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Floridians
and wannabees
07/24/07 - Charlie Crist, Florida's recently elected Republican
governor, has turned out to be a surprise to his GOP party, the
Democrats, and the conventional wisdom. In a nation headed by the
ultra-conservative George W. Bush, one might expect that the
candidate who succeeded the President's brother Jeb as head of the
Sunshine State would be a right-leaning Republican stalwart. And
one would be wrong.
Governor Crist has shown a remarkable knack for tackling big
problems head-on and getting some substantial results. His first
challenge was the property tax crisis in Florida that has vexed the
entire real estate industry and homeowners. Meeting with legislators
of both parties, he was able to forge a compromise that will reduce
property taxes this year and allow voters to mandate even further
reductions in next year's balloting.
An even bigger surprise has been the governor's action on climate
change. He hosted a climate-change summit in Miami and is taking
actions to make Florida one of the greenest states in the nation. He
is taking action on vehicle-emission standards, making state
agencies more energy-efficient, and cutting overall greenhouse-gas
emissions 80% by 2050. California's green governor, Arnold
Schwarnegger, was at the conference too, but he now risks being
"out-greened" by the white-haired Crist.
"This is not that surprising. It's the right thing to do, and I think all
Floridians realize that," Crist said. "Florida is beautiful. If we don't
protect her and look out for her future, that's not going to continue to
be the case."
Go Charlie.
governor, has turned out to be a surprise to his GOP party, the
Democrats, and the conventional wisdom. In a nation headed by the
ultra-conservative George W. Bush, one might expect that the
candidate who succeeded the President's brother Jeb as head of the
Sunshine State would be a right-leaning Republican stalwart. And
one would be wrong.
Governor Crist has shown a remarkable knack for tackling big
problems head-on and getting some substantial results. His first
challenge was the property tax crisis in Florida that has vexed the
entire real estate industry and homeowners. Meeting with legislators
of both parties, he was able to forge a compromise that will reduce
property taxes this year and allow voters to mandate even further
reductions in next year's balloting.
An even bigger surprise has been the governor's action on climate
change. He hosted a climate-change summit in Miami and is taking
actions to make Florida one of the greenest states in the nation. He
is taking action on vehicle-emission standards, making state
agencies more energy-efficient, and cutting overall greenhouse-gas
emissions 80% by 2050. California's green governor, Arnold
Schwarnegger, was at the conference too, but he now risks being
"out-greened" by the white-haired Crist.
"This is not that surprising. It's the right thing to do, and I think all
Floridians realize that," Crist said. "Florida is beautiful. If we don't
protect her and look out for her future, that's not going to continue to
be the case."
Go Charlie.
