Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Crist met with local environmental activists during a campaign stop along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers Monday.
He talked about a range of environmental issues, but focused primarily on water releases from Lake Okeechobee.
Crist says the releases continue to mire estuaries like the Caloosahatchee and the St. Lucie River on the east coast.
“it’s got to stop,” he said. “We have to have a governor that is committed to working with the Army Corps and doing whatever is necessary to stop the back-pumping, to stop the discharging, basically to stop the polluting of our rivers and our streams and our estuaries.”
Crist said an ongoing commitment to Everglades’ restoration is key to reducing the impacts of water releases in Southwest Florida.
He also announced his staunch opposition to oil drilling in the Everglades.
The topic has been a hot button issue in Collier County.
A Texas-based oil company recently dropped current and future oil drilling operations in the area after running afoul of state regulators.
During this stop, Crist also spoke to local activists about his support of renewable energy and criticized his opponent Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s position on Climate Change.
Ahead of Crist’s visit, state Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, released a statement saying Crist, who switched political parties, is unreliable.
