CAPE CORAL, Fla.,-- Two top candidates running for Governor of Florida spent the day touring Cape Coral beaches and canals to educated themselves on the water crisis.
Democratic Candidate Andrew Gillum took a walk down Cape beaches and says his solution to the water crisis begins by appointing environmental scientists to his team.
“First of all, not a lot has been done. You haven’t had real scientists at the table," said Gillum.
He tells Fox 4 a large part of the devastating red tide and green algae plaguing Florida's waters has been due to global warning; a topic he says Governor Rick Scott has been quiet about.
“When Rick Scott came in he forbid us from talking about global warning and climate change.”
On the other end of Cape Coral, Gillum's opponent, Republican Candidate Ron DeSantis, took a boat ride down Cape's canals. DeSantis, endorsed by President Trump who has dismissed global warning in the past when he pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016, says he hasn't sent mixed signals to voters.
"No, because the Paris Climate Accord was a bad deal for America," explained DeSantis. "The solutions that we have here are going to be Florida solutions and we need to put those into practice.”
DeSantis says he was able to get White House approval for a Southern Reservoir for Lake Okeechobee.
“This southern reservoir which is the ultimate solution, because you’re not going to have to discharge water east and west anymore.”
However, both candidates say the solutions are more long term and finding something more immediate will be difficult.
August 28th is the last day to mail in a ballot. Lee and Collier County's early voting sites will be open until Saturday August 25th. Charlotte County voting sites will be open until Sunday August 26th.
