At one of nearly 20 ‘Awake The State’ rallies across Florida, a crowd of energized Central Floridians gathered Downtown Orlando Tuesday to protest the extremist anti-middle class agenda being pursued by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature. With chants of “show me what democracy looks like…this is what democracy looks like,” and “Hey Hey, Ho Ho… Rick Scott has got to go,” the Awake the State rally opened with a short speaking forum, before the crowd of more than 100 waved signs at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Colonial Drive.
“We will continue to fight extreme Tallahassee Republicans, led by Rick Scott, until we see these anti-middle class policies changed and the middle class and job creation is the focus in Florida again,” said Sheena Rolle of Organize Now. “We deserve more, we demand more…the fight for the future of Florida has just begun.”
Speakers addressing the gathering made reference to several issues, including deep budgetary cuts to education and health services that are hurting working Floridians and middle class families; tax giveaways and subsidies to giant corporations; reduced benefits and increased taxes on state workers, including policemen, teachers and firefighters; Florida’s voter suppression law and the ongoing foreclosure debacle.
Diana Worren, speaking on behalf of teachers who are on the front lines every day said, it is time to hold legislators in Tallahassee accountable.
“Many of our legislators don’t share that passion or commitment to the future, where students should be at the center of education reform,” she said. “It is time to hold them accountable because they are all re-applying for their jobs next year.” Teachers, students, parents and our elected officials must all be held accountable for our students’ success, she added.
Vice-President of the College Democrats of UCF, Anna Eskamani said, ‘Awake the State’ has the support of students, broadly, and they are rising up. She deplored the severe cuts to education and in particular to the Bright Futures program.
“We’re fed up with Tallahassee politicians balancing the budget on the backs of hard-working Floridians to fund giant giveaways for their big business buddies,” she said. “We demand policymakers work to create a fair economy where wealthy corporations don’t get special treatment at the expense of protecting and expanding Florida’s middle class.”
Orlando Professional Fire Fighters president, Steve Clelland shared stories of what he called the “hypocrisy” fire fighters had experienced over the recent past, referring to former Ormond Beach Mayor Fred Castello, who once elected to the Florida Legislature in 2010, worked to implement the most aggressive anti-defined benefits plan, despite being a beneficiary.
“But perhaps the worst example of hypocrisy is the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “This is an organization that went to fire fighters saying, ‘you are the reason the public is hurting,’ while they have been living off the public for 44 years, paying $1 a year, to lease a three-story building on prime real estate since 1968.”
Clelland added that fire fighters are motivated and plan on organizing with the view to targeting certain races in the upcoming elections. We got away from what we did best and that is, putting fire fighters on the streets with signs, walking door-to-door, he said.
Several speakers referred to Florida’s new elections law which makes it harder for Floridians to vote, particularly African-Americans, Latinos, college students, members of the military and itinerant populations. They rejected the claim that its passage was aimed at curbing voter fraud.
Currently, several civic groups, including the League of Women Voters of Florida and the ACLU have filed suit charging that the law is unconstitutional. A U.S. Senate panel will hold a hearing in Tampa on January 27, to review Florida’s new election laws.
Booker T. Perry, a retired firefighter who recently lost the home in which he had lived for the past 30 years, called for a federal investigation into how foreclosures are being handled in the state. With a giant-size petition – Floridians for a Fair Settlement – in hand, many in the crowd stepped forward to sign the petition. He urged Floridians to contact their legislators to let them know how angry they are over the foreclosure crisis and fraudulent procedures banks have used to accompany the process.
As part of the rally, Awake the State organizers handed out a “Dirty Thirty” list of legislators who had voted 100 percent with Scott’s job-killing, anti-middle class agenda. Also distributed was a “Dirty Dozen” list of businesses that financially supported Scott’s 2010 campaign. These included, Florida Chamber of Commerce, CNL Bank, Firehouse Subs, Central Florida Health Care – Orlando, Wal-mart and Golden Corral Restaurants.
And with more chants of: “They say cut backs… we say fight back,” “1234 …We won’t take it anymore,” and “5678 …Voters’ rights in our state,” protesters made their way to the corner of Orange Avenue and Colonial Drive, waving signs, all the while continuing to make their voices heard.
