The Dream Defenders “Every man must decide whether

6161 NW 9th Avenue he will walk in the light of creative altruism

Miami, FL 33127 or the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
info@dreamdefenders.org -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

A Statement In Support of Andrew Gillum for Governor of Florida

We - Dream Defenders members from across the state - are fighting for power for Black,
immigrant and poor people in Florida, in solidarity with people all around the world. We are
a socialist, abolitionist, feminist and internationalist organization. Our vision for Florida - the
Freedom Papers - is one where a people-centered state replaces our current profit-centered
one.

While drastic societal and economic change is needed more than ever, no one running for
Governor of Florida is running with all of our principles as their platform.

Nevertheless, there is one candidate whose progressive platform for Florida creates much more
favorable conditions for our movement and our people. That candidate is Mayor Andrew Gillum.
So, it is with a vision for the betterment of our lives and an understanding of the necessary short
term strategic decisions that we must make to get us there, that we excitedly announce our
endorsement of Mayor Andrew Gillum for the next Governor of Florida.

Gillum, the only non-millionaire (or billionaire) running for governor, is also the only Democratic
candidate that we believe genuinely wants to improve the material conditions for working class
Floridians, fight corporate establishment politics and advance an agenda that puts people and
environment before profit.

Andrew Gillum has made campaign commitments to:

Abolish ICE,
Invest 1 billion dollars to rebuild the public school system and raise teacher salaries,
Legalize marijuana and free all drug offenders from our prison system,
End money bail,
Expand Medicare for all,
Take in refugees and extend Temporary Protective Status, and
Provide free college to displaced Puerto Ricans.

This is not only one of the most progressive platforms that a Florida gubernatorial candidate
has ever run on, but it is also one of the most progressive platforms we have seen from any
gubernatorial candidate in the country. Florida is ground zero for far right, corporate-control
of our government. With Gillum’s platform, we have the opportunity to shift this and become a
model for progressive governance. It is our job to hold him - and every elected - to the promises
made in this platform.
 The Dream Defenders “Every man must decide whether
6161 NW 9th Avenue he will walk in the light of creative altruism
Miami, FL 33127 or the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
info@dreamdefenders.org -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Andrew Gillum is by far the best candidate for our movement to engage with in pushing our
revolutionary vision. In 2014, when Gillum was Mayor of Tallahassee, the Dream Defenders
shut down Tallahassee’s Annual Christmas Parade to bring attention to police violence, he
didn’t have us arrested. Instead, he opened the space for us talk to the crowd. When we fight
for decarceration and decriminalization, for wealth redistribution and an economy focused on
our collective needs, we want our adversary to be someone who can hear our demands and
be moved, rather than a reactionary politician who seeks to crush our movement and throw
organizers in prison for our dissent. In a state that is trying to pass laws that criminalize free
speech on college campuses, this type of response and space is necessary in the short term.

While Gillum is not a Socialist, he is not a millionaire Democrat either. He is not pushing
for corporate partnerships as the solution for getting folks out of poverty, like Democratic
Candidates Phillip Levine, Gwen Graham, Jeff Greene, or Chris King. He is not a far-right,
white supremacist Trump conservative like Adam Putnam or Ron Desantis. Andrew Gillum is
a progressive Democrat fighting against the party establishment, and his governorship would
completely change the terrain on which our movement is fighting and the makeup of the
Democratic party itself. Most importantly, the policies he is fighting for would drastically change
the everyday lives of poor and incarcerated people in Florida.

We are fighting in a state that has experienced nearly total republican control for the past
20 years - this means Republicans have controlled the Governor’s seat, the Senate and the
House. In this time, Florida has made life harder for Black people, immigrants and the poor,
while building out a Disneyland for corporations and the rich - low taxes, cheap labor, and a
government run for and by the 1%. During this time, our prison population has grown four times
over. Our legislature has passed laws to destroy unions and gut our public school system.

We do not have time to be vague about big decisions that impact the lives of our people. We
must stay true to our principles, while holding the moral clarity to make strategic decisions that
best position our movement to fight towards revolution. We are not changing or compromising
our principles. We need to fight on every front - within, against and beyond the State. That does
not change with this endorsement. We will continue to fight against the state’s preservation of
the status quo, as well as the forces of reaction within it.

This is the first time we have endorsed a candidate in our organization’s 6 year history. We have
built people power to make decisions, not be spectators or armchair activists and this is the first
time we have seen a candidate which merits our endorsement.

We are excited about the possibilities that Andrew Gillum represents and we urge you to do the
research and join us August 28th in voting for him.