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.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
HALLOWEEN IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY THESE FLORIDA INFLUENCERS
The witching hour is upon us.
Ghosts and ghouls fill the streets. Zombies walk side-by-side with princesses and superheroes. Their mission the same: Spook and scare their neighbors in hopes of scoring enough candy to sustain them for the next year.
Total spending for Halloween is expected to reach $8.2 billion in 2016, according to the National Retail Federation. Consumers are expected to spend $3.1 billion on costumes this year. More than 3 million kiddos are expected to dress up as their favorite superhero, followed by 2.9 million princesses.
Still need a costume? Retail giants Target, represented by the team at GrayRobinson, and Wal-Mart — represented by Corcoran & Johnston, The Mayernick Group, Pitman Law Group, and The Rubin Group — have you covered.
Costumes are just one part of the spooky, scary evening. What would Halloween be without bags and bags of candy?
The Florida Sugar Cane League — represented in the Legislature by Ernie Barnett at Water and Land Advisors — is the non-profit trade association for Florida sugarcane growers and processors. U.S. Sugar Corp. and Florida Crystals Corp. are among the association’s members.
U.S. Sugar boasts dozens of governmental affairs experts, including the team at Ballard Partners, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney and Floridian Partners, working in the Legislature to keep the Sunshine State in sweets.
Florida Crystals Corp. also enlists the help of dozens of professional influencers to work on behalf of its interests, including Johnson & Blanton and The Fiorentino Group.
If the kids get too much candy (is there really such a thing?), then maybe it’s time to head to the dentist. Dentists across the state participate in Halloween candy buyback programs, which allow children to exchange their candy for cash, coupons, toothbrushes, or other gifts.
When the Florida Dental Association needs a hand, it turns to the team at Johnson & Blanton, including Travis Blanton, Jon Johnson, Darrick McGhee and Melanie Brown. With a client like that, we can’t imagine anyone has a cavity.
If waiting for trick or treaters isn’t your thing, put a bowl of candy on your stoop, hang up the “Out zombie hunting” sign and head to Universal Orlando for Halloween Horror Nights. The event runs through Nov. 5, and features “terrifying mazes based on the most frightening films and television shows ever.”
When Universal Orlando needs to give the Legislature a scare, it turns to Missy Timmins and Melanie Becker at Timmins Consulting and Keith Arnold, Brett Bacot, Jim Magill, Kimberly McGlynn, and Mac Stipanovich at Buchanan Ingersol & Rooney.
The horrific fun at Universal Orlando isn’t “recommended for children under 13” — or probably anyone afraid of what goes bump in the night. But if you’re in Central Florida, the Mouse offers a slightly less spooky Halloween event.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney Resort runs through today. The event gives visitors a chance to collect sweets and enjoy a bit of eerie, all-age entertainment.
Walt Disney Resort has oodles of influencers working on its behalf in the Legislature, including Steve Schale. Mickey also has the teams at Southern Strategy Group, Colodny Fass, Metz Husband & Daughton, and Hopping Green & Sams watching his back.
If theme parks aren’t your idea of a good time, try catching a show at the Tampa Theatre. With Halloween right around the corner, the theater has a few hair-raising tricks up its sleeve. The theater is hosting its “A Nightmare on Franklin Street” film festival through Oct. 31.
Once the raucous of Halloween is over, take a minute to reflect and remember those who have died over the years. All Soul’s Day, a holiday established by the Catholic Church, is Nov. 2.
WHAT THE FRIGHT? HOW DID HALLOWEEN TURN INTO SUCH A HUGE HOLIDAY? via Justine Griffin of the Tampa Bay Times – After all, 157 million Americans are expected to celebrate the holiday this year, and they will spend $6.9 billion doing it. So, what transformed Halloween — that once tiny fall holiday before the biggies Thanksgiving and Christmas — into such a mammoth? For one, it’s the anti-Thanksgiving and anti-Christmas. It’s a holiday that thrives on creativity, and isn’t so cookie-cutter with matching holiday sweaters and mandatory trips to Uncle Bob’s and Aunt Karen’s in frozen Ohio … retail experts say there’s more to it than that. Halloween has always had a hey-look-at-me quality to it, which is exacerbated by social media today. Put together a clever outfit for you and your kid or your dog or your cat — and people spend weeks doing just that — and post a photo with the correct hashtag and you’re sure to get a ton of likes and perhaps even go viral. “Thanks to social media, families can’t get dressed up without posting a photo on Facebook or Instagram. That buzz that social media generates brings friendly competition to a whole other level — from costume ideas to who has the better decorations outside the house,” said Jeff Green, a retail analyst in Phoenix.
Halloween also used to be almost entirely about kids and trick-or-treating. But it is just as much an adult holiday today, which explains why humor, camp and nostalgia are all modern Halloween traits. At any party, you’re likely to see costumes that are funny, culturally relevant or that spoof on the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s … Adults-only nighttime events, which are packed with gruesome haunted houses and booze, have become an offseason moneymaker for theme parks such as Busch Gardens and Universal Studios. Haunted house attractions generated more than $300 million last year, according to the trade group Haunted Attraction Association … It’s a business model that feeds off putting audiences in uncomfortable situations, a feeling people really seek out only around Halloween. Halloween spending across the country rebounded after the recession at a surprising rate. From 2009 to 2012, it nearly doubled to $8 billion. While it’s tailed off in recent years, the holiday still holds its weight.
