Flags are flying at half-staff at local and state buildings in honor of former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew. He died last week at 85 years old. Askew will be laid to rest Friday in Pensacola. Askew was a Democrat. He served as governor from 1971 to 1979.
Steve Bousquet in the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau tells us what Askew is best remembered for.
“He governed the state during a very perilous and difficult time of political scandals and school desegregation and Watergate. Democrats had the kind of majorities that Republicans have today, and he was a firm believer in making government more open and more accessible to people", Bousquet said. "And that’s why we have in the Constitution the requirement for open records and for financial disclosure by elected officials.”
Askew was an Army and Air Force veteran. He’ll be buried with full military honors.