Davis-Crist Debate

Agents Of Change

By MICHAEL FECHTER and WILLIAM MARCH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 25, 2006

TAMPA - They have been in public office for years, but Republican Charlie Crist and Democrat Jim Davis each offered themselves as agents of change Tuesday night in their first debate in Florida's race for governor.

Davis sought to link Crist with what he called an unsatisfactory status quo, saying repeatedly that Crist wants to "stay the course" - on school testing, growth management, insurance regulation and taxation.

"Tonight we have a clear choice about the future of our state; I'm running for governor because I think we can do better," Davis said in his opening statement.

Crist, in turn, offered an optimistic assessment of the state's future. "Change is coming - if you vote for Charlie Crist, you'll get positive change," he said in his closing remarks.

Front-runner Crist went early and often after Davis' high absentee rate during the last session of Congress, time Davis spent in his campaign for governor.


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Davis accused Crist of sitting out the state's more controversial issues during his four years as attorney general. Crist, he said, did nothing to stem rising property insurance and tax rates and admittedly stayed out of the fray when lawmakers tried to keep Terri Schiavo alive via feeding tubes in 2005.

That set up the one stunt of the night, pulled off by Davis.

In response to a question about middle class financial pressure on property taxes and insurance, Crist pointed to his record. "Public service is not to be taken lightly," he said. "And when you're somebody like my opponent, who doesn't show up for work, you pay."

Davis pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket and walked over to Crist's lectern.

"Speaking of showing up, Charlie, I want to show you something that showed up in my mailbox not too long ago. This is my insurance premium statement. I'm fortunate, because my insurance is only scheduled to go up 40 percent. As attorney general, Charlie never showed up, never stood up to these insurance companies. For four years he did nothing. And they have record prices and record profits."

Developers have given Crist $5 million, Davis said. Insurance companies have given $2 million.

Davis didn't sound happy, Crist said.

"I'm a happy warrior," Crist said. "I'm an optimist. I look forward to Florida's future."

Davis repeatedly promised Floridians a property tax break and insurance reform that could cut premiums next year. Crist called those "risky schemes" and noted that to cut taxes, Davis advocates raising other taxes such as the intangibles tax, which is a levy on stocks and other wealth.

On education, Crist defended use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a measure of school progress. It's a way to show students have gained a year's worth of learning in a year's time, he said.

Davis said the test punishes students, teachers and schools, and he advocated using the test as a barometer of student achievement, helping parents and teachers identify a student's strengths and weaknesses.

Recent polls are in conflict over where the race stands. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Crist with a 2 percentage point lead Monday, but subsequent polls by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries still have Crist up about 11 percentage points.

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Crist hit on pocketbook issues, too,


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he added several references to Ronald Reagan, Paulson said. "It was a subtle message: 'I'm with you, I'm one of you,'" Paulson said.

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Davis tried to link Crist with a less popular Republican president.

"Charlie sounds a lot tonight like Ronald Reagan, but he really wants to govern like George Bush. He wants to stay the course," Davis said.

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