Q&A: David Jolly wants to end Florida's culture wars
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David Jolly at an event in Miami this month. Photo: D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
David Jolly — the lone Democrat in the race for Florida governor — vows to end the state's culture war on Day One if elected.
Why it matters: He's a Tampa Bay native and, to some, a déjà vu candidate: another former Republican who became an independent, then revived his political career as a Democrat.
- But don't call him Charlie Crist. "This isn't a campaign chasing the middle," Jolly told Axios in a recent interview. "It's a campaign chasing big ideas and big solutions." We caught up with him to learn more.
Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are the first three things you would do in office?
Propose a catastrophic fund for property insurance to remove hurricanes and natural disaster perils from the private market.
- Second, we need generational property tax reform. First-time home buyers don't have access to housing, in part, because of the way we do property taxes in Florida.
- Then, we get rid of the culture wars. And we say this is a state where everybody's welcome, celebrated and lifted up.
Your first challenge is to secure the nomination. How do you intend to appeal to the broadest range of Democratic voters, some of whom seem diametrically opposed lately?
If we coalesce around an agenda that addresses the affordability crisis for everyone, delivers quality health care and quality public education and reduces the cost of housing. That's this race.
- I've been all around this state, and let me tell you, the issues that Byron Donalds and Ron DeSantis are talking about are distractions.
The Florida Democratic Party is in dire straits. How do you intend to have a fighting chance without much of an apparatus to lean on?
The party's values are right and must be amplified, not changed.
- These values are an economy that works for everyone, a government that administers services to everyone, and a party that restores respect and dignity to everyone, regardless of their skin color, who they love and who they worship.
The other piece is that we must recognize that the math is real. There aren't enough Democratic voters in the state to elect a Democratic governor on their own.
- We have to lead with Democratic values, but build a coalition that includes independents and Republicans.
What issues do you believe are the most important to Tampa Bay residents? And how do you plan to address those key issues?
We have growth management issues in Tampa Bay and all around the state, where development has gotten ahead of smart growth.
- We see it in Pasco County, where the amount of development is providing a quality of life for families, but we're running out of water, and we're running out of school capacity. That's a real problem.
His bottom line: For too long, Tallahassee Republicans have picked winners and losers. That's true when it comes to culture, but it's also true in terms of economic disparity. I want this to be a Florida for all.