Broward County state Sen. Lauren Book was floated as a potential running mate for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum — but she says she wouldn’t have accepted the offer if it had materialized.
Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor who snagged the Democratic nomination for governor in an upset victory on Aug. 28, ultimately chose one of his primary opponents for the lieutenant governor spot on his ticket. Book said she thinks Orlando entrepreneur Chris King is a “wonderful, wonderful choice” and said she’s on “Team Gillum” heading into November.
Book said Gillum did not officially ask her to be his running mate. She said she discussed with Gillum’s staff that she was on a short list of potential candidates; the Gillum campaign declined to comment.
But Book gave it “a lot of contemplation,” the Democrat said. She decided giving up her Senate seat — plus her position as the Senate appointee on a panel investigating the Parkland shooting — would be too big a sacrifice.
She said her work on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission “really changed my entire trajectory and path” and how she saw “the person I want to be, the educator I want to be, the parent I want to be, the legislator I want to be.
Book and the other members of the commission, chaired by Pinellas County sheriff Bob Gualtieri, are “working feverishly” to produce a report with legislative recommendations to the governor and leaders of the Senate and House by the Jan. 1 deadline.
“I'm really excited to really drive some meaningful policy change,” she said.
