Heirs of Liberty Press

Charlie Crist

C. Gialluca, Columnist / Reporter

Charlie Crist – (R-FL) running for US Senate 2010
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced on May 12 that he will run for U.S. Senate, in a bid to keep a vital Republican seat from switching hands next year. The popular Republican governor could also be setting himself up for a presidential run in 2012.

Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania to Dr. Charlie Crist Sr., an American physician, and Nancy Lee, moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child, where he attended Riviera Middle School. He graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1974. He attended Wake Forest University for two years. Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University where he was elected Vice President of the student body. He received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Alabama.

While in law school, Crist interned in the State Attorney's Office. After being employed as the general counsel to the minor league division of the Baseball Commissioner's Office and as a staffer for U.S. Senator Connie Mack, he entered the private practice of law. Crist has held elected office in Florida since 1992, except for 1999–2000 when he was the appointed Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation following his defeat in a U.S. Senate race. Crist was elected to the Florida Senate in 1992, representing parts of St. Petersburg. He received the nickname "Chain Gang Charlie" on account of his support of chain gangs for state prison inmates. He supported teacher salary increases. He co-sponsored laws that created charter schools, required felons to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, and created a license plate to raise funds for the Everglades. Crist gained statewide name recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to the popular incumbent U.S. Senator, Democrat Bob Graham. He lost to Graham by 26 percent. In 2000, Crist was elected Education Commissioner of Florida, and he served in this capacity until 2003. The office was converted to an appointive one in 2003 in accordance with a 1998 constitutional amendment.

In 2002, Crist was elected Attorney General. Supporters of his candidacy included America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, citing his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During his tenure as Attorney General, Crist was lauded by civil rights and consumer groups for expanding the powers of his office to prosecute civil rights and fraud cases. He received acclaim for his work to combat spam e-mails, freeze utility rates, end telecom deception, and protect the environment. He was strongly criticized by some advocates of government intervention in the Terri Schiavo case when he abandoned further official attempts to keep Schiavo on life support.

Crist's platform as a gubernatorial candidate included a "pro-life and pro-family" approach to abortion; $3,000 subsidies to adoptive parents and $5,000 subsidies to foster parents; advocation of parent choice and strict, standardized testing in education; prescription drug tracking for assurance of safety and proper health care; less expensive homeowners insurance; report cards for insurance companies; abolition of Citizens Insurance; support for right to die including respect for living wills; legal protection in eminent domain cases; lawsuit reform through elimination of joint and several liability; property tax flexibility; support for Florida's Defense of Marriage Act; cautious support for the death penalty; gun owner rights (endorsed by the National Rifle Association as an "A+" candidate); efforts to stop the "clear pattern of growth" in hate crimes; support for closed borders with promotion of legal immigration; opposition to further statewide expansion of legal gambling; and support for environmental protections such as a ban on off shore oil drilling near Florida's coastline.

Since his inauguration as Florida’s 44th Governor on January 2, 2007, Charlie Crist has worked to lower the cost of doing business and living in Florida, increase people’s access to government, strengthen Florida’s economy and ensure the safety and world-class education of Florida’s children. Upon taking his oath as Governor, Governor Crist immediately established the Office of Open Government by Executive Order, in order to make government more accessible to the people it serves. Governor Crist also continues to address high property taxes and property insurance costs and works with both Democrats and Republicans in the Florida Legislature to work toward finding solutions to both issues.

The Governor established the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness to educate and encourage Florida students about leading a healthy and active lifestyle. He also created the Children and Youth Cabinet and appointed a Chief Child Advocate to streamline the adoption process in Florida.

In January 2009, while Florida was facing a major recession, Governor Crist angered some fellow Republicans over the way he vetoed some of their proposed budget cuts to popular programs. Crist is in favor of the 2009 federal stimulus package. Crist introduced Obama and encouraged bipartisanship in order to achieve economic recovery.

Crist signed into law a controversial measure that tells employers and business owners they can no longer bar their employees or visitors from having guns locked in their car on their premises so long as the employee or visitor has a concealed weapons license. Concealed weapons license records are not public record, however business owners could ask to see the permit itself. Crist is a longtime advocate of capital punishment. He has commented, "It's very difficult. I feel the weight of that duty. Yet I understand that justice requires it."

During Florida's 2007 Legislative Session, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law SB-1710 which allowed the Florida Board of Governors to charge Tuition Differential of 40% above and beyond the regular tuition rates for the University of Florida and Florida State University. In addition the University of South Florida was allowed to raise its rates 30% above and beyond the regular tuition charges. This was allowed because these three institutions reached Research Flagship benchmarks that the other universities in the State University System could not achieve. On November 20, 2008, Crist announced a proposal to raise Florida public universities' tuition rates by 15 percent annually in order to bring the tuition rates up to the national average. This could result in an additional $21 million in new revenue. Crist projects an additional $200 million will be available to low income students by 2015 in order to soften the blow of higher tuition costs for students.

