This Friday, from 1-2 PM, Democratic candidate for Florida's
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Alex Sink will be participating in a live interview and chat with the
Florida Progressive Coalition on
Gather.com.
Sink is the great-granddaughter of the original Siamese twins Chang & Eng and the wife of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride, but she has made a name for herself in the world of banking and is seeking to make waves in the world of politics as the first Democrat elected to the position of Chief Financial Officer.
Those who would like to ask the candidate questions should post them to this comment thread between now and Friday at 1 p.m. The best questions will be asked of the candidate from 1:30-2:00 during the open question period of the interview. To post questions directly on Gather.com, you must be a member. (Sign up here)
To view the live interview, go to the Floridians for Alex group on Gather.com.
This election will pit Sink against the winner of the Republican Primary, either
Randy Johnson or State Senate President
Tom Lee. While Johnson and Lee slug it out over who is the more "real" Republican, the citizens of Florida continue to face serious problems that neither of these candidates or current CFO
Tom Gallagher seem to want to address.
While few voters seem to know what it is the CFO does, the job is actually quite important. Among the many duties of the CFO are managing the state treasury, fighting waste, fraud and abuse in government, growth management, regulating the funeral and cemetary industry, ensuring access to affordable health insurance, cracking down on insurance fraud, overseeing the workers' compensation system, promoting fire safety, serving as the state's accountant, protecting Florida's environment, improving school quality and helping Florida's veterans. After eight years of neglect and the pursuit of privatization by the Republicans in Florida, many of these areas -- waste, fraud, abuse, education and the environment -- are in critical condition and need an dedicated and more progressive champion.
The CFO also helps serve as a check on the governor, something that is particularly important if either of the Jeb Bush-wannabes win the election (Gallagher or Charlie Crist).
Maybe the most important issue the CFO will deal with is the emerging crisis in the area of homeowner's insurance in the wake of the plague of hurricanes the state has faced in recent years. While the CFO doesn't directly regulate the insurance industry, the office does serve as the public's advocate in dealing with the insurance industry.
Sink has embraced the cutting edge of technology in her campaign, with a well-designed web site, an official blog which she actually posts to and this Friday's interview with the biggest coalition of bloggers in Florida.
The Florida Progressive Coalition is a new group of Florida bloggers and activists dedicated to fighting Republican domination of Florida government and pursuing more progressive policies in the Sunshine State. You can learn more about us here.
Again, those who would like to ask the candidate questions should post them to this comment thread between now and Friday at 1 p.m. The best questions will be asked of the candidate from 1:30-2:00 during the open question period of the interview. To post questions directly on Gather.com, you must be a member. (Sign up here)
To view the live interview, go to the Floridians for Alex group on Gather.com.
And don't forget to join us Friday to learn more about the Democratic candidate for this important position.