Local politicos predict just how bad it could be for Northwest Florida if their candidate loses

Oct. 18--As anyone who tuned in to last week's televised debate could plainly see, Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist don't agree on much.

In that spirit of discord, The Daily News asked Okaloosa County's elected state committeemen, Republican Steve Czonstka and Democrat John Whitley, to share their views on what the local landscape will look like if the other guy gets elected.

Read their analysis on Page A2.

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Steve Czonstka, Okaloosa County Republican State Committeeman

As Yogi Berra once said, "Making predictions is hard, especially about the future."

Predicting what effect the election of Democrat Charlie Crist would have on local business/economic development, transportation, military and social issues would be especially difficult.

This is because figuring out what Crist's core principles are is an enigma.

The former Republican governor who decided to quit and run for the Florida U.S. Senate seat in a race won by Marco Rubio, as a Republican, then as an Independent, is now seeking to reclaim his former position as Florida's governor as a Democrat.

Mr. Crist's "core values" seem to vary depending on whatever is currently expedient in the political wind; hence the nickname "Windsock Charlie."

Looking at his record as a Florida state senator, state education commissioner, state attorney general and one-term Republican governor from 2007-2011, one might draw these following conclusions concerning his positions that would impact us locally.

Economic Development: As a Republican Governor Crist lacked the enthusiasm for cutting government's size and budgets that his predecessor Jeb Bush and his successor Rick Scott relished. His support by the SEIU, government employees' union and the teachers' union would suggest that one of his first acts as governor would be an Executive Order requiring state contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour (ala Obama).

Property Insurance: As governor, he championed policies to grow Citizens' Property Insurance, the state-backed agency funded by tax payers. It is likely he would not back current efforts to reduce its size or the State's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Tort Laws: Crist's employer is (or was) the Morgan Law Firm. His campaign has received sizable contributions from plaintiff attorneys making it highly unlikely he would support tort reform.

Medicaid Expansion: He is on record as favoring acceptance of federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage which was opposed by the Florida House last session.

Government Cutbacks: Crist has accepted $1 million in contributions from unions representing thousands of State workers. It is not likely he would support efforts to reduce government budgets or payroll.

Medical Marijuana: The Morgan Law firm, Crist's boss, funded the effort to put Amendment 2 to the Florida Constitution on the November ballot to entice younger voters to turn out and support Crist.

Courts:It is unlikely that he would support future legislative efforts to curb the power of state courts because of his campaign donors.

Environment: Crist championed green energy, green-house gas reduction and land acquisition as proposed by Amendment 1 to the Florida Constitution on the November ballot, which is opposed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the business community.

Education: He is supported by the teachers union. As governor he vetoed legislation to eliminate teacher tenure and implement merit pay based on student test scores.

Military: Crist has no military experience. Rick Scott served in the U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer Third Class from 1971 to 1974.

Family: Crist has been married twice and has no children. He is pro-choice. Rick Scott has been married to Ann Scott for 42 years. They have two daughters and three grandsons. Scott opposes abortion.

Immigration: Crist supports an "earned path to citizenship," but not full amnesty. He believes undocumented immigrants should be "sent to the back of the line" and government should focus on sealing borders to prevent illegal immigration. Scott supports a national ID card, and is in favor of an Arizona immigration law allowing local police to detain undocumented immigrants and check their immigration status.

Supreme Court: Because of the requirement for mandatory retirement for judges at age 70, the next governor will appoint one Florida Supreme Court Justice in 2017 and possibly three more in 2019 if Amendment 3 to the Florida Constitution on the November ballot passes.

Constitutional Revision Commission: This body meets every 20 years and will convene in 2017 with the Governor appointing fifteen of the thirty-seven members, including the Chair.

Department of Environmental Protection: Republican administrations have supported business friendly appointments to the State DEP. Environmentalists who support Crist would push him toward an increase in punishment-oriented regulatory enforcement.

Taxation: Florida is the nation's third largest state, having recently surpassed New York in population. It is one of only seven states without a state income tax.

The Democratic Party would like to change that.

The Last Word

Working together with the Republican legislature and cabinet, Gov. Rick Scott has set the state on a business and military friendly course with its $85 billion budget passed last legislative session.

Let's Keep Working with that successful team.

