Watch CBS News

Crist To Announce Gubernatorial Intentions On Monday

ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami/News Service Of Florida) - Former Governor Charlie Crist has been out of the political spotlight for a little while, but he's about to jump back into the world of state politics in a big way Monday.

Crist will formally announce his candidacy for governor in his hometown of St. Petersburg Monday morning. Crist will be running for the first time as a Democrat and will battle incumbent Governor Rick Scott in next years election.

Charlie Crist's comeback pitch has a little of something for everyone. It's a mix of contrition, outrage and pride tempered by humility as the former governor launches his second bid for the office, this time as a Democrat.

"Each voter should do what they feel in their heart. Men, women, gay, straight, black, white, young, old, it doesn't matter. They should vote for who they feel will fight for them the best, whoever it is," Crist said this week during a wide-ranging interview outside a downtown Starbucks not far from his waterfront condo in St. Petersburg.

The longtime Republican and short-time independent before his conversion into a Democrat last year is parlaying his partisan passage into a play on voters' frustrations with government.

The ever-cordial, exceedingly polite Crist --- who credits his parents and three sisters for instilling respect in him at an early age --- grows fiery when speaking of his successor, Gov. Rick Scott, and the Republican's policies.

"It breaks my heart," is the common refrain Crist uses when speaking of Scott's actions on education, the environment, health care and voting rights, among other issues.

"What breaks my heart is what I have seen over the past three years from the administration in Tallahassee," Crist told the LGBT caucus at the Democratic conference on Sunday before blasting Scott's treatment of public schools.

"You come in and your first act is to whack (education) $1.3 billion. And then follow that incredible act with a second go-round…where you whack higher ed $300 million. And then you have the gall to go to the education community and teachers…and say you know what I think I can give them $2,500 (salary increases) and that'll take care of it and they'll forget," Crist said. "I've got news for you buddy. Teachers are smart and they cannot be bought."

But Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry said Crist's agenda lacks any discussion of jobs and economy, the backbone of Scott's election in 2010 and his re-election campaign. Curry said Crist "was a complete failure" as governor.

"Right now education funding is at the highest level in the state's history," Curry said. "It's all negativity (by Crist).He's not offering a vision for the state of Florida."

During the next year, voters should expect to see Crist criticize Scott about issues such as the state's rejection of expanding Medicaid and about Lake Okeechobee discharges that are polluting the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers. Crist grew so animated about the Lake Okeechobee issue during the interview that he sketched a map of the river system on the back of a napkin. Scott blames the Obama administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the recent pollution problems, which are a huge issue in the Treasure Coast region and in Southwest Florida.

Crist also has already started hammering Scott for refusing $2.4 billion from the Obama administration, which Crist had accepted, for a high-speed rail project connecting Tampa to Orlando.

Crist also raised questions about Scott's character, reviving attacks by former Attorney General Bill McCollum who lost to Scott in a bitter primary in 2010. Scott earned his fortune as the former CEO of Columbia/HCA, the health care giant which paid $1.7 billion in fines and settlements to resolve accusations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud after he left the company.

"I don't know much about him that isn't ethically challenged," Crist said of Scott. "It troubles me that the leader of our state is not acting like a good servant. Being a good person starts with honesty and integrity. The notion that we've elected an individual who was the head of a company that had to pay the largest fine for fraud at the time in the history of our country is just mind-boggling."

After Monday, Crist will be in a primary against former Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, who has been in the governor's race for more than a year. Rich, a favorite of progressives, is having a difficult time raising money and has less than $100,000 in cash in her campaign account, which Crist may eclipse on his first official day on the trail.

Some insiders are predicting that, if elected, Crist will reward Rich with a spot as secretary of the Department of Children and Families if she drops out of the race.

In the meantime, Crist is reaching out to shore up support from the Democratic base that helped President Obama turn Florida blue in 2008 and 2012. In an appeal to gay Democrats last weekend, Crist tried to make amends for signing onto a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage in Florida.

"Please forgive me for not getting where I am now sooner. But I'm there," he said.

Crist --- dubbed Florida's "first black governor" by a former state representative --- has had rock star status among some African-Americans, who make up about 27 percent of Democratic registered voters. He extended early voting during the 2008 election, which some credit with Obama's win in Florida. Crist also refused to play Florida's state song, "Old Folks at Home," at his gubernatorial inaugural celebration in 2007.

At Crist's behest, he and the Florida Cabinet created an "automatic" restoration of rights for convicted felons, ending a complicated and drawn-out process that kept convicted felons, many of whom are black, from being able to vote.

Soon after taking office in 2011, Scott and the all-GOP Cabinet reversed that process and instead imposed a five-year wait before felons can apply to have their rights restored.

"It's horrific. Talk about mean, un-Christian, unforgiving. That's like heartless. That's a heartless policy," Crist said.

Crist said Scott and the Cabinet members --- Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam --- who unanimously supported the new policy "all gotta go."

"Who among them doesn't believe in forgiveness and second chances? We all make mistakes but my God can't you give them a second chance? They've paid their debt to society. If you've paid it, restore. Give them a second chance. Give them hope. Because otherwise you demoralize them for the rest of their lives. That's a sin. It's just not nice. It's not right," he said.

Scott has vowed to spend at least $25 million "defining" Crist, and reports this week said a Scott political committee will unleash as much as a $525,000 ad campaign against Crist on Monday, the day Crist makes his candidacy official.

Republican leaders are even boasting of a scorched-earth campaign attacking Crist for fleeing the GOP in 2010 and becoming an independent to avoid a U.S. Senate primary with Marco Rubio. Crist gave up the possibility of a second term as governor to run for the Senate.

Curry said Crist made a play for Washington when Florida's unemployment rate skyrocketed during the great recession.

"He bailed on the state when they needed him most, and now for some reason he feels he wants to be back in Florida when he abandoned us when we needed a governor most," Curry said. "He's not a serious person. He's not fit to govern. He's a campaigner. That's it. He's good-time Charlie."

The onetime "People's Governor" insists he hasn't changed and scoffs at accusations that he can't be trusted.

"Trusted to do what? To stay in the crazy club? Well I hope not," Crist said.

Crist emphasized that it is GOP leaders who appear out of touch with mainstream Americans, pointing to former Gov. Jeb Bush's critique of his own party.

"God does not want people to be anti-women, anti-minority, anti-immigration, anti-gay. Pretty soon the room's empty. And when you are that intolerant, at least the leadership of the party, trust me, I'm out of there. You can trust me. It's just not right," he said.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.