Advice for Governor Charlie

I squeaked one more published letter to the editor in in 2006. This one was published on Dec 29, 2006. The friday forum subject was "Priorities for Governor Elect Crist"

Dear Gov Charlie,

First, my advice for being a good governor is to be just like Jeb, only without devious plans, without laws to undo court decisions in a private family matter, and by not embracing reforms that are more about an ideology than solving problems.

As for priorities:

More energy, less carbon: We have abundant sunshine and wind to be harnessed. Consider the ‘nuclear option’. Sugar to ethanol perhaps?

Cuba: As governor of Florida you will have center stage in what comes next. Don’t help those who would screw it up to do so.

Insurance: Reform must make sense. Insurance companies won’t do business here if they think they can’t make money. People won’t live here if they can’t get insurance. Affordability is a factor of the weather, which we can’t immediately change.

Taxes. We have government coffers flush with cash and some folks paying twice the tax on their homes as their neighbors. This means taxes are too high and unfair. If our taxes are equitable and our elected officials have to make a few hard choices on where to spend, then we have it about right.

Education: Everything that leads to more kids graduating should be on the table, not just an ideological measuring stick we use to punish schools that come up short.

Immigration: People from Puerto Rico are not Immigrants. People from Cuba are not illegal. I know you know these things, but please do not listen to anyone who does not.