Scott no stranger to Jacksonville stops

Governor, in town to sign bills, knows where his strongest support lies

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It seems every time you turn around, Gov. Rick Scott is here in Jacksonville.

North Florida carried him to victory in his first race, so he knows where his strongest support is.

Scott was in the River City again Wednesday, this time at a business on the Westside.

"They said I'm going to have to start paying taxes here if I came more often then I come now," he said jokingly.

North Florida put Scott in the governor's mansion in 2010. The local landslide offset Democratic challenger Alex Sink winning in every other major city, and Scott edged her by about 1 percent of the statewide vote.

"I think people should care about issues that are going on, voice their concerns, voice what they like, voice what they don't like, run for office," Scott said. "People across the state are getting involved in the elections."

One issue Scott is currently facing is selecting a new lieutenant governor.

"I'm still working on that," he said. "I worked through session to make sure we had a great session, but we're still working on that."

Scott was in Jacksonville to sign two bills, one dealing with expert testimony and the other with malpractice litigation.

"That's what these bills do: They drive down the cost of litigation and reduce the cost for families in our state," he said.

The governor was here with support from the Florida Chamber of Commerce and state Sen. Aaron Bean.

"This legislation will improve our legal climate, it will improve our business climate and make Florida that much more competitive," said David Hart, executive vice president of the Chamber. "All the groups that came together, not all the time do they agree, but today they do. This is an issue that must be dealt with."

Scott will no doubt continue to make his presence known in north Florida. After he left Jacksonville, he drove to Pensacola.