WHERE AMERICANS NEED THE MOST HELP CARVING PUMPKINS via Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post –A little more than one-third of Americans told Gallup in 2006 that they “usually” celebrate Halloween by carving a pumpkin. And, if Google search data is to be believed, some of us have a more natural knack for making faces out of orange gourds than others. The phrase “how to carve a pumpkin” … is a pretty useful proxy for pumpkin-carving ineptitude: search it yourself, and you can see the top results include how-to’s from the likes of Martha Stewart (“Tip: Prevent exposed areas of the pumpkin’s flesh from turning brown by applying a film of Vaseline”), extremepumpkins.com (“I personally use power tools and extreme techniques, but many of the methods that I use to carve pumpkins apply to anyone”), and The New York Times (“An annual tradition like carving a jack-o’-lantern can become a mindful moment by cultivating what is known as beginner’s mind”). In other words, people Googling “how to carve a pumpkin” need help with the basic mechanics of the task, like stabbing, cutting and the scooping-out of guts. According to Google, the states most lacking in this fundamental knowledge are clustered mostly in the South — Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi all lead the nation in how-to pumpkin carving searches. North Dakota and Hawaii also stand out as places with a relatively high interest in pumpkin tutorials. On the flip side, New England, the Great Lakes region and parts of the plains show a relatively low amount of these searches, suggesting that folks in these places are able to get right to it without needing to consult an instruction manual. To put it another way, Google’s numbers show that somebody in Kentucky, Louisiana or Mississippi is more than twice as likely to seek online help for pumpkin carving than a person in Vermont or Oregon, the states with the lowest volume of these searches.
A REAL FRIGHT FOR HALLOWEEN: FLORIDA TAX RULES ON CANDY, TREATS via Florida Politics –The most unsettling part of Halloween … figuring the state’s tax rules on candy … Florida does not consider candy to be groceries, and as such, taxes them at full rate. Most are subject to 6 percent state sales tax, in addition to applicable local sales taxes, as long as they cost more than 10 cents … also taxable: candy apples, chewing gum and breath mints, except those containing aspirin, laxative or antacids, cotton candy, fruit-flavored sticks, jelly beans, licorice and lollipops … chocolate and glazed or sugar coated fruit is taxable, but chocolate chips and glazed fruit are exempt from taxes when they are “advertised or normally sold for use in cooking or baking.” Additionally, frosting, powdered sugar, and items used to decorate baked goods are exempt … marshmallows … “both a trick and a treat” …. Marshmallow candy is taxable … Marshmallows alone are exempt.
SOUTH FLORIDA NOT A TOP MARKET FOR HALLOWEEN FUN via Frances McMorris of the South Florida Business Journal – In WalletHub’s list of this year’s “Best Cities for Halloween,” Tampa ranked 15th overall nationally and was the top city in Florida for Halloween fun. Hialeah and Miami came in at 36th and 66th on the list, respectively … the methodology for comparing 100 of the largest cities in the United States based on 18 key indicators was “slightly revamped” this year. As a result, a direct comparison with last year’s report doesn’t offer an exact correspondence. That’s why Orlando fell to 24 from its ranking last year of 16. But that gave Tampa the edge as it outperformed its state peers with Orlando, Jacksonville and St. Petersburg coming 24th, 78th and 99th, respectively. The criteria of the study included trick-or-treater friendliness, Halloween parties and activities and Halloween weather. Another strike against celebrating Halloween in South Florida: Miami had the average price of a Halloween party ticket among the cities ranked. The top city overall was Santa Ana, California.
UF IS OFFERING 24/7 COUNSELING TO PEOPLE HURT BY RACIST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES via Rafi Schulz of Fusion – Officials at the University of Florida have decided to get ahead of any potential issues that may arise from the “are you kidding me?” costume choices that often permeate college campuses. The school is not only imploring students to refrain from wearing inappropriate outfits-it’s also offering round-the-clock mental health counseling for anyone offended by their classmates’ costumes.
CONCERNED ABOUT CLOWN TREND, SOME READY TO PACK HEAT ON HALLOWEEN via Jessica Saggio of FLORIDA TODAY – As Halloween approaches and all kinds of characters, mostly cute ones, drift up and down neighborhood streets, some are worried about how creepy clown concerns could bleed into a night ordinarily reserved for heaping amounts of candy and harmless pranks. Some residents say they’re nervous, others say they’ll be exercising their Second Amendment right come Halloween. “I’ll be carrying for sure, I’m not leaving to chance,” said Kimberly Kersey, who will be taking her sons out trick or treating in Palm Bay. “I’m terrified of clowns already and if one messes with me or my kids it’ll be to the hospital or morgue they go.” Kersey is one of many who said they’d be armed this Halloween in Brevard. “Since I have no gun, I will be carrying a bat around on Halloween night,” said Pam Metz of Titusville. From a law enforcement standpoint, patrols will increase across the county on Halloween, which is standard and not impacted by the clown trend. But Sheriff Wayne Ivey warns that it’s a second-degree misdemeanor to conceal one’s identity “while having the intent to intimidate, threaten, abuse, or harass any other person while being upon any lane, walk, alley, street, road, highway or other public way,” he said citing Florida Statutes. Ivey said violating this statute, clown or otherwise, “puts everyone at risk and can be extremely dangerous,” and deputies will be on the lookout for any foul play. Ivey said it will be important that if residents see something, they say something to law enforcement.
