dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Political positions

Gillum has been widely described as a progressive[52] and, by some conservative sources, as a democratic socialist.[53] During the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, DeSantis said that Gillum had a "far left socialist platform"; PolitiFact rated this assertion as false, noting that Gillum's platform is similar to those of other Democrats and within the mainstream of public opinion.[54]

Gillum supports the replacement of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the U.S. Department of Justice. He seeks to expand Medicaid to cover "…700,000 people, who right now don't have access to health care".[55] He supports the removal of Confederate monuments.[56] Gillum wants to raise the Florida corporate tax rate to 7.75 percent, up from the current 5.5 percent, which he said would generate $1 billion in revenue which would be used on education funding.[57] Gillum supports a $15 minimum wage.[58] He is endorsed by Bernie Sanders and has received financial support from Tom Steyer and George Soros.[59][60] Gillum has called for the impeachment of Donald Trump.[61] Gillum accepts the scientific consensus on climate change, and has warned that climate change causes sea level rise with adverse effects for Florida.[62][63] He opposed the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, and said that he would as Florida governor work with other states in a state-based climate alliance.[64]

Gillum opposes Florida's Stand-your-ground law.[58] Gillum is in favor of a 2018 ballot proposition, Amendment 4, to restore the voting rights of most individuals who have completed felony convictions (excluding individuals guilty of murder or sexual offenses).[58][65] Gillum said, "Floridians who have paid their debts deserve a second chance and they should have a voice in our state’s future. Our current system for rights restoration is a relic of Jim Crow that we should end for good."[66]

Corruption and misuse investigations

In February 2017, Gillum apologized after the Tallahassee Democrat reported that his government office had been used to send emails through web-based software purchased by NGP VAN, a company that provides technology to Democratic and progressive campaigns.[37] An investigation into the emails started after Paul Henry, a retired state trooper from Monticello, wrote State Attorney Jack Campbell in March to allege Gillum committed grand theft and official misconduct by paying for the software with city funds when he believed they served no public purpose. A Leon County grand jury cleared Gillum of any wrongdoing.[38]

During his mayoral campaign in 2014, Gillum faced allegations of misconduct after hiring private equity investor Adam Corey as the treasurer. Corey is an investor in The Edison, a restaurant that received taxpayer money from the city to help with the Cascades Park development project. During a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into the matter, city officials stated that Gillum's vote did not constitute a conflict of interest[5] and Gillum cut ties with Corey.[39]

According to text messages uncovered by the Tampa Bay Times, Gillum accepted tickets to the Broadway musical Hamilton from his brother, Marcus Gillum, who got them through an undercover FBI agent conducting a corruption investigation. The agent was posing as a real estate developer.[40] Gillum responded to the Tampa Bay Times story, "These messages only confirm what we have said all along. We did go to see Hamilton. I did get my ticket to Hamilton from my brother. At the time, we believed that they were reserved by friends of Adam's, Mike Miller. And when I got there after work, got my ticket, we went in there and saw it, assumed my brother paid for it, and so far as I know, that was the deal."[40]

In late January 2019, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws when he accepted gifts during out-of-town excursions with lobbyists and vendors and failed to report them.[41] Ultimately, a $5,000 settlement was agreed to on four out of the five charges.[42]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum