By choosing King, Gillum ensured that the progressive wing of the Florida Democratic Party owns responsibility for this election. Progressives for years have been flinging brickbats at the party establishment for backing centrists. Except for U. S. Sen. Bill Nelson, FDP candidates have consistently failed in statewide general elections; there hasn’t been a Democratic governor in 20 years.
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Democratic powerbrokers split their allegiances in the primary between former Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine and Graham. The Tallahassee mayor was virtually ignored until he surged in the last three weeks of the campaign. Even then, he garnered virtually no support from the
Rick Scott and his wife have invested at least $18 million in three financial firms managing money for the state’s pension system that Scott oversees — a situation that intertwines the governor’s personal finances with his responsibility for supervising state employees’ retirement savings. here
From the moment he swept into office on 2010’s Tea Party anti-tax, anti-regulation wave, he began slashing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), cutting budgets, skilled staff and inspections. here
The local news recently put out an article which discusses how a statue at Ulele is being removed. The statue, which depicts an indigenous American woman, is meant to be commemorative of Native culture. It is being removed due to legal issues with regard to the City, and is a show of where our Mayor’s energies go during his final months in office. Some people have mentioned how this action was a “last straw” in a line of legitimate grievances against Mayor Buckhorn. Bob bombastically attacked the School Board when they fired Mary Ellen Elia, without regard for how disabled students died during a negligent superintendent’s incumbency. He opposed medical cannabis in 2014 — a slap in the face for patients, for people who know someone who benefits from cannabis as a medicine. He was Mayor while “Biking while Black” was first exposed as an issue for our police, and has done little to nothing for Tampa’s marginalized communities. It’s okay to hold people accountable. There are legitimate grievances against Mayor Buckhorn, and what I have listed here probably just scratches the surface. If you have had an issue with the Buckhorn administration, please share, and help Tampa elect a different kind of Mayor in 2019. This next Mayor needs to be more than someone with a “D” next to their name. Municipal races in Tampa are “nonpartisan” and more than one candidate has switched to being Democrat as a Mayor of convenience. That being said, please, elect a better Mayor, Tampa.