The two leading gubernatorial candidates are exchanging attacks over ethics as the mud is flying, even with more than four and a half months to go until the election.
After qualifying for the ballot on Monday, former Gov. Charlie Crists team went after Gov. Rick Scott on education. Crist is the favorite for the Democratic nomination to challenge Scott despite spending most of his political life as a Republican.
Rick Scott cut $1.3 billion from education his first year in office, insisted Jessica Clark, Crists deputy campaign manager, on Monday, adding that it was only the tip of the iceberg, before doubling down on her attack against the governor.
Scott tried to cut almost $5 billion from K-12 education -- and that's on top of slashing Bright Futures scholarships, and admitting that if given the chance, he would have let 20,000 teachers lose their jobs," Clark added, before offering her take on how Scotts office runs.
Maybe Scott would pay attention to our schools if principals could write six-figure checks. Clark continued. After all, that's how corporations get special attention from the governor's office these days. It's downright despicable.
The Florida Democratic Party released a new television ad which will be on the air in Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach on Tuesday which jabs Scotts record in the private sector. Crist has promised to focus on Scotts record at Columbia/HCA, a tactic that did not pay off for other candidates in the 2010 gubernatorial election such as then-state CFO Alex Sink and then-Attorney General Bill McCollum.
Floridians need a governor who they can trust will wake up every day to fight for the middle class, said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant on Tuesday. As a CEO, Rick Scott oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in American history at the expense of patients, seniors, and taxpayers. As governor, Scott has broken our trust again, cutting education to pay for tax giveaways and special deals for the wealthiest Floridians, his political contributors, and special interests. The Florida Democratic Party is making sure middle-class Floridians know why Rick Scott cant be trusted to fight for them in a second term -- just look at his record."
But Scotts team fired back on Tuesday, noting that Crist had ties with numerous shady associates including convicted fraudster Scott Rothstein and longtime political ally Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) who is now in prison for embezzlement.
If Charlie Crist wants to talk about trust and ethics, just ask him about his felon friends who said Crist had direct knowledge of their illegal and unethical behavior, said Susan Hepworth, a spokeswoman for the RPOF, on Tuesday. Or, you can ask the voters that he lied to for many as a Republican, or the Democrats he now claims to be telling the truth to.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
