The Dissatisfaction of the Florida Electorate with Governor Rick Scott - Essay Example

Lecturer: Cauley Unit POS 2112 20th June, Florida electorate's "buyer's remorse" of governor Rick Scottand Florida's lack of a recall process In a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in May 2011, on popularity of Governor Rick Scott, it was established that his popularity amongst voters continues to decline. According to the poll results, his rating went down from 48% in April, to 35% (in May) (Brown 1). Some of the reason cited by the voters for this decline in rating includes the Florida’s new budget that many say it is unfair to them. Thus, many voters blame the poor budget on the governor and the State Legislature. Indeed 68% of those interviewed agreed held this viewpoint as shown by the poll results (Brown 1). The State of Legislatures are also sharing same disapproval from the Florida voters just like the governor, and their rating is 56-27% as at may 2011, while in April it was 47-35 (Brown 2). In spite of this low rating of Governor Rick Scott, voters have little option since they cannot send him back home until his term ends. This is because Florida State lacks gubernatorial recall process. This paper thus examines these twin issues facing Florida State, the dissatisfaction of the Florida electorate with Governor Rick Scott and Florida's lack of a gubernatorial recall process. The dissatisfaction of the Florida electorate with Governor Rick Scott Governor Rick Scott does not merely seem more detested, he is, indeed, increasingly getting unpopular. As pointed out by Marc Capato in his “Poll shows increase in Florida voters' dislike for Gov. Rick Scott” published by Times/Herald, this has been revealed by most recent survey done by Quinnipiac University that involved 1,499 registered voters in Florida. The poll results indicated that 48% of voters disapproved his work as a governor; this was double the figure in a poll done in February, 2011 by the same university. Those who approved his work were merely 35%, showing a decline in the percentage (Capato). However, the Governor in responding to the poll results stated that, he was not worried about the poll results; rather he was concerned with solving problems (Capato). There are varied reasons that have contributed to Scott’s popularity decline, there include economy that is not doing well, with 60% stating their dissatisfaction on how he is running the economy, Power struggles with other legislatures from his Republican party, A recently rejuvenated left that highly dislikes him, and a hard-right governing approach he used that appears to annoy Democrats and independent votes (Capato). Another major reason for his declining popularity is his proposed budget. In this budget Scott proposes deep cuts in financing and a layoff of 6,000 jobs of state workers (Capato). In deed, the results from the Quinnipiac University show that over 53% of voters oppose the proposed budget. This is because they view it has unfair to them, only 37% approve the budget measures (Brown 2). A third of voters approve the manner in which the Governor has handled the budget issue, but 55% do not (Capato). The results further show that more that 50% voters feel that the cuts are very drastic, 29% feel the budget is “okay”, and only 16% feel more cuts should be taken (Capato). However, there is a general agreement that the state’s budget needs to be readdressed as 95% of voters said (Brown 2). According to Brown (2) the numbers on perceived fairness of the budget proposed by the Governor is very critical. He notes that, when voters by nearly 2-1 state that his Scott’s approach to the budget is unfair to them, then that is a big political warning indicator for the Governor (Brown 2). In deed Brown categorically warns that “when voters think that they are being treated unfairly, they seem to react negatively” (Brown 2). In spite of the new property insurance law that was signed by Scott, voters assert that getting insurance today is more difficulty and more costly. Accordingly, 63% of the polled voters stated that property insurance was harder to get, while only 3% said it was easier to get. 26% of the voters feel that nothing has changed regarding getting insurance (Brown 2). This dissatisfaction with property insurance in Florida has resulted in 59% of voters in calling for additional regulations from the government on property insurance, though 29% feel that there is no need for Federal government to get involved. Whether it is possible for the new laws on property insurance to change the public perception on insurance in Florida will only be known with time. However, there it is clear that the public needs something to be done on obtaining and paying for property insurance (Brown 2). According to the poll results, the support of Scott among his own Republicans is considerable weak. The poll shows that 51% of GOP approves Scott’s work, while 37% disapproves his work performance. Figures among Democrats show that those disapproving are 72-13%; the