The Florida Gubernatorial race is literally too close to call at right now but if it were up to Florida's major Newspaper editorial boards, Alex Sink would be our next Florida Governor.
From Pensacola to Miami, Florida's major newspapers are unanimous in their strong support for Alex Sink.
The Miami Herald endorses Alex Sink:
Mr. Scott, 57, has spent a record $60 million of his own money to promote his candidacy, but the more voters know about him, the more questions there are. He calls himself an outsider whose business savvy will bring efficiency to state government, but it would be a disaster for Florida if he ran the state like he ran Columbia/HCA.
The hospital chain wound up paying $1.7 billion in a massive Medicare fraud scheme that occurred when he was chief executive. He was never charged with wrongdoing, but he walked away with a golden parachute reportedly worth $310 million.
The Orlando Sentinel endorses Alex Sink:
It's oh-so-simple to Rick Scott. Floridians would be crazy to back Alex Sink for governor, he says, because she's a "Tallahassee insider" who bears responsibility for the state's high unemployment and budget shambles.
He, on the other hand, is a self-described successful businessman and an outsider, just what Floridians need to get to work.
Simple, yes. And like so much else Mr. Scott has said during his improbable run for governor, dead wrong. Wrong on the facts. And absolutely wrong for Florida.
Floridians can count themselves fortunate to have an impressive alternative in Ms. Sink, with her integrity, smarts, accomplishments and vision for the state. She has the experience Florida needs.
The Tampa Tribune endorses Alex Sink:
Florida's Republican and Democratic parties traditionally nominate two well-qualified candidates for governor, which makes it hard for voters to go far wrong on Election Day.
Usually whatever political differences there may be between the nominees, there is little doubt the candidates are trustworthy, capable and knowledgeable.
Not this year.
In Republican Rick Scott, Florida voters are being asked to entrust their state to an individual who made his fortune supervising an organization that systematically fleeced taxpayers. He has sought to elude tough questions, and when faced with them, has revealed a disturbing disregard for Florida's history and its needs. Despite his dubious background, his largely self-financed campaign is flinging mud freely.
Floridians should have no trouble recognizing the superior candidate: Democrat Alex Sink, the former Tampa banker who has performed honorably as the state's chief financial officer.
The Tallahassee Democrat endorses Alex Sink:
In refusing to speak even with reporters who have tried to report on his campaign beyond his signature "let's get to work" sound bite, Mr. Scott sends an alarming message.
If elected to office, closed-door government would be the name of the game. And if you think open government allows for shenanigans, consider if the "corporate culture" was about secrecy and control first, last and always.
Mr. Scott has nothing much to be truly proud of in his business life beyond amassing a fortune for himself. The massive fraud that occurred while he was head of Columbia/HCA Health Care Corp., suggests he is either untrustworthy or was ignorant of the operations of the very company he founded.
The St. Petersburg Times endorses Alex Sink:
Transparency is a foreign concept to Scott. He will not release a deposition he gave just six days before he joined the governor's race in a lawsuit that alleges Solantic, a chain of health care clinics in which he has invested, violated state licensing rules. He only recently released his tax returns, a common practice for statewide candidates.
On issue after issue, Scott fails to grasp the consequences of his reckless campaign promises. He claims he can cut corporate and property taxes, reject additional federal stimulus money, trim state spending — and still maintain or increase education spending. As good as that may sound to struggling Floridians, the dollars just don't add up.
Among Scott's other radical plans: deregulating property insurance, gutting the state's growth management agency, expanding school vouchers, considering offshore oil drilling and passing an Arizona-style immigration law. The lawyer who became wealthy running a company that defrauded taxpayers has no appreciation for government's responsibility to protect consumers and individual rights. Among the likely consequences of his proposals would be significantly higher homeowners insurance rates, less money for public schools, early release of prison inmates and more reckless development.
The Pensacola News Journal endorses Alex Sink:
No self-respecting Florida voter should want, as the state's next governor, a man whose best-known "accomplishment" was heading the company convicted of the largest Medicare fraud in the history of the United States.
Rick Scott, of course, claims he didn't know. But his own company's financial statements — which he signed — warned about its legally risky tactics.
The tens of millions of dollars of his own fortune Scott spent in campaign ads creating a new persona for himself are not enough to whitewash that fact. Or to cover up the 75 times he took the Fifth Amendment — a legal tactic lawyers say is properly applied when an honest answer would tend to incriminate you.
The Medicare fraud cost Scott his job. Voters should not give him a new one.
One point that sticks out about these endorsements is the fact that many papers have declared that Rick Scott is simply unfit for office.
Rick Scott is ahead by 0.1 percent in the latest polling. Zero point one percent.
Help GOTV for Alex Sink and Florida Dems - this race is crucial and we can win it with a little more effort.
Alex Sink's ActBlue page.
Progress Florida Voters Guide (the amendments)
Call Out The Vote with DailyKos
Alex Sink for Governor