Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre Endorses Rick Scott

Late Tuesday, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a Democrat, jumped party lines to back Republican candidate Rick Scott for governor over state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee.

"On Nov. 2, I will vote for Rick Scott to be governor of Florida, said Ferre, who served six terms as mayor. I have never voted for a Republican in the 54 years I have voted, and I have never missed voting since I became of age in Miami.

Ferre had run in the Democratic primary for the nomination for the U.S. Senate election, but with the emergence ofbillionaire candidate Jeff Greene as the chief challenger to U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Ferre proved to be a nonfactor in the contest. Ferre pulled just under 5 percent of the vote in the primary back in August, placing fourth behind Meek, Greene and health educator Glenn Burkett.

Ferre offered harsh words about the leadership of his party and said his treatment by the Democratic establishment during the Senate campaign contributed to his decision to back Scott.

"Despite the fact that I am a Democrat, I am deeply disturbed by the exclusionary direction of the Florida Democratic Party, he said. Even though I was the first Hispanic Democrat elected to the Florida state Legislature and the first Hispanic Democrat elected mayor of a major U.S. city, I was denied the opportunity to address the Florida state Democratic convention and denied the opportunity to participate in the Democratic U.S. Senate debates. This 'politics of exclusion' is an insult to every Hispanic voter in our state. Too many 2010 Democratic office seekers stood by silently as these injustices were perpetrated.