On Thursday, Marine Corps Veteran, Fortune 100 business executive, and civic leader Allie Braswell announced he will run as the Democratic candidate for Chief Financial Officer of Florida.
Citing a lack of leadership out of Tallahassee and government waste and abuse, Braswell said he is running to put state government back on the side of every Floridian, not just the connected and well off.
“We need a leader who will help protect taxpayers by cracking down on huge contracts that politicians are handing over to their supporters and political allies. I’ll be a fiscal watchdog who will hold our government and politicians accountable and fight to shift the focus of our leaders away from helping their friends and back to attracting good jobs to Florida,” said Braswell.
Braswell added that, he is not a politician, but current CFO Jeff Atwater’s political style of “going along to get-along” is hurting Floridians. Under his watch, billions in no-bid contracts have been given away and people with insider connections are getting rich off taxpayer money.
Braswell, who brings a very different set of experiences than his opponent, joined the Marine Corps and served thirteen honorable years in the military, including service during the first Gulf War. Back home, he was a senior technology leader at the Walt Disney Company, where he reduced budgets without cutting jobs. Most recently, Allie has been the President and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League and set an organization that was in complete disarray, on a continuous path toward becoming one of Central Florida’s more impactful and efficient non-profit organizations.
Allie gained national attention and spoke before the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for creating a broadband technology training program, focused on bridging the digital divide, within the Center for Workforce Innovation – a public private partnership helping Central Floridians find new economy jobs.
Born in Sanford, Florida, Allie’s parents, a citrus truck driver and a schoolteacher, taught him the value of hard work, education and commitment to helping others throughout his community. Their untiring spirit to achieve equity in life inspired Allie as evidenced in his work ethic and dedication to enhance the lives of others.
“Many ‘Working Class’ Floridians have been without a voice in our government. The people of Florida have been forced to live with rising insurance rates, private contractors defrauding taxpayers and a crisis of confidence in the politicians running our state,” said Braswell. “I will stand for the people of Florida against waste, fraud and abuse in Tallahassee, and fight to achieve social and economic success for every Floridian.”
