Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist focuses on water quality, buying U.S. Sugar land

Editor's note: This article was modified from its original version to reflect that the Martin County Democratic Party welcomed Crist to Stuart for the meet-and-greet event.

STUART — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist said he would revamp plans to buy more than 100,000 acres from U.S. Sugar to improve water quality on the east and west coasts of Florida, including the Treasure Coast.

Crist, a former Republican governor and now a Democratic congressman from St. Petersburg, brought up his efforts to restore the Everglades Thursday during a meet-and-greet event with the Martin County Democrats at Uncle Giuseppe’s Lil Bit A Brooklyn restaurant.

Crist, who left the GOP to become a Democrat in 2012, is viewed as the front-runner against Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried for the August 23 Democratic primary for governor. The winner would face Gov. Ron DeSantis in November’s general election.

Crist says his revived plan could reduce the risk of algal blooms in the St. Lucie River by sending water south to the Everglades.

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“If we restore it to what God intended, it’s pretty hard to mess it up,” he told TCPalm in an interview after the event. “I’d really like the opportunity to work with others to make that happen again.”

The original $1.75 billion effort, which started in the midst of the Great Recession in 2008 when he was governor, was cut short by a lack of resources, Crist said. The state could only buy 72,800 acres for $536 million with an additional 107,000 acres still remaining for purchase.

Crist and state officials received backlash on the deal after records showed negotiations favored U.S. Sugar from the beginning, with appraisals for the land overvalued by $400 million, according to the New York Times.

The Crist campaign on Thursday also released an expanded affordable-housing plan that targets Wall Street investment firms and individuals who Crist says are collectively driving up housing prices all over Florida.

The plan would specifically have his appointed “housing czar” help local governments fight investment firms by, among other things, placing limits on the number of single-family rental properties firms can own in a neighborhood. It also would tax vacant properties not owned by individuals.

Martin County resident Dave Dew, who was among 25 who attended Thursday's free event, gave credit to Crist for setting up the deal with U.S. Sugar, adding that he’s proven himself before as governor.

“He’s a good candidate and a good man. He knows what needs to be done,” Dew told TCPalm. “We need a governor who’s for the people.”

The visit to Stuart comes about three months after Crist hosted a town hall meeting in Fort Pierce, where he discussed housing and gas prices, climate change and criminal justice.

On Thursday, he focused on water quality, gun violence and women’s rights. City Commission candidate Campbell Rich, Indiantown Mayor Jacqueline Gary Clarke and Indiantown Village Council Member Anthony Dowling were among attendees.

“I will always go and listen to any candidate for statewide office to see if they have any proposals that can benefit the city of Stuart or Martin County,” Rich told TCPalm.

Mary Higgins, Martin County Democratic Party chair, said the organization also would welcome Fried if she were to visit Martin County.

John Kennedy, capital bureau chief for USA TODAY Network-Florida, contributed to this report. 

Lina Ruiz is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for Martin County. You can reach her at lina.ruiz@tcpalm.com, on Twitter @Lina_Ruiz48 or at 321-501-3845

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Governor candidate Charlie Crist focuses on water quality in Stuart