{"id":36438,"date":"2025-11-06T22:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T22:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/36438\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T22:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T22:13:09","slug":"news-6-sits-down-to-interview-florida-gubernatorial-candidate-david-jolly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/36438\/","title":{"rendered":"News 6 sits down to interview Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is officially launching his campaign for Florida governor<\/a>, but there is already another Democrat in the race: former Florida Congressman David Jolly.<\/p>\n

This week, News 6 anchor Lisa Bell sat down one-on one with Jolly to get his reaction to Deming\u2019s announcement and hear his vision for Florida, starting with his plans for Florida\u2019s education system. Jolly says Tallahassee has been starving public schools of proper funding for decades.<\/p>\n

BELL: How do you fix that and how do fix that quickly? Because when you have young children, you don\u2019t have time. You don\u2019t have five years to wait for the schools to turn around. <\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yeah, look, school choice is popular because families are dissatisfied with the current offerings, but I\u2019m afraid they\u2019re dissatisfied because Republican leaders, frankly, in Tallahassee have attacked public education for 20 years. We have starved public education of resources. Still today, the greatest access to excellence in academics, the trades and the arts, are in our public schools. But you have a teacher today doing what was three jobs 10 years ago, and so I talk about tackling this problem in several different ways.<\/p>\n

First, we need a 10-year renaissance in public education funding. Funding. Meaning, should we take some of our Tourist Development Tax money, money that comes in from out of state, spend it on 10 years of improving public education. Our teachers are paid dead last in the nation. Dead last. It\u2019s a moral wrong. I don\u2019t care your voter registration. The fact that our public school teachers in the third-largest state are paid dead last is wrong. How do we get them a 30% pay raise, get more teachers, higher quality teachers, those who have dedicated their careers to education to remain in our public schools? How do we create public education environments that families wanna rush into, right? We have some great schools, but some are 60 to 80 years old with portables and trailers in the back as classrooms with leaky window air conditions and a dusty field as a playground. So of course, Florida\u2019s families are going to rush into a choice environment.<\/p>\n

So first, let\u2019s invest in public education. Let\u2019s create more resource officers, more teaching slots, smaller classrooms, better conditions, platforms of learning for the future that Florida\u2019s families want. And then what we should say to the voucher school, and I say this to my fellow Democrats, we should not oppose choice just to oppose choice. It\u2019s popular. But the crisis that is going to happen in the next 20 years is this: a choice school today does not have to teach your kid to read. A choice school today does not have to teach your kid to read. If your first grade kid can\u2019t read, they get to kick them out. They take the $8,500 and they send your kid back to public school. If your child\u2019s on the spectrum, they don\u2019t have to take him. Has a disability? They won\u2019t have take her. Your kid doesn\u2019t have to have access to excellence in academics. Say trigonometry in 10th grade, access to the arts or trades. Our choice schools don\u2019t have to do that. So, what I say, as the next governor, would be a 10-year renaissance in funding of public education, invest again in public education, create an environment that Florida\u2019s families want to rush into. And then for our voucher schools, if you\u2019re going to participate in the voucher program, you should have to provide the same services, standards, academics, access to the arts and trades that our public schools do. That begins to say, look, we accept that public and private schools are education partners to Florida\u2019s families, but if we\u2019re going to use public dollars, you should have to provide the same services.<\/p>\n

TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX<\/p>\n

BELL: What type of additional funding are you talking about and where does that money come from?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yeah, look, I think every time, virtually every time across the state of Florida, when we put a question in front of voters, let voters decide. Should we invest more money in public education? Pretty much writ large, voters say yes. If I know it\u2019s going into public education to pay teachers more, to provide safety and security against gun violence in our public schools, local communities will either vote to tax themselves through sales or a millage or whatever it might be. I actually think we should look at our Tourist Development Tax dollars, and here\u2019s why. Look, nobody\u2019s going to try to soften the tourist industry. It\u2019s one of the economic drivers, one of main three, tourism, ag, and construction. But right now, we require our tourist tax dollars to be used only for tourism, to build convention centers, to advertise tourism in Chicago in the winter. It makes sense, but we don\u2019t have a crisis of convention centers. We have a crisis of public education. So let\u2019s put a question in front of voters. Should we spend the next 10 years taking some of our tourist development tax money and invest it in excellence in public education while we reform and increase the standard requirements on our choice schools?<\/p>\n

BELL: So you\u2019re talking about a referendum or a Constitutional amendment or just passing a law? I mean, can you just do this in this in the state legislature?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: We could do it through the state legislature, but I\u2019m not opposed to giving Florida\u2019s voters a voice in this. I think that\u2019s the way democracy should work, and I\u2019m confident Florida\u2019s voters would say, \u2018we\u2019re desperate. We\u2019re desperate for a better funded, higher quality, more accountable public education system.\u2019 Here\u2019s the most important thing. Our teachers are already trying to do it. It\u2019s the politicians who have gotten in the way from Tallahassee. Most of our local politicians are trying to do it as well. But we have failed to invest in the quality of teachers we currently have.<\/p>\n

