Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica.
NOMINATIONS NEEDED — WHO ARE THE RISING STARS OF FLORIDA’S LOBBYING INDUSTRY?
INFLUENCE Magazine’s recognition of the rising stars of the governmental affairs sector will be unveiled in the December issue. Right now, we are taking nominations for who belongs on this prestigious list. We are looking for bright shiny faces from the lobbying, fundraising, and public affairs arena (campaign staffers are not eligible). This will be a tight list of about 15-20 individuals, so make your nominations count. Email them to [email protected].
Now, back to the campaign trail…
PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS, TOP SURROGATES HEAD TO FLORIDA — Tim Kaine, the vice presidential nominee, is scheduled to speak at an early voting rally at 11:30 a.m. at the Modesto A. Maidique Main Campus of Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street in Miami. Kaine will then head to Palm Beach County, where he’s scheduled to speak at a rally at 3:30 p.m. at the Meyer Amphitheater, 105 Evernia Street in West Palm Beach. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at 3 p.m. at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 1340C A1A S. in St. Augustine. He’ll wrap up his day at 7 p.m. at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater, 4802 U.S. 301 in Tampa.
On Tuesday, Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at 3 p.m. at Million Air Orlando, 2841 Flightline Ave. in Sanford. He’ll then head to the Tallahassee Car Museum, 2635 Thornton Road in Tallahassee for a rally at 6 p.m. Hillary Clinton will travel also travel to Florida on Tuesday for a rally at 2:15 p.m. at the Omni Auditorium at the Broward College North Campus, 1000 Coconut Creek Boulevard in Coconut Creek. She is also expected to campaign in Florida on Wednesday. And on Friday, President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold a rally in the Orlando area.
NEARLY 1.2 MILLION VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS TURNED IN – As of Sunday, 1,188,740 ballots have been returned for the November general election. The exact tally was posted on the state’s Division of Elections website. That includes ballots to service members and others outside the country. Registered Republicans lead in voted ballots to Democrats by 496,040 to 476,292, a difference of 19,748. Other party and no-party voters have returned another 216,408 ballots to their local supervisors of elections. Lawmakers recently changed the name of such ballots to “vote-by-mail” ballots from the traditional “absentee” ballots. The state’s website for vote-by-mail and early voting statistics is here.
STATE HAS VERIFIED OVER 78,000 NEW VOTER REGISTRATIONS – The Division of Elections on Saturday reported it had verified 78,474 voter registration applications from the recent extended registration period. But as more applications roll in, the number left to verify has risen: 29,749 still are pending, the most since the state started to report its numbers after the registration period closed. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker had extended the registration deadline by one week to last Tuesday to allow those affected by Hurricane Matthew extra time to sign up to vote. The “Voter Registration Daily Activity Reports” website is here.
EARLY VOTING BEGINS TODAY via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times – The pace of the election campaign in Florida will intensify Monday as early voting gets underway across most of the state. … In Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and elsewhere, early voters will flock to libraries, city halls and community centers, swelling the statewide vote total after more than 1 million people have already cast mail ballots. Those four counties will all offer early voting for 12 hours a day for 14 days. … Statewide, 50 of 67 counties will begin early voting Monday, with the rest starting later in the week. Every county must offer early voting by Saturday.
Below … attempt to explain this by laying out four broad scenarios: A Trump win, including cases where he loses the popular vote but wins the Electoral College. A narrow Clinton win, wherein she wins the Electoral College, but wins the popular vote by 3 percentage points or less. (Or wins the Electoral College and loses the popular vote.) A Clinton win in the “Obama zone,” wherein she wins the popular vote by 4 to 7 percentage points — the margins by which President Obama won the elections in 2012 and 2008, respectively. Clinton is all but certain to win the Electoral College if she wins the popular vote by this amount. Finally, a Clinton blowout, wherein she wins the popular vote by 8 points or more, which would almost certainly also yield a dominant performance in the Electoral College.
LATEST NATIONAL TRACKING POLL – ABC has Clinton at 50 percent, up 12 points over Trump who’s at 38 percent. Gary Johnson is at 5 percent, and Jill Stein at 2 percent.
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DAYS UNTIL: Election Day – 15; First organizational session – 29; Thanksgiving – 31; UF versus FSU football game – 33; Premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 52; Start of 2017 Legislative Session – 134.
FLORIDA CHAMBER POLL OF FLA.: HILLARY CLINTON 46%, DONALD TRUMP 42% — A new poll by the Florida Chamber Political Institute shows Clinton leads Trump, 46 percent to 42 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson received 5 percent support, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein picked received 1 percent support. Six percent of respondents said they were either undecided or voting for someone else. The Chamber of Commerce poll was conducted from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 by Cherry Communications. The poll of 507 of likely and newly registered voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percent. Clinton leads Trump 60 percent to 33 percent in Miami, and 63 percent to 33 percent in West Palm Beach. She is also “buoyed by her commanding lead among Hispanics.” According to the report, she leads Trump 59 percent to 28 percent among Hispanic voters. She’s also leading among independent voters, with the memo noting she “leads Trump among unaffiliated voters 46 percent to 37 percent.” Johnson received support from 7 percent of unaffiliated voters.
KHIRZR KHAN FEATURED IN NEW CLINTON AD AIRING IN FLORIDA — The 60-second spot, called “Captain Khan,” features Khizr Khan, the father of Humayun Khan, a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq in 2004. In the advertisement, Khan tells the story of what happened on the day his son died. Captain Khan was killed when he ordered his unit to back away from a suicide bomber coming at them in a taxicab. The vehicle exploded, killing Khan, two Iraqi civilians and at least two suicide bombers. “When the bomb exploded, he saved everyone in his unit. Only one American soldier died,” his father says in the advertisement. “My son was Captain Humayun Khan. He was 27 years old, and he was a Muslim American. I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?” Click the image below to watch the ad.
CLINTON FLORIDA BUNDLERS SAY DONALD TRUMP ANXIETY HELPING RAISE CASH FOR THEIR NOMINEE via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – Of Clinton’s more than 1,100 bundlers — termed “Hillblazers” by her campaign — 67 call Florida home. Of those, about one-third list either Miami or Miami Beach addresses. In order to be listed as a Hillblazer, a person needs to contribute or raise from outsiders at least $100,000. Other levels are $250,000, $500,000, and $1 million, each of which comes with varying levels of prestige (and a pin). Fewer than 10 Florida donors have eclipsed the $1 million level. To be included, checks can go either directly to her campaign or two affiliated fundraising committees. Florida is home to more Clinton bundlers than any state except New York, California and the District of Columbia. “It shows the depth of the Clinton’s friendships and roots that go back to Florida,” said Justin Day, a lobbyist and Democratic fundraiser who also bundled checks for Barack Obama. “Obviously the president did not have those sort of ties when he started. The Clinton’s have so many friends across the state.” Trump’s rise to the top of the Republican ticket has also driven new money to Clinton through those who bundle contributions for her.
HAPPENING TUESDAY — HILLARY CLINTON TO HOLD FINAL FLORIDA FUNDRAISER — The fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday evening at the Pinecrest home of Chris Korge, a top Clinton supporter. In an email Sunday, Korge said the fundraiser will be the “largest fundraising event” in Florida’s history. “The money raised for this event will help us WIN Florida which will guarantee that Hillary will be president of our great (country). Please join us … and help us make history.” The fundraising event starts at $5,000 per person, which includes a dinner reception. 
FREDERICA WILSON URGES FLORIDIANS TO VOTE FOR CLINTON IN NEW AD — The Clinton campaign released the 60-second spot Saturday. In the advertisement, Wilson says voters can’t let a man like Donald Trump “become president.” She continues by saying: “Hillary Clinton was President Obama’s Secretary of State. She’ll build on his legacy, protect Obamacare, raise the minimum wage, fight to get women equal pay for equal work. But she can’t do it alone. That’s why it’s so important here in Florida that we all go out and stand with Hillary, because she will always stand with us.” The ad is airing throughout Florida through Election Day.
HAPPENING TODAY — FOR FLORIDA’S FUTURE LAUNCHES EARLY VOTE SHUTTLE PROGAM —The progressive organization launches its “Shuttle Together, Stronger Together” initiative at 12:30 p.m. at the southern entrance of the Marshall Student Center, 4103 USF Cedar Circle in Tampa. Every weekday during early voting, the program will transport students from University of South Florida to early voting locations. “Our program ensures that we harness the excitement and energy we have observed on campuses from our daily conversations with students and translate that into votes for at the polls,” said Blake Williams, the press secretary for For Florida’s Future. The issues we are organizing around include climate change and criminal justice reform to women’s rights and college affordability.”
