Peter Schorsch
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel McAuliffe, Jim Rosica, and Drew Wilson.
We thought the Senate District 18 race between Janet Cruz and incumbent Republican Dana Young would be decided on Election Day.
It wasn’t.
Then we thought a recount would be completed by Thursday at 3 p.m. with a winner announced shortly after.
Didn’t happen.
So, Hillsborough County voters must wait at least one more day for a manual recount in the closest state Senate race. It will begin at 9 a.m. Friday.
Cruz, the outgoing House Minority Leader, holds a 376-vote lead over Young in the bitterly contested race. Cruz has claimed victory, but Young has not conceded.
According to Hillsborough elections supervisor Craig Latimer, a machine recount completed Thursday showed the vote margin between the two candidates “remained virtually the same.”
However, due to a possible machine malfunction caused by two power outages, the vote total was 846 fewer than on Election Day.
“The fact that the percentages between the candidates remain the same gives us full confidence in our voting process and systems. Even though we achieved 99.84 percent success in our recount effort, we are not willing to accept that votes go unreported,” Latimer said.
“For that reason, the Canvassing Board has decided that the first unofficial results will stand as our second unofficial.”
That means the 207,365 votes will need a manual recount.
Cruz attacked Young during the hard-fought campaign for her alliance with the National Rifle Association while Young hit back with ads about Cruz’s failure to pay property taxes. More than $3.6 million was spent between the candidates on this race.
A Cruz victory would give Democrats some solace. They had targeted SD 18 as one of six Republican-held districts they believed they could flip and gain control of the Senate. They lost the other five target races, so Republicans again will have total control of the Legislature — now that Ron DeSantis officially won his close race against Democrat Andrew Gillum.
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@Fineout: A survey of nearly all counties by AP reporters shows there will be at least 60k ballots to go thru during the hand recount — this does not include Broward or Lee. Hand recount covers only undervotes/overvotes not all ballots
—@Fineout: Dispatch from fed court from @bsfarrington — P. B. County elex supervisor Susan Bucher testified that it would take until Dec. 15 for the county to finish recounts in Senate, governor’s race, ag commish and a House race.
—@ScottForFlorida: With the statewide machine recount finished, our margin of victory has increased by nearly 1000 votes. @SenBillNelson, it’s time to admit this race is over.
—@BethReinhard: Rick Scott campaign estimates it picked up 865 in machine recount. What a bust for Bill Nelson.
—@PatriciaMazzei: The Nelson camp is, um, unlikely to concede. Nelson’s lead recount lawyer has argued all along that the only place where he might make significant gains is in a manual recount, if any major machine tabulation error is found.
—@DanTallahassee: @FLGovScott, tentatively GOP Sen-elect, actually picked up @AndrewGillum, the Dem Gov candidate, from the Tallahassee tarmac on the Friday night of the Capital City shooting just days ahead of Election Day, per @KevinCate.
—@NewsBySmiley: @AndrewGillum issues a statement that does not include the words “concede,” or “congratulations”
—@TroyKinsey: One Republican is all for a manual recount: @mattcaldwell_fl, still trailing in the ag commish race. In a statement tonight, he says he’s “pleased the recount will move forward as we continue working to uncover the truth about what happened in Broward County.”
—@RickHasen: If there is a worse election administrator in the entire country than Brenda Snipes, I’m not aware of that person.
—@Mdixon55: This is all leading up to a Brenda Snipes book deal, right?
—@NickConfessore: If my signature had to match every time, I would not only not ever be allowed to vote, I’d never be allowed to use a credit card ever again.
