Peter Schorsch
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica.
As Thanksgiving fast approaches, it may be hard for the #FlaPol crowd to stay focused.
To be honest, we’re already dreaming of maple-meringue sweet potato casserole. Mmmm…
But there’s one more week of committee meetings before turkey day.
That means one more week of lawmakers talking child marriages, Confederate statues, underground power lines, guns, immigration, the opioid epidemic … and we’re sure a certain senator from Clearwater will be in the news again.
If you don’t want to cook, Fox News helpfully reminds us that “Cracker Barrel’s classic country-style cooking can be brought home for the holidays – with 24 hours notice.”
Whole Foods also will cook a whole spread for you, starting at $79.99, with the deadline to order on Nov. 19.
Of course, if you want to go fast casual, try Boston Market, which offers a “Basic Thanksgiving Meal” and “Complete Thanksgiving Meal,” which includes one whole roasted turkey. The meals start at $99.99, also with a Nov. 19 deadline to order.
In the meantime, did we mention our apple-walnut dressing? Nom nom.
P.S. Don’t forget that help is almost certainly needed at many local churches and shelters on Thanksgiving Day.
In Tallahassee, the Community Thanksgiving Celebration will be held at Lake Ella, and volunteers still are needed to help serve Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 23 at the American Legion Post.
The deadline to sign up deadline is this Tuesday.
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
— @SenJohnMcCain: There’s nothing “America First” about taking the word of KGB colonel over US intelligence community. There’s no “principled realism” in cooperating w/Russia to prop up murderous Assad regime. To believe otherwise is naive & places nat’l security at risk.
— @NoahBierman: Chief of Staff John Kelly said today that Trump‘s staff is instructed not to react to his tweets.
— @FLGovScott: In Florida, we’ve been clear that we stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela who are struggling for their freedom. Today, we renew our call for Maduro to step down and completely release all political prisoners now.
— @MarcoRubio: Weeks later, the situation in #PuertoRico is not substantially better than it was 5 days after #HurricaneMaria
— @CarlosCurbelo: Not my state; not my chamber but this man is despicable and should step down. To call him “unfit” is generous. (re: Roy Moore)
— @BrettDoster: Interesting how the GOP establishment is lining up with Libs to attack @MooreSenate before weighing evidence. Almost like they were colluding — as usual. They’ll be proven wrong, and @MooreSenate will win in 4 weeks. #ALSEN
— @RichardCorcoran: Can’t wait to see what @FrancisSuarez accomplishes for Miami!
— @JebBush: It’s over. We are back. (re: Miami football)
— @Fineout: So guess the ACC Championship Game will be the real first round of the playoffs
— @DeniseGrimsley: Happy for my Alma Mater. @MarkRicht is the real deal and his kindness and love for the Lord will impact these players for a lifetime. There is more to this win than what we see on the scoreboard.
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— NOTES FROM CAMPAIGN TRAIL —
Campaign-finance deadline — State political candidates and committees have a deadline for submitting reports for campaign-finance activity through Oct. 31.
“Energized Democrats dream of blue Florida, midterm wave, but GOP says: Not so fast” via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post — “I like the atmospherics of what we’re seeing because I don’t think any of us believe Trump is going to change or there’s going to be some warming to the guy,” says Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who is working for Gwen Graham’s campaign for governor. In Virginia, Anzalone said, voters turned out “because they needed a way to express their anger at having to wake up with Donald Trump as president. I think that is a real signal for 2018 that the electorate is going to look a lot different from the electorate in 2010 and 2014.” Veteran Florida GOP operative Susie Wiles: “You shouldn’t read more into it than one mayor’s race and one race in another state,” Wiles said of the St. Petersburg and Virginia results. Since Trump carried Florida a year ago with 49 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 47.8 percent, Wiles said, “There’s no erosion in the president’s numbers with the base.”
“In Florida, all eyes on Puerto Rican voters after Maria” via Adriana Gomez Licon of The Associated Press — More than a million Puerto Ricans — about 5 percent of Florida’s population — already call the state home, and given the outrage many feel over President Trump’s handling of the storm, political observers say this voting bloc could loosen the Republican Party’s hold on this battleground state. Puerto Ricans are not the gift to the Republican Party that the anti-Castro Cuban diaspora has been historically. They’ve tended to favor Democrats, given their support for public education and social services. Of the more than 140,000 islanders estimated to have left since the storm, more than 130,000 went to Florida, where Puerto Ricans may soon displace Cubans as the largest Latino group. State Rep. Rene Plasencia, a Republican from Orlando, predicts that Go. Rick Scott’s warm welcome will leave a more significant impression on the newcomers than any Trump tweets. Billionaires Charles and David Koch also are involved, funding the Libre Initiative, which welcomed hundreds of evacuees on the first cruise ship to arrive from San Juan.
