Economic incentives separate Republicans vying for Florida House District 73

There’s not a lot that separates the two Republicans vying to win the party’s Aug. 30 primaries for a chance to take on unopposed Democrat James Golden in the November election. But what does separate Joe Gruters and Steve Vernon is a fairly wide gap in how to attract businesses to Florida.

While the two share some common goals, the campaign is getting personal. A few days after the pair debated on Aug. 5, Vernon released a campaign flier noting Gruters has too much on his plate to adequately serve the constituency of District 73. Included on that list was that Gruters is the father of three young children.

Gruters’ wife Sydney immediately responded to Vernon’s comments, calling them “disgusting.”

The pair have been jabbing ever since, with Vernon saying, “Joe and I are similar in many ways, but as is customary, he takes things out of context and he’s not truthful.”

Gruters calls Vernon “hypocritical. The bottom line, here’s a guy who made his whole pitch that he was self-funding his campaign, and yet $50,000 is from a trial attorney and an oil and gas company. He says he has Sarasota values, but I expect this kind of thing will continue. His campaign is all smoke and mirrors.”

Vernon received contributions from Wenda Lewis, who owns several corporations related to the oil and gas industry and is also running for a House seat in North Florida. Gruters said Vernon should not be telling voters he is not beholden to special interest groups.

“I have not had one contribution from any PAC or any special interest,” said Vernon. “It’s only been individuals and again, Joe takes things out of context. To say special interests are contributing to my campaign is just stupid.”

Gruters said his next priority is to continue to create an environment that keeps Florida one of the most business-friendly states in the country.

“That’s one of the big differences between Steve and I,” Gruters said. “I think Tallahassee and Gov. (Rick) Scott has done a great job and he doesn’t think so. I want to come down hard on illegal aliens and eliminate sanctuary cities and make sure law enforcement has the resources they need to keep us safe. Those are my top priorities.”

Vernon acknowledges he hasn’t always agreed with Scott, “but I think Rick has done an excellent job in many areas, but I also think not good in a couple of areas.”

Gruters supports programs like Enterprise Florida, developed by Scott, which provides economic incentives to corporations seeking to relocate to Florida. Enterprise Florida failed to expand in the Legislature, however, and Vernon was among the key opponents. He said Enterprise Florida is anti-free market because it allows the state to pick and choose which corporations it would support, rather than open the door to all businesses.

Gruters said, if elected, he’ll immediately roll up his sleeves and get to work.

“One of my big issues after serving on the board of trustees at Florida State is that I’m a big proponent of higher education,” said Gruters. “I want to empower parents to be allowed to send their children to any school they choose, because I want to make sure every child is prepared for higher education or for a career.”

Vernon said his top priority is to sponsor a bill that would repeal an existing law that charges out-of-state medical personnel a $500 fee when practicing in Florida. He said medical professionals that work for Remote Area Medical, which provides clinics to the indigent and working poor, should not have to pay a fee to bring much-needed services into the state.

Voters have a choice, Vernon said, between “a political activist who’s been involved with the establishment for 20 years, or do you want to send a principled public servant who is not obligated to any outside PAC, the establishment, power brokers or the elites? That’s the simple choice.”

Gruters said all of his campaign contributions are “open and transparent. His (Vernon’s) are hiding behind a web of deception. The fact that I have children and am a small business owner, he thinks is a distraction, where I think they are my biggest asset. I understand what the middle class goes through. I see what my clients go through and I’ll take that to Tallahassee and make sure ours is the best possible place to live and work.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Economic incentives separate Republicans vying for Florida House District 73."