5 Democrats outline their platforms and differences
Five Democrats are battling for the chance to become the first member of their party to be elected governor of Florida in 24 years.
Even though they’ve been shut out of the Governor’s Mansion since Republican Jeb Bush’s first election in 1998, Florida Democratic candidates are unafraid this year to address progressive issues the party might once have worried were too liberal for the state, including assault weapon bans, criminal justice reform and a “livable” minimum wage.
The winner of the Aug. 28 primary will face off against either U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis or Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, running in the GOP primary.
Who they are:
■ Andrew Gillum, 38, is the mayor of Tallahassee.
■ Gwen Graham, 55, now living in Orlando, is a former U.S. representa-
tive from Tallahassee.
■ Jeff Greene, 63, of Palm Beach, is a billionaire real estate developer and investor.
■ Chris King, 39, of Winter Park, is the founder of Elevation Financial Group.
■ Philip Levine, 56, is a former mayor of Miami Beach.
Where they stand
Gillum campaign spokesman Geoff Burgan said the mayor has “walked the walk on issues that are critical to Florida. … He’s been front and center on [progressive issues] for years — he didn't just suddenly start adopting these positions.”
Gillum supports the legalization of marijuana “in order to generate new revenue to pay for teacher and instructional staff pay increases and to reduce the mass incarceration of people with low-level drug offenses,” according to his campaign.
He also wants to reform the cash bail system “so that we stop disenfranchising people of lower economic means” and also calls for reforms for minimum sentencing requirements.
On the economic side, Gillum proposes the “Fair Share for Florida’s Future” plan, which would raise the state’s corporate tax level to 7.75 percent from 5.5 percent, which the campaign said would recoup at least $1 billion to be used for “rebuilding our public schools, paying teachers a minimum starting salary of $50,000, investing in early childhood education programs, and investing in SHOP 2.0 and vocational training.”
Graham listed her top priorities as education, the environment, the economy and health care.
“Education isn’t just an issue on a position page for me, it is a passion that has defined most of my adult life,” she said, citing her work as a public school official and chief negotiator with the Leon County Teachers Association, which later endorsed her.
“We need to do better by both our teachers and our students by providing more resources, facilitating a world-class and well-rounded curriculum, and ending the dominance of highstakes testing,” Graham said. She said she would work to increase teacher salaries to at least the national average and ensure that the lottery money is being used for educational enhancements.
“And if the Legislature won’t work with me, I will use my bright red veto pen to reject all of their pet priorities,” she said.
On the environment, she said “ignoring climate change will drown Florida’s future” and called for joining the Climate Alliance of states upholding the Paris Agreement, banning fracking and stopping efforts to expand oil drilling.
Graham also called for diversifying Florida’s economy with new jobs in technology and robotics, solar energy, and health care, as well as raising the minimum wage and providing paid sick leave to workers.
She also called for Medicaid expansion via referendum and supports a public health care option for Florida.
Greene said Florida “is in a state of emergency.”
“There’s a veil over this state of emergency, which is this low unemployment that’s made up of a bunch of low-paying jobs that were created not by Rick Scott but by a rigged economy,” he said. “[It’s] kept Floridians in low-paying jobs. It hides the fact that we haven’t invested anything in our kids.”
Greene said education was “the number one longterm issue,” calling for equalizing the amount of funds spent per student to close the gap between wealthy and poor districts.
“We have to equalize the amount that’s spent so we have equal access to education,” he said. “You can’t fix problems in one day with education. But education is the foundation of which the whole state is built. It means more, better paying jobs. It means less people in prison, it means less mental health and drug addiction issues.”
Greene also called for “treating teachers like professionals.”
He also wants to increase the minimum wage, calling the current state standard of $8.25 an hour “inhumane.”
King said he has “a passion for fixing affordable housing,” which led to the founding of his company to invest in such projects across the state, adding he’s also calling for free community colleges and trade schools.
“We have to do a big thing to fix the low-wage economy,” King said.
He also said Medicaid expansion and strengthening the Affordable Care Act through public/private marketplace solutions was another top issue, as well as criminal justice reform and “ending mass incarceration.”
“I am the only candidate to take on the death penalty,” King said. “And to take on private prisons and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.”
King notes that he was “the first candidate to really stand up to Big Sugar.”
“It changed the whole future of the party vis-à-vis the whole relationship with Big Sugar,” he said.
Levine said economic opportunity, “empowering communities” and the environment were the three biggest issues.
“Wages remain stagnant while the cost of living has increased, our minimum wage doesn’t allow people to make ends meet and our state leaders allow large corporations to skirt paying their fair share of taxes, while handing them taxpayer dollars to try and convince them to put down roots in our state,” he said.
“This is the wrong approach — to diversify and grow Florida’s economy, the answer isn’t bribing companies with tax incentives,” he added. “We need to foster a culture of excellence and it starts with investing in and empowering our communities.”
Levine called schools “underfunded” and teachers “underpaid and under-appreciated.”
“To move Florida forward, we need top-notch public schools, access to quality and affordable health care, to pass the toughest non-discrimination and environmental protection laws, and to take action on real gun reform,” he said.
Levine said he would ensure water management districts “are led by scientists, not industry insiders,” and called for an Office of Environmental Resiliency to spearhead a plan to combat climate change, for which Florida “stands to lose more than any other state in the country … $100 billion in GDP.”
Where they differ
Gillum and Graham took the most contrasting views of what the party needed to do to win.
Burgan said that Gillum’s standing as “a bona fide progressive” is what Florida Democrats need in November: “With U.S. Rep. DeSantis locking up the Republican base with President Trump’s support, Florida Democrats will need to nominate someone who can unify the party and turn out our base voters.’’
Graham said she was “a mother, former PTA president, public school official and I represented Florida in Congress.”
“But there’s something else that differentiates me,” she said. “I am the only candidate who has beaten a Republican — and I did it in a Republican wave year in a Republican district. If you’re ready to end 20 years of oneparty rule in Tallahassee, I am ready to lead.”
Greene, a late entrant into the race in June, said, there are “huge contrasts” with his opponents.
“My background, my education, my resume … If this were a job interview, and we were all coming in to submit our resumes to be CEO of the state of Florida, which has an $89 billion budget and a trillion-dollar economy?” he said. “It’s not just running the business parts, it’s understanding all of the different aspects of education, health care, the environment, understanding how to be compassionate … Understanding you need revenue but you can’t overtax. You have to make sure you tax enough to get by without driving everyone away.”
King said what made him unique “is really a belief that I’m trying to transform the Democratic Party and the state of politics.”
“I’m trying ... a new politics, [taking] on the powerful interests like Big Sugar and the NRA. … And I’m the only one saying how we would pay for gun safety measures” by taxing bullets.
Levine said Floridians “want leaders who bring more to the table than talk — people want a candidate with a record of taking action to get things done.”
“As a successful entrepreneur who built companies from scratch and a two-term mayor with a record of delivering results, I offer Floridians the best and most clear path to put our state back on track,” he said. “Floridians don’t want a candidate who has never been tested in public office. It’s time for someone who’s not afraid to make waves and challenge the status quo to lead our state, and I am the candidate who can get it done.”
For more coverage of the Aug. 28 primary, go to orlandosentinel.com/politics.