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Fla's Lt. Governor: behind the scenes, out in front of economic development

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll

By Sascha Cordner

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-977961.mp3

Tallahassee, FL – Jennifer Carroll, an immigrant from the Caribbean, has made a name for herself as a Navy Veteran, a Florida lawmaker, and has made history with her role as Florida's first African American Lieutenant Governor. While Governor Rick Scott is usually in the spotlight, Carroll has managed to stay off the radar thus far. As Sascha Cordner reports, some say she's doing a good job by taking a more supportive role to the Governor.

"She is a History Maker and a barrier breaker. She was the first Republican African American woman elected to the Florida Legislature. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Jennifer Carroll."

It was just last September when Scott named Jennifer Carroll has his running mate. She was touted as someone who was going to bridge the gap between the Governor's office and the legislature as well as Scott's economic development ambassador. Many people around the state have heard of Scott and his policies, but the Lieutenant Governor has stayed relatively low-key.

"She's no-nonsense. She doesn't always listen to everything that we tell her."

Tola Thompson is the Director of Governmental Relations for Florida A and M University, which sought Carroll's help during the past Legislative Session to stop the Governor from vetoing 1.5-million dollars in the state budget for a pharmaceutical educational site in Crestview. He says though they may not agree on everything, she is still willing to consider an idea if it has merit.

"We were able to get the Lieutenant Governor on the phone and text and do what we do to communicate with her and explain to her the value of what we were trying to do in Crestview. She intervened and the Governor intervened, and turned it around."

Thompson says he believes Carroll was sold on the idea due to its educational benefits and potential to create hundreds of jobs.

Looking back at the first six months of Jennifer Carroll's schedule, you'll find the Democrat who met with her the most is Representative Joseph Abruzzo of Wellington. They'd been working on pushing legislation forward that makes Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese classes cheaper for state college students. Abruzzo says the Lieutenant Governor had the foresight to bring in Florida's largest international trading partners, China and Brazil. They both worked together to use Abruzzo's bill, the "Student Global Education Act," to look towards what he calls "a long term outlook to create more jobs in Florida."

"We recognized that our workforce in Florida did not speak a percentage of Mandarin or Portuguese, which is obviously the dialect of those great nations. So, we decided to come up with a plan to help educate Floridians and create a workforce that would have a leg up on other states and dialogue with our trading partners."

The measure died in its first committee without being considered. That's why he re-filed it this year, and he says he's sure he will again have the support of the Lieutenant Governor.

The Democratic Lawmaker says even though they differ on many political issues, Floridians will benefit from Jennifer Carroll's work ethic.

"I can't think of anybody more in Government that has more class and dignity and honesty than Jennifer Carroll. She's a very good person, whatever side of the aisle you are on there's little debate that she has a special energy about her that can bring into the situation."

Others think Carroll is playing by the rules.

Aubrey Jewett is a University of Central Florida Political Scientist, who co-authored "Politics in Florida," which has a few paragraphs that mention the Lieutenant Governor. Jewett says Carroll is doing what she's supposed to do in playing a behind-the-scenes role, just as past Lieutenant Governors have done.

"The first rule of Lieutenant Governors is sort of like the first rule of Doctors, and that is first, do not harm. So, Lieutenant Governor, don't harm your Governor by doing dumb things or doing unethical things, or being in the news for bad things. So, at that minimum standard, she's done a good job in the sense that she hasn't been in the news for anything bad."

And, Jennifer Carroll says she could not agree more.

"Do you see the Vice President out in Front of the President? We have a role to play as Second in Command, but we also recognize our strengths. So, the Second in Command should bring those strengths to the First in Command. Because if I'm the Governor, I wouldn't want my Lieutenant Governor out there being the Governor, because if that's the case, then I'd run for Governor [laughs]."

And, in addition to her legislative efforts, she's been helping to implement the Governor's policies, including one of his top priorities: creating jobs and bringing businesses to Florida. She is also the Board chairwoman of Space Florida, a private-public partnership that aims to grow Florida's Space and Aerospace Industry.

"We also put in a request to have Space Florida manage a portion of the International Space Center, and (Wednesday) we got approval that NASA is going to approve of that. That means jobs. That means money to our area. That means we'll be able to utilize the displaced workers from the Space Shuttle program, for those scientists and engineers that are able to come over here and work."

Twenty-seven thousand employees, affiliated with NASA's space shuttle efforts, are slated to lose their jobs, as the space program comes to a close.

Carroll says she is looking forward to continuing her economic development role, which includes planning to lead a delegation to South Africa in the Fall to talk about import-export opportunities. She joked about how she and the Governor can barely take a break, even working on their vacations. And, Carroll says that shows both herself and Scott are doing good work and know what they're doing is important for the state of Florida.