She's not an official candidate for state attorney general, but Pam Bondi gave a sense of what she might be like on the campaign trail at a meeting of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans Tuesday night. She spoke to about  20 people -- including state house candidates Irene Guy and Rich Reidy -- in a meeting room at the Quorum Hotel on Westshore Boulevard.

Bondi arrived at the meeting after the sentencing for Jordan Valdez, the Davis Islands teen who killed a homeless woman in a hit-and-run accident. Bondi talked about her 18 years as an assistant state attorney, and said she had job offers that would have paid more. But she felt the call to public service. Her job, she said, is not about locking people up, but justice.

"You make very, very tough decisions every day," she said. And those decisions have to be based on what you believe is  right, not politics, she said. "We need more of that in government today."

One audience member prefaced a question about felon rights restoration with: "Theoretically, if you were attorney general..."  Bondi said it's important to restore those civil rights, but it takes vigilance to make sure the process works properly.

Bondi said the group invited her to speak, and it was the first time a political organiation had extended the offer to her. But lately, those offers have been coming fast and furious.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer