Gov. Rick Scott left St. Lucie River without meeting with the public so he could campaign

There were no “security concerns” that kept Gov. Rick Scott from addressing the public or media on a toxic algae boat tour of the St. Lucie River Friday, his office admitted Friday evening. 

Instead, there were “timing issues,” his staff said. Scott was scheduled to be in Tampa in two hours for a campaign event in his election bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

"Due to timing, the governor was unable to speak with media as he did when he toured the algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers in July," spokesman John Tupps said in an email to TCPalm. "He remains focused on this problem." 

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TCPalm had questioned Scott’s office about the security concerns, including the nature of the threat and whether law enforcement was investigating, and questioned the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, whose employees ferried Scott around the river.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, also was on the boat with reporters.

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Before Scott’s office admitted what a staffer called “an honest mistake,” a former Treasure Coast congressman had stronger words during a news call organized by the Florida Democratic Party.  

"If you are uncomfortable about a situation and know you are wrong about something, you probably don't want to answer questions on it,” Democrat Patrick Murphy said, referring to Scott’s gutting of the Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District.

"There is no good explanation for these cuts in these agencies and cuts in the budget while continuing to support industries that are polluting. That is why he is avoiding these questions, he doesn't want to face the music, and he knows that reporters and constituents will have tough questions and he doesn't want to answer for it."

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A spokeswoman for Scott's campaign said Democrats are overreacting. 

"Leave it to the Democrats to focus on the governor's schedule instead of real solutions to improve our environment," Press Secretary Lauren Schenone said. "The governor has consistently fought for funding to fix the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike and taken action where Bill Nelson has failed."

Scott did not visit Stuart during a 2016 algae bloom. He visited the St. Lucie Lock and Dam during a 2013 algae bloom, but he sidestepped demonstrators and in a news conference blamed the blooms on a lack of federal assistance.