The Florida Panhandle, specifically Okaloosa County, is the conservative bastion of the state. We must turn out the vote in this election to ensure less government, lower taxes, and greater individual freedom.

John Whitley, Okaloosa County's Democratic State Committeeman

The Florida Panhandle cannot afford four more years of Rick Scott.

Whether the topic is the economy, transportation, health care or social issues, Scott has been laser focused on favoring the wealthy over the middle-class and has made purely political decisions that have hurt the citizens of our county and state.

Rick Scott may look like an effective leader to someone who chooses to only look at the small picture. He is factually correct when he says that previously high unemployment is down in our state under his governorship.

The values of our homes in the Panhandle have crept back up since he took office. Tourism in Okaloosa and neighboring counties have made a strong resurgence compared to the years before the BP oil spill and recession.

But don't be so easily fooled.

Every governor who won in the 2011 election can misleadingly produce similar claims about how they saved their state, when in actuality it was the recovery from the Great Recession that gave all these politicians bragging rights.

The Economy: Was Rick Scott the person who saved our state? Far from it.

If prior governor Charlie Crist hadn't accepted federal stimulus money when our economy was literally collapsing, we would be much worse off today.

Rick Scott's economic agenda is the same trickle-down theory that has never worked for the middle-class. Additionally his plan of privatizing prisons and the state's Medicaid program falls right in line with his history as CEO of Columbia/HCA, where his company was fined $1.7 billion for defrauding Medicare.

What's worse than a government run program? By far it is a program run by a for-profit group who lowers the pay of the workers, lowers its standards and skimps on benefits to make as much money as possible for themselves.

The Emerald Coast is heavily reliant on tourism, which means that many of the jobs in our counties are minimum wage. Minimum wage has failed to keep up with the cost of living.

Charlie Crist supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour while Rick Scott opposes that concept.

Raising the minimum wage would not only help some Okaloosa Countians get off taxpayer funded programs because they fall under the poverty line, but also give them some disposable income which would go to our local shops and restaurants.

The environment: "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" is an environmental initiative that Rick Scott has recently launched. Unfortunately, it is nearly four years too late in the making and is a hollow attempt to show voters that he actually cares.

Even though I'm admittedly not a scientist, I know that eliminating $305 million dollars from the Florida Forever program, (which Scott now says he supports) while cutting $700 million from the water management budget has a direct link to our rivers, lakes and our shores being more polluted than when he took office.

Social Issues: We believe that the government should not impose its will on individuals who are not hurting anyone by their actions.

Scott gave some ground allowing patients with certain ailments the right to receive marijuana through gels and vapor, but he certainly hasn't gone far enough.

There are still tens of thousands of patients with diseases not on Scott's list of being acceptable to be treated with medical marijuana. These people could benefit from a naturally grown plant with few to no side effects.

Instead Rick Scott wants them to rely on man-made pills with side effects that can almost be as harmful as their original symptoms.

Rick Scott and his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, are also playing politics to the detriment of our citizens.

Why else would they have spent so many taxpayer dollars to block gay marriage?

Courts all over the country are ruling that gay marriage bans are illegal. It is time for politicians in Florida to get on the right side of history and allow two people who are in love the right to marry.

Civil Rights Restoration: Once someone is released from prison for a non-violent crime and after finishing their parole, they are supposed to regain their civil rights, including the right to get job training and the right to reestablish their voter privileges.

Then Republican Governor Crist allowed this process that is the norm in 48 other states to continue.

One of Rick Scott's first acts as governor was to virtually grind this process to a halt. Hundreds of thousands of citizens had their restoration paperwork held in limbo.

This move was purely political and again shows his lack of empathy.

The last word

It's time for a change.

We simply cannot allow Rick Scott another four years.

Let Charlie Crist clean up Florida.

VOTERS' GUIDE

Beginning today and continuing through Friday, the Daily News will profile the candidates and issues on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election.

A schedule follows:

Today: State races

Oct. 20: Local races and runoffs

Oct. 21: Small races (fire boards, mosquito and MSBU)

Oct. 22: Local referendums (Navarre incorporation poll; Santa Rosa sales tax)

Oct. 23: Constitutional Amendments

Oct. 24: Federal race: (U.S. Rep. District 1).

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