Giuliani Begins Another Round of Campaigning in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Coral Springs Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Friday began five days of stumping in Florida, visiting a Coral Springs charter school and discussing key Florida issues while addressing reports that senior campaign staffers had volunteered to work for free this month.

After a town hall meeting at Coral Springs Charter School, Giuliani acknowledged that some key staffers were not getting paychecks this month, but said it’s not a sign his campaign is having money troubles.

"We wanted to make sure that we had even more money for the end of this situation in Florida," he said.

He told an audience of 300 at the meeting how school vouchers and scholarships could foster competition among schools. He also said a national catastrophe fund would help the federal government ensure "that we’re there helping each other."

"You’re a good model for the rest of the country," he said of Florida’s ability to respond to hurricanes.

He answered questions from eight people in the audience, including Steven Lerner, 17, an 11th-grade Coral Springs Charter student from Plantation.

"It’s not every day you get to talk to a presidential candidate," Lerner said of asking an immigration reform question. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Lauren McGowan, 19, a Coral Springs resident who has cerebral palsy, asked Giuliani what he could do to support stem cell research, which she thinks could eventually help her disability. "I want to rise above my disability," she said.

Giuliani responded that he supported stem cell research as long as it does not involve human cloning.

The former New York mayor’s strategy is to win the Florida nomination and use the momentum from that victory to help win other states, which will vote Feb. 5. Florida’s primary elections are Jan. 29.

"Frankly, Florida is real important to us so we’re going to put, if not everything into Florida, almost everything," Giuliani said of about $7 million he had on hand for the primaries, as of Dec. 31.

___

(c) 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Visit the Sun-Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.