Leon Democrats fought against formidable odds

Democratic legislators representing Leon County were especially instrumental in minimizing the negative impact of budget cuts on public employees who, in so many ways, are the strength of our community.

As well, each of our Democratic legislators was a moving force behind specific legislation to improve the lot of their constituents and, in some instances, all Floridians.

In the face of the greatest economic challenges facing in decades, the greatest obstacle to the effectiveness of our Democrats was the recalcitrance of a Republican leadership committed to serving special interests that don’t want to pay their fair share of maintaining effective public services and the quality of life in our state.

In standing their ground against formidable odds, our legislators were buoyed by the support they received – and continue to receive -- from Leon County Democrats.

Senate District 6 Senator Al Lawson, House District 8 Rep. Alan Williams and House District 9 Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda: Here’s what each had to say in response to six questions posed on behalf of the Leon County DEC. Some of the responses have been edited in the interest of brevity.
 
1/. For you, what were the major challenges going into this Session?

SENATOR LAWSON:
The budget was the major challenge. Florida’s staggering unemployment and foreclosure rate led to a dramatic reduction in revenue, affecting everything we were trying to accomplish in the legislature.

REP. WILLIAMS:
The major challenge this session was twofold -- how to resolve a $6 billion budget deficit and end the session with a balanced budget, as the Florida Constitution requires. My goal was to introduce and support legislation to overturn a decade of fiscal mismanagement by Republican leaders, to halt their political favoritism and their penchant for putting corporate interests above the good of Florida’s middle class and working families.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
The state’s budget shortfalls created a situation where we needed to become more creative and think outside the box about legislation that would produce revenues for the state. Another significant challenge was the high possibility of the legislature once again balancing its budget shortfalls on the backs of its employees.

2/. How would you assess the overall performance of the Legislature in addressing those challenges?

SENATOR LAWSON:
If I had to rate the legislature overall, I would give it a C+. The reason is that they – and by “they” I mean primarily the Republican majority -- were not willing to close many tax loopholes that were provided by the legislature during the years when the economy was robust. These tax breaks, by the way, were typically for large corporations, many of them based out of state, and for very wealthy individuals. Now that the economy is bad, there remains stiff opposition to revisiting these loopholes and breaks as well as the issue of tax fairness in general.

Democrats this session managed to force the closure of one of these loopholes, but far too many still remain on the books.

REP. WILLIAMS:
The $66.5 billion budget is seriously deficient. Although it provides spending for many important programs -- thanks in large part to the stimulus funds President Obama’s administration sent to Florida -- the budget fails to adequately meet Florida’s responsibilities for our citizens’ education, health care, public safety and other needs.

Even worse, this budget fails to make necessary long-term changes to our inadequate and inequitable tax structure. As a result, when federal economic recovery dollars are spent, Florida will face the potential of huge budget deficits unless the economy dramatically rebounds.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
I’m disappointed the Legislature did not act on many of the ideas that were offered for generating revenue streams and reducing budget cuts to education, health programs and state employees’ salaries.

Particularly, the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax would have generated millions of dollars in uncollected sales tax for purchases over the Internet.

I’m also disappointed in the Legislature’s on-going lack of concern for our hard working state employees. Reducing state employees’ salaries in these dire economic times after three years of no pay raises is unconscionable.  

It’s disappointing the Legislature would not opt for other solutions to balancing our budget using ideas offered to do away with tax exemptions that no longer make sense. HB 681 (which I co-sponsored) to remove the tax exemption on bottled water would have generated $42 million and would have easily covered the amount needed to avoid the reduction in state employees’ pay and allow for a small raise.

3/. What did you find were the major obstacles in trying to address them?

SENATOR LAWSON:
I found that the Republican Party leadership and the governor were the major stumbling blocks. Until the issue of tax fairness is addressed and the tax system is overhauled, Florida will continue to have many problems when the economy is in a downward cycle.

REP. WILLIAMS:
The obstinate and partisan nature of many of the leaders of the Republican majority was clearly the major obstacle to finding reasonable solutions to help our state’s citizens and small businesses overcome the worst economic crisis our state has faced since the Great Depression. With our state in crisis and rampant unemployment and foreclosures on the rise, it was even a challenge to convince our Republican colleagues to accept Florida’s full share of federal economic recovery money provided by Congress to the state to help Florida rebuild its economy.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
The major obstacle is the lack of a more open process to hear these ideas and consider them – really consider them – so that we can come up with better solutions for Florida. The underlying problem, however, is the lifelong pledge many legislators – most of whom are in the majority party —made to Grover Norquist to not raise taxes. This has prevented an open-minded look at truly solving our budget crisis and putting us on a strong foundation for the future.

4/. What do you feel were your greatest personal accomplishments or contributions to help meet the needs of Floridians – particularly those in our community?

