Alex Sink Wants Florida Under New Management

Sink Wants to Put Florida “Under New Management”

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink made the case for public education and asked delegates to the Florida Education Association Delegate Assembly for their support in her bid to become governor in the 2010 elections.

Speaking before nearly 1,000 FEA delegates, guests and staff Saturday, October, 17, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Sink said “with your help and support, your energy and ideas, I intend to put Florida under new management as your next governor.”

Sink, who was elected Florida CFO in 2006 in her first attempt at elected office after a career in banking, had criticism for Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is also running for governor.

“Bill McCollum has spent more than 30 years as a professional politician; 20 years in Washington; six years as a special-interest lobbyist. This run for governor is his 14th political campaign,” Sink said. “Now, give Bill McCollum some credit. He’s done a very good job of making sure he always has a job. But what about jobs for everybody else? … The career politicians running our state either refuse to see our problems, or refuse to confront them. As far as I’m concerned, neither is acceptable.”

Sink has drawn no major opposition so far for the Democratic nomination for governor. If elected, she would become the state’s first woman governor. She said public education would be a major issue in her campaign.

“I know as well as you do that Florida needs a leader who recognizes that we cannot build a new vibrant economy without a strong education system. Since being elected CFO, however, I have seen politicians in Tallahassee demand accountability for Florida’s education system, but then refuse to hold themselves accountable to our students and teachers,” Sink said. “What do I mean by that? I mean that while Florida’s teachers face the toughest accountability standards in the nation, and still managed to see improvements and accomplishments … our teachers, ESPs, and schools are not given the resources they need. You continue to face unfunded mandates and changing standards. The latest example being the FAIR debacle … where all of you rushed to meet the deadline only to see the system crash.

“To me it’s anything but fair for our state’s political leaders to hold our teachers to the highest accountability standards, while refusing to hold themselves accountable for giving you what you need to meet those standards. Florida needs a leader who sees that it is time to start investing in what we value -- our children -- not just what’s easy to measure in a test.”

Sink, who pointed out that when she’s elected, she would be the first governor in 12 years whose own children graduated from Florida public schools, drew a sharp contrast with McCollum on education.

“Bill McCollum … voted to cut the education budget 14 times. As a member of Congress, Bill McCollum has a clear record of attacking public schools. While McCollum had no problem voting to increase spending on voucher programs, he voted to cut funding for vital programs such as Head Start and Pell Grants,” Sink said. “This is not how we are going to strengthen our state’s schools and our state’s future.”

Sink’s appearance before the FEA convention drew an enthusiastic response. Her speech to the Delegate Assembly was interrupted with frequent applause from the FEA delegates.

Before her election as CFO in 2006, Alex’s distinguished business career culminated in her leadership of Florida’s largest bank. For seven years as president, she managed more than $40 billion in customer deposits while supervising more than 9,000 employees in 800 branches.

Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Alex to the Commission on Government Accountability to the People, charged with finding ways state government could be more responsive to the people of Florida. As vice chair of Florida TaxWatch, she became a recognized leader on fiscal responsibility. And she dedicated herself to Florida’s children through her service on Chiles’ Commission on Education, the Hillsborough Education Foundation Board of Directors and as chair of Take Stock in Children.