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Democratic Candidates For Florida Governor Answer Questions At Public Forum In Hollywood

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HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) – With less than two weeks to go before the primaries, Democratic candidates running for Florida's top seat took part in a forum in Hollywood.

Before answering questions, candidates were first given the opportunity to talk a little bit about themselves.

"Welcome to truly my childhood hometown of Hollywood. This is where I grew up going to these beaches," said former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.

"I was making $1,000 a week and I saved every penny and that was my capital to start a real estate career," said billionaire Jeff Greene.

"Some of you may know my father Governor Senator Bob Graham," said former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.

"I have the pleasure of being the mayor of Florida's capital city Tallahassee Florida," said Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

The Florida League of Mayors, in cooperation with the Florida League of Cities and Leadership Florida, hosted the forum.   Candidates addressed critical issues impacting Florida's cities and their residents.  School security was among the issues discussed.

"When I'm governor getting resources to our schools is going to be my top priority in making sure that there are enough school resources officers to provide the safety that's needed," said Graham.

"No parent should have to worry about whether or not their kid is going to have to be picked up in a body bag when they send them to school and that means the Florida legislature should do its fair share in finding school resource officers," said Gillum.

Candidates also spoke about raising the minimum wage and stressed the importance of funding education.

"I think if we fix education and we become a top 10 or top 5 public education state, those better paying jobs will start coming here.  We won't have to run around and give corporate welfare checks," said Greene.

Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine spoke about the need for Tallahassee to let local government make its own decisions on certain issues and he addressed the impact of climate change.

"I will make sure that for the first time ever the state of Florida has a chief environmental resiliency officer out of Tallahassee.  You will also have regional environmental resiliency officers to work alongside this individual," said Levine.

Democrat Chris King and Republicans Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis say they had scheduling conflicts so they did not take part in the forum.

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