David Jolly speaks at Florida A&M Town Hall (Photos provided with permission by Jorde Jones)
On Monday, Oct. 12, students packed into Lee Hall’s auditorium once more as Democratic nominee for governor David Jolly arrived at Florida A&M’s campus.
The visit was the second and final in a series of town halls held on campus after original plans for a debate between David Jolly and Byron Donalds were canceled.
Prior to the town hall, Jolly was joined by South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn as he greeted FAMU student leaders at the Pittman Law Group’s office.
Throughout his time with students at Florida A&M, Jolly reiterated the three issues that he believes are the hallmark of his political campaign and plans to focus on.
“There are three policies to a solid campaign [that is] housing, healthcare and education,” Jolly stated.
At the town hall, Jolly criticized state policies affecting public universities and immigrant communities while proposing changes he said would improve access to education and health care.
When asked what changes he would make to Florida’s State University System during his first two years in office, Jolly pointed to FAMU’s history and argued that the state has failed to adequately invest in the university.
“There was a moment in my lifetime when FAMU had more National Merit Scholars than Harvard,” Jolly said. “Our state withheld two billion dollars in funding that was due to FAMU.”
Jolly is likely referring to FAMU’s dominance in recruiting National Achievement Scholars throughout the 1990s, as the University led Harvard in recruiting Black scholars in 1992, 1995 and 1997, although the program ultimately shuttered in 2015.
He said state leaders had failed to invest in endowments and scholarships that adequately recognize the university’s achievements. He argued that FAMU should be celebrated not only as a historically Black university but also placed on a path toward flagship status within the State University System.
“My trust will be put in a reshaped Board of Governors and a state university system with a new vision,” Jolly said. “But I will also tell you this: FAMU is going to be a priority. Because there is a bill that is due to this campus, and I hope to be the governor that signs it.”
Jolly also criticized political involvement in higher education, particularly policies affecting tenure reviews and diversity initiatives.
“Our politicians have attacked higher education in the state of Florida — that’s not the role of a governor to interfere with,” he said. “I think we need to return to academic freedom. We need to get the politicians out of the tenure review process and trust the people who know best.”
The candidate said he would use executive action to challenge restrictions on diversity-related funding. He proposed issuing guidance to state agencies that would provide a “safe harbor” for funding programs with a socioeconomic justification.
“I think this whole idea that somehow DEI is a confrontation with meritocracy…no, it’s not,” Jolly said. “DEI is a reflection of meritocracy.”
Jolly then went on to address Florida’s immigration policies, saying he would suspend the state’s 287(g) agreement mandate, which allows participating law enforcement agencies, including those on college campuses, to carry out certain federal immigration enforcement duties.
“I would suspend the 287(g)-agreement mandate,” Jolly said. “This has nothing to do with fighting crime. This is now about profiling and fighting communities.”
He called for greater protections for immigrants and argued that people who have contributed to their communities without committing any offenses should have a pathway to legal status.
“I think we should celebrate the economic and cultural contributions of our immigrant community,” Jolly said. “Including that you are here without documentation, but not so much as a speeding ticket. You deserve a pathway to work status and a pathway to legal status.”
Jolly added he would join other Democratic governors in pursuing legal action to strengthen due-process protections in immigration enforcement. He argued that federal immigration officers should present judicial warrants and identify themselves when operating in the state.
Students also asked Jolly about his stance on abolishing ICE.
“Would you consider supporting calls to abolish ICE and [hold] current corrupt institutions, politicians, and bad actors accountable for breaking the law?” asked Brandon Sauval, a PhD. candidate at Florida State University.
Jolly responded, reiterating his earlier points, but emphasized that he believed there should be some level of immigration enforcement.
“Our federal government will always have federal immigration enforcement, and we should have federal immigration enforcement,” Jolly said.
On healthcare, Jolly was in support of expanding Medicaid, arguing that doing so would improve health outcomes and reduce costs.
Jolly also acknowledged that Medicaid expansion alone would not address the state’s health care challenges. He proposed a pilot program that would directly fund primary care services in select counties and expand the program if it proved effective.
“We can start with five or ten counties …let’s directly fund the delivery of primary care in these communities, measure the outcomes and measure the savings,” he said. “And if it works, let’s keep scaling it up with the goal of being in all 67 counties, not because it’s left or because it’s right, but because it makes sense.”
Jolly contrasted his approach with Donalds’ emphasis on price transparency as part of his affordability campaign, arguing that transparency alone does not lower costs.
“Transparency just tells us why life’s expensive,” Jolly said. “It doesn’t make life less expensive.”
Jolly maintained that he would issue a one-year moratorium on the construction of hyperscale data centers on his first day in office, saying the state needs a better understanding of their environmental and economic impacts.
“There are jurisdictional grounds for a state moratorium based on environmental impacts that I don’t believe have been adequately addressed,” said Jolly.
Despite the generally warm reception that the candidate received from the student body, Jolly was certainly not safe from tough questions. Including ones that touched on his history as a former Republican lawmaker.
FAMU Student, Digital Organizer for the NAACP and student leader, Devin Nobles challenged Jolly to explain why Black voters should trust him when so many politicians have sought their support before only to disappoint voters after Election Day.
“There have been many before you that have been in this exact position,” Nobles said. “And then when they get what they want, they forget about us…How can you give us reassurance that you won’t be like those who came before you,” Nobles asked.
The hall grew quiet. Jolly paused and tried to break the tension with a joke.
“Is this where we pull the fire alarm?” He said, drawing laughter from students who recognized the reference to Donalds’ Sept. 29 town hall at Florida A&M, which was interrupted for about 40 minutes when a fire alarm forced an evacuation.
“Sure, Republicans like to point to the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and gave us Land-Grant Universities, that Dwight D. Eisenhower invested in infrastructure,” Jolly said. “But that’s not the modern Republican Party,folks.”
“I don’t think the problem is that I’m a former Republican. I think the problem is there are people who know better today who remain in the Republican Party,” Jolly continued.
Early voting for this year’s election will begin on Monday, Oct. 19, in Tallahassee. To check your voter registration and see your assigned polling place, visit the Leon County Supervisor of Elections website.