A.G. Gancarski
At an event celebrating the Jacksonville office of MacQuarie, which will create 125 jobs by the end of next year, Gov. Rick Scott and Mayor Lenny Curry took questions on subjects that were just a bit more contentious than job creation, including the Discretionary Sales Surtax bill making its way through Tallahassee, and the stalled expansion of Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance.
Relative to the pension tax issue, Scott again contended he has no real awareness of the bill:
“I have not seen the bill. I know the mayor’s worked very hard to solve the issue.”
Curry, who will be going to Tallahassee on Wednesday along with 12 members of City Council, noted that he will be at Rules, the third Senate committee stop for the legislation.
Scott also was asked about the stalled-out Human Rights Ordinance expansion in Jacksonville, and his comments were typically measured.
“Nobody wants to see anybody discriminated against,” Scott said.
The Governor again said he hadn’t seen the bill.
Shortly thereafter, Curry answered a question from this news outlet, which boiled down to a question of timing.
Will Curry be willing to entertain revisiting HRO legislation after the November election?
For those holding out hope of such a possibility, it might be time to abandon that anticipation.
“I hosted my Community Conversations, and extended protections to Jacksonville employees” to “demonstrate where Jacksonville is,” Curry said.
Curry, who still contends the legislation “wouldn’t be prudent,” noted that he’s “on to pension and violent crime.”
Those who thought Curry might be inclined to push such a bill through after the drama and theater of the election are over may want to calibrate their strategies anew.
Asked about the 2016 election, Scott said nothing new. He did not endorse Trump at a TV reporter’s prompting. He did mention how important it is that a candidate have a plan to “destroy ISIS.”
Regarding Marco Rubio, Governor Scott said he was a “very good senator,” and lauded Rubio’s time in the Legislature also.
