Labor Battles Heat Up In Florida Against Gov. Rick Scott

Amanda Terkel
aterkel@huffingtonpost.com
First Posted: 04/13/11 11:43 AM ET Updated: 04/13/11 11:49 AM ET

WASHINGTON -- Garrett Lamp is a lifelong Republican. As a firefighter with the Orlando Fire Department, he voted for Jeb Bush for governor and even worked on a few political campaigns. He considers himself a social conservative, especially when it comes to the issue of abortion. But on Wednesday, he will be going to the local Supervisor of Elections and changing his party identification to "Independent."

"As a public safety employee, as a fireman, as a father of three children [and] my sister has a special needs child, I'm fed up with the ridiculous cuts that are being made right and left," Lamp told The Huffington Post.

"It's almost like the Republicans are in a feeding frenzy, decimating working-class families,” he added. “You can't do away with taxes for corporations and put it on the backs of middle-class working people, and that's what they're doing."

On Sunday, Lamp posted a message on his Facebook wall, asking his friends to join him in switching their party identification.

"Join me on Wednesday at 11:30 at the Viera Supervisor of Elections as I become an Independent Voter," he wrote. He insisted that no one told him to post the message, and it wasn't part of any broader campaign. Lamp said that in the past he had consistently voted for Republicans; but he never fully trusted Gov. Rick Scott (R) and voted for Democrat Alex Sink in the 2010 gubernatorial race.

Lamp’s story could serve as a warning for GOP governors around the nation who are battling the labor community in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

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