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DAYS UNTIL: Election Day – 8; First organizational session – 22; Thanksgiving – 24; UF versus FSU game – 26; Premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 45; Start of 2017 Legislative Session – 127.
TRACKING POLL FINDS FACE A DEAD HEAT – The Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll shows Clinton barely edging Trump in the presidential race, 46% to 45%. Greater Republican unity has buoyed Trump’s rising support, which has wavered throughout the year. Trump’s 87-percent support among self-identified Republicans, ticking up from 83 percent last week nearly match Clinton’s 88-percent support among Democrats. Independents also have moved sharply in Trump’s direction, from favoring Clinton by eight points one week ago to backing Trump by 19 points.
— “Why does Trump’s support remain so stable?” via Sam Wang of the New York Times
STATE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE — ALMOST EVERY SWING STATE IS A ‘MUST WIN’ FOR TRUMP NOW via Harry Enten of Five Thirty Eight — The impact of the three presidential debates … has borne itself out in the polls in many ways. Hillary Clinton won the first debate decisively, jumped out to a 5 or 6 percentage point lead nationally, according to the FiveThirtyEight polls-only model, and hasn’t dropped below that threshold since. As a result, Donald Trump’s options in the Electoral College have been significantly narrowed; Clinton’s have proliferated. You can see Trump’s deteriorating map clearly by looking at how our “must win” numbers have shifted. … Before the first debate, our forecast showed Clinton winning the election more than 90 percent of the time she was able to defeat Trump in Florida and North Carolina, for example. Trump was forecasted to beat Clinton about 90 percent of the time when he won in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Put another way, Florida and North Carolina are slightly red-leaning states, so if Trump loses them, he’s most likely losing the election. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are light blue, so if Clinton is losing there, she’s likely to lose overall.
This decline for Trump tells us that there’s no magic bullet for him in terms of the electoral map anymore. Clinton has many more paths to victory. She can afford to lose any of these 14 states and still have somewhere between a 21 percent and 64 percent chance of winning. There’s not a single state now where Trump wins the Electoral College in at least 80 percent of the simulations if he wins that state. … Trump now has five states, on the other hand, that if he doesn’t win, he loses the election 95 percent of the time or more. Some of these are generally understood to be states more friendly to him, such as Iowa and Ohio. They also include, however, Florida and North Carolina where he is currently trailing in most of the polling. Clinton actually still wins in a majority of our simulations in which she loses one of these. … Trump has few paths in the Electoral College because he’s losing nationally by 5 or 6 percentage points, not because there’s anything inherent about the map that favors Clinton. Almost all the swing states are now “must win” for him, but if the race tightens, that will change.
VERDICT – TRUMP BOASTS ABOUT HIS PHILANTHROPY. BUT HIS GIVING FALLS SHORT OF HIS WORDS via David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post – For as long as he has been rich and famous, Trump has also wanted people to believe he is generous. He spent years constructing an image as a philanthropist by appearing at charity events and by making very public – even nationally televised – promises to give his own money away. It was, in large part, a facade. A months-long investigation by The Washington Post has not been able to verify many of Trump’s boasts about his philanthropy.
Instead, throughout his life in the spotlight, whether as a businessman, television star or presidential candidate, The Post found that Trump had sought credit for charity he had not given – or had claimed other people’s giving as his own. It is impossible to know for certain what Trump has given to charity, because he has declined to release his tax returns. In all, The Post was able to identify $7.8 million in charitable giving from Trump’s own pocket since the early 1980s.
BARACK OBAMA MAKES FINAL PITCH TO VOTERS IN NEW AD — The Clinton released a new advertisement featuring Obama appealing to voters to get out and vote for Clinton. The 30-second spot — called “On the Ballot” — lays out “how the progress made in the last eight years is on the ballot,” according to the campaign. “All the progress we’ve made these last eight years is on the ballot,” says Obama in the advertisement. “Civility is on the ballot, respect for women is on the ballot, tolerance is on the ballot, equality is on the ballot, justice is on the ballot. If you want to send a message in this election, send a message about who we are as the American people. Send a message by voting for Hillary Clinton.” The new ad will air nationally, but, according to the campaign, will run in a higher concentration in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. Click the image below to watch the ad.
SUPER PAC CHAIRED BY RICK SCOTT AIRING TV SPOT ON LATEST CLINTON EMAIL ISSUE via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post –Rebuilding America Now, which has already spent $17 million to help the Trump campaign — including airing earlier TV spots — put out the latest spot soon after the email disclosure roiled the presidential race. The ad is running in the Philadelphia market in swing state Pennsylvania, where polls have shown the Clinton campaign comfortably ahead. Click the image below to watch the ad.
