Sink Talks Trains and Ports in Jax

Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner and state CFO Alex Sink will be in Jacksonville Tuesday as she continues her Business Plan for Florida tour. Sink will be touring the Jacksonville Port Authority and afterward will have a news conference at the Florida East Coast Railway yard.

Sink will talk about her plans to revitalize Floridas transportation network and, as befitting her stops on Tuesday, both rail andmaritime issueswill be on her agenda.

While Sink has not endorsed the Florida Ports Investment Act that is still up in both houses of the Legislature, shes certainly familiar with the issue of port renovation. Her website even alludes to the Panama Gulf expansion and how it would impact Floridas maritime trade.

Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, sponsor of the Florida Ports Investment Act in the House, keeps referring to his legislation as a jobs bill and saying that the Sunshine States 14 ports employ 550,000 Floridians. Charlie Crist agrees. Less than a week after sharing the state at a town hall event with Ray in Jacksonville, Crist offered a rousing endorsement of the ports bill.

This could be an issue that will reap political benefits for Sink, and her conference in Jacksonvilleshould offer insight into how she intends to frame the matter.