The Gillum Files — Part #1 — “Lawsuit: City played favorites in Hermine power restoration” via Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat — An ex-city of Tallahassee Electric Utility manager, who helped oversee the Hurricane Hermine response, accused the city of prioritizing power restoration for family and friends of top city officials and intentionally slowing down repairs at the Governor’s Mansion. Clinton Smith, the former employee, said that at one point last year in the Hermine response, Rob McGarrah, general manager of the Electric Utility, vowed Gov. Scott would be “the last SOB in the city to get power.” Scott was among the city’s harshest critics over the pace of electric repairs in the wake of Hermine. Smith’s allegations are included in an explosive, 27-page whistleblower lawsuit filed in Leon Circuit Court. He described in court documents a culture of nepotism and self-dealing at City Hall and accused city officials of a variety of misdeeds.
The Gillum Files — Part #2 — “Emails reveal mayor’s meetup with lobbyist in Qatar” via Jeff Schweers of the Tallahassee Democrat — During the Memorial Day week of 2016, Gillum flew to Qatar to participate in a conference on Middle Eastern economics sponsored by the UCLA Center for Middle Eastern Developments and the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences of the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Gillum also pulled some strings to get his longtime friend and lobbyist Adam Corey, who happened to be traveling in the area around the same time, into the conference. But the Democrat could find no records that Gillum, who at the time was heavily entrenched in Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign, has ever talked publicly about the event. A Google search of Gillum’s name and Qatar turns up the event schedule 15 items deep. Commissioners Gil Ziffer, Nancy Miller and Curtis Richardson said Gillum did not mention the trip to them.
“New online voter registration a ‘great tool,’ elections officials say” via Martin Comas of the Orlando Sentinel — Residents can use their computers to register to vote or change their party affiliation as Florida recently joined 35 other states and the District of Columbia to offer online voter registration. Central Florida elections officials are lauding the online service as a “great tool” that will encourage more people to sign up to vote and improve the accuracy of voter rolls. “The online voter registration process has opened the door to a lot of folks who have not previously registered to vote,” said Michael Ertel, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections. “When I first registered to vote back in the late ’80s, I had to take a forward step. I had to go to the supervisor of elections office. Since that time, elections offices have come to the voters.”
— CAPITOL INSIGHT —
“Jack Latvala called ‘bombastic bully’ by attorney of woman in sexual harassment complaint” via Marc Caputo and Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida — “The victims have every right to come forward and to do so confidentially,” said Tallahassee labor attorney Tiffany Cruz, who represents one of the women … “Interestingly, he voted to pass the rules and laws that allow confidentiality, but now criticizes the validity of that process. That’s to be expected from a bombastic bully. Anonymity does not equal invalidity. His house of cards is disintegrating.” Specifically, Cruz pointed out, Latvala in a committee and on the Senate floor last spring voted for successful legislation that establishes a public record exemption to protect the identities of people who submit sexual harassment complaints” … Now that he’s accused, however, Latvala has sounded a different note about anonymous sexual harassment complaints. “For a guy who’s entering his 16th year in the Senate, to destroy my reputation based on anonymous allegations is unfortunate,” the 66-year-old Latvala told the News Service of Florida.
“South Florida could be hurt by sex scandals rocking Florida Senate” via Dan Sweeney of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — With the resignation of state Sen. Jeff Clemens, a large swath of Palm Beach County’s most populous area will be without representation when the legislative session begins Jan. 9. “It’s always a concern when you go into Session with a district not represented,” said state Sen. Bobby Powell … he would be handling a few projects that fall within Clemens’ district and hoped other legislators would pick up the slack as well. And with Sen. Latvala now out as chair of the Appropriations Committee … the county also loses a stalwart champion for many of its causes, especially beach renourishment. Clemens … was a leader on sober home regulation and the larger opioid crisis. He was also responsible for bringing in millions of dollars in projects to the local area. County officials are hopeful the Palm Beach legislative delegation will pick up some of the slack.
