Saturday, January 23, 2010

Stop Gridlock, Create New Jobs: Get Florida Moving


With Florida's population increasing at a rate never before seen, we must take actions today to plan for unprecedented demands on our resources. We will do this through a focus on improving our transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, and mass transit).

McGillis understands that to attract business and jobs to Florida, we need to make it easier for citizens to get to work, and for goods to get to the market. This is also a quality of life issue – Floridians should not be spending hours every day away from their family and life because they are stuck in traffic coming home from work.

The McGillis Transportation Plan

"Stop Gridlock, Create New Jobs: Get Florida Moving"

Florida's transportation system is at a crossroads. We need a serious reexamination of the State's underlying transportation policies and strategies. During this time of scarce resources, severe economic hardships for many Florida citizens, and mounting transportation infrastructure needs, it is essential that we align our overall transportation policies and strategies so that they deliver the type of performance and support for economic growth that our citizens and businesses require, and do so in the most cost-effective and sustainable manner possible.

Floridians have shown they will support new investments in government services when they know the service is a proper governmental responsibility, that funds will be spent competently for the purposes promised, and that investing now will produce positive economic and social returns on investment. However, Floridians are frustrated and have lost confidence in the ability of state government to keep its commitments and produce timely and sustainable results. Recent administrations have moved too slowly and made too many excuses for not finding ways to get projects done.

As Governor McGillis will take essential steps toward building the public trust necessary for transportation investment, including support for a constitutional amendment to protect the funds from raids for other purposes.

Together we must candidly acknowledge that we do need greater public and private investment in our transportation systems, and then come together in a spirit of innovation and cooperation to achieve it. Darrin McGillis has some specific ideas about how to do that, and he will be listening to others as well. But, to be effective, any increase in investment must be accompanied by a fundamentally different strategy in how we invest, operate, maintain and measure the performance of our transportation systems. It is not enough to acknowledge the nature of our current policy shortcomings. We must also have the leadership to test different approaches.

As Governor, Darrin McGillis will speak to Floridians with the candor the taxpayers demand. And, having earned their trust, he will bring Floridians together across party lines to adopt a new transportation program that combines tangible investments with real reform. It's Time for a better tomorrow.

Darrin McGillis will make transportation infrastructure a four-year priority.

Help Darrin and contribute now using a major credit card. Please donate what you can. Click here - Thank You!

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Darrin E. McGillis, Democrat for Governor of the State of Florida, P.O. Box 56-6091, Miami, Florida 33256-6091

Contributions or gifts to the Campaign of Darrin E. McGillis are not tax deductible.

Contributions are limited to $500 per person or corporate entity.

Educating Our Children


Every Florida student should have access to a first class, world class education. We must make certain that our children have the skills they need to compete in the global marketplace of the 21st century. No more excuses!

Improving Our Public Schools

Darrin McGillis has put forth a comprehensive plan to help improve the quality of our public schools.

Darrin's First Class Schools, First Class Teachers, First Class Education program focuses on spending our educational resources more efficiently, providing more educational options for students and parents and demanding more accountability from everyone involved in the education of our children.

By improving the quality of our public schools, we can provide our children with the skills they need to compete for quality jobs in the global marketplace of the 21st century and develop the highly skilled workforce that we need to recruit new businesses and jobs to Florida.

First Class Schools, First Class Teachers, First Class Education program

Spending Our Educational Resources More Efficiently

Fully funding the Standards of Quality for our public schools

Reduction in the education bureaucracy and removal of waste and corruption in the educational system

Requiring that at least 75% of our educational dollars be spent in the classroom

Recruit and Reward The Best Teachers

Increase teacher pay to above the national average

Provide incentive pay for teachers teaching in high demand specialties and in high risk school districts

Merit pay to reward our best teachers and make certain that teacher compensation is tied to performance

Eliminate teacher tenure

More Educational Options for Students and Parents

More meaningful alternatives for students who want to pursue a vocational/technical education

More Charter Schools in core disciplines like Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Tax credits for parents who choose to send their children to private schools

Tax credits for businesses that provide scholarships to low-income students to enable them to attend private schools if they choose to do so

More Accountability

Higher academic expectations under the Standards of Learning

No pass, no play requirements for students

No drivers license for students who drop out of school before the age of 18 or fail to achieve satisfactory academic performance

Help Darrin and contribute now using a major credit card. Please donate what you can. Click here - Thank You!

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Darrin E. McGillis, Democrat for Governor of the State of Florida, P.O. Box 56-6091, Miami, Florida 33256-6091

Contributions or gifts to the Campaign of Darrin E. McGillis are not tax deductible.

Contributions are limited to $500 per person or corporate entity.