GOVERNOR SAYS PEOPLE, NOT MONEY, WILL WIN DRUG WAR

ST. PETERSBURG - Gov. Jeb Bush brought his drug war to the Tampa Bay
area Thursday night, holding a televised "town meeting" with community
activists and police that was billed as a way to find solutions to the
state's drug abuse problem.

Bush and Jim McDonough, director of the state Office of Drug Control
Policy, told the crowd they hoped to cut illegal drug use by 50
percent and cut Florida's supply of illegal drugs by 30 percent by
2005.

The governor complained that fighting drugs had slipped "to the
margins of public policy" before he was elected, and that he has made
drugs and crime his No. 2 priority, after improving education.

But when members of the crowd suggested ways the state could add new
programs or better fund existing ones, Bush frequently responded that
he believes in less government, not more, and that communities must
look inward.

Tough discipline, civic pride and more church-based programs are the
real way to win, he said.

"If I had a magic wand, Mr. Davis, it wouldn't be to take more money
out of your pocket," Bush told Al Davis of the Hillsborough County
Anti-Drug Alliance.

"It would be to pray for wholesome, strong families where moms and
dads say . . . the most important thing I can do is teach my children
right from wrong."

Mattie Wright of St. Petersburg told Bush that community police
officers had helped beat drug deals in her Center Plaza neighborhood,
and she asked for state help in hiring more.

Bush told her community police officers are a fine idea, but didn't
address her request. "Even better is when you have heroes like
yourself who stand up and say, "Enough of this,' " he said.

Bush also praised new laws enacted by the past Legislature, including
stiffer penalties for possession of some drugs, highway anti-drug
teams and more funding for treatment, especially for juveniles.

Earlier, Bush was a guest at a graduation ceremony for people in
Hillsborough County's Drug Court system.