Alex Sink

Governor, Florida

When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) announced his decision to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, Democrats quickly united behind Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, as their choice for the top office in this huge, politically important battleground state. If she wins, Sink would make history as Florida’s first woman governor. And, because Florida is the fourth-largest state in the country, Sink would immediately become a national political leader.

But this will be a brutal, costly campaign. Republicans have held the governor’s seat for over a decade, and will fight hard and dirty to keep control of this pivotal office — particularly in the high-stakes year of 2010, with redistricting in the offing (Florida’s governor currently holds veto power over congressional maps). Sink’s likely opponent, right-wing Attorney General Bill McCollum, is tapping his extensive ties to right-wing and corporate special interests, built up during a 20-year career in Congress, to fund his campaign.

Sink brings to this race a winning combination of business savvy and leadership. An innovative CFO, she’s used the power of her office to protect consumers, eliminate wasteful spending, crack down on fraud, and restore accountability to government. She initiated the practice of posting Florida’s checkbook online, so that people can see for themselves how their tax dollars are being spent. She launched a website for citizens to offer their ideas for streamlining state services. Her efforts to help Florida families avoid foreclosure earned Sink high praise from Tallahassee Democrat business editor Steve Liner, who wrote that Floridians should “thank good government proponents like Alex Sink for being in your corner.”

Sink’s 2006 campaign for CFO was her first run for public office (EMILY’s List supported Sink’s campaign through POP, the Political Opportunity Program). Prior to that, Sink spent 26 years in the business world, including seven as president of Florida’s largest bank during the 1990s. Throughout her career, she has volunteered and held leadership roles in her community — from chairing the board of the United Way of Hillsborough County, to working with migrant support groups, to serving on the late Gov. Lawton Chiles’s Commission on Education and Commission on Government Accountability to the People. Most recently, Sink has been active in local relief efforts for victims of the earthquake in Haiti, both as a Florida state official and as a volunteer.

The Political Situation

Sink’s strength as a candidate has put this seat in play and given Democrats reason to be optimistic about taking back the governor’s office. And there couldn’t be a clearer contrast between her and McCollum, a right-wing career politician and former Washington lobbyist with longstanding ties to deep-pocketed special interests.

By the end of his 20-year career in the U.S. House, McCollum had amassed a voting record far to the right of the mainstream. Tallahassee Democrat columnist Mary Lindley summed up McCollum in 2004: “he gives little indication of ever having any thoughts that didn’t conform to the ultra-right party line.” Another columnist, Daniel Ruth of the Tampa Tribune, wrote in 2000 that McCollum is “so conservative he makes Rush Limbaugh look like Jane Fonda.”

In Congress, he voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act, arguing it would reduce job opportunities for women. He repeatedly voted against legislation to protect the environment, ending his congressional career with a lifetime score of 27 percent from the League of Conservation Voters. His views have not softened in the years since; in 2007, McCollum declared that “the science is not all in” on global warming. McCollum rose to national prominence during the 1990s as one of 13 “House managers” leading the effort to impeach President Bill Clinton.

McCollum’s views on choice earned him high marks from the National Right to Life Committee and the Christian Coalition. Declaring that Roe was wrongly decided, McCollum suggested during his 2000 U.S. Senate campaign that he would support a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. He supported Reagan’s Global Gag rule to withhold international aid from family planning organizations that mention abortion in their materials; opposed allowing federal health plans to cover abortion services; and voted in favor of prohibiting Medicaid funding for poor women seeking abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.

As ranking Republican on the House Banking Committee and a former lobbyist, McCollum has developed a vast network of moneyed interests willing to finance his campaigns. He raised nearly $8 million for his 2000 U.S. Senate campaign, when his third-largest contributor was the Enron Corporation (at the time, McCollum boasted of his 20-year friendship with disgraced CEO Ken Lay). But as much money as he can raise, McCollum isn’t above seeking “free” publicity; last year, the attorney general’s office awarded a $2.5 million government contract to one of McCollum’s former political consultants, who then created an ad campaign prominently trumpeting McCollum’s tough-on-crime credentials.