ARE DEMS GONNA DEM? via Steve Schale — Here in Florida, about 1 million votes are in — well over 10% of all likely voters. At this point, we know this: unless something else crazy happens, Clinton will win Florida, maybe by as much as 4-5 points. As my friends know well, I am not one for certain predictions, but this one I feel really good about. After that, we honestly don’t know anything. And the thing that has driven every conversation I’ve had for 3 days: Is this going to be the cycle that Democrats absolutely misses the opportunity. … For the sake of America, God willing this shitshow of an election is a once in a lifetime occurrence …, but for my party, it is also turning into an unprecedented opportunity. ..Democrats, consider this a warning flare. It may be a decade and it may be never that you see an opportunity like this.
Winning in politics is not just matter of timing and opportunity — you have both — it is also a matter of being prepared for the moment. Secretary Clinton’s operation is very capable – and they are winning — and their organizational heft is going to provide a lot of ground cover for candidates. There are also the resources out there, between all the SuperPACs, traditional donors, donor alliances, and candidates, to take advantage of it. And I really don’t want to spend my November reading stories where groups are pointing fingers at the others, or answering reporter questions in 2019 if Democrats regretted not spending a few more bucks to beat Rubio. The opportunities at this point is very clear, and in Marco’s case, the outcome is as well. In 19 days, we will all know what happened, and if this is just another in a history of Democratic missed opportunities.
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MARCO RUBIO: TRUMP ‘DOING BETTER IN FLORIDA THAN PEOPLE THINK’ via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – Rubio‘s assessment of Trump‘s Florida chances, via an NBC News interview in Palm Bay: “You know, it is going to be a very close race. I think he is doing better in Florida than people think he’s doing, but we’ll see. I don’t think he can win if he doesn’t win Florida.”
FLORIDA CHAMBER POLL SHOWS MARCO RUBIO WITH BIG LEAD OVER PATRICK MURPHY — The survey shows Rubio holds a big lead over Murphy, 51 percent to 37 percent. Eleven percent of respondents either said they didn’t know who they were supporting or refused to say. The Chamber of Commerce poll was conducted from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 by Cherry Communications. The poll of 507 of likely and newly registered voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percent. According to a polling memo, Rubio leads Murphy 52 percent to 46 percent among Hispanic voters, and 60 percent to 33 percent among white voters. He also holds significant leads when it comes to men (56% to 36%) and women (52% to 42%). A quarter of respondents (25%) said they had never heard of Murphy, a significant hurdle with just two weeks to go before Election Day. The poll found 27 percent respondents had a favorable opinion of Murphy, while 30 percent said they had an unfavorable view. Rubio is much better known, with just 2 percent of respondents saying they never heard of him. The poll found 48 percent of Floridians said they had a favorable view of Murphy, while 30 percent said they had an unfavorable view.
MURPHY-RUBIO UNIVISION DEBATE: SI O NO? NO! via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post – … because the two contenders couldn’t agree on a common language for the contest. The bilingual Rubiowanted to speak in Spanish, while Murphy’s comments would be translated into Spanish for the audience. Murphy, who is already struggling to win over Hispanic voters, wouldn’t go along with Rubio’s plan. “The goal of a debate is to allow the voters the opportunity to see a vibrant exchange of ideas between the candidates, but that will not be possible if the candidates are not speaking the same language,” said Murphy campaign manager Josh Wolf. “In 2010, Marco Rubio agreed to the exact parameters we are requesting, debating Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek in English on Univision, so we were shocked that he no longer thinks that arrangement is reasonable,” he added. Rubio’s camp saw it differently. “Maybe he’s pulling out because he just doesn’t understand Florida’s Hispanics, a community he completely ignored until weeks before the election,” said Olivia Perez-Cubas, a Rubio spokeswoman. “This is just the latest example in Murphy’s long history of lying and ducking debates, compared to Marco’s record of achievement on behalf of all Floridians,” she added.
