DeSANTIS is imploding. This other-directed corporate puppet will NOT be Governor.
Rep. Kathy Castor said if DeSantis was serious about opposing drilling he would have taken mores steps, including opposing the changes to the drilling rules. | Steve Cannon/AP Photo
Democrats poke holes in DeSantis drilling stance
TALLAHASSEE — Democrats and environmental advocates are taking aim at Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis' assertion that he has a "proven track record" in supporting measures to ban oil drilling off Florida's coast, saying his record doesn't support the claim.
Oil drilling has emerged as a flash point this campaign season in Florida after the Trump administration's early 2018 proposal to open up most federal waters to oil drilling. Top members of both parties in Florida say they are against oil drilling.
DeSantis, who touted his endorsement from Trump during the Republican primary, co-sponsored federal legislation this year to extend a temporary drilling ban in federal waters off the Gulf Coast from 2022 to 2027. And he signed a letter in January along with another 22 members of Florida's congressional delegation stating opposition to the Trump administration's moves to allow drilling in federal waters off Florida.
But Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), vice ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says DeSantis has been "largely absent" in the Washington fight against drilling. That's because he hasn't joined in opposing other drilling measures, such as a proposal to relax drilling rig safety rules, Castor said.
She says his support for H.R. 5014 (115), legislation that would extend the drilling moratorium, is an "election year epiphany for him — and that's the worst kind."
"You can't trust someone who starts talking about an issue in an election year when they are running for high office," Castor said.
Meanwhile, DeSantis' Democratic opponent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, supports a permanent ban on drilling off Florida's coast — including the existing Gulf moratorium area, campaign spokeswoman Carlie Waibel said.
Stephen Lawson, DeSantis' campaign spokesman, wouldn't say whether the Republican would support a permanent ban or support maintaining the ban in the current area under the moratorium. A Department of Interior proposal now being reviewed includes options for shrinking the moratorium area to within 50 miles of the Florida coast.
His campaign website states that he has a "proven track record in supporting measures to ban offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."
Talk of drilling off Florida has been largely taboo since the 2010 Gulf spill coated beaches with oil in the western Florida Panhandle and delivered a body blow to the state's tourism economy. But the oil industry has launched a recent effort to gain political support in Florida for allowing some drilling in the area.
President Donald Trump has advocated expanding America's energy industry and energy exports.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blew open the controversy again in Florida last January when he proposed allowing drilling in most federal waters, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico, after the current moratorium ends in 2022.
In an orchestrated event at the Tallahassee airport with Gov. Rick Scott, Zinke announced that Florida was "off the table" for new drilling. Scott is seeking to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who called the turnaround a "publicity stunt" and has noted subsequent statements by Zinke that Florida still is part of the ongoing federal review process.
The moratorium through 2022 was passed by Congress and signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush to protect Naval and Air Force training missions off the Florida Panhandle.
The Florida Defense Support Task Force in 2017 issued a report that called for extending the deadline to protect military bases and the defense industry, which has an estimated $80 billion economic impact. The Florida House and Senate also endorsed measures FL SR550 (18R) / FL HR319 (18R) calling on Congress to pass an indefinite extension for the moratorium.
While Republicans and Democrats in Florida both say they are against oil drilling, there are distinctions, as reflected in the parties' candidates for governor.
Gillum, who says he wants to move Florida to "clean energy" as soon as possible, supports a permanent ban including the existing Gulf moratorium area, which extends from 125 miles off the Panhandle to more than 200 miles off the southwest Florida coast.
The DeSantis campaign won't specify what measures he supported as part of his "proven track record" against drilling or discuss his stance on the moratorium since he issued an environmental platform on Sept. 12.
That platform says: "Florida has seen firsthand the dangers that off-shore drilling can bring to our beaches and shorelines. ... Starting day one, DeSantis will utilize his unique relationship with President Trump and his administration to ensure that oil drilling never occurs off Florida’s coastlines."
Castor said if DeSantis was serious about opposing drilling he would have taken mores steps, including opposing the changes to the drilling rules.
Instead, she said DeSantis has been in line with the "dirty environmental policies" of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. She dismisses his support for the five-year moratorium extension in H.R. 5014 (115) and said DeSantis instead should have supported a permanent ban on drilling in the eastern Gulf.
"Its easy to sign onto a bill when you are seeking a promotion [during an election year]," Castor said. "But to really understand someone's record you have to look at their entire time in Congress. He has just demonstrated that he really didn't have an interest."
Frank Jackalone, the Sierra Club's Florida chapter director, said DeSantis' opposition to drilling is "in question" because of a 2013 vote against a budget amendment that would have allowed states, including Florida, to opt out of drilling in federal waters.
And Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida, said DeSantis has not shown the kind of commitment to clean energy that is needed to reduce industry pressure to drill off Florida.
"If he [DeSantis] is going to follow the Trump playbook on energy policy then we're in real trouble. And all indications are he is following the Trump playbook on most issues," Ferullo said.
Associated Industries of Florida, which supports offshore oil drilling, endorsed DeSantis last week but made no mention of energy issues in the announcement.
The Florida Petroleum Council, a division of the American Petroleum Institute, does not endorse candidates and will work with whoever is elected, council executive director David Mica said. He holds out hope for that either candidate who is elected will change their stance.
"When events come along — like war, hurricanes, when there is no [oil] supply, often when prices get very, very high — positions change, and sometimes get changed very, very quickly," Mica said. "We need American energy for Florida."
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