GREAT READ – WHAT WOULD FLORIDA MAN DO via Christopher Spata of the Tampa Bay Times – Florida Man is also arguably Florida’s most famous resident. He’s in the headlines daily, visiting us through his ubiquitous @_FloridaMan Twitter account, making news far beyond the borders of our crucial swing state. And so, a question: Who does Florida Man endorse in this year’s presidential election? Don’t worry about his multiple felony convictions. He may not always be allowed to vote, but Florida Man can have an opinion. That opinion, though, isn’t easy to come by. Florida Man, it turns out, is difficult to reach by phone. Sometimes it’s because he’s in prison, like the Florida Man arrested for driving his Cadillac naked through Alligator Alley at 110 mph. Sometimes it’s because they’ve died, such as a Florida Woman arrested on drug charges after someone butt-dialed 911 from a meth lab. Calls placed to more than 100 numbers listed for Florida Men were mostly wrong or disconnected. Ironically, not a single working number could be found for the Florida Man banned from ordering pizza after allegedly prank-calling pizzerias from his five different phone lines. The number listed for a Florida Man bitten on the lip by the snake he kept in his pillowcase connected to a Wal-Mart. In some cases, there were ghosts of other reporters, or possibly pranksters, who’d come calling before. An attempt to reach the Florida Man accused of taking a “friend” on a high-speed golf cart ride after threatening to shoot him during a nude rage, was answered by an annoyed woman who asked, “Who is this guy, and why do you people keep calling here for him?” Florida Man doesn’t always feel like talking about politics. A call to a Florida Man charged with firing a musket off an overpass while dressed in full pirate regalia turned up an encouraging lead — a voicemail that said, “Ahoy, you’ve reached Captain Silky.” The captain called back, sounding friendly until he realized the nature of the inquiry. “You mean this whole thing is about who I’m voting for?” the captain asked, taken aback. Then he hung up.
FLORIDA POLL #1: DONALD TRUMP AT 46%, HILLARY CLINTON AT 42% via Florida Politics — According to a new Dixie Strategies poll, nearly 46 percent of likely Florida voters said they were backing Trump, compared to 42 percent who said they backed Clinton. Libertarian Gary Johnson received 2 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 1 percent. More than 6 percent of voters said they were undecided. The automated poll of 698 likely voters was conducted from Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percent.
FLORIDA POLL #2: LATEST UPSHOT POLL SHOWS TRUMP WITH A LEAD via Nate Cohn of The Upshot — Trump has slowly but surely improved his standing in state and national polls since the final presidential debate. A New York Times Upshot/Siena poll released Sunday is consistent with that trend: It gives Mr. Trump a four-point lead in Florida, 46 percent to 42 percent, in a four-way race. In our first poll of Florida a month ago, Trump trailed Clinton by a percentage point. … Across every dimension of the survey, the poll has subtle but good news for his chances. Trump won 86 percent of self-identified Republicans — the highest percentage of that group in any Upshot/Siena survey so far this year. Even college-educated white voters, who have been skeptical of Trump nationwide, are showing less skepticism in Florida. He has a lead of 51 percent to 35 percent among those voters in our survey.
FLORIDA POLL #3: DEAD HEAT IN FLORIDA via Mark Murray of NBC NEWS — Just nine days until Election Day … the candidates are essentially deadlocked in Florida, according to two new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls. In Florida, Clinton gets the support of 45 percent of likely voters, while Trump gets 44 percent. Johnson gets 5 percent and the Green Party’s Stein is at 2 percent. In an earlier NBC/WSJ/Marist poll this month, Clinton was ahead by three points in the four-person race in the Sunshine State, 45 percent to 42 percent. When the contest is reduced to two candidates, Clinton and Trump are tied in the new poll at 46 percent.
TWEET, TWEET: @Timodc: Fun reminder. Even if Trump is up 4 in Florida he still needs to win Pennsylvania or Colorado or New Hampshire to be President
TWEET, TWEET: @AbelHarding: If stickers at #UFvsUGA were votes (and a scientific sample of the population at large), it would be Trump in a landslide…
HILLARY CLINTON AT J LO CONCERT IN MIAMI: LET’S GET LOUD AT VOTING BOOTH via Amy Sherman of the Miami Herald – As she faces a tough campaign in Florida, Clinton joined Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthonyonstage to urge the crowd to close the deal for her against … Trump. “We just heard Jennifer [Lopez] perform ‘Let’s Get Loud.’ Well, I say, ‘Let’s Get Loud’ at the voting booth. You can vote early. Don’t wait another day to vote,” Clinton said. The message at the J-Lo concert was the same as a typical Clinton rally, diversity and feminism (but this event had more butt shaking).
MIKE PENCE MAKES THREE FLORIDA STOPS FOR TRUMP via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post – Pence starts on the Space Coast with a noon event in Cocoa, then attends an afternoon rally near Orlando in Maitland before winding up with a 6 p.m. airport rally in Clearwater. Trump is expected back in Florida this week, but no events have been announced.
HAPPENING WEDNESDAY:
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LATEST VOTERS-ARE-VOTING DATA – As of Sunday night, 1,949,478 vote-by-mail ballots have been returned for the November general election, and 1,613,014 people have voted early across the state. The tallies were posted on the state Division of Elections website. Registered Republicans lead in vote-by-mail ballots to Democrats 821,147 to 755,712, but Democrats lead GOP voters in early voting 671,602 to629,613. The state’s website for vote-by-mail and early voting statistics is here.