—@AdamPutnam: I testified today at the U.S. International Trade Commission in DC on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Unfortunately, the trade environment created under USMCA is anything but a fair and level playing field for Florida agriculture, a $120B industry that supports 2M jobs
— DAYS UNTIL —
Florida Blue Florida Classic: FAMU vs. BCU — 2; Elections Canvassing Commission meets to certify official General Election results — 4; 2019 Legislature Organization Session meetings — 4; Thanksgiving — 6; Black Friday — 7; Florida Chamber Insurance Summit — 11; Partial government shutdown — 21; 2019 Session Interim Committee Meetings begin — 26; 116th Congress convenes — 48; Florida’s Inauguration Ceremony — 73; ‘Hamilton’ comes to the Straz Center — 88; 2019 Legislative Session starts — 109; ‘Captain Marvel’ release — 113; Iowa Caucuses — 444; 2020 General Election — 718.
— RECOUNT —
“Judge: Florida election problems make it a ‘laughingstock’” via Gary Fineout and Brendan Farrington of The Associated Press — A federal judge slammed Florida for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems and said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker also rejected a request to extend the deadline later in the day for all of the state’s counties to submit the results of a machine recount. “We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this,” Walker said in court. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work.
“After all the drama, Broward finishes recount with minutes to spare — but it won’t count” via the Miami Herald — With just 15 minutes to go, Broward County finally finished recounting every vote. At least, that’s what officials told reporters and the canvassing board at 2:45 p.m. In a surprise announcement at nearly 6 p.m., Broward’s director of elections planning, Joseph D’Alessandro, told the canvassing board the county actually turned in results to the state two minutes late. They won’t count officially. Broward’s original count, due Nov. 10, will stand until the manual recount totals come in Sunday at noon. The manual recount will be added to the first official count. “Basically, I just worked my ass off for nothing,” D’Alessandro said.
“Palm Beach County fails to meet recount deadline” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher has missed the deadline to complete several machine recounts following last week’s midterm elections. The state’s deadline to submit machine recount totals was Thursday at 3 p.m. A bit confusingly, county officials are still allowed to continue the machine recount. However, the numbers determining whether a race will go on to a hand recount are locked in as of 3 p.m. Races within 0.25 percentage points following a machine recount are recounted by hand, per Florida law.
“Palm Beach elections chief cutting back 24/7 operation” via Arek Sarkissian of POLITICO Florida — Bucher told Judge Walker that old ballot-counting machines and an exhausted staff led her to dial back the workload to meet state-mandated deadlines. “We have been going at a pace of 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Bucher said during a court hearing. “And we will not be able to continue this pace moving forward.” Bucher’s testimony via telephone was part of a federal court case brought by Democrat state House candidate Jim Bonfiglio, who is just 37 votes behind GOP opponent Mike Caruso. The race is the closest of the four requiring recounts, but state law does not say whether the recount could be completed before the races for governor and agriculture commissioner.
“Only Bay County accepted fax, email ballots, elections officials confirm” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Bay County’s Supervisor of Elections stood alone in Florida when he allowed voters displaced by Hurricane Michael to cast ballots by email and fax. But while no other officials took the compassionate but clearly illegal course of action, more than one questioned why state prohibited elections officials from accepting votes electronically under the circumstances. “My displaced voters unfortunately just had the option for sending ballots in the mail,” said John Hanlon, Gulf County Supervisor of Elections. “But I absolutely wanted to do it.”
“Florida Dems planned to use altered forms to fix mail ballots across state after deadline” via Ana Ceballos of the Naples Daily News — A day after Florida’s election left top state races too close to call, a Democratic Party leader directed staffers and volunteers to share altered election forms with voters to fix signature problems on absentee ballots after the state’s deadline. The altered forms surfaced in Broward, Santa Rosa, Citrus and Okaloosa counties and were reported to federal prosecutors to review for possible election fraud as Florida counties complete a required recount in three top races. But an email shows that Florida Democrats were organizing a broader statewide effort beyond those counties to give voters the altered forms to fix improper absentee ballots after the Nov. 5 deadline. Democratic Party leaders provided staffers with copies of a form, known as a “cure affidavit,” that had been modified to include an inaccurate Nov. 8 deadline. Jake Sanders, a Democratic campaign consultant based in Treasure Coast who saw the email, said he warned party staffers about the legality of the email, but was ignored.
