Advertisement

Crist touts 'fairness plan' in St. Petersburg campaign event

 
The governor has catered to special interests, Crist says.
The governor has catered to special interests, Crist says.
Published July 30, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist knows the very first things he will do if he beats Gov. Rick Scott in November.

His "First Day of Fairness" plan includes a series of executive actions that he promised at a St. Petersburg news conference Tuesday to make immediately if elected.

• Faster, more affordable access to public records from agencies run by the governor's office.

• Raising the minimum wage for contractors doing business with agencies reporting to the governor's office

• Issuing an executive order requiring equal pay for women employed by companies doing business with agencies reporting to the governor's office.

• Ordering executive agencies to grant contract work to in-state "whenever possible and legal.''

• Protecting the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender workers through an executive order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity within agencies reporting to the governor's office and their contractors.

"Middle-class families across Florida deserve a fair shot at success, but under Rick Scott, it's the special interests that get all the breaks," Crist said. "The First Day of Fairness is about giving middle-class families and small businesses the same opportunities and protections the big corporations have enjoyed under Rick Scott."

The Scott campaign responded by releasing a statement from his campaign chairman, state Sen. John Thrasher of St. Augustine: "Charlie Crist thinks he can win this election by doing his best Barack Obama impersonation — all talk and no action. And it's telling that his new proposal includes no plans for job creation or education. Crist's record speaks louder than any of his words: billions in tax hikes and double-digit tuition increases — as Florida was losing 832,000 jobs and 28,000 small businesses — was anything but 'fair' to the middle class."