TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott will spend Monday and part of Tuesday in Pennsylvania, his first trip since being reelected to try and recruit businesses to move to Florida, but he's getting a cold reception in more ways than one.
One of the major themes of Scott's second inaugural was his continuing efforts to bring jobs to Florida.
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"I have a message today for the people of New York, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and others: Move to Florida," Scott said in January.
His first job-luring trip starts Monday in chilly Philadelphia. In letters to Pennsylvania papers, Scott said Pennsylvania's governor is trying to increase taxes and regulations. That prompted the Patriot News, Pennsylvania's capital city newspaper, to declare war.
"It seems like a good time to draw a line in the sand. As we note in the editorial, it's kind of like inviting someone over to dinner and having them walk off with your best silverware," Penn Live Opinion Editor John L. Micek said.
In a tongue-in-cheek editorial, the paper told people to call Scott and tell them for every job he poaches, they're taking a Disney character.
"If he wants to bring it, let him bring it. He'll be down to one dwarf and a castle. We're taking this pretty seriously," Micek said.
The temperature when Scott is in Philadelphia will top out at 21 degrees. But Micek points out Florida is having its own temperature issues, where a hard freeze hit the Capitol city Friday.
While it is cold in the northeast, that hasn't stopped at least two high-profile Floridians from taking jobs in Pennsylvania.
Florida State University President Eric Barron left in April for Penn State, former University Chancellor Frank Brogan took over the PA Chancellor's job six months earlier.
The tongue-in-cheek editorial produced more than 100 responses from readers, many supportive of Scott's efforts.