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Crist Sounds Optimistic Tone In State Address

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The Associated Press

Published: March 3, 2009

Updated: 03/03/2009 07:48 pm

TALLAHASSEE - Even an optimist like Gov. Charlie Crist recognizes when times are tough. But in Tuesday's State of the State address he predicted a better future for Florida if lawmakers can put political differences aside and work together to create jobs, promote clean energy and keep schools strong.

Crist acknowledged that the state has its highest unemployment rate in 16 years, people are losing their homes in large numbers and businesses are shuttering their doors. But he expressed hope that Florida can begin turning around its miserable economy.

"With every crisis comes opportunity," Crist said. "We gather here tonight with the tools and the resolve — the opportunity — to preserve our investments in our students and our teachers, the opportunity to preserve investments in the safety and security of our people, in the health and well-being of the most vulnerable among us, and the opportunity to preserve our investments in the very reasons government exists to serve."

Crist said he wants to increase per pupil spending and pass a law that requires 70 percent of school spending go directly into classrooms. He wants to keep the state's commitment to restoring the Everglades and rely on more solar, wind and nuclear power for Florida's burgeoning energy needs.

He wants to commit $45 million to attracting and keeping industries, and he wants to keep a strong commitment to agencies that promote the sports, tourism, space and other industries.

"Our goal is to create a business environment where productivity and growth flourish, and to create quality, high paying jobs," he said. "We must lift from our shoulders fear and pessimism and take up the mantle of persistence and determination to make the coming year better than the last."

Crist said he was grateful for the federal stimulus money that's coming to Florida. He has proposed a $66.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year, or about $1 billion more than the current budget. It includes $4.7 billion in stimulus.

"These funds will serve as a bridge to better economic times. This money will help us avoid tax increases. It will also prevent deep cuts that would further burden Florida's families and businesses," Crist said.

But some Republicans remained cautious about relying too heavily on the stimulus money.

"We'll have to work with the governor, with his staff over the next 59 days to come up with the decisions on what, if any, portions of the stimulus package we actually do take," said Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park and chairman of the House Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning.

"The governor's obviously favoring taking all of it," Cannon said. "I have some concern that taking all of it may leave us in a worse position two or three years from now than if we maybe take only targeted portions of it."

Throughout his speech, Crist used the phrase "The future is now."

But most who look at the present aren't seeing a pretty picture, especially when it comes to the state budget.

"I'm the keeper of the checkbook, and it's ugly. It's very ugly," Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the top Democrat in state government, said before the speech.

House Speaker Larry Cretul said the state needs to be prepared for hard budget choices.

"The state of the state is we need to be concerned. And then we need to also be braced for some perhaps unpopular decisions," said Cretul, R-Ocala. "I love optimism, but I also have been around long enough that sometimes even optimism is not necessarily the solution to the problem."

Crist recognizes the mood, and told lawmakers, "We are going to have to dig deep, and I mean really deep, for the hope and the optimism and the determination that inspired you to put your name on a ballot."

The governor also urged lawmakers to approach the difficult 60-day session with a spirit of bipartisanship.

"We have to be willing to put solutions above who gets the credit, and results above individual gain. The people are counting on us, and for those of you who wish to keep score, I would ask that you to mark your wins and losses not for our parties, but for the very people we serve," Crist said.

Some House and Senate Democrats gave Crist credit for being hopeful and urging cooperation across party lines.

"Floridians are hurting. I think he sent a message today to say to them, 'Hold on, help is coming,'" said Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville.

Still others criticized Crist for a lack of substance on how he was going to help Floridians.

"There's nothing here that talks about helping people stay in their homes. There wasn't a real deep explanation of funding education, he glanced over it," said Rep. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville.

"Overall it was a nice speech. I thought the bipartisan part of it was a page right out of the Obama book. And that's a good thing. Now we need to have that kind of bipartisanship come to fruition."

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