FORT WALTON BEACH — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich says she’s running on her “core values.”
See a video of Nan Rich's meeting with the Daily News' editorial board. >>
She says it is awful to her that funding has been siphoned off of programs that provide assistance to elderly people so they can live at home.
She’s pro-choice and an advocate for gay rights and “common sense” gun control laws.
Rich finds Gov. Rick Scott’s failure to accept federal stimulus dollars ridiculous and believes he has shortchanged public school students by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to fly-by-night charter programs.
“How can you in good conscience do these things?” she asked during a meeting Friday with the Northwest Florida Daily News editorial board.
Rich, the former minority leader in the Florida Senate, has a formidable primary opponent in former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, a prolific fund raiser with state and national name recognition.
She said she’s challenged Crist to participate in 10 debates prior to next August’s primary because she thinks people deserve to know where he stands on just about everything.
Rich said she is a strong proponent of restoring voting rights the Republican-controlled state government has taken from primarily Democratic constituencies.
She said she’s a proponent of environmental protection and wants to re-establish ad valorem funding for the state’s water management districts.
Although financial records show Crist has raised nearly three times as much money in his first month of campaigning as a Democrat as Rich has raised since 2012, she said she’s building an important “people powered” grassroots organization across Florida.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.