SENATOR LAWSON:
My greatest accomplishment this session was passing legislation closing the corporate tax loophole related to the real estate transfer tax. It’s an expensive legal maneuver to evade paying doc stamps on real estate sales that most Floridians either can’t afford.  Even if they could, the legal fees typically wipe out any tax savings. Consequently, the loophole was used primarily by high-end developers to evade hundreds of millions of dollars in doc stamps the rest of us would ordinarily pay. The fiscal impact of closing this loophole on real estate transfers is estimated to be at least $50 million next fiscal year to upwards of $300 million in future years.

I also am proud of being able to help continue the funding for Florida Forever. This was a great accomplishment, especially since there was little chance of its continued survival because of the lack of state resources we currently face. We were also able to help small businesses by extending the minority certification process.  

Lastly, I successfully lobbied the Governor to veto the 2 percent pay cut targeting a large group of state employees.  

REP. WILLIAMS:
I’m happy that, as a freshman legislator, I was able to pass a bill that allowed Gadsden County Hospital an additional year in which to renew its license. This bill enhances access to health care in rural communities.

I also fought very hard and succeeded in encouraging Governor Charlie Crist to veto salary reductions for state workers. I voted against the budget because the state’s economic woes are of great concern to me. Sadly, this budget offered up public employee layoffs, cuts to environmental and health care programs, and little improvement to our state’s revenue picture and education system.

A better budget would have done far more to encourage meaningful and long-lasting economic development and workforce training. A better budget would have done more to preserve and enhance services for the most vulnerable among us – children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
One significant victory was that we kept the cuts to state employees’ salaries down from where the House was heading. We kept the pressure up and worked through the final days to ensure minimal impact to state workers.

Also, a personal triumph for me was the passage of the Cigarette Tax. I had made a campaign promise to sponsor it and help pass it.  Rep. Waldman filed the bill first in the House, but I was thrilled to co-sponsor it both in special session and the regular session and work for its passage.  

Another major achievement this session was getting some difficult issues heard in one or multiple ways: In committee meetings, House debate, press conferences, and interviews.  I believe we cannot get to solutions if we cannot even have the conversations.

I participated in a workshop on the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement during which good attention was paid to my proposed legislation (HB 329). I feel this was a good solid first step to consider this type of legislation as part of the solutions to Florida’s fiscal crisis.  

Also, I am proud of the partnerships demonstrated in a February press conference with people who represent unusually and vastly different perspectives and special interests, but who came together to support the Fair Tax Legislation (HB 329/SB 1134) sponsored by Sen. Lynn and me.

It was a bipartisan effort with tremendous support for Streamlined Collection of Taxes on goods sold over the Internet. These issues about Florida’s tax structure are critical to the future of our state because they can generate revenue, improve services to our communities and improve the quality of life for Floridians. I’m proud to have pushed for these discussions and will continue to pursue the legislation that I believe could make a difference in each of these areas.  

5/. To what extent were Leon County Democrats effective in supporting your efforts?

SENATOR LAWSON:
Their engagement on the issues and calls to action when citizens’ voices were needed to oppose or support legislation were a big help this session. This kind of activism is critical in providing a civic watchdog over the actions of Florida’s legislature and governor.

REP. WILLIAMS:
The residents of Leon County and surrounding areas were very active and visible during the legislative process, for which I’m most grateful.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
Leon County Democrats were effective in first getting me here. They’ve also been very helpful in providing input and counsel as my staff and I thought through some of the issues and strategies for the development of legislation.  

6/. Going forward, in what ways could the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee increase the effectiveness in advancing progressive legislation?

SENATOR LAWSON:
I’ve found that the greater the participation of residents and citizens, the greater tends to be the responsiveness from elected officials. I would suggest building on the success you enjoyed this session, and extending the network to neighboring counties so that there is a rapid response coalition at the ready when critical legislation is moving through the process.

REP. WILLIAMS:
Next year will be critical for Florida Democrats. The state will elect a governor, Cabinet officers, and many members of the Florida Legislature. I encourage the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee to continue its active involvement.

REP. REHWINKEL VASILINDA:
Fair Redistricting needs to be a primary goal. We need more Democrats in the House and Senate. Working together with constituents and building partnerships for good government is important to me and to the fate of our state. We all must work together to form solutions.

We must have a strategy that does more than hope for the best; that does more than keep our fingers crossed that our old economy will come back. We need a campaign to put us in the lead in a new innovative economy.

Abraham Lincoln said, “First determine that a thing should and must be done and then find a way.” That is how seemingly impossible goals are accomplished. That is the can do attitude that brought this nation and our state to greatness. That is the kind of fierce determination we need now to bring our state from the brink of disaster into prosperity.