Ryan Ray
George Gainer blasted the Legislature and his Senate District 1 opponent Rep. Matt Gaetz in an email appeal to supporters on Thursday, contending a pair of measures considered this year amount to a “power grab” by state government.
Gainer, a Republican and longtime Bay County Commissioner, said bills on so-called “fracking” and local taxes aim at “stripping authority away from local government” and vesting more power in Tallahassee.
“Unfortunately, my opponent is right in the middle of this Tallahassee Power Grab,” said Gainer. “The reason is simple – special interests control many in the state legislature.”
Here’s the crux of Gainer’s beef with the current batch of state lawmakers.
Fracking – County commissions around Florida, including in Bay County, have passed ordinances banning fracking in their local communities. An accident would be devastating to tourism in Northwest Florida. Remember the BP oil spill just a few years ago? Now the legislature is considering a bill, which my opponent voted for, that would wipe out local control and place authority under the state of Florida – allowing an unelected bureaucrat to decide what is best for us. This is wrong.
Local Tourism Taxes – My opponent is sponsoring legislation which tells local governments how they can spend local tourism tax dollars. Tallahassee thinks they are doing us a favor but instead they are trying to control local tax dollars that were always meant to be spent by local government. Any time there’s money involved, Tallahassee is ready to pick your pocket.
“I fully support local control. It’s the government closest to you – the people. If elected to the State Senate, I’ll always remember that,” Gainer said in closing.
The race for SD 1 is shaping up to be one of the most heated in a very hot 2016 state legislative election cycle, when voters will cast ballots in all 40 seats.
As of the Feb. 10 reporting period, Gainer has received $179,125 in contributions and lent has campaign another $500,000 for a total of $679,125 raised since filing in September. Gaetz has raised $883,663 going back to the summer of 2013. Gaetz also has access to hundreds of thousands in additional funds through a pair of political committees, “Economic Freedom Foundation” and “The Free Enterprise Fund.”
Both campaigns figure to spend millions before Election Day in November.