NOVEMBER 2025 ELECTION RESULTS<\/p>\n

BELL: Let\u2019s talk about the election results from last night, some big wins for Democratic candidates in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City mayor, and even out in California. What is your reaction to that?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Change is here, and Florida\u2019s next. Florida\u2019s Next. People are screaming for change. We\u2019re in the midst of an affordability crisis across the country. In Florida, it manifests itself through access to housing. Young people or families trying to afford rent. Longtime homeowners whose insurance bills have gone up. Utilities where our own utility down in South Florida has requested the highest rate increase in American history, not Florida history. The price of car insurance is going up. The cost of getting to work is going up because of transportation and so we have an affordability crisis that incumbents are not listening to. They are just ignoring voters. We\u2019ve heard this. I\u2019ve now done 113 community events. I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent. If you live in Nocatee, or Naples, or Pensacola, or Miami, Winter Haven, Winter Park, or Orlando, the affordability crises is hitting everybody. That\u2019s what we saw in the results. And I would suggest to you, my Republican friends in Tallahassee have had 30 years to address it. And the reason that this race is so tight is because voters are disenchanted by Republican leaders in Tallahassee. I think Democratic values are bigger than our party, but they are rested in our party. The economy should work for everybody. The government has a responsibility in our lives to provide for access to healthcare, to excellence in education. And frankly we need to be a state that once again is a home for everybody regardless of the color of your skin, where you were born, who you love or who you worship. That is a new agenda in Florida and that is why we can win this race. <\/p>\n

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND TAX RELIEF<\/p>\n

BELL: How do you make housing more affordable?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Oh, listen, we have several different ways to tackle it just through policies that my Republican friends could do. I think we need a state catastrophic fund to remove hurricane coverage from the private market altogether, create a state sovereign wealth fund. If we do that, we can cut homeowners insurance by 60 or 70 percent. If we actually let local municipalities determine how to zone and develop, how they address the cost of rents through affordable and workforce housing, if the state were to just provide more resources to affordable and workforce housing, we can reduce the cost of rents as well, access to housing for the workforce, people in certain occupations, certain income groups. All of these policies are available. My Republican friends won\u2019t do it because they don\u2019t want the government to be more involved. I simply know that people want to see the cost of housing driven down. We can do that. We can reduce property taxes for homeowners, and as Democrats we should be willing to step into that space as well. <\/p>\n

BELL: What is your reaction to at least the current plan that some House Republicans have put out to reduce property taxes? The governor has said that\u2019s not good, but what is your proposal?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: I\u2019m not sure my Republican friends in Tallahassee know exactly what their plan is. They\u2019ve offered eight different ones because they\u2019re really uncertain. Governor DeSantis\u2019 plan is just repeal all property taxes, which would defund our police, defund transportation, clean water, clean air, defund education. Governor DeSantis has not suggested where that additional revenue would then come from. So what I do say to my Democratic friends and to voters is let\u2019s see what Republicans offer. We shouldn\u2019t just reflexively oppose whatever the other side of the aisle offers. If it makes sense, if the math works, then let\u2019s work with them on it. If it doesn\u2019t, then we won\u2019t be with Republicans on that issue. But as Democrats, we need to lead.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s one thing I know what we need. We need first-time homebuyer tax relief. Right now, for long-time homeowners we have Save Our Homes and portability. It\u2019s good public policy. We did it because long time homeowners were struggling to stay in their homes in the run up of values in the 2000s. Now we have the inverted problem. A first-time home buyer buys a home from a 20-year homesteader, their second year tax bill jumps by 200, 300, 400 percent and that is unsustainable. That first-time homebuyers hit with an insurance policy and taxes that outweigh the cost of their mortgage. So let\u2019s be the party that leads with first-time homebuyer tax relief, a homestead exemption of $150,000 or $200,000, or maybe a three, four, five year step up in taxable value of a home for a first time buyer. We can lead with that, and we should. Where we can find tax relief that still ensures revenue for services, let\u2019s do it. Let\u2019s pursue it.<\/p>\n

JERRY DEMINGS<\/p>\n

BELL: This week there is a new name that has now joined the race for a governor and the Democratic primary Orange County mayor Jerry Demings He\u2019s very well known certainly here in Central Florida. What is your reaction to this new competitor?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: I wish Jerry Demings well. He has had a very distinguished and long career. His decision to run for governor is a personal decision, I\u2019m sure, for he and Val, and I anticipate he will get out there and speak to voters just like I am. His decision is inconsequential to the task ahead of me. I got into this race four months ago knowing that my job was to reach every voter across this state: Republican, Independent, and Democrat with ideas to tackle the affordability crisis and end the culture wars. End up in a place where Florida welcomes everybody once again. I presume Jerry will have that conversation as well, but his decision is inconsequential to mine.<\/p>\n

