EDITORIAL: Help Florida. Elect Andrew Gillum as governor | Editorial
Education: Gillum wants the state to spend more on traditional public schools, especially on teacher salaries. That would help
DeSantis wants to continue favoring charter schools, which educate just 10 percent of public school students. Because of
Health care. Gillum wants the Legislature to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Doing so would give about 400,000 poor people access to health care, almost half of them in working families. It would also mean we're no longer paying for expanded access in 33 other states without any benefit to ourselves. A 2015
DeSantis opposes Medicaid expansion. And if
The environment. Gillum calls climate change an "urgent threat." He understands the economic imperative we face as insurance companies prepare to build risk into premiums. Gillum would make the state's response a priority. That would help
DeSantis says climate change is not a problem state government can address. He calls himself "not a global warming person" and says vaguely that the answer is "federal funding." DeSantis would continue Gov.
Public safety. Gillum supported the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act and wants the state to pass common-sense gun laws. That would help
DeSantis said he would have vetoed the bill that raised the age for firearms sales to 21, banned bump stocks and imposed a three-day waiting period. He also favors letting people openly carry guns. That would hurt
Criminal justice reform. Gillum supports the constitutional amendment that would restore the rights of ex-felons (except those who committed murder or sexual assault) once they complete their sentence.
DeSantis opposes the amendment. As governor and head of the clemency board, he could undercut the will of voters if the amendment passed. His resistance would hurt
In the Democratic and Republican primaries, we endorsed investor
Gillum wants to raise the corporate income tax from 5.5 percent to 7.5 percent, which he says would raise
Even if Gillum got what almost certainly will be a Republican-led Legislature to go along, the increase might not raise as much as he believes. And setting a statewide number could unfairly affect teachers in
Still, Gillum recognizes that schools need more money. That's a start. And he could stop some of the worst ideas the Legislature produces, if enough
Gillum said he would have blocked the bill that shifted money from traditional public schools to charter schools last year. He also would have blocked the bill that allowed sugar growers to pay less toward
And because Gillum understands local government from having spent 15 years on the
Not so long ago,
We need a course correction, one that shoves fewer state dictates down our throats.
During the primary, both candidates hit national themes, hoping to boost turnout. DeSantis touted his endorsement by
Now, however, Floridians want to hear about state issues.
Yet DeSantis continues to spend more time on
DeSantis represented
Perhaps his thin record explains why, in his stump speech, DeSantis talks less about his plans for
Actually, Gillum led the effort to rebate
We acknowledge that DeSantis has differed with his party on some issues. He criticized Putnam for his ties to the sugar industry and pledged to prioritize water quality. He also criticized
We also acknowledge that Gillum has had to deal with an FBI investigation of
More problematic, though, are DeSantis' appearances before certain right-wing groups and his failure to distance himself from hate-mongering supporters.
At one conference, DeSantis accepted co-billing with a speaker who accused Jews of having a "paranoid-based fear of Nazis." He has failed to disavow backing from the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group whose founder is that anti-Semitic speaker. Then there was DeSantis' warning to voters after the primary not to "monkey this up" by electing Gillum, who would be
Help
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor
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