After revving up the large audience with the assertion “we are the best club in The Villages,” the Villages Democratic Club Vice President, Village of Pennecamp resident Vera Johnson, welcomed Nan Rich to the club’s monthly meeting Saturday morning at Colony Cottage Recreation Center.
Rich, from South Florida, is running in competition with former Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, seeking the Democratic nomination for the Florida Gubernatorial race in 2014.
“Florida has been going in the wrong direction,” Rich said. “We need to stand for the best interests of the people — not the special interests or corporations. We want Scott out! We want Rick Scott to be a one term governor. It’s time for a new agenda. That’s what it means to be a Democrat — to put the interests of all the people first — fairness, social justice and opportunity for all.”
“There are over one million Floridians without health insurance,” Rich continued, “and Gov. Scott refuses to accept federal funding to expand health care. All American citizens should have health care. We, including myself, who are on Medicare, are not impacted with the lack of medical funding as much as younger people are. Expanding health coverage will also bring many jobs for service providers and their support staff.”
Rich also stands for women’s reproductive freedom (Pro-Choice) and to make Florida’s schools “the best they an be.” Â “Our schools are 48th in state funding and 50th in funding for higher education in our nation. That is just plain wrong! With the school voucher program started by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, $3 billion will go to private schools over the next five years. Public monies belong in public schools,” Rich emphasized. She also supports qualified same-sex couples’ rights to adopt children.
“We need to reduce dependence on high tech tests in our schools. Instead of children learning how do score well on the tests, we need to focus on the skills children need to live better lives and get better jobs,” Rich added. “Our minimum wage is now $7.93 an hour, and with today’s cost of living, no one, especially single parents trying to support a household, can live on that. We need a living wage, and we need to stand behind our low-income workers and middle class.”
Candidate Nan Rich wants our corporations to pay their ‘fair share of taxes.’ “In Florida, the current average corporate tax rate is 5.5 percent — one of the lowest in the nation.” She strongly opposes permitting corporations, like Nestle, to pump hundreds of millions of gallons of water from Florida’s springs for commercial bottling, “Florida has a water supply problem, and this affects negatively affects our aquifer and drinking water, now and for the future.”
Rich drew the rapt attention of audience members when she discussed more than 477 children who have died while under review by the Department of Children and Family Services. “The DCF needs more funding and staff,” Rich emphasized. “Some of those children were returned to families with a history of substance abuse and domestic violence. Those children should not have died. This is not acceptable.”
Nan Rich served in the Congress under three Republican governors, Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott and was known to reach across the aisle and seek bipartisan support on many issues. She is a champion for education, abused children, women’s rights, women’s reproductive rights, seniors, especially the frail elderly, and working Americans. She was a Florida state Senator in 2004-12 and Senate Minority leader in 2010-2012 — term-limiting out in 2012. She also served in the Florida House of Representatives in 2000-2004.
“The mid-term elections are very critical,” Democratic Club Vice President Vera Johnson said, and asked for volunteers to help bring out the vote. “We need The Blue Crew at all the squares manning campaign booths.”
The schedule for campaigning on the Villages squares is 5 p.m. every third Tuesday at Lake-Sumter Landing; 5 p.m. every third Wednesday at Spanish Springs town square and 9 a.m. every third Saturdays at the Brownwood Paddock Square morning market.
The Club’s webmaster, Eleanor Strickland, walked the group through a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the newer, simpler website she designed. “We want this to be user-friendly, so that even the least tech-savvy person can use it fully,” Strickland said. “I am usually a behind the scenes person,” she continued, “so this is a little difficult for me to speak in the public eye. We even have a section where we can check out the various political issues the Democratic party stands for — and there are many.”