“House plans to hear on state scholarship programs” via Beth Kassab of the Orlando Sentinel — The Florida House plans to hold a hearing to explore how the state sends nearly $1 billion for scholarships to mostly unregulated private schools … The hearing comes as lawmakers are pushing to expand the scholarship programs to allow students who are bullied to leave their public school for a private one on the state’s dime. That bill (HB1) passed its first committee this week and is a priority of Richard Corcoran, a longtime supporter of the school choice movement. Florida stands out as the state with the most private schools and the most students on scholarships — nearly 2,000 schools enrolling 140,000 children. It also provides less regulation of participating private schools than some other states. No two voucher programs across the country appear exactly the same. But half of the 12 states that launched programs in the past two years insist on at least some form of tighter controls on school quality than Florida.
Legislative committee meetings to keep an eye on:
House considers beaches, housing — The House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness meets to hear presentations and discussions on issues of beaches and housing. Meeting begins 3 p.m. in Room 404 of the House Office building.
Senate discusses child marriages — The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee will consider SB 140, from Fort Myers Republican Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, which seeks to ban the issuance of marriage licenses to people under the age of 18. Meeting begins 4 p.m. in Room 401 of the Senate Office Building.
Senate takes up tax holiday for disaster preparedness — The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee Will debate SB 620, from Naples Republican Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, for a tax holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies in early June. Meeting begins 4 p.m. in Room 110 of the Senate Office building.
Senate to consider minimum sentencing reform for drug crimes — On the agenda of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee is SB 602 from Chair Randolph Bracy, an Orlando Democrat, to give judges more discretion in mandatory-minimum prison sentences in some drug crimes. Meeting begins 4 p.m. in Room 37 of the Senate Office Building.
Senate agenda includes state college changes — The Senate Education Committee takes up SB 540, From Chairwoman Dorothy Hukill from Port Orange, to revamp the Florida State college system, including the creation of a board for oversight of the 28 state and community colleges. Meeting begins Monday at 4 p.m. in Room 412 of the Knott Building in the Capitol.
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— STATEWIDE —
Assignment editors – Gov. Scott will make a 10 a.m. announcement on a proposal in the upcoming budget to help families of Florida veterans and law enforcement officers. News conference will be at Cheney Brothers, Inc., 1 Cheney Way in Riviera Beach. Then, at 12:45 p.m., the governor will hold a roundtable with Florida mayors, community officials and volunteer organizations to discuss ongoing relief efforts for Puerto Rican refugees of Hurricane Maria. Roundtable will be at Osceola County Emergency Management, 2586 Partin Settlement Road in Kissimmee.
“Florida OKs drop in insurance rates charged to businesses” via The Associated Press — Regulators are approving a 9.5 percent drop in insurance rates charged to the state’s business owners to cover their employees. The Office of Insurance Regulation announced it had approved a drop in workers’ compensation insurance rates. The new rates are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2018. The National Council on Compensation Insurance asked regulators to approve a slightly smaller 9.3 percent rate decrease.
“Displaced Puerto Ricans face medical insurance confusion in Central Florida” via Bianca Padró Ocasio of the Orlando Sentinel — In the midst of a humanitarian crisis that has already brought more than 143,000 people into the state since Oct. 3, Puerto Ricans arriving in Florida are finding a confusing health care system, with deductibles higher than those they are used on the island and private insurance plans that don’t transfer smoothly. For many Puerto Ricans who expect to return home, switching to a mainland insurance plan is not an ideal choice. But conditions on the island remain bleak, and many of them could decide to stay permanently. Among the requirements that could be waived for health care providers are preapproval requirements, limitations on using out of network providers and certain payment limitations under the Medicare Advantage program. But not all health care providers are aware of the existing provisions. Some providers are taking a slightly different approach, choosing to still accept private Puerto Rican plans without prior authorization in the hopes that they will be reimbursed.
