Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wants Floridians to know that even though he is a Democrat, he is still the same Charlie Crist.
In a speech at the University of Tampa during a leadership summit, Crist, the projected Democratic front-runner for governor in 2014, told the crowd that he knows the issues facing Floridians. In his speech at UT, Crist told the crowd:
I know what Floridians care about. People generally are not hard right. Nor are they hard left. They just want to get the right thing done for most people. They want good education. They want to be able to start a business in an economy. They want appropriate regulation, but not too much. They want the kind of government that stays out of your hair, thank you very much, and lets you be successful and doesn't burden you too much but does have appropriate regulation to make sure people on Wall Street act right and do right and that banks are fair with people.
The former governor has not made a decision that he will run for the governor in 2014, but he has not been bashful on his critique on the governor who followed him, Rick Scott. He told the crowd at the leadership summit that he was especially sour about how Scott handled the long lines and poll stations, which often had waits up to 6 hours in Miami-Dade County. He told the crowd:
You have Americans who in our past and in our present are literally willing to give their very life so that you can exercise this precious right to pick your leaders yourself. And yet there are some in public policy-making positions that try to impede that right. To me that's astonishing, and it's unconscionable.
Crist also took the time to lay out his agenda, which now coincides with the Democratic agenda. It includes environmental protection, a better funding model for schools and teachers and improving the voter experience in Florida.
Crist was the governor of Florida from 2006 to 2011 and he is best known for taking on the insurance companies who were at the time proposing drastic rate increases on homeowners and property. He 2009, he ran independently for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Republican Mel Martinez, but lost the bid to current Senate Republican Marco Rubio.
Crist is expected to make an announcement for his run for governor soon.
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