Tweet, tweet:
No evidence of fraud in #FloridaElection?
Dems got voters to use altered forms to fix & submit as many mail ballots as possible after FL deadline in hopes that a judge would later order state to count them.
Today that’s exactly what a federal judge did. https://t.co/MC4Tlvy9gi
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 15, 2018
— RECOUNT 2 —
“Rick Scott wants to stop a recount he’s winning. That’s silly. Here’s why.” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Even as a recount netted Republican Scott votes, he continued to call on Democratic opponent Bill Nelson to somehow stop the process. “With over two-thirds of the machine recount completed, our margin of victory has grown,” Scott tweeted. Scott spokesman Chris Hartline said with all counties reporting recount results, Scott’s campaign netted votes statewide. Recount results released by the Division of Elections verify the gap between Scott and Nelson grew by 41 votes.
“Bill Nelson seeking recount of all ballots in Palm Beach County” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics —Arguing that Palm Beach County’s problems with machines breaking down during the machine recount this week, Nelson‘s campaign has sued in state court seeking to force a recount of all half-million ballots there. Palm Beach County is not the main hope for Nelson’s campaign as the state moves to the ordered hand recount in all 67 counties. That recount is just of ballots identified as undervotes or overvotes in the U.S. Senate election, which Scott leads by about 12,600 votes. Rather, Marc Elias, lead recount lawyer for Nelson, told reporters that myriad factors, including the campaign’s victory so far to allow for some mail-in ballots rejected due to mismatched signatures and other factors, but also on the under and overvotes, particularly in Broward County, where there were an unprecedented 23,000 of them. “There will now be a hand recount. This is in fact what we have been seeking all along.
Scott’s ‘fraud’ claims make punchline for late-night TV — In a news release from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Scott’s “desperation made late-night TV” referencing how Seth Meyers recently pointed out the Florida Governor and U.S. Senate candidate is spreading “conspiracy theories” about voter fraud. “So as the results get worse for Republicans, they are getting more desperate,” Meyers said on his late-night show. “They seem to be focusing their desperation on Florida, where Governor and Senate candidate Rick Scott has been spreading baseless conspiracy theories about voter fraud amid a recount there in an incredibly tight race. And now he and his lawyers won’t even say that they’ll accept the results as legitimate if he loses. So Republicans have been spreading lies about nonexistent voter fraud without any evidence.”
“Using coded language, Scott calls for Terrie Rizzo to quit as head of Florida Democrats” via Florida Politics — The Scott campaign is calling on incumbent Nelson “to demand the immediate resignation” of Florida Democratic Party Chair Rizzo. Jackie Schutz Zeckman, Scott’s campaign manager, sent an email to news media Thursday. “News reports … revealed that the Florida Democrat Party (sic) engaged in an illegal scheme to alter election forms and deceive voters regarding the deadlines for submitting votes,” she said, using the term of disparagement invented by Republicans … Nelson “can either stay silent and be in favor of organized fraud by the Democrat Party (sic), or he can do the right thing and demand the immediate resignation of Florida’s Democrat Party (sic) Chair,” she added.
“More ‘vitriol’ than 2000 in current recount” via Florida Politics — Barry Richard, representing Democrat Gillum as the recount progresses, has a unique perspective on these matters. In 2000, Richard was George W. Bush‘s lawyer. Unlike 18 years ago, Richard’s client may not prevail. And beyond that, he found it “disturbing” that “people are a lot nastier today, both the voters and the candidates,” exhibiting more “vitriol” than even that fever-pitch Presidential year. The recount is but one concern; another was structural: There are “no consistent standards from county to county. That’s a violation of everybody’s equal protection rights.”
