At a time of great political division, North Florida’s state legislative delegation has been practicing bipartisan cooperation. That was the assertion of Democrat Allison Tant and Republican Corey Simon speaking on Tuesday, May 30, before members of the Network of Entrepreneurs and Business Advocates, gathered in Tallahassee.
State Senator Corey Simon is a Republican. But he says his years playing college football and the NFL taught him the value of teamwork. Even if you sometimes disagree with the rest of the team.
“Our goal in football was to win the game. You had to come together to win. My goal going into the Senate is to win the bonds of District 3. So I’ll do whatever it takes.”
One of Simon’s legislative teammates is Democrat Allison Tant.
“The citizens that we serve need to see us all working together, or we’re like DC. And I think everyone is concerned about that. Because they need us to do things for them.”
Tanto added that the spirit of collaboration has also extended to the other members of the delegation.
“I’d like to think we’re setting a good example for everyone else. There wasn’t a single time when Corey and I didn’t call each other and didn’t call each other back. Same with Jason. Same with Gallop.” Tant concluded, referring to District 7 Republican House member Jason Shoaf along with District 8 Democratic Rep. Gallop Franklin.
Both and Simon spoke primarily on bipartisan common ground to NEBA members, highlighting the work they have done together on issues such as affordable workforce housing, rural economic development and water resource protection.
