Slime of a different kind seeps into governor’s race
Candidates pledge to get rid of green algae, red tide
TALLAHASSEE — Slime has taken on a whole new meaning for Florida politicians seeking votes ahead of Tuesday’s primary. A green ooze of algae has taken over large swaths of waterways in southwest Florida and the Treasure Coast, alarming residents and business owners fretting about the impact to tourism and quality of life.
The algae, toxic to marine life and an irritant to ears, eyes and skin of humans, has become political fodder in the heat of the primary season, as candidates in both parties seek to separate themselves from their opponents.
In addition to the blooms inland, communities on the Gulf Coast have also had to deal with red tide, a different algae toxin that poisons marine life. Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in seven counties to help combat the red tide. The declaration followed a similar one in July for communities affected by the green algae outbreak.
Democrats have long blamed Scott for lax environmental regulations and enforcement for the blooms, but there has
been plenty of friendly fire among the five Democratic candidates for governor on the issue.
Former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee has been criticized the most by her fellow Democratic opponents for accepting donations from sugar companies, seen as responsible for much of the pollution that runs into the waterways and helps lead to the algal blooms.
Graham responded by donating the $17,400 given to her campaign to a political committee supporting the Indian Riverkeeper, a nonprofit group that advocates for protecting the Indian River Lagoon, which has seen algae seep into its waters.
As for a solution to the problem, Graham prefers a “comprehensive approach” to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee to store polluted water, reduce pollution from septic tanks and speed restoration of the Everglades.
“We are really at a point with our environment where we are going to determine whether we can even live on this peninsula into the future,” Graham said. “We’ve got to deal with these environmental challenges and the crises that we face.”
Winter Park businessman Chris King has criticized Graham the most for accepting sugar donations and made a point to refuse any donations from the industry. His stand was quickly followed by other Democratic candidates.
Another Democratic candidate, Jeff Greene, a Palm
Beach real estate billionaire, has blasted Scott and Republican leaders for cutting budgets of water management districts.
Greene “will make water restoration and protection a priority by ... establishing and enforcing meaningful water quality standards statewide, addressing septic tanks and effectively monitoring and notifying the public of water quality issues,” spokeswoman Claire Van Susteren stated in an email.
Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine has made the issue a central theme of his campaign as well, running an ad promising to “declare a state of emergency now, get help to businesses that need it most and bring in our best ecologists to end this nightmare.”
The green blooms are caused in part from fouled
waters in Lake Okeechobee released into rivers by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the Herbert Hoover Dike from being overwhelmed. The algae seeps into the Caloosahatchee River to the west, disrupting waterways as far away as Cape Coral; and into the Indian River Lagoon to the east, glides up the Treasure Coast and often into Brevard County waterways.
During a Democratic debate last month, however, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum cautioned that solutions to the problem must take into account the large community of black workers in communities south of Lake Okeechobee, and not displace them.
“We can’t have this conversation in the elite towers of liberalism,” said Gillum, the only African-American
candidate in the race. “We have to have these conversations with everyday people whose lives are dependent on making sure that they can get a job and earn a wage and get access to health care and get retirement.”
Scott, meanwhile, has pushed for more federal and state funding to speed repairs to the dike, but even with additional money the project will take at least four more years to complete.
Sugar interests like U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals Corp. have resisted attempts to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee to store more water and prevent the runoffs, but lawmakers approved a plan to buy some land this year.
Republicans like Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a gubernatorial candidate, who has received $640,000 to his political committee from the two companies, have stressed the sugar industry isn’t the only polluter, and runoffs from septic tanks and fertilizer are also to blame.
But Putnam’s opponent in the GOP primary, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, has bashed him for not doing more to address the crisis and kowtowing to the sugar industry. DeSantis called Putnam the sugar industry’s “errand boy” during one debate.
DeSantis met with lawmakers and other officials in Brevard last week to discuss options for restoring the water and preventing future outbreaks.
The areas affected by the green algae have become a hotspot for most candidates to visit and express their dismay. Greene also has toured the region by plane.