Davis or Crist -- Vote or Sit Down!

The weather and other bad excuses kept many from the polls this week. Now we're down to it. Pick your poison!

September 07, 2006

Crist, Davis come out swinging in race for governor

By JIM SAUNDERS
Tallahassee Bureau Chief

ST. PETERSBURG -- Charlie Crist and Jim Davis couldn't have made the choice any clearer.

Basking in the cheers of hundreds of supporters after winning Tuesday's gubernatorial primaries, Crist and Davis immediately started a debate about Florida's future.

Crist, the Republican nominee, said the state needs to continue with the direction started by Gov. Jeb Bush on issues such as education, or it will go back to what has "failed us in the past."

"I'm an optimist," Crist told a crowd gathered in a St. Petersburg hotel ballroom late Tuesday. "I believe Floridians will make the right choice."

But little more than an hour later, Davis, the Democratic nominee, called for making major changes in Tallahassee as the state grapples with issues such as improving schools and stemming a property-insurance crisis.

"If you're ready to fight for change, I am your candidate for governor," Davis told supporters at a victory party in Tampa.

The back-and-forth about the direction of the state were the opening shots in a gubernatorial race that likely will dominate Florida politics during the next two months.

. . .

One issue that emerged Wednesday as a potentially big difference between the candidates is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which Bush has made a centerpiece of his efforts to overhaul the public-school system.

Under Bush, the FCAT has become a high-stakes exam used to grade the performances of public schools and to help determine such things as whether students will graduate from high school.

But echoing a complaint of many teachers and parents, Davis said he wants to reduce the emphasis on the FCAT and use it more as a "diagnostic learning tool, a road map" to determine whether children are learning.

Crist, however, said he supports using the FCAT to hold schools accountable, though he acknowledged many people don't like tests.

"Guess what? Life's a test," Crist said. "Every single day we're tested."

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