“Scott campaign raises $1.4 million to support ballot battles” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics. — Scott’s U.S. Senate campaign has pulled in more than $1.4 million to support his legal and public relations battles over Florida’s vote recounts in that race. “Scott will continue to aggressively fight to defend the will of Florida voters, and Florida Finance Chairwoman Darlene Jordan and National Finance Chairman Thomas Hicks will continue to oversee fundraising efforts in support of this mission,” his campaign declared. Through the latest publicly available reports posted with the Federal Election Commission, Scott’s campaign had raised almost $68 million, and more than $51 million of that came from Scott’s personal wealth. Nelson’s campaign, by comparison, raised just under $25 million, but it all was from outside sources. Thursday’s announcement regarding the $1.4 million in new money to support the recount efforts did not indicate whether any of that money was donated by Scott.
— RESULTS —
“Ron DeSantis emerges on top in Florida as Nelson-Scott race goes to manual recount” via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida — DeSantis’ election night lead held, and he now has officially beat Democrat Gillum, an outcome that was largely expected. To qualify for a manual recount, a race has to be within a .25 margin or less; after the machine recount, DeSantis maintained a .41 percent lead. Gillum refused to concede Thursday. “A vote denied is justice denied — the State of Florida must count every legally cast vote. As today’s unofficial reports and recent court proceedings make clear, there are tens of thousands of votes that have yet to be counted,” he said in a statement. “We plan to do all we can to ensure that every voice is heard in this process.” “I invite Mayor Gillum to join me in the days ahead in a conversation about the future of our great state,” DeSantis said in a statement after the results were finalized. “We have both traveled the state and met Floridians from all walks of life.” The biggest election now headed to a hand recount is the U.S. Senate race, where Nelson continues to trail Republican Gov. Scott by more than 12,000 votes. With more than 8 million total cast, it’s well within the .25 margin for a hand recount.
“Nikki Fried clings to recount lead; Matt Caldwell alleges Broward counted late ballots” via Jacob Ogles at Florida Politics — Attorneys for Republican Agriculture Commissioner candidate Caldwell say Broward County collected and counted thousands of votes after the election was over. That’s enough to chip at or even erase Democrat Fried’s current lead. Results from a statewide recount show the Democratic candidate leading Caldwell by 5,307 votes, a slightly narrower lead than the 5,326-vote gap reported in the initial tabulation of the race. Caldwell’s legal team sued last week for records from Broward County, the seeming ground zero for Florida’s latest statewide recount news extravaganza. Those records were only turned over last night at 8 p.m. The records showed more than 17,000 vote-by-mail ballots came in on Election Day or after, said Caldwell attorney George LeMieux. Of those, 6,873 did not get logged until after 7 p.m., after polls closed.
— THE TRANSITION —
“DeSantis vetting chief of staff candidates, including some familiar names” via Florida Politics — At least four people are in the running to become DeSantis‘ chief of staff: Kathy Mears, Scott Ross, Scott Parkinson, and Shane Strum. DeSantis “has discussed the position with all four,” one source said during an interview in Orlando where dozens of Adams Streeters are meeting for a handful of postelection conferences, though “he still plans to talk to more.” Absent from the list is Susie Wiles, the veteran Jacksonville political operative who took the helm of Donald Trump’s Florida campaign, and more recently assumed the chair of DeSantis’ campaign for Governor during the final stretch.
— EPILOGUE —
“No talk of special session” via Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida — In the bubbled world of Tallahassee, rumors started to spread before the polls closed of North Carolina-style special sessions by outgoing GOP politicos in case Democrats won statewide races. With Fried ahead in the unofficial vote tallies for Agriculture Commissioner, such chatter intensified, especially over the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ handling of concealed-weapon licenses. So far, however, there is no formal sign of a special session. “There have been no plans or discussions, in any way, with respect to a special session to address any issue with the Department of Agriculture,” Fred Piccolo, a House spokesman said when asked about the issue. Katie Betta, a spokeswoman for incoming Senate President Bill Galvano gave a similar response. “No. President-Designate Galvano has not been not involved in such a discussion,” Betta said.
