W. D. Childers

Born in Wright, Florida (then known as Crackers Neck),[4] Wyon Dale Childers attended the Bay County High School and went on to Florida State University, where he met Ruth Adell Johnson. They were married on 21 December 1953. Childers graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1955. He became a math teacher and supplemented his salary with roofing work and door-to-door sales. He capitalized on the sale of trendy items – hula hoops in the 50s, color televisions in the 60s – and also practiced real estate.[5]

Childers, center, is sworn into the Florida State Senate. Future governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham stands at left.

In 1970 Childers ran for the Florida Senate seat vacated by Reubin Askew, who went on to become a long-serving governor of Florida.

Childers was for many years chair of the General Government Appropriations Committee, which established budgets for most of the state agencies. He was considered a master of so-called "turkey" projects that were tacked onto other bills and sent state funding back to his home district. Some of the local projects that benefited from his influence included:[6]

He was repeatedly honored by other legislators with Allen Morris Awards: for Most Effective in Debate 1975, '76 and '80; Most Effective in Committee 1978; and Most Effective Member of the Senate, 1979.[6]

In 1980 Childers pushed the state legislature to buy land for the Big Lagoon State Park from a Pensacola auto dealer. He was called before a grand jury when it was revealed that he owned another piece of property with Fiveash, and he claimed he had not made the "mental connection" between the two properties. The grand jury cleared him of wrongdoing and praised him as "an example to other public servants who, having sought the public trust, are asked to show that they deserve it."[7]

An argument between Childers (left) and Senator Dempsey Barron (right) nearly comes to blows on the Senate floor. Senator Ed Dunn of Daytona Beach is shown between the two.

On 1 June 1981, an argument between Childers and Senator Dempsey Barron over a bill nearly resulted in a fight on the Senate floor. Barron later organized a group of legislators that effectively stripped Childers of his power as Senate President.[8]

Everybody says they want us to behave like in church. But the truth is, they like to see a good scrap. The most productive things that happened when I was in the Legislature was when we had the most fights. … If you want to make progress and make changes, you've got to get people's dander up.[9]

In 1993 Childers worked with attorney Fred Levin to draft legislation that would amend the Florida Medicaid Third Party Recovery Act, enabling the State of Florida to sue the tobacco industry for the costs of treating illnesses caused by cigarette smoking. The bill was pushed through quickly and signed into law by Governor Lawton Chiles before it could attract the attention of the tobacco industry's lobbyists. The legislation ultimately led to a class action lawsuit that yielded a $13.2 billion settlement for the State of Florida.[10]

Childers ran for the Escambia County District 1 seat formerly held by Mike Whitehead, who was preparing a campaign to challenge Escambia County Clerk of Court Ernie Lee Magaha. Childers' opponents in the race were Democrat Williemae Stanberry and Reform Party candidate Teddy Laviano. Despite a commanding lead over both opponents, Childers ran a series of negative ads in the final weeks of the campaign.

They told us that it would cost us 5 to 12 percent if we ran those ads. I had that much to spare. I'd do it again. I like tough campaigning. I imagine I could have raised the percentage points by being Mr. Sweet and Clean, but that ain't W.D., and I've got to be W.D.[11]

After the election, Childers appointed Stanberry to an interim post on the Board of Adjustment. She said there were no grudges between them: "We never had a bad relationship – that's just the way W. D. does politics."[9]

On 7 June 2001, Childers replaced Tom Banjanin, who was considering a run against U.S. Representative Joe Scarborough, as commission chairman.[12] He organized a voting bloc with commissioners Willie Junior and Mike Bass that was able to pass any motion over the opposition of Banjanin and Terry Smith. After six county leaders resigned between October '01 and February '02 – county administrator Tom Forrest, assistant administrator Bill Neron, acting administrator Gregg Welstead, county engineer Cindy Anderson, parks and recreation director Mark Thornton, and county attorney David Tucker – many blamed the exodus on Childers' brusque leadership style.[7] It was during this same time frame that Childers, Junior and Bass pushed through two contentious land purchases that would lead to indictments and scandal.