OBAMA PUTS BULL’S-EYE ON MARCO RUBIO DURING FEISTY ORLANDO RALLY via John Bennett and Eric Garcia of Roll Call – The strikingly popular Obama (his approval ratings hit 55 percent Friday, the highest of his second term and matching the high point of his first) made clear he fired up Air Force One with the Florida Senate race between Rubio and Murphy in mind. “All the progress we’ve made over these eight years goes out the window if we don’t win this election,” Obama told the University of Central Florida audience. “The stakes could not be higher.” That plea is consistent with the Clinton campaign’s use of the president and his wife, Michelle, to try to motivate Democratic voters to turn out in large numbers in key swing states like Florida. A similar call to action is expected Tuesday, when Obama campaigns in Ohio, a perennial battleground state that appears up for grabs in the presidential race. Obama labeled Clinton a “hard worker” and then branded Murphy with the same moniker. “Unlike his opponent, Marco Rubio, Patrick actually shows up to his job. He puts you ahead of politics,” Obama said to applause. “He didn’t try to defund Planned Parenthood. He fought to make sure women could make their own health care decisions.” En route to Orlando, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reporters that Obama feels that “Sen. Rubio has a long record that he should be held accountable for.”
MURPHY SOLD STOCK IN FAMILY COMPANY TO COVER LAST-MINUTE $1M CAMPAIGN LOAN via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – Murphy says he sold personal stock in his family’s construction company, Miami-based Coastal Construction Group … as something that would give the cash-strapped Jupiter congressman additional resources to run TV ads across the state in the final two weeks of his bid to unseat Rubio. Rubio, however, has questioned how Murphy could have come by such a hefty loan when Murphy doesn’t have the cash assets to cover it, based on his most recent congressional financial disclosure. “It was basically a stock sale, of stock I had,” Murphy explained to reporters during a campaign visit to Tallahassee … When asked whether the stock in question was specifically Murphy’s investment in Coastal, Murphy said: “Yes.” Paperwork is not yet available that would show how the loan was reported to the Federal Election Commission and how the stock sale was reported to the U.S. House, as required within 30 days of the sale under the 2012 STOCK Act. “We are completely compliant with that [and] have attorneys helping out to make sure it’s all compliant,” Murphy said. Murphy’s financial disclosure from 2015 shows his net worth was between $72,000 and almost $4.8 million — much of that coming from stock in Coastal worth between $1 million and $5 million. The investment was a “gift” from Murphy’s father in 2012 before Murphy took office.
— “Is Chuck Schumer’s thumb on the scale for no-show Marco Rubio?” via Martha Jackovics of beachpeanuts.com
MURPHY STANDS BY CLAIM HIS FAMILY NEVER DID BUSINESS WITH TRUMP via Andrew Kaczynski of CNN – “PolitiFact has looked into this, we have never done business with Donald Trump and Politifact verified that because we haven’t,” Murphy said. (PolitiFact rated Murphy’s denial “half true,” noting that Coastal Construction did not have a direct partnership with Trump but that the company and Trump were involved in the same project together. “See, Sen. Rubio unfortunately doesn’t understand the way business works,” Murphy continued. “He’s never been in the private sector. He’s been a career politician and a lobbyist. Our family business, we are general contractors. We work for developers. What that developer does, who they hire, whether it’s an architect, whether it’s a licensing agreement, is their prerogative. But we have never done business with Donald Trump, and it’s kind of funny to me, actually, that Sen. Rubio is trying to tar me with Donald Trump, because he knows how dangerous and how much that is hurting him, which is why Sen. Rubio has been dodging him on the campaign trail, you’ve seen him avoid him at these campaign stops.”
JEANETTE RUBIO HIGHLIGHTS HUSBAND’S SUPPORTOF GIRLS COUNT ACT IN NEW AD — The Rubio campaign released a new advertisement featuring the Miami Republican’s wife. The 30-second spot gives Jeanette Rubio a chance to highlight the Girls Count Act, which helps ensure children in developing countries are registered at birth. “Human trafficking is a tragedy. Of all the things Marco has done, the Girls Count Act is the one thing I’m most proud of,” says Jeanette Rubio in the advertisement. “Marco wrote the law that forces any country in the word that receives American aid to give little girls birth certificates when they are born. It doesn’t sound like much, but that one thing could save thousands of girls, and even if it just saves one, it is truly a blessing.” Click the image below to watch the ad.
