State Attorney Ayala backs Gillum in Democratic primary for governor
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala has endorsed Andrew Gillum in the Democratic primary for governor in Orlando.
“I’m so proud to stand here with Mayor Andrew Gillum in his campaign to take this state back to the people, back to the working people,” she said Tuesday during a press conference at Gillum’s Orlando campaign office. “Throughout this race, he’s shown courage, and I mean true courage, from speaking truth to power to standing up for our most important values of inclusion and decency.”
Ayala, the first African American state attorney elected in Florida, has clashed with Gov. Rick Scott over her decision not to seek the death penalty for capital crimes. She also has ended cash bail for minor criminal charges.
Unlike his fellow candidate, Winter Park businessman Chris King, Gillum has not stated he would outright oppose the death penalty, saying he thinks it has a long discriminatory history and should be applied sparingly. But he said Tuesday he backs Ayala’s bail reforms, which he wants to carry out statewide.
“We really do have an opportunity to remake the way we approach criminal justice and the criminal justice system in this state,” said Gillum. “I applaud her for what I would consider really revolutionary updates to the criminal justice system in this area.”
Ayala, he said, “really understands the plight of working people. And while her job first and foremost is to see to the safety and security and that those who run contrary to the law pay the proper penalty, she also has brought … a kind of conviction and courage that frankly only accompanies someone of her caliber.”
Ayala said her support for Gillum goes beyond her core issues of the death penalty and criminal justice reform. “More importantly [he has a] focus on early education,” she said. “Those are some of the preventative measures so we don’t have to deal with people on the back end. Some of his focus is on making sure there is equality across the state. He’s a person who stands for all people, not just some of the people.”
Ayala, like Gillum, has received campaign support from liberal billionaire George Soros. Gillum’s PAC has received $250,000 from Soros, who put $1 million into Ayala’s 2016 campaign against incumbent Democratic State Attorney Jeff Ashton.