A large group of Democratic activists and state legislators, including, Sens. Shevrin Jones, Lauren Book, and Rosalind Osgood, and Representatives Dottie Joseph, Felicia Robinson, and Angie Dixon, all defiantly spoke out against Gov. Ron DeSantis, some calling him racist over his special session to address redistricting congressional maps.
Sen. Jones and others all but called Gov. DeSantis a racist, but Rep. Nixon straight out called him one and then reiterated her remarks while on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The Floridian caught up with Rep. Nixon at her House floor desk and ask her if she called DeSantis a racist.
“I did, I called him one,” said Nixon before qualifying her remark by saying that DeSantis’s “policies” and stonewalling of black legislators and the Black community, is why she believes he is a racist.
“Based on the policies that come out of his office, based on the fact that the black representatives don’t get invited to the press conferences unless they do his bidding,” said Nixon. “Based on the fact that we can’t get a call back from his office when it pertains to issues that our constituents are going through, he aint my governor. He’s not representing me, they’re not returning phone calls, they don’t want to help our communities.”
Nixon added that DeSantis and the Republican-led legislature “continue to pass legislation that negatively impacts us” and the as early as yesterday, DeSantis’s office did not invite her and Rep. Tracie Davis to an event the Governor held in her district this past Monday,
When asked if DeSantis as a man or person had racial tendencies, Nixon responded by pointing to DeSantis’s 2018 “Don’t monkey this up Florida” campaign comment that Democrats believe was a racial comment directed at Blacks.
“If you are enacting policies that negatively impact Black people, then you clearly have an issue with Black people,” added Nixon.
DeSantis has called for the special legislative session to address redistricting because he wants to make congressional districts “race-neutral,” but Democrats like Nixon believe that DeSantis just wants to “whitewash” Black communities.
“He’s trying to whitewash everything to me. He’s trying to erase history,” concluded Nixon.
The Florida Legislature is expected to finish up the debate on the issue and vote on the measure by Thursday afternoon.
During press gaggle on the House Floor, Speaker Chris Sprowls said that the expected lawsuits were filed “before we were done with the conversation.”
