, the late Buddy MacKay lost a U.S. Senate race to Connie Mack, whose campaign slogan was “Hey, Buddy, you’re a liberal.” That was an unfair simplification, but who said ...

The governor also directed flags to half-staff in Florida to honor the late Gov. Buddy MacKay, though that lasts only through this Wednesday. But on Jan. 3, Trump complained on his Truth Social ...