Lt. Gov. Jay Collins discussed the future of the state of Florida and the possible ramifications of New York City residents migrating to the Sunshine State following the result of the city's mayoral election during a recent discussion with Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power on Power Play!
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is poised to become the next mayor of the Big Apple after the election next Tuesday. The win could bring more New Yorkers to West Palm Beach and other areas of Florida, which already has a population of 23 million.
"It's amazing, in New York City, the city that never sleeps, of all cities, why do we have to learn that Mamdani is an absolute clown," Collins said. "This is not good for our city, that state, or our nation."
"What's going to happen - the reciprocal effect of that when New Yorkers stream to Florida again, he's going to make all of the past mayors look like rock stars, like conservative juggernauts," Collins continued. "This guy, oh my god, it's heartbreaking to see it happen there."
Collins, who became lieutenant governor in August, told Power that the state needed to start preparing for a possible influx, including by updating its infrastructure.
"We gotta build roads, infrastructure. We gotta find ways to get people where they are going. We have to have an economy that's built in both depth and breadth to grow jobs across this state," Collins said.
Along with infrastructure improvements, Collins also specified the need for the state to remain attractive to businesses. In September, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the arrival of a new tech firm to West Palm Beach.
"We gotta bring in manufacturing, bringing more businesses that want to espouse our values and fight for our way of life," Collins said. "We are going to be relentless in the pursuit of excellence."
Another prominent business voice, Michael Simas, also outlined a positive outlook for business in the Sunshine State to The Floridian. But Collins, a former Green Beret and State Senator, cautioned that the state should not become complacent.
"All gas, no breaks. We have to be absolutely forward-leaning. It's easy to fall back on our laurels," Collins said. "It's easy to say we have a supermajority in both chambers, we have 1.3 million voter advantage, we're great. COVID wasn't that long ago. Our whole world shifted then. This was the toss-up state of all toss-up states; we can be right back there."
