Gubernatorial candidate and current legislator in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), has set up a part of his website to let voters know that he has support from the African American population in Florida, called “Black Floridians for Crist.”Within his website, Crist mentions St. Petersburg’s “Black chief of police” Anthony Holloway, and his approach to enforcing the law.
“We should fight gun violence with solutions that work like what St. Petersburg’s Black chief of police, Anthony Holloway, is doing: community policing, solving homicides, and getting tough on illegal guns. The children of Florida deserve to grow up in communities that are safe,” says the official Crist for Governor website.
Within the website, Crist also mentions the fact that as Governor in 2008, he extended the voting hours in Florida during the presidential election.
“Charlie unilaterally extended voting hours so that every citizen who wanted to vote could do so. At the time, Republicans told him he was handing the election to President Obama, but Charlie knew it was the right thing to do for Floridians. As governor, Charlie will make it easier to vote, including reversing limits on mail ballots, fighting for automatic registration, and making Election Day a holiday,” said the former Governor.
In the section of his campaign website designated “Blacks for Crist,” some Floridians are wondering why Charlie Crist felt the need to include the fact that he extended voting hours during the 2008 election. This has led some to offer the question: what does extending voting hours have to do with Black Floridians?
Moreover, Crist states that he will “keep a direct line to Florida’s Black communities” but offers no explanation how.
When Crist was Governor of Florida, he was a Republican. When he ran against now Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), he ran as an independent. His opponent, Nikki Fried (D-FL), constantly reminds Floridians that he was once a Republican.