“Irma food assistance program required long waits but little vetting for applicants” via Skyler Swisher of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — While traffic jams and long waits plagued the emergency food assistance program in South Florida, the enrollment process required only a brief interview and relied on applicants to be honest about their storm losses. All those payments — funded with federal tax dollars — add up to a large tab. Florida provided assistance to 2.7 million people who don’t usually receive food stamps, distributing nearly $900 million in benefits. Factoring in existing food stamp recipients who received supplements because of the storm, the total price tag for Hurricane Irma food assistance stands at $1.35 billion. Eligibility for the program is determined by taking a family’s monthly income plus cash on hand and subtracting storm-related expenses, which can include evacuation costs, property protection expenses and food loss. The monthly income is based on earnings during the time of the hurricane and can account for lost wages because of storm closures. For a family of four, this monthly disaster income — which accounts for storm-related expenses and savings in the bank — must be less than $2,710 to qualify, according to federal guidelines.
“Even with luck, ex-U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown could face significant prison time” via Steve Patterson of the Florida Times-Union — Brown could face years in prison and still get off easier than a common criminal when she is sentenced for 18 felony convictions. The real decisions are up to U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan, who will preside over hearings for One Door President Carla Wiley and Brown’s former chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, then a separate hearing for Brown … Corrigan himself has said the decision, in any case, shouldn’t be easy. A report that courthouse staff prepared before sentencing said Brown’s convictions could merit a prison sentence of 87 to 108 months — seven years, three months to as long as nine years — Brown attorney James Smith said in papers filed Friday. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Tysen Duva wrote that the same type of report for Simmons, who was indicted with Brown, recommended anywhere from 57 to 71 months — five years, 11 months — behind bars. But if Corrigan follows a pattern judges used in other big political cases, there’s a good chance Brown’s actual sentence will be much shorter.
“Wasting money and lives in Florida with foolish sentencing laws” via John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times — You lock up more people, and you keep them behind bars longer than just about any other state. While the cost in human life has been devastating, the cost to taxpayers has also been significant. A report earlier this year by the Reason Foundation — a libertarian think tank — discovered that of the 2,300 inmates serving time for hydrocodone or oxycodone trafficking, nearly 1,500 had never previously been incarcerated. That suggests many were addicts who committed crimes, as opposed to drug dealers plying their trade. The report points out that keeping these addicts in prison for mandatory terms is costing the state tens of millions of dollars a year. The safety valve bills being proposed by [Jeff] Brandes and [Ben] Diamond are not perfect solutions. They do not actually eliminate mandatory minimum sentences. Instead, they allow a judge to deviate from the penalty if there are mitigating circumstances, such as no violence or no evidence of a criminal conspiracy. In Diamond’s bill, there is also a requirement of no previous arrests. Brandes said it’s the first step in what will hopefully be a series of reforms.
Worst story you’ll read today: “Want to see emergency plan for your mom’s nursing home? Good luck” via Carol Marbin Miller and Caitlin Ostroff — If viewing the emergency management plan is on your checklist of things to do before moving a loved one into a South Florida nursing home, good luck. Two counties, Broward and Palm Beach, refused to release emergency plans when the Miami Herald filed public records requests, citing a state law designed to protect public spaces from terrorists. Miami-Dade released plans for its 54 nursing homes, but they were heavily redacted, leaving crucial information out of reach. What information is available points to a troubling reality: Many of the plans will be of little help the next time a hurricane rumbles through. “Who are these bureaucrats who are telling consumers what they can, and cannot, have from their grandmothers’ nursing homes? We are the taxpayers; we fund these places,” said Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care, a long-term care residents’ advocacy group.
— OPINIONS —
“Demand wholesale change at City Hall” via Gus Corbella for the Tallahassee Democrat — On Nov. 8, the city commission voted unanimously to continue to allow City Manager Rick Fernandez to remain on paid leave while under investigation for multiple ethics violations … “based on his annual salary, Fernandez will continue to collect nearly $20,000 a month and continue to receive other benefits.” Every single city commissioner voted to reward the man who is under fire for accepting a $5,000 catering discount from a city vendor, who solicited and accepted $2,000 worth of skybox football tickets from a city lobbyist and committed a crime in destroying the public records that showed him doing so, by allowing him to keep his job for yet another month. He lied to us all. By not firing Mr. Fernandez, the city is effectively giving him a $20,000-plus a month taxpayer-funded vacation. That job pays him more each month than many fellow Tallahasseeans make in a year. Are you outraged yet? Fixing this mess will take a commitment to deep civic engagement by us all. That will mean people speaking out regularly — at City Hall, in community gatherings, in dialogue with community leaders.
