GOP candidate for governor, Rick Scott, continues his ads and emails attacking his Democratic opponent, Alex Sink. Today’s attack centers on taxes: “Liberal Alex Sink…Higher Taxes…Morning, noon and night.” This tactic worked against his opponent in the Republican primary, but how will it play to the moderates who will decide the election?
To support the attack, Scott had to dig up a 1997 article in the St. Pete Times–written the same year Scott was forced to resign from Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America over a medicare tax fraud investigation. Columbia/HCA later agreed to pay $1.7 billion in fines and penalties – the largest fraud settlement in U.S. history. At that time Sink was serving on the Governor’s 60-member Commission on Education which included Richard Nunis, chairman of Walt Disney Attractions; Stewart Turley, chairman of Eckerd Corp. and Alvin R. Carpenter, president of CSX Transportation. Sink was president of Florida Banking Group for NationsBank. The Commission recommended a 2.5 percent surcharge on utility bills to pay for school construction. At the time, it was estimated the state need $3 to $11 billion over the the next five years for new classrooms to alleviate overcrowding. The Republican lawmakers were offering to let School Board increase the millage by 0.5 for new construction…..both Republicans and Democrats realized taxes had to be raised somewhere.