PRO-MURPHY SUPER PAC USES NEW CASH TO RECYCLE ATTACK AD ON RUBIO via Kristen M. Clark of the Miami Herald — Flush with fresh cash from national Democrats and other donors, a super PAC supporting Murphy is re-airing an attack ad in Miami that criticizes Rubio‘s Senate record. The ad that the pro-Murphy “Floridians for a Strong Middle Class” announced Friday actually first debuted a month ago, when it was launched by the Senate Majority PAC, a national Democratic super PAC. “Floridians for a Strong Middle Class” says it’s spending at least $100,000 to air the ad in Miami through Election Day. On Thursday, the Senate Majority PAC announced it was giving at least $1 million to “Floridians for a Strong Middle Class” to prop up Murphy’s campaign in the final days of the race. “Floridians for a Strong Middle Class” spokeswoman Ashley Walker said the latest ad buy is being funded in part from that money, as well as money from other supporters. “It’s bad enough that Rubio rarely shows up to work, but it’s worse when he actually does and votes against our state’s best interests,” Walker said in a statement. Rubio spokeswoman Olivia Perez Cubas said in response: “Patrick Murphy has been in Congress for four years and has nothing to show for it, so he and his allies are attacking Marco. Florida already has a senator with a strong record of fighting for them, and that’s why they’re going to re-elect Marco.” Click on the image below to watch the ad.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHER RELAUNCHES AD TARGETING RUBIO — The organization announced Friday it was reviving its campaign claiming Rubio “flip-flopped from writing legislation to provide relief to Puerto Rico to siding with hedge funds.” “Time and time again, Marco Rubio has revealed where his allegiance lies. Rubio flip-flopped from writing legislation to provide relief for Puerto Rico, to siding with hedge funds demanding that Puerto Rico make deeper cuts in education and impose regressive taxes in order to pay off distressed debt,” said Michelle Ringuette, head of the organization’s political program. “As a result, 200 schools closed and millions of dollars were cut from education. During a time when Puerto Rico and Rubio’s constituents needed him in the face of a humanitarian crisis, Rubio came out on the side of pernicious hedge funds.” The five-figure ad campaign will consist of one English-language statewide ad. The organization ran the ad for two weeks earlier in the election cycle, according to the American Federation of Teachers. Click the image below to watch the ad.
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LATE NIGHT MEDICAL ROBOCALL SNAFU ANGERS FLORIDA VOTERS via Allison Nielsen of Sunshine State News – The campaign working against legalizing medical marijuana has provoked the anger of hundreds of people who say Drug Free Florida called them in the middle of the night advising them to say “no” to Amendment 2. Drug Free Florida began calling voters after midnight and into the early hours of Sunday morning, with some receiving calls at 4 a.m. while others’ phones rang at 6:30 a.m. … Vote No on 2’s Facebook page exploded with complaints with voters receiving calls from midnight to the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Drug Free Florida issued an apology Sunday evening shortly after the complaints started coming in. “Our sincerest apologies to those voters who inadvertently received a recorded call during the early morning hours on Sunday,” the group wrote. “It was not our intention to have those calls made at that hour. These calls were supposed to be made starting in the early PM and were mistakenly sent in the early AM.” Vote No on 2 spokeswoman Christina Johnson told (Sunshine State News) the calls were supposed to run from noon to 7 p.m., but a vendor error caused the calls to run from midnight to 7 a.m. instead.
DESPITE LOANS, CORRINE BROWN’S ELECTION COMMITTEE STILL IN DEBT AFTER LOSS via Steve Patterson of the Florida Times-Union – Brown’s election committee is overdrawn and still owes about $17,000 to companies that worked on her failed primary bid, campaign finance reports released this week show. That debt is on top of more than $100,000 in loans that Friends of Corrine Brown reported taking from Brown which haven’t been repaid. The new filing, the first since Brown lost the Aug. 30 Democratic primary to Al Lawson, reflects the financial squeeze that lingers while Brown prepares for her April fraud trial. From Aug. 10 to the end of September — the last date covered by the report — the committee spent about $94,000 on bills for services ranging from campaign workers to printers to hotel rooms. The committee collected $67,000 in that time, but $50,000 came in loans from Brown. Most of the rest was donated from other political committees. By Sept. 30, the committee’s account total was $2,026 overdrawn and reported $120,475 in outstanding debts. Most of that debt was to Brown, though, who loaned her committee money that probably just won’t be repaid. But Brown has been trying to take care of other costs, writing a blog post last month that implored: “Please help me pay off my campaign debt.” The committee still owes five companies that did work like voter outreach, direct mail and legal services, the report says.
JOHN MICA CAMPAIGN TIES STEPHANIE MURPHY TO ‘SHADY’ VIRGINIA DONATION via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — The donation in question was made to the campaign of Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who won the Virginia gubernatorial election in 2013. McAuliffe is a former business partner with Ed Haddock of Winter Park, Murphy’s father-in-law, according to the Mica campaign [which] described the Dec. 31, 2012, donation to the Terry McAuliffe for Governor campaign contribution as “shady.” The donation was officially attributed to an unregistered Virginia company at the address of a house Haddock owned in Virginia, per Mica’s campaign. But the donation was traced back through 2013 news reports to Haddock’s Sungate Capital LLC of Winter Park, where Murphy was and is an executive. The Mica campaign cited a 2013 report by WWBT-12 TV, the Richmond, Virginia, NBC affiliate, quoting Murphy in defending the donation, and acknowledging Sungate Capital’s involvement. “We chose to list the contribution to the McAuliffe campaign from a geographically relevant Virginia entity,” the TV report quotes Murphy, identified as a spokesperson for Sungate. Mica’s campaign alleged that Haddock, Murphy, and Sungate deliberately hid the origins of the money and made it look like a Virginia-based donation in order to ease criticism of McAuliffe there for attracting large amounts of out-of-state money for his campaign.
