Democrat for governor visits Trenton

By Carrie A. Mizell

Over 100 local citizens met Alex Sink, democrat candidate for governor, on Friday when she made a stop at the Gilchrist County Woman’s Club for lunch, while making a political sweep through north Florida enroute to the state capital. Fellow democrats U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and State Representative Debbie Boyd were also on hand Friday to eat lunch and visit with Gilchrist County residents. Like Sink, Boyd is up for re-election on November 2 and lobbying for local votes. While at the Gilchrist County Woman’s Club’s barbecue fundraiser, Senator Nelson told the crowd that this year’s election is pivotal for the state of Florida. He explained that Florida’s next governor will dictate the direction the state goes in for the next 12 years. Nelson continued by saying that Alex Sink is a “proven and experienced leader” who will set Florida in the right direction by putting the state back on the forefront of providing new jobs for out-of-work citizens.

Alex Sink talks with local resident Doug Beach about key issues.

Representative Boyd told residents that she strongly supports Alex Sink’s proposal to bring small business and jobs back to rural communities. A resident of Newberry, the District 11 representative strongly advocates family values and agriculture. As chief financial officer for the state of Florida under Governor Charlie Crist, Sink said that she will bring family values and experience as a business owner to the governor’s office. Sink told the citizens gathered that if elected governor she will work to move the sunshine state into improved economic times by promoting job growth. While at the Woman’s Club, Sink spoke one on one with local AARP members, as well as officials from the Gilchrist County School District. In response to financial constraints facing Florida’s public schools, Sink said that she feels like public school districts should not be overburdened with regulations from Tallahassee. The candidate for governor went on to say that she feels like Gilchrist County school officials should be able to make decisions on how state funds are spent locally, since they would be able to effectively identify with local needs. According to the latest Rasmussen Reports, which is a telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida, Republican candidate for governor Rick Scott had 50 percent support from voters, while Alex Sink had 44 percent of the vote. Six percent of voters polled reportedly preferred some other candidate in the governor’s race.