Drew Wilson
AFSCME said in a Monday email that Gov. Rick Scott’s announcement he would run for U.S. Senate against Bill Nelson was met with “fear and disgust” by state employees.
“Not once as governor did Scott take the lead in investing in Florida’s services and those who provide them. He looked at the men and women who wake up every day and make Florida happen as his enemy,” said AFSCME, which represents 100,000 Florida workers.
“His policies had such a dramatically negative impact on the state that even he had to sign into law, and in some cases even propose, greater investment in those who interact with some of the state’s more vulnerable citizens.”
Ketha Otis, a Vocational Rehabilitation Technician and president of AFSCME Local 2862, said that she and her fellow state employees are not going to let the two-term governor “falsely portray his slash and burn record.”
Otis slammed Scott for pursuing “partisan goals” and bringing low-paying jobs to the Sunshine State in the wake of the Great Recession.
“Instead of creating the jobs our state needs for the future, over half the counties in Florida are worse off today than before the recession. Where jobs have been created, Scott’s policies have ensured they expand our state’s working poor, creating even greater demand for assistance even as his policies shred our public safety net,” Otis said.
“As you would expect, it takes a lot to keep our state moving forward. That task falls to the hardworking men and women who never quit serving our communities. But Rick Scott’s Florida invests half the national average, leading to underfunded and overworked agencies unable to meet the demands of today, let alone plan for the challenges of tomorrow. If he were to become a backbencher in the U.S. Senate, it would put too much of our national future at stake.”
Otis closed out the email by praising Nelson’s “distinguished bipartisan record.”
“Florida, and our country, faces too many challenges to lose his voice from the U.S. Senate. That is why workers like me will be spending our free time to help him win,” she said.