— “Patrick Murphy declines to release tax returns but details tax rate” via Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times
— “For Patrick Murphy, a Haitian hotel project was a bust but helped with connections” via Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times
— “Why Marco Rubio keeps talking about the Iran nuclear deal” via Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times
MURPHY CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEW DIGITAL AD FEATURING BARACK OBAMA via Florida Politics — The Murphy campaign released a new digital spot Friday highlighting Obama’s comments about Murphy. The president campaigned in Miami on Thursday, and used a bit of his speech to encourage Floridians to send Murphy to the U.S. Senate. “You don’t need to wait until Nov. 8 to send Patrick Murphy to the United States Senate. And Patrick Murphy, unlike his opponent, he actually shows up to work. Unlike his opponent he didn’t try to defund Planned Parenthood. He didn’t walk away from Florida’s Hispanic community when the politics got tough,” the president is shown saying in the advertisement. “He fought for comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. Unlike his opponent, Patrick actually believes in science and believes in the effects of climate change. The point is, you deserve leaders who show up to work, who want equal pay for equal work for women.” The new digital ad comes days after the campaign released a new Spanish-language ad featuring the president. Click the image below to watch the ad.
NEW MOVEON.ORG, FOR FLORIDA’S FUTURE VIDEO SLAMS MARCO RUBIO OVER CLIMATE CHANGE — For Florida’s Future released a new web video highlighting President Obama’s comments about climate change during a Miami rally this week. “Just the other night, in their debate, Marco Rubio did not accept that sea levels are rising,” the president is shown saying in the advertisement. “If you’re watching TV, or you’re going down some blocks right here in Miami, in the middle of a sunny day, and you see the ocean coming up through the streets, how can you deny what is right in front of you? That’s why you got to vote for Patrick Murphy.” Click the image below to watch the ad.
INTERNAL POLL: AMENDMENT 2 HAS 74 PERCENT SUPPORT via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times – It’s largely in line with other polls conducted over the last several months, which suggest more than 70 percent of voters could pass Amendment 2 in November’s election. It takes 60 percent to pass a constitutional amendment, and a similar measure failed with 58 percent of the vote in 2014. “Importantly, support today is 13 (percentage points) greater than internal surveys taken three weeks from the 2014 election,” said Kevin Akins, pollster for Anzalone Liszt Grove, the firm that conducted the poll for United for Care, in a statement.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Ben Pollara, the campaign manager for the Amendment 2 campaign, will hold a press conference at 9:45 a.m. at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, 1501 NW 40th Ave. in Lauderhill to discuss concerns about Amendment 2 not being on some ballots.
DEMOCRATS SHOULD STOP FALSE ATTACK AGAINST DAVID JOLLY via the Tampa Bay Times editorial board – There are unfair, nasty attack ads every campaign season that have little relationship to the truth. But the Democrats are setting a new low this year with a false, reprehensible ad using altered photos to make it appear Trump and Jolly are allies and frequently together. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Democrat Charlie Crist should demand that his new political party take those dishonest ads off the air … In fact, Jolly has been openly critical of Trump and his foreign policy views. In fact, it is Crist who has previously appeared with Trump, who contributed to Crist’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign and held fundraisers for him when Crist was a Republican. Crist is pictured in public with Trump as far back as 2005 as he was running for governor. Now Crist should do the right thing and call on the DCCC to take its false attack against Jolly off the air.
DENNIS ROSS HAS BIG FINANCIAL EDGE OVER JIM LANGE IN CONGRESSIONAL RACE via a Gary White of The Ledger – Ross, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, is an unwavering supporter of Trump. Lange’s website echoes the philosophies of liberal firebrands Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Ross had received more than $1.1 million in contributions through Sept. 30, while Lange’s total was $20,870. That’s a fiftyfold advantage for the incumbent. Ross, 57, a Lakeland native and a lawyer, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 until forced out by term limits in 2008. He was elected to Congress in 2010 and has since been re-elected twice. Lange, 55, founded a business consulting company in 1996 that he says specializes in advising small to mid-sized companies facing some form of distress. Following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Lange founded the Haiti Recovery and Development Co., a nonprofit that promotes economic opportunity in the Caribbean nation. Although the success of Trump and Sanders in challenging more established rivals suggests this could be a year for outsider candidates, Ross said he’s not worried about being labeled a Washington insider. Of Ross’ $1.1 million in contributions, nearly 80 percent has come from political committees, representing such corporations as Exxon Mobil, Citigroup and Koch Industries. Ross had spent about $729,000 of that total as of Sept. 30, according to federal records. Lange’s funding has come entirely from individual donations.
