“Somehow in this state we have lost our sense of connection to each other,” he said. “Somehow we come to believe that in order for my child to do good, everybody else’s child has to do bad. Well as the father of three kids, my children will do well when they sit next to other kids who are ready to learn.”
Gillum delivered the comments during the Gubernatorial Candidates Forum hosted by the FAMU National Alumni Association in Orlando. All of the major Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates were invited, but Gillum was the only one who participated.
“We’re going to do well in this state when we create the kind of economy where everybody is able to work one job instead of two and three jobs just to make ends meet,” Gillum said. “We’re going to do well in this state when we’re serious about investing in our infrastructure and in the future economy that we’re going to create for the next generation of folks. It is a shame that 46 percent, almost half this state, people say they can’t make ends meet at the end of the month. And I believe that we deserve a governor who’s going to be there for us too, for working people in this state.”
Gillum ended with a quote from his grandmother.
“My grandmother used to tell me: ‘If you are not at the table, it means you are on the menu.’ It’s time for us to get off the menu, people,” he said. “It’s time for us to have a representative voice who is going to see to our needs and we have that opportunity this time in this election. With your help, I look forward to being the next governor of the great state of Florida.”