August 31, 2013

Kudos for Tampa Bay Times editorial "Governor Phony". Outstanding.

Great editorial from the Tampa Bay Times yesterday. So glad to see a newspaper put forth the reality here in Florida in a clear, no-nonsense way.

Editorial: Governor Phony

Fourteen months from the next election, Gov. Rick Scott's sales pitch is clear. He portrays himself as the education governor, the defender of the environment and the advocate for open records. He's the jobs governor, and he has empathy for Floridians without health coverage. Don't be fooled by the packaging. It's a facade that hides reality, and Florida deserves better.

...The reality is Scott failed to show up at his own (education) summit to listen to the concerns of school superintendents and others. Instead he ate dinner privately with former Gov. Jeb Bush, whose passion for education is unquestioned even if some of his views are controversial.

....This year's per student funding is the highest of Scott's three years as governor. But it is still lower than each of the five previous years under his predecessors, Charlie Crist and Bush. Scott also signed into law the legislation that siphons off school construction money to privately run charter schools. And the governor's last two hand-picked education commissioners have shown more interest in advocating for charter schools and expanding voucher programs than in creating successful public schools.

And as to Scott's environmental record, it is pretty devastating. The editorial gives more detail, but this paragraph is telling.

Scott is still looking at toll roads to nowhere across the middle of Florida. The state still has no cohesive energy policy. And the governor's environmental agency is more focused on quickly approving the requests of developers than on protecting wetlands. A news conference on one worthy project cannot mask years of bad policy.

Florida does indeed deserve better. I fear that few Floridians are aware of the damage being done to our state under this governor.

We need more editorials like this.