independents also seem to share the same dislike as 57-35% independent voters disprove Scott’s work. When it comes to gender, both men and women disapprove Scott’s work; men are rated at 53-35% and women rate is 60-24% (Brown 2). As pointed out by Capato the poll carried out Quinnipiac University is not the only one to show that Scott’s rating is declining. Another survey carried out by Public Policy Polling in May 2011 also showed that only 32% of voters approved what Scott was doing, as opposed to 55% of voters who disapproved his performance (Capato). As noted by Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University polling Institute, voters are much more dissatisfied by the Governor than before (Brown 2). Probably this does not make feel good, added to the fact that the State Legislature is as well declining in popularity among voters. Florida's lack of a gubernatorial recall process As discussed above, Florida State voters are agree with Governor Scott for reasons outlined in the previous section. These reasons seems to be serious enough to warranty his recall, however such express process of removing a governor in Florida have not been enacted. As observed by Clay recalls are common at a local level, but much difficult at governor level, though it can be done (Clay 3). In the United States, only 18 states permits gubernatorial recalls, and these states do not include Florida (Clay 3). Lengell on contributing to this issue explains that, the process of recalling a governor from the office in Florida is not clearly defined. Though Florida has the recall process in its laws, the process is only applicable to local officers within the State. However, Rick Kriseman, a Florida State Representative of St. Petersburg authored a bill referred to HJR 785, that when passed will initiate an amendment to the Constitution of Florida State to permit a recall of a governor as well as other high ranking officials of the State from their offices (Ringwald). Thus, only the passing of this proposed law bill and the necessary amendment will give the voters power the required process to recall a governor. Ringwald argues that this bill should be passed immediately and the necessary amendment to the constitution made so that Governor Rick Scott is recalled, before he does further destroys the economy of Florida. Meanwhile, before the bill is passed, Lengell explains that what Florida voters should do is to write to their state representatives voicing their support for the pending bill HJR 785 (Lengell). For those who do not know their state representatives they should not worry since it is simple. The district number of the state representative is written on the voter information card provided by the county supervisor. Similarly, a voter can be assisted by the staff working at the county election office to get their state representatives. After getting the representative, the person can then call or write expressing their support of HJR 785, so that state officers and the governor can be more accountable to the people (Ralph). In view that many voters feel disappointed with Rick Scott, the support for this bill among the public is expected to be high. However, the final people to determine if the bill will pass are the legislatures who make laws, and they should pass the bill as this is what the people wants. It is worth noting that the passing of the bill should not be just about Rick Scott, it should be passed and the constitution amendment done so that in future, other top officials and even future governors are responsive to the people’s wishes and demands. Conclusion Rick Scott was elected as the governor of Florida as a first timer without any prior experience. However, he used to be CEO of a company and must have found out now that running a company and governing a state is very different (Lengell). His approving has continued to decline due to his unpopular measures that he has taken, particularly on his proposed budget cuts and job cuts of state workers. His property insurance has been also unpopular. Things have not been made better by is wrangles with his own party officials, which has resulted in him losing their support. The dissatisfaction of voters has rekindled the need for a gubernatorial recall process in State of Florida so that a governor can be recalled back if voters feel he is not performing. Works Cited Caputo Marc: Poll shows increase in Florida voters' dislike for Gov. Rick Scott; 2011; Retrieved 20 June 2011. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article1162056.ece Clay Barbour: “Recall frenzy hits”: Wisconsin State Journal: 2011; Retrieved 20 June 2011. Lengell Sean: Sunshine State not happy with Gov. Scott: The Washington Times: 2011; Retrieved 20 June 2011. Peter Brown: Florida voters turn thumbs down on Gov. Scott 2-1 Quinnipiac University poll: May, 2011, Retrieved 20 June 2011. Ralph De La Cruz: Is It Time to Recall Rick Scott? 2011; Retrieved 20 June 2011 Ringwald Edward: To Remove Rick Scott: 2011; Retrieved 20 June 2011. Read More