BRIAN MAST SAID HE RETURNED ALL SUGAR MONEY IN U.S. HOUSE RACE, BUT DIDN’T via Isadora Rangel of TCPalm – After two failed attempts, Mast said he will return all the money he took from a South Florida sugar company and its owners. His campaign said it was an “oversight.” Mast faced a backlash after Treasure Coast Newspapers reported on his sugar industry donations in the U.S. House District 18 race in April. Mast said in an August video he had returned “every single penny” of the $12,800 he received from Florida Crystals executives and Fanjul family owners. However, Mast hadn’t returned $1,000 to Florida Crystals attorney Armando Tabernilla. When Treasure Coast Newspapers asked about it … spokeswoman Madison Anderson said the campaign didn’t realize it. “This was an oversight, and we are in the process of returning the money now that (Treasure Coast Newspapers) called it to our attention,” Anderson said.
MAST TALKS SOCIAL SECURITY IN NEW AD — The Mast campaign rolled out a new advertisement that focuses on Social Security and featuring the whole Mast family. The 30-second spot features Mast’s father, Jim Mast, and Brian Mast’s children. In the ad, Mast vows to fight to make sure Floridians’ children can have Social Security. “That’s why I’m asking you to vote for my son, Brian Mast, for Congress,” says Jim Mast. “I guarantee he will do everything he can to keep social security safe, because I told him so, and I’m his dad.” Click the image below to watch the ad.
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND FOCUSES ON MAST’S SERVICE IN NEW AD via Florida Politics — The super PAC released its third ad Friday in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. The 60-second spot features Cody Bonk, a former Army medic of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In the ad, Bonk describes what happens the day Mast his legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. The ad also features footage from a TC Palm editorial board meeting, where Democrat Randy Perkins appears to question Mast about his veterans’ health care benefits. “I find that pretty insulting and disrespectful,” said Bonk in the ad. “I was there with him, I applied the tourniquets. He’s given more than enough for this country. I think he earned his health care.” The advertisement was set to begin airing on West Palm Beach broadcast and cable networks Friday. The ad is part of the group’s $3.1 million campaign in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. Click the image below to watch the ad.
THE CRUELEST CAMPAIGN: REPUBLICANS IN HISPANIC DISTRICTS via Rachael Bade of POLITICO – Flanked by House Speaker Paul Ryan in an elementary school this week, freshman GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo promoted a pet program to help children of immigrants in his Hispanic-heavy district learn English … But across town at that very moment, Curbelo’s Democratic opponent was staging a protest timed to Ryan’s visit. The message from former Rep. Joe Garcia: A vote for Curbelo is worse than a vote for Trump. No matter that the freshman Republican has opposed Trump all year long. When it comes to House Democrats’ ongoing quest to hitch Trump’s offensive comments to vulnerable GOP incumbents, Republicans representing districts with large Latino populations are feeling the most heat. Their nominee has called illegal immigrants “rapists,” “criminals” — and, at the last debate, “bad hombres.” Not to mention Trump’s calls for forced deportation and a towering border wall. Democrats are sparing no effort or expense on the strategy. Their success, particularly in places like Florida’s 26th District, where three of every four residents are Latino, could go a long way in deciding whether Democrats can pull off a once-unthinkable takeover of the House.
“While Trump may say outrageous things, my opponent votes for them,” Joe Garcia [said] in an interview, summarizing his plea to oust Curbelo. “His record is worse than Donald Trump’s.” Attacks like these are forcing Republicans representing Latino-heavy districts to work overtime to show their constituents they’re nothing like the man leading their ticket … Curbelo … frequently reminds voters and reporters that he’s opposed Trump from Day One and tries to turn the conversation back to his legislative record. In English and Spanish, the Republican pitches himself as an independent thinker who can work with both parties but stand up to them as well. Democrats are pushing the opposite message.
SPOTTED in Gail Collins‘ column in the New York Times: The Wausau Possum Festival.
PRESIDENT ENDORSES 13 DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR STATE HOUSE AND SENATE — The Florida Democratic Party announced Friday the president endorsed 13 Democrats running for state House and Senate. The endorsements come just 18 days before the Nov. 8 general election, and are likely meant to boost Democratic turnout. “No state is more important in this election than Florida, and President Obama’s support reflects his continued commitment to advocating for Democratic principles at all levels of government,” said Senate Democratic Leader Designate Oscar Braynon. “Real change begins at the local level and our candidates reflect the leadership we need to keep our state moving forward.” The president endorsed Rod Smith in Senate District 8, Linda Stewart in Senate District 13, Bob Buesing in Senate District 18, Jose Javier Rodriguez in Senate District 37, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Senate District 39. In the House, the president endorsed Beth Tuura in House District 47, Rena Frazier in House District 59, Lisa Montelione in House District 63, Ben Diamond in House District 68, Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich in House District 103, Nick Duran in House District 112, Daisy Baez in House District 114, and Robert Asencio in House District 118.
