Looking to become the first woman to serve as governor in Floridas 165-year history -- and hoping to break a losing streak for the Democrats who have not won a gubernatorial election since 1994 -- state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink filed the needed paperwork to ensure her name will be on the ballot.
Sink filed the paperwork Wednesday surrounded by campaign staff. Later she spoke to the media and a group of volunteers.
Polls released last week showed Sink trailing both of the leading Republicans in the race -- health care executive Rick Scott and Attorney General Bill McCollum. The polls also showed Sinks candidacy was being weakened by Bud Chiles, the son of Florida Democratic icon Lawton Chiles, who launched an independent gubernatorial bid of his own earlier in the month.
A lot of work to do, but Im up for the job, said Sink as she filed at the Division of Elections in Tallahassee.
Besides being down in the polls at the moment, she is facing an alarming trend for Florida Democrats.
While no Republicans won gubernatorial elections from the end of Reconstruction until Claude Kirks upset victory in 1966, the last 25 years have been abysmal for Democrats running for governor. Lawton Chiles was the only Democrat to win gubernatorial elections since 1986 -- defeating Gov. Bob Martinez in 1990 and holding off Jeb Bush in 1994. In more recent elections, Bush crushed Buddy MacKay in 1998 and Sinks husband, Bill McBride, in 2002 by double digits. In the most recent gubernatorial election, Charlie Crist -- at the time a Republican -- bested Democrat Jim Davis by 7 percent.
Sink, who worked in Florida operations for Bank of America before defeating Republican Tom Lee by 7 percent in 2006, stressed her business background in her remarks Wednesday.
During my career, I created jobs, she said, adding that unemployment remained a severe problem in the Sunshine State with more than 1 million Floridians out of work. I want to put my experience to work for you as your governor.
She stressed that theme in remarks to the media after her speech. Ive been a different kind of leader, she said, before jumping on the Republican Party of Florida over a recent controversy involving questionable spending on party-issued credit cards.
Sink said that Florida needed a new approach to rebuild the states economy. She said she talked to many Floridians who are unhappy with the way the state government is being run.
Many used the word crisis, she said. Ive heard about the economic crisis. Ive heard about the oil spill crisis. Ive heard about the crisis in leadership here in Tallahassee.
She talked about the continuing challenges of repairing the damage caused by the Gulf oil spill. Saying that more help and leadership are needed, Sink said, We will hold BP and the federal government accountable.
After her remarks, She spoke to the media.
I intend to run an aggressive campaign, she said.
Sink did not sound aggressive when she talked about some of her opponents.
Sink said she talked with Bud Chiles before he decided to run and added that she didn't encourage him to pull the plug on his independent campaign. We share a lot of the same values, she said, specifically noting Chiles commitment to education and political reform.
Asked about the phenomenal rise of Scott, when it appeared that McCollum had a near-certain lock on the Republican nomination, she said, I think the Republicans are going to have a decision to make.
Ignoring the blistering Tallahassee heat as they stood outside to back their candidate, Sinks volunteers certainly interrupted her speech with applause on several occasions and chanted her first name.
Lets get to work and win an election, she said, as she closed her speech to cheers from supporters.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