“Dane Eagle, Ray Rodrigues take on new roles in final state House terms” via Sara Jarvis of News-Press.com — Eagle, a Cape Coral Republican, will be the new House Majority Leader under new Speaker of the House Jose Oliva, of Miami Lakes. Eagle will replace Rodrigues of Estero, who will chair the Health and Human Services Committee. Eagle, who was previously the Majority Whip, said his new position will allow him to do “a great amount of good” for Southwest Florida. He said he and the leadership team will pursue policies to give the area more relief, adding that water quality issues will be especially important to him in his new role. “We’ll be doing everything we can to bring those issues to the top, as long as they’re good for all of Florida, which they will be,” Eagle said.
“Wyman Duggan won’t be HD 15 short-timer” via Florida Politics — In the expensive and brutal race in House District 15, Republican Duggan defeated Democrat Tracye Polson by 51 percent to 49 percent. Duggan, a connected land-use attorney backed by a wide swath of Jacksonville’s political establishment, is uniquely positioned to advocate for the city’s interests. Unlike predecessors, he sees the seat as more than a steppingstone. “It’s been a long time since somebody’s done the whole eight years.” The Representative-elect sees the role as “an opportunity to serve Jacksonville, this region, and the district, and to pass the baton.”
“Bob Buckhorn appoints first member to All For Transportation oversight committee” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — Tampa Mayor Buckhorn has made the first appointment to the All For Transportation oversight committee that will act as a steward of taxpayer revenue funding transportation and transit improvements in Hillsborough County. Buckhorn appointed former Florida Senator Arthenia Joyner to the committee. “Throughout her time in the Florida Legislature, Senator Joyner proved to be a tireless fiscal steward for our community while being laser-focused on fighting for the needs of Tampanians, not only in her district but across the region,” Buckhorn said …. The committee will eventually consist of 16 nonelected officials appointed from a variety of boards and elected officials. Mayors of all three Hillsborough cities … each get an appointee. Buckhorn gets a second appointee because the city’s population exceeds 200,000.
— STATEWIDE —
“Gwen Graham joins ‘Rebuild 850’ efforts after Hurricane Michael” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Former U.S. Rep. Graham is joining efforts to rebuild the Panhandle after Hurricane Michael, taking a leadership position with the Rebuild 850 initiative. Graham, who finished second in this year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, will serve as a co-chair for the group along with GOP former Florida House Speakers Allan Bense and Will Weatherford. Rebuild 850 urges people to donate, volunteer, and invest in the region hit hardest by the storm. The organization attempts to coordinate the efforts of various groups such as Volunteer Florida, the Florida League of Cities, the American Red Cross, and many others. “The people of North Florida have always been proudly self-reliant, but in the unprecedented aftermath of Hurricane Michael, they need all of Florida to pull together on their behalf,” Graham said.
“Important deadlines approach for hurricane survivors in Florida” via WJHG — Disaster Unemployment Assistance: Survivors in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington Counties have until Nov. 14 to apply. Survivors in Leon County have until Nov. 16. Blue Roof program: Deadline to submit a Right of Entry (ROE) is Nov. 16. Homeowners must sign an ROE form to allow government employees and contractors onto their property to assess damage and install the temporary covering. Applying for disaster assistance is a two-step process. First, register for assistance, then submit your SBA disaster loan application. The deadline to apply for SBA is Monday, Dec. 10. You can register for assistance by any of these ways: Log onto DisasterAssistance.gov. Call 800-621-3362. If you use 711 or VRS or require accommodations while visiting a center, call 800-621-3362. Toll-free numbers are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“Longtime Lake County state Rep. Everett A. Kelly dead at 92” via Frank Stanfield at The Daily Commercial — Kelly, former longtime member of the Florida House of Representatives, a pharmacist, conservationist and outdoor writer for The Daily Commercial, died Tuesday. He was 92. Kelly, a Democrat who served in the House for 22 years, was speaker pro tem for two years in 1990-91. He had a knack for getting appropriations for Lake County. The auditorium at Lake-Sumter State College is named in his honor. Legend has it that he was the one in Tallahassee who was able to pull the strings so that The Villages could build the golf cart bridge over U.S. Highway 441, the first of its kind.
