Saturday’s Florida Democratic gubernatorial debate between four of the five candidates at Pinellas Park High School’s auditorium was civil – until it wasn’t.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Winter Park businessman Chris King, former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and former congresswoman Gwen Graham addressed questions from moderators, Bay area students and social media on topics including gun safety, medical marijuana, for-profit charter schools, voter registration and President Trump.
Billionaire developer and former 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene, who filed to run June 1, declined to participate.
The live, televised debate, the second of five primary debates in the election cycle, started off with the candidates’ one-minute gubernatorial mission statements. Shortly thereafter, the first question was offered by 11-year-old Taylor Harris, a seventh-grader at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School in St. Petersburg.
“What have you done — what are you planning to do to keep me safe from gun violence and school shootings,”Harris asked. “I want to be safe and not scared at school.”
Spectrum Bay News 9 anchor and one of three debate moderators informed the audience that 30 years ago, a fatal shooting occurred at Pinellas Park High School. A bullet hole remains today.
Levine responded first, stating that similar to his actions during his eight-year tenure as Miami Beach mayor, he would ban assault weapons — a proposal shared by all four candidates. Levine described his intent of creating an education security administration or ESA, similar to the Transportation Security Administration.
Gillum added that no parent should have to be concerned that their child may leave school in a body bag.
All candidates agreed that imminent change is needed to protect all Floridians.
Statewide and nationally, gun restrictions including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines commonly used in mass shootings, is at the forefront of most Democratic candidates’ campaigns.
Contention replaced civility when Levine was called out for his $2,400 contribution to Marco Rubio’s 2010 Senate campaign. Levine estimates he’s donated upwards of $1 million to Democratic candidates.
“I’m a Democrat,” Levine said. “I’m proud to be a Democrat.”
With Levine currently considered the frontrunner, the 55-year-old self-made millionaire received the most hits during the hour-long debate.
“If you disagreed with Mayor Levine in Miami Beach, life was not very good for you,” King said. “He attacked journalists when he didn’t like what they wrote and silenced scientists when he didn’t like their findings — belittling constituents in public.”
Gillum corrected Levine’s earlier statement on banning assault weapons when he was Miami Beach Mayor, adding that a resolution was passed to ban them. An actual ban is a violation under law.
Graham, Levine’s leading competitor and the daughter of former Governor Bob Graham, was questioned relentlessly on her 2015 American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act vote to put extra restrictions on Syrian refugees. The legislation, which never passed, would have made it more difficult for Syrian refugees to come to the United States.
Graham said the vote would have certified the process that was already in place. Gillum pointed out that then-President Obama was also against the legislation.The Republican-controlled U.S. House passed the SAFE Act (HR 4038) but the bill never made it through the Senate.
Gillum, the only non-millionaire among the candidates, was asked by moderator Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times if he had too much baggage to serve as Florida’s governor. Smith was referring to Gillum’s Costa Rica vacation with his wife two years ago when they were accompanied by two lobbyist friends — one of whom has been subpoenaed by the FBI for alleged Tallahassee governmental improprieties.
Gillum responded that he has zero tolerance for corruption.
“Judge me by my actions,” Gillum said.
Gillum has never been implicated in the ongoing investigation.
Graham later hammered Gillum on his favorable vote 13 years ago for a coal-powered plant in North Florida. “That coal-powered plant never got built thanks to me and my colleagues who ultimately opposed it,” Gillum said.
King, who has never held elected office, defended Gillum, calling him a “good and noble servant.”
With the primary election 77 days away, Levine is the current frontrunner according to a June 3-7 statewide survey conducted by Democratic pollster Tom Eldon. Levine leads currently with 32 percent of likely Democratic primary voters; Graham polled at 16 percent; Gillum, 11 percent; King, 6 percent; and Greene at 3 percent. The poll has a 4 percent plus or minus margin of error.
Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy ended speculation he’d run on a bipartisan ticket with former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly when he endorsed Graham June 7.
Democrats have not won a Florida gubernatorial election since 1994. Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis lead the field of Republican candidates.
The primary is August 28 and November 6 is the general election.
The debate was sponsored by Indivisible FL-13, Women’s March Florida and Fired Up Pinellas.
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This article appears in Jun 7-14, 2018.