FRANK ARTILES MISLEADS IN ALLEGING DWIGHT BULLARD VOTED ‘TO RELEASE VIOLENT CRIMINALS, SEXUAL DELINQUENTS’ via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – Through a new Spanish-language TV ad and other campaign materials, state Senate candidate and Miami Republican state Rep. Artiles is falsely telling central Miami-Dade County voters his opponent “voted to release violent criminals and sexual delinquents in our community.” Artiles’ TV ad claims … Bullard “was the only senator who voted against keeping our communities safe — the only one,” and that Artiles would be the one who would protect the communities of Senate District 40. He echoed the attack in an image he posted on Twitter, too, in which Artiles claimed he “led the way to keep sexual predators off the streets” while Bullard “voted in favor of releasing violent criminals.” But Artiles’ assertions manipulate facts. The vote in question references an unsuccessful 2011 bill that dealt with whether registered sex offenders and registered predators should be held without bond until their initial appearance before a judge, if they’re arrested on a subsequent crime. After Bullard initially opposed the bill because he wanted changes made, Artiles and Bullard ultimately supported the same proposal — a narrowed version of the original. There’s no evidence Artiles “led the way” on the measure as he claims; he was neither a sponsor nor a co-sponsor of the bill and, unlike Bullard, he did not sit on any of the three committees that vetted it.
IN HD 65, CHRIS SPROWLS NOT REALLY FEELING THE BERN AFTER ALL via Brian Burgess of The Capitolist – One-tenth of 1 percent. That’s the ratio of Bernie Fensterwald‘s campaign expenditures expressed as a percentage of his net worth. As of Oct. 14, the Democrat challenger to House speaker-in-waiting Sprowls had spent just $20,000 of his eye-popping net worth of $20 million. Fensterwald initially claimed he was running for office because Sprowlswas such a bad guy. “‘He’s not good for Pinellas county,” Fensterwald said of Sprowls, when asked why he was running. “He is ambitious, and so he’s good for that. I look at him as taking the Marco Rubio track, and we all know how that turned out.” When he filed his campaign disclosure forms in late June, Fensterwald drew a lot of attention, but wouldn’t let on about how much of his own cash he was willing to spend to unseat Sprowls. But big money never materialized for Fensterwald, and he never dipped into his personal fortune. Thus far, he’s only raised $29,383, compared with Sprowls’ $294,662. And with less than three weeks to go, it doesn’t seem likely that he’s going to put his money where his mouth is.
LAWMAKER’S ROLE IN UNUSUAL CHARTER SCHOOL COLLEGE IS AT CENTER OF STATE HOUSE RACE via Dan Sweeney of the South Florida Sun Sentinel – State Rep. Manny Diaz … has worked hard to loosen rules for charter schools in his capacity as chairman of the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee. In his capacity as chief operating officer of Doral College, Diaz has benefited personally to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars as charter schools owned by the for-profit company Academica pay his private, unaccredited college — also Academica-affiliated — for college courses that are not transferable to any other school. A network of Academica charter schools in Miami-Dade County has paid Doral College about $2 million since its establishment in 2011, sending their students to take dual-enrollment courses at the college. Diaz, who collects a six-figure salary, has championed legislation expanding the reach of charter schools in Florida since his first election in 2012. His District 103 includes parts of Miramar in Broward County, and parts of Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores and Medley in Miami-Dade County. His opponent … Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich, has made Diaz’s dual role a central theme in her campaign. Gonzalez Petkovich has made a habit of comparing Doral College to Trump University, the series of real-estate seminars under the Donald Trump brand that are the subject of lawsuits in New York and California. “Doral College is taking public money to offer a service that is useless,” she said. “I’m not anti-charter school, but let’s do this in a way that’s fair and benefits everybody instead of this farce. A politician shouldn’t be making money off our kids and taxpayers.”
