Rick Scott campaign stop in Tampa met with protests

Share

TAMPA – On Friday morning, Governor Rick Scott made a campaign stop in New Tampa. As part of a state-wide tour, the Republican is encouraging voters to cast their ballots early.

Though,it was not just supporters who showed up at the strip mall parking lot. Outside La Cubanita Café, around 30 supporters marched and chanted anti-Scott slogans. Many condemned Scott for reported ties to big business.

When the governor arrived, he by-passed the protesters and came in through the back entrance.

“We are going to win because this is good for your family,” Scott told reporters. “It’s important to get out and vote. …it’s an exciting time.”

As campaign staff blasted music to drown out the protesters outside, Schetara Brown made it past security to ask Scott a question.

“Why are you against raising minimum wage for hard-working people like me?” Brown asked Scott during a Q-and-A.

“Oh gosh,” Scott responded. “You saw it in the debate that Charlie Christ said he wouldn’t care if 50,000 Floridians lost their jobs…Charlie Crist doesn’t care. He grew up rich”

Brown said she is frustrated by the Governor’s response. The 23-year-old has three jobs and said she earns about $8.10 an hour.

“I was just asking the governor why he’s so against raising minimum wage,” said Brown. “For one, I am a 23-year-old mother and I have three kids… I’m a person that’s living in his economy and it’s hard. But [Scott] didn’t even answer a simple question about raising minimum wage.”

Jennifer Rubielo is a community organizer, but said she attended the protest today to
to represent Florida taxpayers.

“All of us are here because we think Rick Scott is not standing up for Florida voters and residents,” said the 24-year-old. “He’s standing up for billionaires. We are wondering why he hasn’t taken a stronger stance on utility bills, the environment, education. We are tired of it.”

Back inside La Cubanita, many Rick Scott supporters stayed around to chat and take selfies with campaign signs. Dywan Washington said he tries to attend all of the governor’s events. The 25-year-old had a message for the protesters.

“There are better things to do,” said the resident of West Tampa. “Get a job…When Charlie Crist comes to town, I don’t protest…because I actually have a job and [am] a contributing member of society. So, to the protesters: get a job.”

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

Traffic Jam - All Souls Edition
Player position: