History, philosophy and policy: Sam Garrison’s designation speech sets an ambitious course

The next Florida House^[1] Speaker is one step closer to taking the role, delivering a designation speech in which he argued that to understand the future, one must also learn from the past.

Rep. Sam Garrison^[2], a 48-year-old lawyer from Fleming Island, outlined passions and priorities during his speech, giving a glimpse of what 2027 and 2028 might look like under his leadership.

Garrison, an Illinois native who moved to Florida in 2001, noted that his speech was part of a larger continuum, saying “the designation ceremony is unique in how it honors an individual, while simultaneously reinforcing how much bigger the institution is than any of us.”

But it’s not just the House that’s bigger than its members. It’s also the Republican caucus itself, Garrison noted, as he recalled a time when the other party controlled the chamber.

“Prior to 1996, Democrats held uninterrupted power in this chamber for 122 years. Think about that, 122 years. In hindsight, it seems inevitable that the political tides unleashed by the Reagan revolution would move us from the Solid Democratic South to the Free State of Florida. But history is never so simple,” Garrison said.

While “Republicans became the dominant political power in this state through the power of our ideas and our principles,” that sea change “also happened because the Democrats were more interested in internal power struggles and petty infighting than articulating and executing a vision that resonated with the people who put them here.”

Democrats were responsible for their own undoing, Garrison argued.

And he stressed the importance of Republicans avoiding that trap.

“By any measure, Florida Republicans enjoy a success that our predecessors could have never dreamed of. Let’s face it, we have only known victory in this town. We have only known Republican dominance. And the temptation is to believe that — because it is all we have known, it is all that ever was, and it is all that ever will be,” he said.

“History, of course, tells a different story. It tells us that political successes bring their own set of challenges. And they are summed up in one word: complacency.”

Garrison challenged legislators to do the hard work of grappling with policy and the problems of the moment, rather than filling seats and taking up space.

“Do we spend as much time learning every detail of legislation, preparing to defend it and refine it? Or do we outsource it all to interest groups or think tanks, taking up ‘model legislation’ and just assuming someone else has done the hard work of making sure it is the right thing for Florida?” Garrison continued.

“Do we do the arduous work of leading this state and fighting for our people back home? Or do we hit the easy button and simply ride the wave, shrug our shoulders, and leave the tough decisions, the intractable problems, and the big dreams to someone else?”

He went on to note that all legislators have a deliberately selected “designation gift” intended to guide them.

“On your desk is a copy of the Federalist Papers. And within its pages, marking Federalist 51 — my favorite for what it says about the nature of man and our relationship to government — is a leather-bound bookmark, crafted from the chairs that were in this House for a quarter century until they were retired just last year,” Garrison explained.

“As designation gifts go, it is not the fanciest, but it is intentional, and I hope it proves as meaningful to you as it has to me. The older I get, the more I appreciate the wisdom of the Founders.”

From there, he went on to root his philosophy in James Madison, who believed that “in republican government, legislative authority necessarily predominates.”

That legislative authority, Garrison argued, “is the reason our branch of government and ours alone is divided in two, because the power to pass laws, the power to tax, and the authority to spend is so immense that it must have its own bicameral check and balance.”

To that end, Garrison framed the House as closest to the people. And with that comes the responsibility to privilege policy over pyrotechnics.

“If the halls of power appear more interested in political performance art than in fighting for a strong economy, safe streets and quality schools, we need to self-correct,” he said.

Garrison invoked a previous Speaker from Clay County: the titanic John Thrasher^[3], who passed away this year but whose model still influences a generation of leaders. Garrison closed with a quote from the man who came before him, whose widow was on hand to hear the tribute to his legacy.

“He said, ‘I want to say this to each of you: I recognize that I am standing here today in a room full of leaders. There are many of you who could be behind this podium in my place and perhaps ought to be. I am deeply honored by the trust that each of you have placed in me, and I pledge to you that I will work every day as hard as I can to keep your confidence and show you my thanks. History is indeed ours for the making; let us make it together.’”