Gillum Ready to Cooperate With Republican Legislature

In a bipartisan effort, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum shared who would be part of his first calls should he be elected Governor of the sunshine state. The recipient might be a surprise to many voters.

Speaking to the Buzz, Mayor Gillum said that he would be calling Governor Jeb Bush to seek his insight on the Governor's office. Commenting on what the call would entail, Gillum explained that “Even though I disagreed with him on a lot of policies — I mean I marched against him when I was a student at FAMU — I never once doubted that that Gov. Bush loved this state and was trying to move Florida in a way that he sincerely though was in the best interests of Floridians. I found him responsive, I found him in a lot of ways open — not always, but I did find a level of openness and transparency and fidelity to Florida."

In addition, Mayor Gillum also mentioned that he would rely heavily on the assistance of local government leaders, noting that mayors are the best advisors a Governor can have because they are committed on pushing the state forward.

Citing Mayors that could be “part of our leadership,” Gillum mentioned Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, and Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez. Furthermore, Gillum also assured that he’d work cooperatively with a Republican-led Legislature on issues such as vocational education and criminal justice reform.

Gillum mentioned having a good relationship with Jose Silva, the incoming Florida House Speaker, and Gillum expressed that “I do believe we could have a sensible conversation about how we can get things done. Jose's probably more of a libertarian than anything, and I think that makes him a little bit open to some ideas for what might save the state money."