DUKE, FPL GIVE BIG TO PRO-DAVID JOLLY SUPER PAC via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – Of the $625,000 the group, called People for Pinellas, raised over the first 19 days in October, $250,000 came from Florida Power & Light, while another $100,000 came from Duke Energy … Jolly’s ties to Duke Energy have become a campaign issue in the Pinellas County district he represents. House Majority PAC, a super PAC that backs Democratic House candidates, ran an ad hitting Jolly for taking campaign contributions from Duke while they collect fees from customers known as “nuclear cost recovery fees.” Jolly has taken the most political heat over the Duke Energy plans, but Florida Power & Light also collects the fees from customers. The utility’s customers have spent more than $280 million so far for two projects that may never come to fruition.
VERN BUCHANAN EMPHASIZING SENIORITY AS HE SEEKS SIXTH TERM via Zac Anderson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – In a body where influence is largely based on seniority, Buchanan is touting his 10 years of experience as a key asset during his re-election bid, saying his growing clout gives the region more say on issues of local and national importance. “I’m in a position now where I can have a much bigger impact,” Buchanan said. That might be true, says Jan Schneider, Buchanan’s Democratic opponent. But she argues that the congressman is on the wrong side of many big issues and has not accomplished much, despite his growing seniority, which currently ranks in the top third of his 535 House colleagues. Schneider appears to be little more than a thorn in Buchanan’s side, though. The 68-year-old Sarasota attorney does not have the resources to get her message out and has lost some credibility as a candidate after four failed runs for Congress in the past. Regardless of whether she can win, Schneider says she did not want Buchanan to “go unchallenged on the issues.” Her presence in the race has forced the congressman to defend his record and positions on everything from entitlement reform to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. Buchanan passed his first stand-alone piece of legislation last year, a bill that provides veterans with ID cards.
***November marks National Home Care Month, which recognizes more than 68,000 Florida nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who provide cost-effective, high-quality health care in the patient-preferred setting. These caregivers represent more than 2,500 home care agencies that serve 180,000 Floridians at home every day. Last year alone, the Florida home care industry created 109,000 jobs at a $3.92 billion net economic growth to the state. Celebrate the home care industry’s contribution to Florida’s families and economy at HomeCareFLA.org***
ANITERE FLORES CRITICIZES AMENDMENT 1 AFTER POLITICAL GROUP ACCUSES HER OF FAVORING UTILITIES via Bruce Ritchie of POLITICO Florida – A state Senator and former chairman of the chamber’s energy committee is criticizing a solar energy ballot initiative after being accused by a left-leaning political group of being in the pocket of utilities. Amendment 1 … would preserve a right for residents to own or lease solar devices while prohibiting customers without solar from having to subsidize those with it … Sen. Flores said through a spokeswoman that Amendment 1 “is a ruse which does nothing to increase solar energy in our great state and would not help the consumers of my district.” She is seeking re-election to a newly drawn district that includes the more left-leaning Florida Keys. FloridaStrong had cited more than 25 newspaper editorials criticizing Amendment 1 for being deceptive while knocking Flores for not taking a stand. FloridaStrong is a 501(c)(4) “dark money” group, meaning it doesn’t have to disclose its financial contributors. “In yet another clear sign she is in the pocket of the utility companies and lobbyists bankrolling her campaign, State Sen. Anitere Flores has refused to speak out against Amendment 1,” FloridaStrong said in a news release. “Sadly, this comes as no surprise given her years of inaction on clean energy and the hundreds of thousands of dollars she’s taken from FPL, TECO, Duke Energy and their executives during her 12 years in Tallahassee.” But Flores responded she “always stood on the side of the consumer” and recognized that clean energy “is the next economic boom.”
DORAL COLLEGE, FLORES ACCUSE HER CHALLENGER OF ‘UNTRUE, MALICIOUS STATEMENTS’ via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – Flores and her previous employer, Doral College, allege that Flores’ opponent has made “untrue and malicious” statements that are “damaging” the college’s reputation. Doral College sent a letter to the Florida Democratic Party recently demanding that the party stop publishing and correct TV ads and direct-mail pieces that the college says contain “false” statements. The state party is supporting Democrat and political newcomer Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, of Pinecrest, who’s aiming to unseat Flores for Miami-Dade’s District 39 Senate seat. The newly redrawn district is heavily Hispanic and leans Democratic. Doral College in its letter — which Flores’ campaign provided to the Herald/Times — accused the Democratic Party of repeating two falsehoods: “that Doral College is a for-profit college and the degrees obtained by its students are worthless.” “These claims are objectively false and warrant immediate correction,” wrote Ryan Kairalla, the college’s general counsel. Here’s an example of a direct-mail piece containing the claims Flores and Doral College took issue with. Kairalla is correct that the Democratic Party erred in referring to Doral College as a “for-profit” college. It is a not-for-profit institution — although the company that it’s associated with is for-profit — but whether the college’s degrees are “worthless” is a matter of continued dispute in the political battle between supporters of charter school programs and those who favor more traditional educational options. Mucarsel-Powell said Flores’ and Doral College’s complaints were “yet another desperate attempt by Anitere Flores to distract from her shameful 12-year record in Tallahassee.”
HAPPENING TUESDAY: House Speaker-designate Richard Corcoran and Speakers-to-be José Oliva and Chris Sprowls host a fundraising reception for Bob Rommel, a Republican running for House District 106. Event begins 5:30 p.m. at the Estates at Bay Colony, 9782 Bentgrass Bend in Naples. RSVP to [email protected].
