Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics – Week of November 18

Sure, the show in Washington, D.C. got all the headlines last week as supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump made their respective arguments to keep him or boot him. But a lot of things were happening closer to home, so we explore the Florida Politics Winners and Losers of the week.

Winners

Gov. Ron DeSantis could take a victory lap after the ground-breaking on a 16,595-square-foot Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in St. Augustine that has been a priority for the Governor.

And we’ll give Sen. Marco Rubio the credit he is due for a strong week. He sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights And Decency Act, which unanimously passed in the Senate. He picked up support for legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and even was mentioned as a potential Secretary of State should a change be made there. He shot that last one down, by the way.

But the winner of the week goes to FSU President John Thrasher. He was not a popular choice by the FSU faculty when he got the job five years ago, but it’s a different narrative now. He has gained admiration from many who opposed him initially. Faculty Senate president, History professor Dr. Kristine Harper, noted: “… within a year, he had won us over. I’m a believer. I think he’s done a super job for us.”

Losers

Thanksgiving turkey might taste a little flat for state employees after DeSantis couldn’t find room in his $91.4 billion budget proposal to give them across-the-board pay raises. Vicki Hall, president of the Florida branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said she was “incredibly disappointed.”

The Great Florida Reef could be in danger from something called stony coral tissue loss disease. More than 96,000 acres of the vital reef are infected by the disease that is spreading throughout the Caribbean. That prompted travel site Fodors.com to put the Keys on its do-not-visit list, saying the reef needs a break from humans to heal.

But this week’s biggest loser is Tampa strip club legend Joe Redner, who has been crusading for the right to grow his own marijuana to treat his Stage 4 lung cancer. The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lower-court ruling that prohibited Redner from growing his own weed.