Economic Diversification:

Our State economy is still too dependent on tourism, building and agriculture to sustain itself.  Our current Republican legislature and past Republican Governors have failed to adequately spur sustainable economic growth in other industrial sectors, including biotechnology and renewable energy.

I will RE-PRIORITIZE SPENDING AND CURRENT TAX INCENTIVES and apply them to the fledgling biotech and energy industries so that Florida can be a world leader in these critical fields in the future.

Education:

For the past 12 years, our state legislature has been dominated by members of the Republican party in the House of Representatives, State Senate, Cabinet and Governor’s office.  During this time, Florida public schools continue to have graduation rates and preparedness for college amongst the lowest in the nation.  Our per-student spending for K-12 and State Universities and Colleges remain BELOW the national average and salaries for our teachers remain low compared to other states.

We need a fundamental change in the way we educate our children and how we evaluate and incentivize our teachers.  Testing is not teaching.  We must move away from standardized testing as the sole measure of our children’s learning achievement and the effectiveness of our teachers.  As the economy improves, and our state revenues increase, I would support legislation that would REQUIRE A SPECIFIC PERCENTAGE OF NEW REVENUES BE EARMARKED FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.  In addition, I will continue to OPPOSE ANY LEGISLATION SIMILAR TO SB 6.

Energy/Environment:

I would support specific tax incentives for businesses to create “green energy” portfolios: for solar, biomass, “farm to fuel”, “farm to energy” and other renewable sources.

While the current leadership of the Republican-dominated legislature continues to push for more off-shore oil drilling, I WILL OPPOSE ANY FURTHER DRILLING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.  I will strongly encourage real development in the green and renewable energy sectors now!

Small Business:

As a small business owner, I will fight to promote a business friendly climate and to support policies that encourage small and “micro” business growth and investments for future growth.

This will include legislation that will SUPPORT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR MORE ATTAINABLE, LOW-INTEREST SMALL BUSINESS LOANS.