— MOVEMENTS —
Personnel note: Arek Sarkissian to join POLITICO Florida — Sarkissian, the chief for Naples Daily News one-man Tallahassee bureau, announced Friday he will be joining POLITICO Florida to cover medical marijuana and gambling. “The Team of POLITICO Florida is fearless in reporting Florida’s government. They exemplify the dogged reporting this state’s journalism is known for,” Sarkissian told Florida Politics. Sarkissian has covered the Legislature since 2012. While reporting for Naples Daily News, he wrote about the state’s budget and policy issues surrounding economic development and tourism. Sarkissian will start the job Dec. 4, a month before Session begins.
“Poynter posts surplus despite operating loss last year” via Florida Politics — The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg says it “reported an annual surplus of $627,000 in 2016, continuing its trend of continuous financial improvement,” according to a recent news release. “I applaud the hard work of the Poynter staff to get us to the point where we have begun to reinvest in the Institute,” said Neil Brown, the newly appointed president of the nonprofit journalism education organization, in a statement. “That’s a trend that we plan to continue heading into the new year.” Overall, however, “Poynter ran at an operating loss of $520,000 in 2016,” the release said. Still, “this is a 59 percent improvement on the 2015 results.” The organization further “anticipates that its 2017 tax return will show that the Institute has doubled operating revenues in 10 years,” it said. “The Institute reduced expenses in 2016 by 18.3 percent, while teaching 100,000 people from more than 100 countries and all 50 states.”
“From the cafeteria to the chamber, Aakash Patel emerges as leader” via Allie Knothe of the Tampa Bay Times — It was his first day of high school in September 1998 and Patel, awkwardly holding a lunch bag, didn’t know where to sit. “I’m in the cafeteria and I don’t have anybody to sit with because I didn’t go to middle school here,” he said. The only non-freshman in the room was the student body president, Mike Griffin, who flagged Patel down and offered him a seat. Now the Tampa Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman, Griffin beamed as he presented Patel with the Deanne Dewey Roberts Emerging Leader Award, which highlights a young Tampa professional who stands out as a community builder and advocate. Griffin was the first to win the award in 2012. Patel, 33, is owner of Elevate, a business consulting firm with eight employees. A Republican, he is also running for the Hillsborough County Commission’s District 1 seat. “I’m not seeing this level of leadership and activity from young professionals, future leaders in other markets around the country,” said Keynote Speaker Brian Lamb, the executive vice president and chief corporate responsibility and reputation officer at Fifth Third Bank.
— ON A LIGHTER NOTE —
This weekend, Florida politicos took an opportunity to step away from The Process to enjoy a day of music, ribs, and kickball fun in sunny St. Petersburg.
In what has been overwhelmingly described as an epic battle for the ages — becoming an instant classic — the team captained by Palm Harbor’s own state Rep. Chris Sprowls outlasted the competition to win the inaugural Annual Kickball Championship.
On Saturday, under the dome of the Trop, both teams fought into extra innings, with a final score of 9-8 in the bottom of the 11th.
Team Sprowls awarded the Golden Glove award to Andy Gonzalez of the Florida Realtor Association.
Following kickball was Ribfest, the Burg’s annual three-day music, food and charity fundraising event that featured some of the best barbecue in the world. Celebrating its 28th year in St. Petersburg, Ribfest had great food, classic southern, country and rock music, and a Family Fun Zone — all going to support youth-oriented causes.
That evening, a reception celebrated Team Sprowls’ superior achievement.
— ALOE —
“Airbnb’s Cuba lobbying blitz pays off” via Melanie Zanona of The Hill — The popular travel-booking site, which considers Cuba its fastest-growing market, successfully secured language in Trump’s regulations issued this week that will allow Americans to stay in private homes, which are often listed on Airbnb, if they visit the island to support the Cuban people. When the rules finally came out this week, they ended up including a provision that allows travelers to stay in private bed-and-breakfasts … if they are visiting the island under the “Support for the Cuban People” travel category. A summary sheet of the new regulations says that “renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas)” can now count toward supporting the Cuban people.
Happy birthday belatedly to former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp, my paisan, Nick DiCeglie, our friend, Taylor Biehl, Megan Fay, as well as Rep. Bob Rommel and Pierce Schuessler. Celebrating today is Melissa Ramba‘s personal pilot, David.
