VULGARIAN U.S. REP. JOHN MICA'S WEBSITE TOUTS HIS BEING AMONG THE "MOST POWERFUL" IN CENTRAL FLOIRDA

Survey: John Mica one of Central Florida's
Top Five Most Powerful


OrlandoSentinel.com
The 25 most powerful people in Central Florida
Scott Maxwell
TAKING NAMES
December 30, 2007
As we have worked our way up the year's list of "The 25 Most Powerful People in Central Florida," we passed CEOs, philanthropists, political players and rising stars.

But now we've reached the top and find five people who have control over the roads on which you drive, the college degrees you can get, the parks in which you can play and the jobs available for you and your family.

They are four elected officials and one education leader. And, according to our panel of 16 plugged-in observers, they have more direct impact on our community than anyone else.

5.John Mica. This one is interesting. The senior Republican among Central Florida's U.S. House delegation has never before appeared in the top five. And yet he pops up now -- after his party becomes the minority in Congress. So why did our panelists deem him so powerful? Primarily because he was downright dogged in his pursuit of commuter rail -- and ultimately successful. For more than a decade, the 64-year-old from Winter Park pursued his dream, despite one roadblock (or is that track-block?) after another. One panelist suggested his autobiography be named The Little Light Rail and Congressman That Could. It's worth noting that Mica -- who seems to tick off his own constituents less often than some others in our congressional delegation -- is the only member of the U.S. House to ever make this list . . . or, really, even come close.