— “SD 18 candidates make the case for themselves and against Dana Young in Tiger Bay debate” via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
— “HD 13 Tiger Bay debate isn’t presidential — and that’s a good thing” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics
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FLORIDA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED THE SAME IN SEPTEMBER via The Associated Press – The state’s jobless rate was 4.7 percent in September. That’s the same rate as it was in August, although it’s lower than the national jobless rate of 5 percent. The unemployment rate has hovered around the same place for much of this year. Florida added 23,000 jobs in September. That was the third highest total in the nation behind Texas and California. Monroe County, home to Key West, had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.2 percent. Hendry County had the highest at 11.3 percent.
HOW THE POWER-BROKER KOCH BROTHERS ARE KILLING THE FLORIDA FILM BUSINESS via David Robb of Deadline Hollywood – Florida’s film and TV industry is in a free-fall after the state scrapped its film incentives program earlier this year. Productions are leaving, vendors are fleeing, and workers are moving to Georgia in the wake of a concerted and well-financed campaign by the billionaire Koch brothers and their conservative allies in the state Legislature to kill the Sunshine State’s incentives. … Since 2012 … the state’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives – with the backing of the Koch brothers – refused to allocate any more money for the program, and it ran out of money last year. “We were, by and large, the only organization in the state arguing against those incentives, and we’ve been doing it for the last four years,” said Andres Malave, communications director for the Florida branch of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers’ ultra-conservative lobbying group, which is ideologically opposed to all forms of incentives that target specific industries. “It’s not the government’s role to pick winners and losers. The film industry is an important part of the economy, but the legislature should implement policies that benefit businesses across the board”
… over the past three election cycles, Koch Industries has made the maximum allowable campaign contributions to more than 50 members of the Florida House who opposed the incentives, while Americans for Prosperity actively campaigns against those who support tax credits … Richard Corcoran, speaker-designate of Florida’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives … who calls incentives “corporate welfare” and “de facto socialism,” is one of the leaders of the conservative legislature’s anti-incentives crusade. Up for re-election next month, he received the maximum $1,000 contribution from Koch Industries – out of the nearly $312,000 he’s raised so far – and another $1,000 in 2014.
COURT REJECTS AT&T APPEAL OVER $360M STATE CONTRACT via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – AT&T Corp. … lost its appeal over a contract potentially worth $360 million that went to competitor Harris Corp. to provide phone and internet service to the State of Florida. A unanimous panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the Department of Management Services (DMS) to award the contract to a wholly owned subsidiary of Harris. Friday’s opinion — by Chief Judge Clay Roberts and Judges T. Kent Wetherell II and Ross Bilbrey — declined to reverse the department’s decision and order a rebidding, as AT&T wanted. The telecom giant previously had the management contract for the state’s “telecommunications infrastructure data network,” the ruling said. That deal expired in September. A new “invitation to negotiate,” or ITN, was issued in June 2014. DMS ultimately is responsible for the SUNCOM network, “Florida’s state enterprise telecommunications system,” the opinion explained. The court rejected all of AT&T’s arguments, including that the department “erred in relying on Harris’s qualifications instead of solely relying on the qualifications of the subsidiary to meet the experience and bonding requirements.” … “(B)oth vendors were responsive as to these issues,” it said.
MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIMS MURDERS IN TALLAHASSEE via Gary Fineout for his blog, The Fine Print — The 50th anniversary of this still officially unsolved crime has brought with it a renewal of interest. (On) Thursday four Florida State University media production students will screen a documentary on the murders and the subsequent investigation. Included in the documentary is an interview they did with one of the prime suspects in the case (and who previously has denied any involvement.) The film, entitled 641 Muriel Court (after the address of the Sims home), will be shown at The Moon and features interviews with Henry Cabbage, who once went to court to try to get records related to the case, retired Tallahassee Democrat columnist Gerald Ensley, State Attorney Willie Meggs and Rocky Bevis, who was one of the first people who responded to the murder scene back in 1966. The project by the filmmakers prompted a Mississippi newspaper, The Meridian Star, to do its own article on the Sims murders earlier this year. Kyle Jones, of the FSU students who worked on the documentary, told the Star that the popular opinion in Tallahassee is that “Everybody knows everybody so everybody thinks they know what happened. Everybody thinks they know who did this. But the popular opinion in this city would be that those two did it and there was good reason for that, I think.” … Back in 2006 (then-Leon County Sheriff Larry) Campbell said he “believes there were two murderers, that it was a sex crime and that one of the suspects had a “hang-up” with dead people and probably had engaged in necrophilia. But he refuses to name the two suspects.”