In July 2007, Crist hosted his first climate change summit in Florida. Crist announced plans to sign executive orders that would impose strict air pollution standards in the state, with aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of the 1990 levels by 2050. Crist's orders would set new emissions targets for power companies, automobiles and trucks, toughen conservation goals for state agencies, and require state-owned vehicles to use alternative fuels. In his gubernatorial campaign, Crist opposed offshore oil drilling. Crist reversed that position in the summer of 2008, when oil reached peak prices, saying "I mean, let's face it, the price of gas has gone through the roof, and Florida families are suffering, and my heart bleeds for them." In May 2009, Crist continued to oppose offshore oil drilling close to the Florida coast, he would not be opposed to drilling fifty miles off of the coast but would be very opposed to drilling three or even ten miles off of the Florida coast .

In June 2008 there were reports that Crist was proposing that the State of Florida buy 187,000 acres of land in a landmark deal with the sugar industry. Crist described the deal "as monumental as our nation's first national park". In November 2008, the deal was revised downward from $1.75 billion to $1.34 billion dollars. It remains unclear how much of the land will actually be set aside for conservation. A University of Florida ethanol plant would likely remain unaffected in the deal. Crist has previously touted the idea of using abundant Florida crops of sugar cane and citrus waste to convert to ethanol.

In 2007, Crist became embroiled in public disputes with property insurers over homeowners' insurance rates. He had expected insurers to lower their rates with new reinsurance coverage available from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. However, insurers have found that although the FHCF will offer them complete coverage, there are significant doubts in the marketplace as to whether the FHCF will be able to make good on those claims. Ratings agencies (such as Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and A. M. Best) have warned insurers that if they accept too much reinsurance from FHCF, they risk being downgraded. With such a warning in hand, insurers have instead gone to the private reinsurance market for much of their reinsurance, and have found significantly higher rates. In May 2009, Crist supported legislature that would raise Citizens Property Insurance rate by 10% for one million homeowners.

Florida has a rapidly growing number of uninsured residents, a rate of 21% uninsured which is the fourth highest in the country- it is estimated that there are 797,000 children uninsured in the state (18.8% of children in the state). On May 20,2008 Crist signed a new Florida law that allows for low cost health insurance policies. The new law also calls for insurance companies to negotiate agreements with the state for diagnosing and treating autism related disorders. If the companies don't enter into agreements with the state then the state will begin requiring certain coverages by July 2009, this part of the measure applies only to large insurance plans. Families covered by smaller group insurance plans or individual plans are not guaranteed coverage. The plan caps at $36,000 per year and $200,000 over a lifetime. On December 10, 2008 Crist unveiled 25 different health care coverage plans offered by six different insurance companies that will be available to 3.4 uninsured Floridians in January 2009. The average monthly cost of the plans is $155 per month.

The Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund established as a $2 billion dollar trust fund with funds awarding to the state of Florida after a multi state tobacco law suit was pursued by former Governor Chiles. The fund was set up to provide new health care services to children and seniors. State officials have tapped into the fund, including a $300 million dollar withdrawal from the fund in order to deal with state budget deficits for existing medical service programs that were previously budgeted.

Crist endorsed legislation requiring paper records of all ballots cast during an election, stemming from criticisms from those who believed votes were being undercounted in black communities by computerized voting machines.

Florida banned gays and lesbians from adopting children in the 1970s. Crist has said he opposes any change to the ban in Florida, he and other Republican leaders hold the position that a "traditional family provides the best environment for children".

While running for governor in 2006, Crist stated that gay civil unions were "fine," but did not support gay marriage. On November 4, 2008, Florida voters approved Florida Amendment 2 (2008) by a margin of 62%-38%; an amendment which defines marriage as "the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife". Crist stated he did not favor Republican Party funds being spent on passing the ban, but did lend his name to groups working in favor of the amendment. Prior to the vote, Crist was asked where he stood on the amendment and he stated: "I'll support it, I'll vote for it, move on... It's not top-tier for me, put it that way."

Judicial Appointments:

Crist has supported the creation of customized Christian-themed Florida vehicle license plates, which residents could purchase, that depict Jesus Christ on a cross or standing by a stained glass window.

On September 1, 2008 Crist appointed Judge Charles T. Canady to the Florida Supreme Court. Cannady is credited with inventing the term "partial birth abortion" while developing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.

On October 1, 2008 Crist appointed Judge Ricky Polston to the Florida Supreme Court. Polston maintains a "Choose Life" Florida license plate and has been described as conservative.

In January 2009, Crist appointed Jorge Labarga, a moderate judge from Wellington, Florida.

Crist made a fourth appointment in March 2009. Crist appointed Circuit Court Judge James E.C. Perry of Sanford, FL, also a moderate.