News Articles
State Senate Forum: Tough Questions, Plenty of Answers
Washington County News, July 26, 2010
WESTVILLE — The state senate part of the Concerned American Patriots of Holmes County drew Republican candidates Greg Evers and Mike Hill to Westville City Hall on Thursday, July 22, with a number of questions and a bit of heat between the candidates.
The tea party organization hosted a forum for state senate candidates and county school board candidates (see related article), with a crowd that filled the city hall.
Evers represents Florida House of Representatives District 1 and he is a farmer and owner and operator of Baker Farm Supply. Evers was elected to the House in 2001. He said that one of his biggest goals has been to make sure the average person has a voice in Tallahassee. “We’re a lot different from Miami,” he said.
Hill is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and served 10 years in the Air Force. He has worked for State Farm Insurance since 1990 and has an agency in Pensacola. Hill said his major goals included serving with “courage, character and conviction,” and to have “the integrity to do what you say you will do.”
One question was about legislation, CS/SB 550, calling for new regulations for sewage systems, including an evaluation every five years, when pump outs are required, responsibility of owners to pay fees for pump outs and maintenance, and a starting date of Jan. 16, 2015. Gov. Charlie Crist signed the legislation June 4.
Both candidates were highly critical of the bill, with Evers saying that language affecting sewage systems in the entire state was “snuck” into a senate bill, and that he would seek to limit the bill to sewage systems affecting springs in other parts of Florida as originally intended. Hill blasted the bill as “another example of government intruding into our lives,” and that there was “not enough courageous leadership to stand up and fight” the bill.
In a question about the state Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Hill said that Citizens is the largest insurance company in Florida and fourth largest in the United States. “They have an exposure of tens of billions of dollars and nowhere near enough to cover it,” Hill claimed. He also said that Evers voted to approve rate hikes for Citizens and called for letting Citizens’ rate float.
Evers said that one reason that Citizens was needed was that companied like State Farm did not pay all claims during Hurricane Andrew. “Citizens is to provide everyone with insurance,” he said. Hill responded that State Farm paid its claims.
Both candidates stood on the Constitution when asked about the 10th Amendment reserving all powers to the states not mentioned in the federal Constitution. Sparks flew on another issue when Hill claimed that Evers took large amounts of donations from “Miami trial attorneys,” that Evers denied. “Go back and look,” Evers said. “You are blind.”
Both opposed allowing water management districts to set meters on private wells, and both supported legislation like that passed in Arizona allowing police to ask about someone’s immigration status. Hill claimed illegal immigrants are costing Florida $3.8 billion a year and $3.4 billion in schools. Evers said he would make filing a bill similar to that passed in Arizona his first priority in the Senate, with Hill countering that Evers had done nothing about illegal immigration for nine years. “Why are you filing now?” he asked.
Evers filed legislation for the recent special session that mirrors the Arizona law on immigration, but no action was taken.
Both said they would not take pay raises approved for legislators and both said that current state employees should not be affected by cuts in retirement as they “signed a contract,” as Evers said.
On offshore drilling Hill said that “We need to make sure we do not have a knee-jerk reaction” that costs jobs and hurts the economy, and that all the facts should be gathered before taking any action.
“As much as possible we need to make the victims whole again,” Hill said.
Evers said that the state attorney general should hold BP accountable to make victims whole, and described his concern and efforts to help economic recovery for fishermen, charter boat operators and families affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Both completely opposed abortion and agreed that life begins at conception.
Hill criticized Evers for voting in favor of the 2006 legislation to increase permit and license fees. “It was a $2.2 billion tax increase, and Mr. Evers voted for that,” Hill said. Evers countered by saying that the legislature was told at the time that unless the fees were increased there would be massive cuts in the education and health budgets. He said that he proposed legislation last session to run the increases back to just 30 percent.
Both pledged to reduce government spending.
In closing, Hill said that, “It’s time we take this country back one person at a time. It’s our land and our prosperity, and God bless America.”
Evers asked for everyone’s support in the August 24 Republican primary.
Copyright © 2010.