“A good time to drill” via Florida Politics — As Florida waited to find out the eventual results of its recounts, the Florida Petroleum Council urged renewed consideration of offshore drilling. The timing is interesting, as presumed Gov.-elect DeSantis said he would “utilize his unique relationship with President Trump and his administration to ensure that oil drilling never occurs off Florida’s coastlines.” The industry group asserted potential revenue of $2.5 billion as a result of offshore leasing.
“FITCon 2018: Cable industry making strides in diversity, inclusion” via Florida Politics — The cable industry is moving in the right direction when it comes to engaging women and minorities in content and employment, but there’s more work to make the industry even more equitable. Florida Internet and Television’s FITCon 2018 kicked off Thursday with a with a panel chaired by state Rep. Mike La Rosa that brought a diverse group of cable veterans together to reflect on the past 40 years of diversity and inclusion efforts as well as what needs to happen over the next 40. Former Charter Communications VP Mike Robertson said when he entered the cable industry in the late 1970s that there was no lack of innovative thinkers, but there wasn’t a focus on diversity and inclusion.
“Hearing set in Senate discrimination case” via the News Service of Florida — Judge Robert Hinkle this week scheduled the hearing after canceling arguments that had been planned for Nov. 8, according to an online docket. Legislative aide Rachel Perrin Rogers filed a discrimination complaint in January with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Senate filed a lawsuit in Hinkle’s court seeking a preliminary injunction to block an administrative law judge from requiring the Senate’s participation in the EEOC case. The Senate contends, in part, that it is protected by the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity, though EEOC lawyers are fighting the Senate on the issue.
“Scott schedules execution in 1992 murder” via the News Service of Florida — After the Florida Supreme Court cleared the way, Gov. Scott scheduled a Dec. 13 execution for a Death Row inmate convicted in the 1992 murder of a Miami-Dade County woman. Scott signed a death warrant in July and initially scheduled the execution of Jose Antonio Jimenez in August. But the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution so it could look further at issues in the case. The Supreme Court on Oct. 4 lifted the stay, allowing Scott to reschedule the execution. Jimenez, now 55, was convicted in the killing of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas during a burglary, according to court documents.
“Deadly FIU bridge suffered from design flaws, feds say” via Andres Viglucci of the Miami Herald — The two-page report by the National Transportation Safety Board stops short of blaming the design errors for the bridge’s collapse, which killed six people, including an FIU student. But the investigative update bolsters conclusions reached by independent bridge engineering experts consulted by the Miami Herald and others posting in online professional forums. Three experts consulted separately concluded that design flaws at the north end of the unfinished bridge’s 174-foot span over Southwest Eighth Street were likely a leading contributor to the collapse. The NTSB brief echoes what the experts told the Herald after examining publicly available engineering calculations and plans for the bridge: Design errors meant that a key structural connection in the span, a point at which a diagonal strut identified as Number 11 met the deck of the bridge span and a vertical column, was too weak to support the large forces it was supposed to withstand.
“Conservative group takes Tampa conversion therapy ban challenge to federal court” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — A conservative advocacy group is in federal court this week trying to overturn Tampa’s ban on conversion therapy in which counselors seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The group Liberty Counsel filed suit last December after Tampa City Council unanimously approved the ban and implemented harsh fines for counselors who violated it. Now the group is getting their day in court describing the ban as one that blocks minors from “seeking to reduce or eliminate their unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors or identity.” The Tampa ban applies only to minors and was adopted after numerous accounts nationwide of children who claimed to be psychologically scarred from the practice, which was forced upon them by parents, guardians or church leaders. Numerous medical groups have denounced the practice. It’s banned in 12 states and the District of Columbia.