ALLISON TANT BLASTS ALAN WILLIAMS OVER FALSE ENDORSEMENT MAILER via Karl Etters of the Tallahassee Democrat – Florida Democratic Party Chair Tant blasted state Rep. Williams in a sharply worded email … saying she was furious and felt betrayed by a campaign mailer he sent claiming he’d secured the party’s endorsement for Leon County supervisor of elections. “The toothpaste is out of the tube with this because Alan’s flyers are already in the hands of voters,” Tant wrote in the email … “I firmly believe he and (campaign consultant Sean Pittman) thought I would just look the other way on it. I will not. I have not. And I am FURIOUS about this. There are grounds here for a complaint. And I believe it should be filed by someone.” Williams sent a mailer to voters earlier this week saying he’d been endorsed by the Florida Democratic Party when in fact he hadn’t. The party is staying neutral in the non-partisan race because Williams is running against a fellow Democrat, Mark Earley. In the email, Tant said Williams told her he needed to level the playing field in the race because Earley’s photo had appeared in the elections office’s official voter guide. Earley serves as voting systems manager at the elections office. “I am furious with him for him impugning my integrity with this bull—-,” Tant wrote … she was frustrated the private email to a personal friend had been distributed publicly. She pointed out Early’s photo in the voter guide also was an example of the “toothpaste out of the tube,” and was inappropriate. “Both of these guys need to run on what makes them a better candidate and that’s it,” Tant said.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Gov. Scott will honor veterans with the Governor’s Veterans Service Award at 9:30 a.m. at the Fort Myers Armory, 3405 Marion Street in Fort Myers.
STATE RULES AGAINST CERTAIN POKER-TYPE CARD GAMES via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics –A type of wildly popular poker-type card game is now banned as it is currently played in Jacksonville, according to a final decision issued by the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), which regulates gambling. The department’s order … specifically finds against designated-player games offered at the bestbet Jacksonville poker room and levies a $4,500 fine against it. DBPR adopted an Aug. 1 recommended order from an administrative law judge. The effect of the order, virtually certain to be appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal, already has rippled across the state. That’s because other card rooms offer similar games, and they now must consider whether to change them or discontinue them. Card games are offered at the state’s pari-mutuels, such as dog and horse tracks. They reportedly bring in an extra $10-15 million a year to each pari-mutuel. Gambling regulators with the department’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering began calling them … to warn they will enforce the decision statewide.
TRIAL SET TO BEGIN IN FLORIDA AND GEORGIA’S FIGHT OVER WATER via Kathleen Foody of The Associated Press – Florida and Georgia this week are taking their long-standing fight over the supply of water in their shared watershed to court. Arguments are expected to last for weeks, and the result could affect millions of people and major industries in both states. The dispute centers on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-
HBO IS STAYING MUM, BUT ‘BALLERS’ IS PACKING UP TO LEAVE MIAMI via Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald – Multiple sources from the South Florida film community, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being penalized, stated the network has ordered local crews to load all of the show’s sets and costumes onto cargo containers, which are being transported to California via tractor-trailers. By Monday afternoon, a warehouse at 3000 NW 123rd St. in Opa-Locka where the “Ballers” production assets are stored in-between seasons had already been nearly emptied. HBO declined to address the rumors directly. In a statement … the network only said, ‘“Ballers’ season 3 production doesn’t start until next year so we are still evaluating how best to serve the series. We will announce our plans when they are finalized.” Rumors started swirling last month that the show, which stars Dwayne Johnson as a former NFL star turned financial adviser, would not continue to film in Miami after the Florida Legislature declined to replenish the state’s depleted tax-incentive program, which used rebates to lure out-of-town productions. According to figures provided by the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment, HBO received a tax credit of $3.8 million on expenditures of $19.2 million for the first season of “Ballers,” which was filmed in 2014. Final figures for the second season are not yet available. Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, who made a cameo in the season two premiere of “Ballers,” expressed surprise at the news of the move. He says the city had met with the show’s producers to figure out ways to lower production costs, including waiving rental fees for public parks and parking lots.
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
John Ariale, Ariale Strategies, Turbocombustor Technology, Inc.
Josh Aubuchon, Mark Delegal, Holland & Knight: Thomson Reuters
Fred Baggett, Gus Corbella, Fred Karlinsky, Greenberg Traurig: GrowHealthy Holdings, LLC
Leslie Dughi, Greenberg Traurig: Web.com Group, Inc.
Tanya Jackson, Adams St. Advocates: North Miami Foundation for Senior Citizens’ Services, Inc.
Fred Karlinsky: Greenberg Traurig: Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Company
Jerry McDaniel, Southern Strategy Group: Junior Achievement of Florida Foundation
Chris Moya, Jennifer Ungru, Jones Walker LLP: Ingenios Health Co.
Jessica Throckmorton: Florida Polytechnic University
Hannah Willard: Equality Florida
HAPPY BIRTHDAY belatedly to our dear friend, the great Alia Faraj-Johnson, as well as the awesome Kristen Bridges. Also celebrating this weekend were Rep. George Moraitis, former Rep. Ron Saunders, Rivers Buford, and Caroline Rowland. Celebrating today is Josh Aubuchon‘s better half, Allison, Jon East, Andrew Fay, and our very own Harold Hedrick.