FLORIDA SHIFTING TO THE RIGHT<\/p>\n

BELL: You mentioned culture wars, with that said, really in the past two decades and certainly since 2016, I would say, the state has really shifted even more to the right. What makes you think that this year will be any different or 2026 will be any different?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yeah, you know, I don\u2019t know what is right and left politically these days. The party I used to belong to when I was a Republican in Congress thought we should stay out of your bedroom and your library and your doctor\u2019s office, and now that seems to be all Republicans in Tallahassee want to do. I don\u2019t t know if that\u2019s a lurch to the right or to the left, but I think it\u2019s an imposition on people\u2019s personal freedoms. We used to want to grant civil and personal liberties to people regardless of the color of their skin or who they loved, and that\u2019s not what I\u2019m hearing from Republican friends now. So. I don\u2019t really care what\u2019s left or right. What I know is there are enough voters in Florida who are crippled by an affordability crisis and exhausted by culture wars and just want a return to what Lawton Chiles and Bob Graham used to refer to, the responsible administration of the state government. That is a coalition bigger than the Democratic Party, but it amplifies the Democratic party, right?<\/p>\n

The economy should work for everybody. The government should help with healthcare and education and everybody should be welcome. Those are our democratic values, but they\u2019re so much bigger. So yes, it appears we will have a Democratic primary. I will speak to every Democratic voter across the state, but I\u2019m also speaking to every Independent and Republican voter, because I\u2019m not just trying to be a governor for Democrats, I\u2019m trying to a governor for every Floridian.<\/p>\n

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN<\/p>\n

BELL: Jerry Demings has called on Governor DeSantis to help out with the federal government shutdown and millions of Floridians losing their SNAP benefits or WIC benefits. Do you think the state government has any type of role in what\u2019s happening right now and certainly with food insecurity and food benefits?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yes, we need to spend more money to ensure direct access to food programs and health care in the state of Florida. Fifty percent of our state does not have two weeks worth of savings to handle a crisis, either the ability to afford food or the ability to afford health care or a car repair. Fifty percent of our state is being left behind and so I worry in the face of all of the cuts from Republican leaders in Tallahassee and Washington. We are a state, as voters, we are going to have to decide, what are we going to do about rural health care deserts? What are we gonna do to ensure that people have access to health care in a state that refuses to expand Medicaid. What are we going to do to ensure access to food security programs? If you\u2019re part of that 50% without savings, it is an emergency. I think it is good that Mayor Demings has done that and I hope within his authorities at the county level he will find a way to do it himself and not just put it all on our governor.<\/p>\n

FINAL THOUGHTS<\/p>\n

BELL: Is there anything that I did not ask you about that you would, you know, want to touch on or comment on right now?<\/p>\n

JOLLY: I would just say that we saw dramatic change in New Jersey and Virginia and across the country this week and Florida\u2019s next. Florida\u2019s voters are screaming for change and we\u2019re building a campaign to meet that moment.<\/p>\n

BELL: I feel like we hear that every election cycle from Democrats in Florida.<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yeah.<\/p>\n

BELL: And New Jersey\u2019s a blue state. Virginia\u2019s way more purple than Florida. So I think a lot of Florida Democrats are still very pessimistic that this state will actually turn blue.<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Yeah, let\u2019s unpack that a little bit, because you could say New Jersey is a blue state, but you can also say that the voter swung by double digits towards Democrats last night. In Virginia, they had a Republican governor, and the voters swung in double digits towards Virginia Democrats. In the congressional special elections this year in Florida, the Space Coast, the panhandle, Florida\u2019s voter swung towards Democrats by 15 or 16 points, not just Democratic voters, Republicans and Independents. So this is a moment of change. Look, in 22, we heard a lot of leading Democrats. Charlie Christ and Val Demings were on the ballot, they lost by 18 and 16 because Florida Democrats were not in a position to win that cycle because Florida\u2019s voters had decided, you know what, we\u2019re good with where we\u2019re at.<\/p>\n

This cycle, Florida\u2019s voter are screaming for change. And so it is, yes, part of being a strong enough candidate, building a strong enough campaign, but it\u2019s also about a cycle where voters have said enough is enough. I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Republican, Independent or Democrat, you feel the division. You\u2019re exhausted by the culture wars. You feel the economic anxiety, not just for the unemployed person, economically in a lower class of our economic sphere, but lower to middle and middle class families who are worried about the increase of healthcare. Listen, the affordability crisis is taking everybody on right now, and people are just desperate for new solutions, and they\u2019re not seeing that in Tallahassee. I agree we\u2019ve heard politicians in the past say this is the moment, but this cycle has proven otherwise. This cycle we\u2019re already seeing voters outperform for Democrats by over 15 points right here in the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

BELL: Thank you so much.<\/p>\n

JOLLY: Thank you. Good to be with you.<\/p>\n

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