Congressman Ron DeSantis was born in Jacksonville. He grew up in Dunedin and lived in a 1,500-square-foot ranch home. His father was a Nielsen ratings box installer, and his mother was a nurse.
DeSantis excelled in academics and athletics. At age 12, his baseball team from Dunedin competed in the 1991 Little League World Series, representing Florida and the Southern U.S.
At Dunedin High, he was an All-Star in baseball, which earned him a full scholarship at Yale University. DeSantis was captain of the Yale University baseball team, and earned a B.A. in history, graduating cum laude. He went on to Harvard Law School and received his law degree, also graduating with honors.
Instead of joining a prestigious law firm, DeSantis gave back to his country by joining the Navy. He was commissioned as a Navy J.A.G. Officer and was stationed at Guantanamo Bay. In 2007 he was deployed to Iraq as a legal advisor to Seal Team One. DeSantis was awarded the Bronze Star for his military service in Iraq. In 2008, he was assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Florida's Middle District.
DeSantis ran for Congress in 2012 and won the District 6 seat in a field of six.
In Washington, D.C., he co-founded the Freedom Caucus, and faithfully represented the interests of his constituents -- the taxpayers, not the establishment or K Street lobbyists. DeSantis is a grassroots, fiscal conservative and he is pro-life. He has been a staunch advocate for our veterans and for Israel, and assisted with the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem this year.
Voters should remember that DeSantis has a close relationship with President Trump. He has stood by the president's successful agenda and there is mutual respect between them. When DeSantis becomes governor, he will be able to get the job done for Florida in whatever is needed from the federal sector because of that relationship and their mutual trust.
DeSantis’ achievements are characteristic of a natural leader, a man of integrity and the candidate who should become the next governor of Florida.
His Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, could be a further contrast politically, or philosophically.
The most admired Civil Rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said in his famous speech, “... I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by color of their skin but by the content of their character.” By the measure of those words, Andrew Gillum, as mayor of Tallahassee, fails the test.
Gillum is entwined in an extensive FBI probe of ethics and corruption in Tallahassee. His relationship with a Tallahassee lobbyist, Adam Corey, has included quid pro quo taxpayer funding for personal gain or approval of projects for others in exchange for the ‘high life.’
According to a Florida Ethics Commission report released Oct. 23, Gillum accepted luxury travel, lodging and entertainment perquisites from a lobbyist and undercover FBI agents posing as entrepreneurs. It is illegal in Florida for an elected official to receive a gift over $100. Gillum accepted a junket to Costa Rica, with $1,400-a-night suites and another to New York with lavish hotels and dining, a boat cruise, and free tickets to see “Hamilton” on Broadway. At that time the tickets to Hamilton ranged from $489 to $1,400 each.
Undercover FBI agents, known as Mike Miller, Mike Sweets and Brian Butler possess 150 pages of documents revealing the perquisites which Gillum received but flatly denied in the national spotlight during the first debate in Tampa. Two days later it was verified as fact by Gillum’s own text messages contained in the Florida Ethics Commission report.
The conduit lobbyist at the center of the investigation is Gillum’s long time college friend and former campaign treasurer, Adam Corey. Corey, now a restaurateur, received a $2.1 million loan in local taxpayers' money in Tallahassee to renovate his restaurant, The Edison.
Gillum is a big-government progressive, supported financially by billionaires George Soros, Tom Steyer and others, endorsed by avowed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and also backed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
He supports sanctuary cities and open borders with regard to illegal immigration and has vowed not to sign a death-penalty warrant if he becomes governor. That would include criminals like murderer/child rapist Joseph Smith, who kidnapped 11-year-old Carlie Brucia. The kidnapping was caught on camera and it made national headlines.
Last year Tallahassee had the highest number of murders ever recorded in the capital city. He has signed a pledge to support the Dream Defenders and the Freedom Papers manifesto, which denounces the police, prisons and rule of law.
With Florida’s economy hitting $1 trillion, the 17th largest in the world, it is imperative the next governor continue Gov. Scott’s free market economic policies.
The James Madison Institute analyzed both Gillum’s and DeSantis’ tax proposals. Analysts concluded if Gillum is elected, his tax increases would adversely affect the business climate of the state and cost Florida 155,000 jobs and $28.2 billion a year. If DeSantis is elected governor, it would lead to the creation of an additional 215,000 jobs annually and $26.6 billion in annual economic output.
Florida voters could not have a clearer choice for governor.
DeSantis is a man of his word. He will protect our coastlines and lakes, continue our economic success, has vowed to axe Common Core, require civics and an understanding of the Constitution in school. Most importantly, the next governor will have three Florida Supreme Court appointments the day he is sworn in.
"Every tree is known by its fruit."
Both candidates have humble beginnings. Gillum's actions as mayor worked to the benefit of himself or his friends, not the people he governed. DeSantis, is a selfless public servant and the right choice to lead the great state of Florida.
Nancy Peek McGowan of Jacksonville, state chair of Women4DeSantis, is a University of Florida alum with a degree in political science.
