Former GOP Congressman David Jolly is learning into issues of affordability and cost of living in his campaign as a Democrat for governor. He’s also making an effort to link these issues to the “pay-to-play” culture he sees in Tallahassee.
Florida’s growth management and environmental laws were lauded in the 1970’s and 1980’s when Florida’s population surged in much the same way as it is today. However, in those days decisions about new developments and road building were more scrutinized. Additionally, Florida’s water resources weren’t quite as stretched at any time in the past as they are now. Jolly feels strongly that the general attitude toward those things has changed partly due to the “pay-to-play” culture in the state.
Affordability Crisis in Florida
“I would argue the pay to play structure in Tallahassee has created the affordability crisis. Tallahassee refuses to require combined reporting of insurance companies, and instead allows them to shift their profits out of state and keep their losses here. And if we fix that one thing by statute, we generate almost $3 billion in revenue for the state, but Republican incumbents won’t do that because of the transactional nature of politics. You can look at some of the environmental decisions that the governor has made in terms of failing to manage growth, wrecking the environment, in Pasco County, they’re building town home communities and single family home communities for people who need them, but without growth management, we’re running out of water, and our schools are overcrowded. Republican incumbents don’t seem to care about that. I would suggest part of what we’re running against are the policies created by the pay to play nature, and then you move to pay to play, and you got to look at Hope, Florida (A charity founded by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis), and say $10 million was likely stolen from delivering health care to families and communities that need it, also that the governor could use it for his own political interests, were running against the pay to play, culture of Tallahassee without question”
Jolly sees the continued building of toll roads and the plopping of “managed lanes” such as the I-4 Express Lanes in Orlando as a problem for the state. We mentioned to him the building of the new Gateway Expressway in Pinellas County, whose major utility is that it simply connects I-275 to US19 which are only two or so miles apart. Yet it is pay road, where you must have a Sun Pass to use it.
” It costs me 86 cents every time I get on. Express. So how can we what is your plan to kind of turn the clock back on that, or not turn the clock back, but get us back to where we’re looking at public transportation options. We’re looking at things that make sense, particularly with the climate crisis, and we’re not spending billions of dollars on building roads. We’re spending billions of dollars on expanding I-4 from Tampa to Orlano. I think Republican politicians are hiding from the actual revenue needs. I just think Tallahassee Republicans are dishonest about math is when it comes down to. They truly are. They want to say to voters, we’re doing all these things, but they’re hiding how we have to pay for it. And here’s the biggest concern, then. Look, the economic growth in Florida for the past five, six years has been great, right? But because it has not been managed smartly, it’s led to the affordability crisis, but also a growing disparity, wealth disparity, among those who can afford Toll Roads or expensive insurance or expensive taxes, and those who can’t. And so think about what that really means in Orlando, right? If you can can pay the $600 or $8 toll to breeze through it, you get in the express lanes. But if you’re working at the convention center, you’re sitting in traffic for an hour because you had to live an hour outside of town. You don’t earn enough money to pay to pay rent in downtown Orlando. I just think there’s a moral wrong in continuing to contribute to that wealth disparity. But let’s work toward an opportunity to partner with the federal government for public transportation dollars. We should take that opportunity. If the federal government wants to invest in public transportation, if they want to invest in Medicaid expansion, if they want to invest in refugee resettlement for families who want, food security, housing security, and a new country, because they’re being victimized back at home, we should accept the federal funding.”
Foreign Tourism to Florida
While Florida remains a tourist destination for Americans, recent boycotts by Canadian snowbirds as well as increasing hesitation by Europeans to travel to Florida potentially hurts our state’s most important industry. Much of this has to do with the tone of GOP elected leaders whether it is President Trump’s attitude toward Canada or Governor DeSantis previous condescension toward European allies like France.
“It’s interesting because I like that you asked about tone, because tone is so much of it, right? It is. We need a Florida where everyone is welcome. Welcome to visit, welcome to live, welcome to be who they want to be, the color of their skin, who they love, who they worship, everyone is welcome. We give respect and dignity to everybody. I think part of what has hurt the brand of Florida is the culture wars of the last four to six years, right? People from within the state and without are looking at the state of Florida saying, “Boy, that’s just a mean, a mean state, where I don’t want to be a part of it.” I mean, that’s just a value, right? But then I also think how we invest TDC dollars in economic dollars matter. Right now, largely, we’re investing all TDC dollars to build big convention centers and to invest in tourist facilities, but we’re not investing it enough in roads to get there and transportation modes to get there. And most importantly, in workers to work there. I mean, we could open up TDC dollars and say, we’re gonna invest in workforce housing for not just to build convention centers, but for people to work in those convention centers. So if you’re considering coming to Florida, everything is more expensive. It’s harder to get around. You’re not sure if you’re welcome. You’re stepping into a culture war state.”
Jolly appears focused on problem-solving for the state. But the reality remains, Florida is the only state east of the Mississippi that has not had a Democratic Governor this century and early polling does indicate he faces an uphill fight. That having been said, electoral politics is fluid and given Florida’s transient nature, the state’s electoral attitudes could turn on a dime.