Orlando Sentinel Endorses Dean Cannon

It's easy to lose sight of Mr. Cannon's many fine accomplishments, given that several of his more controversial efforts have worked to eclipse them. While the state Senate stumbled over and over again before passing legislation allowing SunRail for Central Florida, Mr. Cannon impressively sped the train through the House. He had a large part in landing millions of dollars for the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine. And his determination to turn the state's costly Medicaid entitlement into a more-efficient managed-care system could save the cash-strapped state millions more.

The more the smart and persistent Mr. Cannon turns his attention to projects like these that deliver unequivocal benefits, and away from others that carry more risk than return, the better.

For example, Mr. Cannon says the Legislature will need to take care reforming the property-insurance industry in order to keep rates reasonable. Fine. We'd encourage him, then, to abandon his party's dangerous effort to deregulate the industry, which could lead to massive rate hikes.

He's not there yet. But he'd have an easier time getting there if he spent less time on pursuits like exploring ways to dismantle the state growth-management agency, which provides an important check on unneeded developments that strain the environment and cost taxpayers millions. And he could stimulate the state's economy if he'd make a stronger commitment to getting utilities to produce more energy from renewable sources — and less time pursuing risky ventures like drilling in state waters (which he gave up after the BP oil spill).

Businesswoman Amy Mercado, Mr. Cannon's Democratic opponent, rightly told us that the state relies far too heavily on growth to sustain its economy. She supports the Department of Community Affairs. Right as she is on growth, Ms. Mercado seemed unprepared to tackle the state's other problems. She said there's no specific legislation she's looking to draft.

And when asked about how the state might close its multibillion-dollar shortfall, she mentioned Mr. Cannon's Medicaid reform proposals. Her dismissal of his successful efforts to fund the Medical City was silly.

We endorse Dean Cannon.

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