“Trial ordered in employment dispute at Navy’s cybersecurity school” via Michael Moline of Florida Politics — A company that provides cybersecurity training at the Navy’s Joint Cyber Analysis Course in Pensacola will get a trial on its claims that four employees violated an agreement not to seek work with other subcontractors at the school. Circuit Judge John Miller of Pensacola accepted at face value claims that Epsilon Inc. had initiated job offers to Paul Hutchinson, Kurt Bernard, Jasper Stone, and Michael Flemming, who’d worked for Convergent Technologies Inc. The 1st District Court of Appeal noted that Hutchinson had complained about his unhappiness with CTI to an Epsilon employee, raising a “reasonable inference” that he “might have been complaining just a little too loudly about employment woes with CTI in a working environment where everyone involved knew there was more than one subcontractor on the job to hear their protests.”
“Supreme Court greenlights judge-lawyer Facebook friendships” via Michael Moline of Florida Politics — A divided Florida Supreme Court has given judges permission to maintain Facebook friendships with trial attorneys, settling a divide between lower state appeals courts and siding with the majority of courts and ethics overseers in other states. The majority opinion, by Chief Justice Charles Canady, noted that the court hasn’t considered actual friendships between judges and attorneys who appear before them ground for the judges to recuse themselves absent additional evidence of conflicts of interest. Justice Barbara Pariente … argued in a dissenting opinion in favor of automatic recusal whenever a judge is Facebook friends with a litigant.
“Praise for defendant brings rebuke for Miami-Dade judge” via Michael Moline of Florida Politics — The Supreme Court has OK’d a public reprimand for Miami-Dade County Judge Deborah White-Labora, concluding she tarnished her position by writing a character reference for a defendant in a federal prosecution. “Accordingly, we hereby command Judge Deborah White-Labora to appear before this court for the administration of a public reprimand at a time to be established by the clerk of this court,” the justices said unanimously Thursday in an unsigned opinion. The judge, who once ran the county’s drug court and now presides over a domestic-violence calendar, had entered into a stipulation agreement with the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, acknowledging wrongdoing and accepting the public reprimand. “Although we recognize that Judge White-Labora’s conduct was well-intentioned, as Judge White-Labora understands by her agreement to the violations and discipline, her conduct is prohibited by the Code of Judicial Conduct,” the high court said.
“Years after the ribbon cutting, USF sorts out a funding mix-up with one of its buildings” via Megan Reeves of the Tampa Bay Times — A state-ordered review of construction funding at Florida universities has uncovered a multimillion-dollar funding snag at the University of South Florida that officials there are not fully explaining. The mix-up involves the $21.7 million Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, a research facility completed in 2010 on the USF Tampa campus. The review found that USF spent $6.4 million in unauthorized funds to complete the center, a problem the university blamed on a donor who failed to come through with promised contributions for the building. Was that donor Patel, the prominent Tampa doctor and philanthropist whose name is on the center? The university is not saying, and Patel insists he gave exactly what he had pledged. Now, USF leaders are making plans for a formal internal review of what happened. Patel is the only publicly known donor to the center.
Happening Saturday — The 2018 annual ‘Feeding Tampa Bay’ food giveaway, sponsored by state Rep. Danny Burgess, will be held this weekend and needs volunteers. Email [email protected] or [email protected] if interested, 9 a.m., Dade City Business Center (front parking lot), 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Dade City.
— D.C. MATTERS —
“Trump picks another Mar-a-Lago member for ambassador” via Christine Stapleton of the Palm Beach Post — Trump nominated couture handbag designer Lana Marks, a resident of Palm Beach and member of the Mar-a-Lago Club, as ambassador to South Africa. Marks, 64, is the fourth member of Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago, that he has tapped for an ambassadorship. Other club members recruited by Trump for top diplomatic posts include: Robin Bernstein, a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and staunch supporter and defender of the president, as ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Philanthropist Patrick Park, who once claimed that most of the 200 fundraisers he hosted were at Mar-a-Lago, was picked as ambassador to Austria but cited family responsibilities when he turned down Trump’s invitation. Brian Burns, a major Trump donor, also declined a post as ambassador to Ireland for health reasons.
