“He’s a unique character,” says Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota. ”A lot of people up here will tell you what they need to tell you to get what they want out of you. With Sen. Bennett, you know exactly where you are at any given time. He’s his own man.”

Over the past seven years, the 62-year-old former electrical contractor who jumped into state politics nearly a decade ago to fix workers’ compensation has earned a reputation for candid talk, loyalty and an independent streak as he represents a coastal region experiencing explosive growth and the strains that go with it.

During his tenure, the Bradenton Republican has been the go-to guy for homebuilders and developers over such issues as impact fees and reducing permitting red tape. It’s a natural fit for Bennett, a developer himself, whose local projects include Hawks Harbor, a 30-acre development on the Manatee River.

Meanwhile, he’s been on the forefront of efforts to balance Florida’s growth with its ability to sustain it.

This year is no different. As lawmakers prepare for the second half of the legislative session, the Navy veteran says he hopes to succeed on a bevy of legislation ranging from alternative energy to protecting the Myakka River.

Some proposals will make it, others won’t. But Bennett says he’ll give them a run and let the chips fall.

“I don’t think you ought to criticize unless you want to get involved with change,” says Bennett. “That’s why I got into this.”

Born in Brainerd, Minn., on New Year’s Day 1945, Bennett moved with his parents to Florida when he was 10. He graduated from Sarasota High School in 1962.

The following year, Bennett entered the Navy and soon found himself jumping out of helicopters off the coast of Vietnam as a member of an air rescue crew. He must have liked what he was doing because he served four tours.

Returning to the States, he graduated from Drake University in Iowa and went on to earn an M.B.A. in 1976. He settled in Des Moines with his wife Diane, a schoolteacher he met in California during the war. He proposed a week after they met and they’ve been together ever since.

Bennett taught business at Drake and Iowa State University and quit, he says, when he realized his summer vacation lasted longer than his salary to enjoy it. He moved to Florida in 1985 and purchased Aladdin Ward Electric, a Sarasota contracting firm. Since selling the company in 1998, he has a number of irons in the fire including the Linger Lodge restaurant, the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex and a private real estate business.

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As lawmakers bear down on the final weeks, local taxes and property insurance remain the top business issues for the 2008 session despite recent attempts to shore up both. Bennett has been a strong advocate for tax caps on local government and equity in how much different property owners pay.

He’s also been a vocal critic of local government spending, saying cities and counties took advantage of an unprecedented building boom following back-to-back hurricane-wrought seasons. Instead of reducing rates, local governments collected the largesse. Now it’s time to pay the piper.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time dealing with the property tax inequities, more than what we did in the last regular session,” Bennett says. “There is a cooperative effort to implement a program that would treat people fairly.”

The crux of the issue is Save Our Homes, which Bennett says has led to a system in which similar homes are taxed at different levels. Commercial property owners are among the most penalized as local governments scramble for revenue.

Last year, Bennett and others argued unsuccessfully to bring non-homesteaded property owners under the protection of meaningful local property tax caps. It’s a message he will reiterate this year. Despite the passage of Amendment 1, which predominantly benefited homeowners, Bennett says property tax reform is far from complete.

“All property should be taxed at the same rate,” Bennett says. “I also want to cap the property tax increases that people have to pay on their business.”

On the commercial front, Bennett wants business owners to be allowed to tailor property insurance to fit their needs instead of requiring them to carry a laundry list of coverage. The ability to choose has worked well in South Carolina to reduce rates.