Enterprise Florida Strikes Back at Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald

Gray Swoope, secretary of commerce and president and CEO of Enterprise Florida,struck back at the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald on Tuesday over their recent articles profiling Rick Scott's economic record in the Sunshine State.

Recent articles take a narrow and shortsighted approach to understanding economic development in the state," said Swoope. "The facts and numbers tell us that Floridas economic development programs are not only working to win competitive job creation projects, but they are also protecting the investment of our taxpayers. We have elevated Floridas professional approach to new levels.

While the projects Florida has won are contracted to meet job-creation benchmarks over several years, you can see progress in communities throughout the state today. Companies such asNavy Federal Credit Unionin Pensacola,Johnson & Johnson Vision Carein Jacksonville, Verizon in Lake Mary,Amazonin Lakeland and Hillsborough County,Harris Corp.in Melbourne,Hertzin Estero andUnivisionin Miami are all investing hundreds of millions of dollars in building new and expanded facilities. Beyond the investment in our communities, these projects are already generating new jobs in construction and services, and will create thousands of jobs over the coming years.

Enterprise Florida is committed to working every day to bring new job opportunities to Florida. With our partners at the Department of Economic Opportunity and Workforce Florida, and our 67 economic development stakeholders, we are actively pursuing projects in and out of the state, nationally and globally, large and small, to create jobs for Floridians. We know economic development works in our state and we will continue to responsibly use the tools available to encourage the establishment, expansion and retention of business in Florida.

Enterprise Florida pointed to several reasons why Florida wasn't competitive before Scott took office, including a high unemployment rate and hundreds of thousands of job losses. Today, Enterprise Florida contends, Florida is "winning on cost, talent and competitiveness," bringing competitive private-sector jobs to the state as a result of friendly business policies.