Governor-Elect Scott Talks Jobs At Port Everglades
MIAMI (CBS4) - Governor-elect Rick Scott continues his statewide jobs tour in South Florida. The governor will tour a cruise ship at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Thursday.
On Wednesday, Scott visited the Port of Miami. On business concerns big and small, he offered hope but no details. There's also a bit of hedging on his bets now that the federal spending he railed against in his campaign is needed to create jobs in the Sunshine State.
Port of Miami boosters reminded Scott that the port's economic future is counting on federal money. Scott said, "I don't support any earmarks at the federal level." That's a big problem because a $75 million dollar federal earmark hangs in the balance, one needed to help fund a deep dredge project.
The port waters need to be dredged to a depth of 52 feet. They are now at 42 feet but the added depth is needed to handle mega-cargo ships that will come through an expanded Panama Canal in the next decade. If the Port of Miami is not ready those ships will sail to other destinations. Scott offered qualified support, pending further study about funding. He said, "Every dollar that the state spends and the federal government spends we have to make sure it is spent well. This project appears to be a project that makes all the sense in the world."
Port expansion will be one of the bigger issues on Scott's radar when he assumes office in January, but small business is a major part of any bid to re-energize the jobs picture in Florida.
Armando Mendez, owner of Dynasty Apparel shirt factory, spoke with CBS4's Michael Williams. He started the company 30 years ago in a garage. Now it sprawls across a warehouse sized space in Opa-locka. Mendez says the slow economy forced him to lay off 35 employees this year. He hopes the governor-elect is listening to people like him. Mendez said, "I don't know a single person starting a business in South Florida (right now) because if they go to a bank the banks are not lending money."
Scott offered no specific remedy for such concerns. He said, "We have to make sure that we do everything we can to get lending back to all businesses in the state, especially small businesses."
But residents like Mendez and interests like the Port of Miami are hoping for far more concrete support and decisions soon if they play their central role in repowering Florida's economy.
