'Rural Tour' makes stop in Haines City, led by Tom Perez, chairman for the Democratic National Committee.

HAINES CITY — Traditionally conservative Polk County may be inland, but prominent Democrats stopped by Thursday to try to make it part of what they hope is a “blue wave” come November.

For more than an hour, Democratic candidates at the community, state and federal level spoke to potential voters at the Haines City Community Center as part of the Florida Democratic Party's “Rural Tour”. Headlining the event was Tom Perez, chairman for the Democratic National Committee, Lt. Gov. candidate Chris King and U.S. Rep. Darren Soto.

“Our mission at the Democratic National Committee is to help Democrats up and down the ballot from the state races to the school boards, all the way up to the national offices,” Perez said. “Our north star is not just prosperity for the Rick Scotts of the world, but shared prosperity for everyone. It's not just about healthcare and women's rights and immigration, our democracy is on the ballot. It's not right vs. left; it's right vs. wrong.”

The issues mentioned on Thursday include healthcare, education and taxes among other things.

“We are going to give a big gift to Chairman Perez and the Democratic Party across the country on Nov. 6,” said King, who is the running mate of Tallahassee mayor and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum. “What Mayor Gillum and I are trying to do is change the direction of the state of Florida. The days ahead are going to be very, very exciting. This is not just about winning elections, but this about winning the future of the state of Florida.”

Healthcare

Perez said despite Florida's growing economy, there were still residents without adequate healthcare. Soto said over the next 10 years, Republicans were planning to cut $500 billion from both Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to billions for Social Security.

“Your healthcare is on the ballot,” Perez said. “It's amazing to me that in a state as robust as Florida that people are still suffering.”

Education

King said as governor, Gillum would create $1 billion in new revenue through taxes to start Florida teachers at $50,000 per year. Currently, King said, Florida teachers are $12,000 below the national average when it came to wages.

“Whoever is elected — and we believe it will be us — will be dealing with a teacher shortage,” King said. “We're asking more of our teachers than ever before. Ninety percent of our students in Florida are in public schools and 90 percent of our conversations are about anything but public education.”

Bob Doyel, a retired circuit judge and candidate for state Senate, was particularly critical of the state legislature.

“They've transferred funds from public education and sent it to charter schools,” Doyel said. “We have lead in pipes in some of our schools and then we don't have the money to fix it. What they're doing in Tallahassee is forcing us to do things without giving us money for it and they're taking our (local) control away.”

The environment

King wasn't real specific, but said addressing environmental issues were important for him and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Red tide has been an issue in coastal areas as has algae in Lake Okeechobee.

“The environment is going to be a huge difference-maker,” King said. “Andrew Gillum and I believe in clean air and clean water. That's a low bar, but that hasn't been the case in Tallahassee.”

Local issues

More local members of the panel weighed in on a number of other issues that burdened residents in Haines City. Anne Huffman, a Haines City commissioner and president for the Democratic Women's Club of East Polk, said Haines City was the only Polk municipality with more registered Democrats than Republicans.

“As Democrats, we need to have a more diverse array of leadership,” Huffman said. “We need to have more women elected; we need to have more Hispanics elected. We need a strong bench.”

Another issue that Huffman mentioned was that the city's workforce didn't match the skill sets needed to work for some of the larger employers.

“While we're making great strides in the city of Haines City, we have a long way to go,” Huffman said. “We have the big box corporations in our city, but our residents don't have the skill sets or they did something in the past.”

She added that there is a lack of transportation for those who don't own vehicles. Rev. Charles Anderson agreed, noting that in some communities, residents needed to walk more than a mile to get to a bus stop. Business owner Claude Holmes said wages was a bigger issue than joblessness.

“I signed on to a $15 (minimum) wage,” Soto said. “This could happen with a Gillum-King ticket. We have one party that turned down funding for high-speed rail. The other party will make the investments we need and put Haines City residents to work.”

Anderson added that affordable housing was another local issue that hit home. Perez said the Republican tax cuts have not helped everyday citizens. Soto said it's created an extra $1 trillion in debt.

“Corporate taxes are soaring, but wages are flat,” he said. “It doesn't have to be that way. Look at the reckless tax cut that was passed — 80 to 83 percent of the benefits have gone to the 1 percent. The only way to pay for these tax cuts is to go after your Medicare and Social Security.”

Races

The midterm elections take place on Nov. 6. Terrie Rizzo, the chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, asked those in attendance to take a pledge that they would vote in November and urge others to do so as well.

“You need to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you matter and your vote matters,” said Robert Williams, a Haines City native and Orlando attorney. “We need to be involved and it starts on the local level.”

Perez said the implications of the election in November go beyond the immediate future.

“This is a 12-year election and the reason for that is redistricting,” Perez said. “In 2010, we picked a terrible year to take a shellacking.”

For races specific to Polk County, Soto, an incumbent, will look to retain his seat in Congress by defeating Republican Wayne Liebnitzky as he did in 2016. Doyel hopes to knock off Kelli Stargel, who has served in the Florida Senate since 2012.

“I'm going to take a Republican seat away from Kelli Stargel,” he said. “She's the enemy of the people. We're going to bring democracy back to Polk County.”

The Ledger could not reach Stargel for comment.

“Dispatching out-of-touch, D.C., Tom Perez, who is a well-known progressive campaign killer, is a win for Florida Republicans who want responsible government," Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement Thursday. "Instead of begging for the help of the Washington establishment, Andrew Gillum, Chris King and Democrat candidates in the Sunshine State should be out talking to voters, on topics they care about, such as tax reform, and creating jobs.”

Gillum looks to become the first black governor of Florida and the first Democrat to hold that office since Lawton Chiles in 1998. Republicans Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott have all since been elected. Ron DeSantis is seeking to continue that streak for the Republicans.

“I want to win on character against Ron DeSantis,” King said. “There were hundreds and hundreds of people who told him this wasn't possible. Andrew Gillum didn't give up and he won't give up on you. Isn't that what we want in a governor?”

Mike Ferguson can be reached at Mike.Ferguson@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.