Jennifer Carroll, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Florida, says she and gubernatorial running mate Rick Scott are elected will limit the role of government and slash the Sunshine State’s 11.6 percent unemployment rate.
Scott and Carroll have a seven-step plan to create 700,000 jobs in seven years, Carroll, a state representative and retired Navy lieutenant commander, told Newsmax.TV. She’s also the first black Republican woman to run on the state ticket.
“We recognize that current [economic] conditions aren’t sustainable,” Carroll said. “We need to implement things from the private sector that are proven to work and then merge that with government.”
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Increasing the size of government won’t pull the state out of recession. “We will be looking to the private sector to create jobs, reduce barriers for small businesses to open and streamline how these companies can have access to move into the state and develop their companies,” Carroll said.
Government became more efficient when ex-Gov. Jeb Bush mandated spending cuts of 5-7 percent at each agency, she says. “We saved money because of planning and efficiencies we created. That’s what Rick and I will do,” Carroll said.
She was executive director of the state’s Veterans Affairs Department under Bush.
“We’ll create government efficiencies so we can fund the role of government and create a business environment that will create jobs,” Carroll said.
The federal government’s stimulus package hasn’t created sustainable jobs, she says. “It has grown the government even larger. But the government doesn’t produce revenue for creating sustainable jobs.”
Asked about the role of the tea party movement in the election, Carroll said, “What will be a big factor are citizens who are fed up with the government encroaching on their lives.” They’re fed up with taxes and fed up with the federal government intruding on states’ rights, she says.
“They’re fed up with the government getting too large and not doing what it’s supposed to under the constitution,” Carroll said. “The movements are citizens tired of elected officials not listening to them. We will be responsive to the citizens of Florida. Their input is critical to crafting our policy.”
That message is resonating, she says. “Republicans are getting behind us, because they hear our message and believe what we stand for.”
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