Louis Arthur "Skip" Bafalis was like so many of politicians of the past who died recently but whose careers ended years ago. Major publications that formerly reported the death of any officeholder, past or present, pretty much ignored the passing of the former Florida congressman and state legislator who died March 10 at age 93.
But more than four decades after his name last appeared on a ballot in the Sunshine State, its news outlets warmly remembered the son of a Greek immigrant as one who himself emigrated to Florida from New Hampshire. Following graduation from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and service in the U.S. Army in 1953-56, the young Bafalis moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he thrived as an investment banker.
In 1964, as President Lyndon Johnson and Democratic Sen. Spessard Holland were sweeping Florida statewide, Bafalis became one of the few Republicans to win a seat in the state House of Representatives. Two years later, he moved up to the state senate.
"You really have to give Skip a lot of credit," recalled Jim Martin, onetime top aide to Rep. (later Sen.) Ed Gurney, R-Fla., and now chairman of the 60 Plus American Association of Seniors Citizens. "When he got into politics, there was a grand total of two Republican U.S. representatives, no Republicans in statewide office, and only a handful of Republican state legislators."
Bafalis surprised a lot of his friends when in 1970 he entered the Republican primary for governor against Claude Kirk, Florida's first GOP governor since Reconstruction, and drugstore magnate Jack Eckerd. Both Bafalis and Eckerd felt that Kirk's public antics were embarrassing. The twice-divorced governor married a stunning German divorcee he dubbed "Madame X," hired a private detective agency to oversee crime-fighting in his state, and — while known as a racial moderate — opposed court-ordered busing in a Manatee County until a judge ordered him fined $10,000 a day unless he left the school building (which he did).
Bafalis placed third in the race, and Kirk won nomination in a runoff against Eckerd. In November, Kirk lost to Democrat Reuben Askew by 57% to 43%.
The following year, redistricting created a new U.S. House district in Bafalis' turf and he won it handily. The Floridian was one of the 42 House Republicans in the Class of '72, which included future Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen of Maine, future Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen, and future Sens. Steve Symms of Idaho, Trent Lott of Mississippi, Bill Armstrong of Colorado, and Thad Cochran of Mississippi. Coming to Congress as Richard Nixon was winning a landslide reelection, they saw the future as theirs and many opportunities to create change and eventually win a majority.
The Watergate scandal, of course, changed all this. It would be another 22 years before a GOP-controlled House came about.
At a time when there were ample federal dollars to spend on infrastructure, Bafalis joined with Democrat and fellow Florida Rep. Dante Fascell to fund the construction of a highway from mainland Florida through the Florida Keys. He also secured the federal funding to build the Sky Bridge from Fort Myers to Fort Myers Beach in his district.
Decades before Disney became a synonym for "woke" to Florida conservatives, Bafalis was a pivotal (and very proud) politician in getting Disney World to come to his state.
Unbeatable in his district, Bafalis finally decided to leave Congress in 1982 and again pursue his dream of becoming governor. He lost badly to popular Democratic incumbent Bob Graham.
Like many members of Congress who bring their families to the Washington, D.C., area, Bafalis stayed there after leaving office and became a government relations consultant. As in Congress, his skill in working with Democrats made him successful.
Whether it was becoming a successful businessman in a new locale or serving in office as part of a party distinctly in the minority, Skip Bafalis demonstrated that it could be done — and done well.
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