James Call

Tallahassee Democrat

The Andrew Gillum for Governor campaign called on an Orlando banker to make the case for a corporate tax increase. He then had to apologize for calling the state a shithole.

Ken LaRoe, founder of First Greenbank and chairman and CEO of the holding company First Green Bancorp, said his passion and love for Florida got the better of him when he tried to explain why a 2-percent corporate tax increase would be a sound investment in public education.

LaRoe and Gillum's running mate, Chris King, talked to reporters via conference call Thursday to respond to GOP's criticism of the proposed tax hike.

LaRoe's talking point was to be that the money raised by the tax hike would help make Florida's workforce more competitive and that would entice high-tech and major corporations to move to Florida.

On the campaign trail:

“What is the dollars lost with Amazon not moving here,” asked LaRoe, whose bank reports more than $700 million in assets.

He calculated First Greenbank would have a net profit of $10 million next year and could afford the estimated $200,000 tax increase. He said he agreed with Gillum that collaboration between business, government and education is needed to create a competitive workforce to keep the economy growing.

That’s when LaRoe went off script.

“What is the dollars lost when every other business won’t come here because quite frankly Florida is a shithole. It is a shithole in every measure whether it is caring for the elderly, care for the mentally ill, care for the developmentally disabled.”

LaRoe disclosed during the rant he is the father of a son with a developmental disability.

About 15 minutes later during the conference call, after King had spoken, Gillum staffers ushered LaRoe back to the phone to apologize for his profanity. He explained he was a third-generation Floridian and his comment reflected conversations he said he has had with executives around the nation about Florida.

“The rest of the country has looked at this state, the state of Florida, and what has happened to it under 20 years of Republican rule and that is what my comment is referring to,” said LaRoe.

He conceded his passion and emotion got the better of him.

King put distance between LaRoe’s comments and the Gillum campaign and said both he and Gillum chose to start businesses and grow families in Florida.

“Mayor Gillum and I don’t share that view,” said King. “We see a state that has so many great aspects to it that is incredible and beautiful in so many ways. ... But we also see a state that for many years has not had leadership that has cared for the needs of all of our people.”

Republican Party of Florida chairman Chairman Blaise Ingoglia issued a statement Thursday afternoon that questioned why Gillum surrounds himself with people who have contempt for Floridians.

LaRoe is not the first politician to use the term to describe a place. In January, President Donald J. Trump reportedly used the same word in an Oval Office discussion about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.

This story has been updated to clarify that Ken LaRoe is the current chair of the board of the First Green Bancorp.

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com.