— WEEKEND TV —
Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede on CBS 4 in Miami: The Sunday show provides viewers with an in-depth look at politics in South Florida, along with other issues affecting the region.
Florida This Week on Tampa Bay’s WEDU: Moderator Rob Lorei hosts a roundtable with Frank Alcock, assistant professor of political science and environmental studies at New College; Katie Sanders, managing editor at PolitiFact; Mike Fasano, Pasco County tax collector; and Tara Newsome, attorney and professor at St. Petersburg College.
In Focus with Allison Walker-Torres on Bay News 9: This week’s In Focus with Allison Walker-Torres will discuss the Florida election recount process. Joining Walker-Torres are Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida, and Ryan Tyson, vice president of political operations at Associated Industries of Florida.
Political Connections on CF 13 in Orlando and Bay News 9 in Tampa/St. Pete: The latest on Florida’s election recount; Hillsborough County voted to improve roadways, All for Transportation officials Christina Barker and Brian Willis will explain what comes next; PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter will rate a claim made in a meme about Sen. Ted Cruz.
The Usual Suspects on WCTV-Tallahassee/Thomasville (CBS) and WJHG-Panama City (NBC): Gary Yordon will host a panel with Steve Vancore, Sean Pittman and Screven Watson.
This Week in Jacksonville with Kent Justice on Channel 4 WJXT: Rick Mullaney, Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute; Chris Hand, attorney Democratic voting observer; Jerry Holland, former Duval Supervisor of Elections; and Bert Ralston, a Republican strategist.
This Week in South Florida on WPLG-Local10 News (ABC): Co-hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg will focus on the ballot recount following the midterms. Plus, the roundtable takes on the news of the week.
— ALOE —
“’Toxic’ is Oxford Word of the Year. No, we’re not gaslighting you.” via Jennifer Schuessler of The New York Times — Katherine Connor Martin, the company’s head of U.S. dictionaries, said there had been a marked uptick of interest in the word on its website over the past year. But the word was chosen less for statistical reasons, she said than for the sheer variety of contexts in which it has proliferated, from conversations about environmental poisons to laments about today’s poisonous political discourse to the #MeToo movement, with its calling out of “toxic masculinity.” In fact, Martin said, the committee initially considered choosing “toxic masculinity,” until it realized how widespread “toxic” itself had become. “So many different things,” she said, “are tied together by the word.”
“Retailers optimistic about holiday season” via Danny McAuliffe of Florida Politics — Sunshine State sellers should beat 2017’s year-end shopping sales, according to the Florida Retail Federation, the state’s premier vendor association. That’s welcome news to Florida retailers, who typically rely on the swift-approaching days of festivities for 20-40 percent of their yearly sales. And “this time of year shines the spotlight even brighter on retailers and their impact,” FRF President and CEO Scott Shalley told reporters. FRF anticipates holiday sales to increase 4.5 percent from last year, a result of strong statewide economic indicators like low unemployment, record-breaking tourism and healthy consumer confidence. “Holiday shopping is vital to the success of Florida’s retail industry and we are excited about the continued growth in sales for 2018,” added Shalley.
“Disney union takes credit for Universal raising minimum wage to $12” via John Gregory of Orlando Rising — After winning their own fight for higher wages, the UNITE HERE union representing hospitality workers at Disney World held a rally demanding Universal employees get the same raise. At the same time workers marched, Universal appeared to meet some of their demands, announcing it will raise starting wages at its Orlando resort to $12 per hour in February. Universal spokesman Tom Schroeder told the Orlando Sentinel it was a “long-planned” decision. But It’s also not unexpected. While employees at Universal, SeaWorld Orlando and other area resorts aren’t unionized like their counterparts at Disney World, they have followed the Mouse’s lead when it comes to compensation.
Happy birthday to Johnson & Blanton’s Darrick McGhee.
