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Democrats running for governor square off in heated Pinellas Park debate

Adam Putnam, pot and school shootings were some of the topics the hopefuls touched on.
Credit: 10News Staff
The four Democrats are running for the chance to succeed Gov. Rick Scott, who must step down because of term limits.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Saturday, the four top Democratic contenders for governor squared off at Pinellas Park High School.

This came as Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam defended his office from a report that hundreds of concealed carry permits were approved without proper background checks.

Putnam is also a Republican candidate for governor.

The Democratic hopefuls addressed the controversy in interviews with 10News following the debate. Two of them said he should resign and leave the race.

During the debate, however, they focused on what they would accomplish as governor.

The first question of the evening was from a student wanting to know how they plan to keep schools safe.

Andrew Gillum is the mayor of Tallahassee.

“First of all, Taylor, it breaks my heart that that has to be a question that an 11-year-old will ask. And, it also breaks my heart to think about what your parents have to consider when they send you off to school. No parent should ever have to fear that their kids will come home in a body bag when you send them off to get an education in this state,” Gillum said.

Gwen Graham is a former congresswoman.

“And, Taylor, I want to say how sorry I am as a mom that you have to face this fear every day going to school. So, my commitment to you is actions, not words. I have found a public safety statute that allows the governor, whoever she may be, to sign an executive order for public safety reasons banning the sale of military-style assault weapons,” Graham said.

All the candidates had a lot to say about the issue of medical and recreational marijuana. They all are disappointed that the state hasn’t rolled out pot for medical purposes. But, Gillum, Philip Levine and Chris King said they also support pot for recreational use.

Levine is the former mayor of Miami Beach.

“Medical marijuana was approved two years ago by the people. Today, people still can’t get it in the state of Florida and the reason is, let me tell you the reason. It’s because the Kremlin, oh, I mean Tallahassee, doesn’t want to listen to the people of Florida,” Levine said.

“I am in favor of legalization of marijuana in the state of Florida. We’re gonna regulate it, we’re gonna tax it and you are gonna have to be over 21 to make sure.”

King is an Orlando businessman.

“For me, the legalization of marijuana and taxing and regulating it ultimately was somewhere I got because I saw how unfair our laws were. You know we’re in Pinellas County tonight. In Pinellas County, if you’re black, you’re six times more likely to be arrested for the use than if you’re white. That is wrong, we’ve got to fix it, I’m determined to do just that,” King said.

King is the only candidate who hasn’t been elected to office. So, the other three had some tough questions to answer about their past decisions.

Levine had to defend his monetary support for Marco Rubio during his Senate run several years ago. Levine donated $2,400 to the campaign.

“When I look back and say to myself, 'Would I like to take that check back from Marco Rubio?' 100 percent, absolutely. And, I also know that I have donated and contributed and raised significant sums for the Democratic Party and I’m proud to be a Democrat.”

Gillum responded to a question about a looming FBI investigation over city of Tallahassee officials.

“I have a zero tolerance for corruption. I have been elected for 15 years by doing right, not by doing wrong.”

“There has been no evidence to connect me to anything, wrongdoing or illegal.”

And, Graham had to defend her vote in favor of a bill in Congress that would’ve made it more difficult for Syrian refugees to come into the U.S.

The bill never passed.

“It was not a ban on Syrian refugees. It was purely to certify the process that is already in place. And, I would like to argue that we would be in a much better place today if that piece of legislation had passed than what we have with Donald J. Trump doing to our country and standing in the way of immigrants coming into the United States of America.”

The debate lasted about an hour, and the candidates have another one in Broward County on Monday.


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