HAPPENING TODAY – FLORIDA EXPANDS “SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING” CAMPAIGN — Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and FDLE Commissioner Rick Sweringen will hold a press conference to announce the expansion of the state’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign at 1 p.m. at GATE Convenience Store, 3571 S. Blairstone Road in Tallahassee.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Representatives from several organizations will participate in a panel discussion about the rising cost of prescription drugs at 10 a.m. at Hospitality Square, second floor conference room, 200 W. College Ave. in Tallahassee. Panelists include Mark Baldino, president and CEO of Elder Care Services; Audrey Brown, president and CEO of Florida Association of Health Plans, and Monesia Brown, the director of public affairs and government relations at Walmart. Media interested in attending is asked to RSVP to Christina Johnson at [email protected] or 850-391-5040.
PERSONNEL NOTE: RYAN BANFILL TO FLORIDA JUSTICE ASSOCIATION – Banfill is joining the civil justice advocacy group as communications director. The 52 year-old had been senior vice president of Sachs Media Group in Tallahassee. “Over the past 25 years, working with the governor’s office, the Florida Legislature and in the private sector, Ryan has been involved in many of the issues and events that have shaped today’s Florida,” said Debra Henley, FJA executive director. “His valuable experiences, strategic insight and message development skills will enhance our mission to ensure people have a fair chance to seek justice in our state’s courts and hold irresponsible corporations and insurance companies responsible for their actions.” The association, formerly the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (AFTL), was first formed after World War II as the Negligence and Compensation Lawyers of Florida, its website says.
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Oscar Anderson, Southern Strategy Group: MMI Development
Gus Corbella, Greenberg Traurig: Starship Technologies, Inc.
Jennings DePriest, Strategos Public Affairs: Reynolds Smith and Hills, Inc.
Marty Fiorentino, Allison Carter, Joe Mobley, Mark Pinto, The Fiorentino Group: Jacksonville Solar, LLC
Dino Hicks, Southern Strategy Group: Kinder Morgan
Rachel Hismith: Pearls of Grace, Inc.
Fred Karlinsky, Greenberg Traurig: Anchor Insurance Managers; Southeast Surplus Underwriters General Agency; Southland National Insurance Corporation
Jonathan Kilman, Foley & Lardner: Institute of Hazardous Material Management
Allen Mortham, Sandy Mortham: Teaching & Learning Foundation, Inc.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ms. Orlando, Kelly Cohen. Also celebrating today are Andrea Penton and Connie Prince, the ever gracious wife of Sen. Jack Latvala.
WHAT BUZ HEUCHAN IS READING – JUST FOR KICKS: SOCCER PLAYER JULIANNA HEUCHAN PLAYING FOOTBALL FOR MACLAY via Brian Miller of the Tallahassee Democrat – Heuchan, a junior, is playing on the Marauders’ football team. She’s believed to be only the third girl in the area to ever play tackle football. A first-team All-Big Bend soccer player when she was a sophomore, Heuchan stumbled into the role as one of Maclay’s kickers by using her powerful right leg on a soccer ball. The joke began last fall when Heuchan scored a goal from 40 yards and then-Maclay athletic director Scott Eagen was in attendance. “He said, ‘Hey, Jules, you should kick for the football team,’” Heuchan said. “I said, ‘Good one, Coach Eagen.’ I didn’t even know that was allowed. Boys don’t play girls soccer.” Two weeks into the 2016 football season, Heuchan was on the sidelines At Maclay football games. Only, she was a cheerleader. And then she ran into Eagen again one afternoon. He had a football on a tee on the football field. She had on soccer clothes from practice and no excuses to get out of a request to test her leg. Heuchan made every kick Eagen gave her. Eagen went to first-year Maclay coach Lance Ramer. Heuchan hopped in a car after the involuntary tryout and told her brother Brecht, a freshman quarterback, what had happened. Brecht was all for it. So were Julianna’s parents. After meeting with Julianna to go over the logistics of football competing with her soccer schedule and having a girl on a guys team, Ramer was all green lights. “To me, it’s not a gender thing – it’s an attitude, it’s an approach,” Ramer said. “If you want to play football, I’ll never tell a girl she can’t play because she’s a girl. She had a will and a desire like anybody else, so let’s go. She is a good athlete. That to me is gender neutral.”