Political analysts agree that this is one of the hottest races of 2010: the Rothenberg Report, the Cook Political Report, and Congressional Quarterly all list it as a toss-up, and public polling confirms a close race. Sink will benefit from Democratic gains in Florida during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles. The Obama campaign undertook a major push to register and mobilize voters, ultimately winning the state with 51 percent of the vote. Democrats defeated two Republican congressional incumbents in 2008 and have gained nine state House seats since 2006, and registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans statewide. That said, the Tea Party movement has taken hold in Florida like no place else, and is exerting tremendous influence in the U.S. Senate race that is likely to spill into the governor’s race during the 2010 election.

While McCollum has locked up support from establishment leaders like former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, he appears headed for a costly and potentially divisive primary against a wealthy state senator. Sink, on the other hand, has the full backing of Democrats and allies, including every Democrat in the state’s Democratic congressional delegation, the Florida AFL-CIO, and unions representing teachers, sheriffs, and firefighters. In a state where campaigns are notoriously expensive, Sink managed to keep up with McCollum in fundraising until the final quarter of 2009, when he outpaced her. Sink needs immediate support from EMILY’s List members to raise $20 million to win this seat for Democrats and become the first female governor of Florida.

The Issues

“Our state needs a new and different kind of leadership,” says Sink, “After three decades in business, creating jobs and economic opportunity in communities across the state, I’m determined to put my experience and know-how to work protecting the middle class, strengthening the economy, and putting Florida back on track.”

Sink’s children both attended Florida public schools, and she was an active member of the PTA. “Strengthening our schools is the best way to improve Florida’s economy,” she notes. “I am committed to making sure Florida teachers have the tools they need to help children thrive and create a workforce that can compete in the 21st century.”

Sink’s priorities for Florida’s budget include initiatives to foster job creation, make health care more affordable, expand access to higher education, and help middle-class families get ahead. As CFO, she has led the charge to streamline government services, saving millions of taxpayer dollars. In 2008, she called for a special legislative session to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis. “Our state has been built on a ‘sandy’ foundation,” Sink says. “We need to recalibrate our priorities to restart our economy and restore our job market.”

Under Sink’s leadership, the Department of Financial Services built up its investigative division to more aggressively prosecute fraud and bring con artists to justice. “As CFO, I’ve cracked down on fraud and abuse and always stood up for Floridians,” says Sink, noting that Florida consistently ranks among the top states in the number of arrests and convictions, making over 800 insurance fraud-related arrests in the 2008 fiscal year.

Ensuring access to affordable, quality health care will be a priority for Sink. As chair of the Florida Healthy Kids Board, she fought for legislation to increase enrollment in Florida’s KidCare program when she learned that one-half million eligible children were not receiving coverage. Sink worked to streamline the process and launched a community awareness campaign to educate schools and parents about the program.

“The global financial crisis feels anything but global when it hits your family right at the kitchen table,” Sink says. To help homeowners avoid foreclosure, Sink enlisted the Florida Bar to create the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes program, recruiting more than 1,000 lawyers statewide willing to volunteer their time to advise struggling families. Measures to make health care more affordable, expand access to higher education, and create living-wage jobs will lift more families out of poverty, she notes.

“Given our state’s natural resources, top-notch research institutions, and innovative work force, Florida is uniquely positioned to lead the green jobs revolution,” says Sink. Noting that Florida is more vulnerable than most states to the effects of climate change, Sink has incorporated her concern into the state’s fiscal policy, directing state money managers to take into account the impact of global warming on the state’s portfolio — safeguarding tax dollars from risk and serving as a model for other states.

In 2003, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida honored Sink with its “Choice Award” for her outspoken support for women’s rights and reproductive freedom. She is the only pro-choice member of Florida’s cabinet, and, as governor, will protect a woman’s right to choose.

March 2010