By Colleen Jones
Posted Oct 28, 2018 at 5:35 PMUpdated at 6:44 AM
  
Appearing before a crowd of hundreds, Democratic state gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum seemed to be preaching to the choir in a campaign stop in St. Augustine Sunday afternoon.
The majority of those attending the last-minute rally waved signs of support and loudly cheered on the large blue bus that arrived at the Plaza de la Constitucion to deliver Gillum, many saying they had already voted for him or planned to before Election Day.
And despite capping a politically charged week across the nation, there were few clashes on the Plaza. A handful of demonstrators held up placards denouncing homosexuality and abortion, provoking those around them into verbal showdowns. Another small pocket of opponents took aim at what they said was Gillum’s lack of support for law enforcement officers.
An Oct. 23 Quinnipiac poll of 1,161 likely voters in Florida showed Gillum leading his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis, 52 percent to 46 percent. If elected, Gillum would become the Florida’s first black governor.
After stumping earlier in the morning in Green Cove Springs, the Tallahassee mayor told his supporters in St. Augustine: “If we all do our job, I believe we’re going to flip the switch to blue, and then flip the nation blue. I believe that this is our year. I believe this is our time.”
In his speech, Gillum hit upon a number of campaign issues, including his position on what he called “common sense gun reform,” including background checks and a ban on assault-style weapons.
“It doesn’t make any sense that parents have to worry they’re going to pick their kids up from school in a body bag,” Gillum said. “If you want a gun that can shoot 60 bullets in 60 seconds, you ought to join the military. You can protect the Second Amendment and protect lives at the same time.”
Gillum vowed to increase the minimum starting salary for teachers in Florida to $50,000.
“These are the people who do the most difficult job in our society,” said Gillum.
He said he would push for more funding of educational programs that train young people for specific vocational skills, as well as new technologies to boost productivity and the GDP statewide.
“We don’t have a job gap in this country, we have a skills gap,” Gillum said. “I’m sick of us being a back-of-the pack state.”
Gillum also spoke about protecting the environment and Amendment 4, which would allow former felons to vote in Florida if the measure passes on Nov. 6.
Anthony “Tone” Johnson, a longtime resident of St. Augustine, said he was impressed with Gillum’s authenticity and passion.
“The world’s run by corporations and bankers,” Johnson said. “We can only hope people like this make a difference.”
For Andy Prevatte, it was about what Gillum is not.
And Paul Streeter said he liked the fact that Gillum was not a “cookie-cutter” liberal.
“He’s got some differences of opinion from the mainstream Democratic party,” Streeter said.
Also in attendance at Sunday’s rally were local Democratic leaders and candidates in the November election, including Nancy Soderberg, running for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 6th district; Ges Selmont, seeking to represent the 4th U.S. Congressional District; and Jaime Perkins, challenging incumbent Cyndi Stevenson for the 17th district of the state House of Representatives.