A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis has noted “chirping” from critics on his handling of COVID-19.
One of his most prominent critics serves alongside him on the Florida Cabinet
Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, has exercised her department’s executive authority, with a flurry of administrative orders last week.
But there are things she can’t do that she believes the Governor should.
Friday evening saw Fried urging DeSantis to issue a California-style “stay at home” order, while critiquing his “piecemeal” approach.
“Shutting down one of the nation’s largest states is a decision that will have an economic impact — but it is a decision that will save lives… As the nation’s third largest state, we need to go further, and we cannot afford to lose another week.”
On Saturday, participating on a call with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, Fried was described as a “leader in the state’s response” ahead of her comments about “growing concern” about coronavirus.
Yet what Fried talked about Saturday morning was not what she was concerned about Friday evening. Instead, her response would seem to suggest there is little daylight between her and DeSantis.
Fried, speaking quickly, described administrative guidance to grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations about basic hygiene protocols, including handwashing and sanitizing surfaces. She also described how her department is helping provide lunches to children who might not have access to them otherwise.
Despite shortages on shelves at Publix and other supermarkets, Fried says the food supply chain is “steady.”
DeSantis has been more restrained in exercising authority.
“Governors in these situations have serious police powers,” he said at a press conference Friday in Tallahassee.
“At the end of the day, I can issue a mandate … but if [local authorities] don’t want to enforce it, it’s toothless,” DeSantis added.
The Governor did issue Executive Orders Friday closing gyms and dining rooms in restaurants, ending elective surgeries, and closing beaches in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
However, he has resisted pressure from Democrats like Fried to go farther.
Fried urging DeSantis to go farther in exercising power has an attendant irony to it.
DeSantis was behind a play to clip the wings of Fried’s office, a failed attempt by the House to move the Office of Energy to Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Fried bemoaned the “partisan power grab.”
When it comes to enforcement of coronavirus prohibitions, however, Fried would have DeSantis grab more power.
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Florida Politics’ Drew Wilson and Sarah Mueller contributed to this post.
14 comments
cyndi m lenz
March 21, 2020 at 10:46 am
Ron Desantis is doing a great job. He understands the issue and he has taken full responsibility. He also wants the rest of us to act like adults.
Nikki Fried and some of the Florida Dems are 1. overreacting 2. using this moment to call out the governor so they can use it the next time he runs.
3. He is trying to make things work as best we can.
This situation sucks. It’s a delicate balance keeping people safe. We are gonna be doing this for a long time. It’s the time to work together. We have one case in Martin County as opposed to Broward. Our county is not a partying kind of place. We roll up our sidewalks early and have been through all kinds of issues together -algae blooms where we watched our economy go down the drain literally, hurricanes . Our local leaders are doing a great job putting things in place. We need to keep things local.
cyndi m lenz
March 21, 2020 at 10:51 am
and ps food is not stable. she could something about this instead of criticizing the Governor. I am a nurse in the field and by the time I get too publix-there is no coffee cream, no almond milk, very expensive romaine lettuce, no toilet paper, no paper towels. Meat is is very expensive cuts. no chicken. my dogs dog food is running low. She needs to focus on her job.
Palmer Tom
March 21, 2020 at 9:53 pm
Publix isn’t the only grocery store in Florida. Shop around.
Andre
March 22, 2020 at 7:04 am
Shop around I went Aldi supermarket, they had plenty of paper towels and toilet paper.
Publix is the dominant supermarket chain however if you go other markets they seem to have items. Fried is making this political she wants to run for Governor!!!
DeSantis is doing a great job and so is moskowitz. Guess what! I’m a lifelong Democrat! We as citizens need to have each others backs , the hell with the politics!
Thomas L. Knapp
March 22, 2020 at 7:23 am
The Save-A-Lot in the smaller town near me seems pretty much fully stocked on everything, except they did impose a limit on toilet paper purchases.
Thomas Knapp
March 21, 2020 at 11:04 am
DeSantis’s response to the headlong irrational COVID-19 panic has been far more draconian than warranted, but not as bad as that of some governors.
I don’t think non-COVID-19 medicine has been ENTIRELY shut down yet, so perhaps Ms. Fried can get her physician to prescribe a good anti-psychotic medication.
GWP CONCRETEMAN
March 21, 2020 at 11:39 am
Obviously the Agricultural Commissioner doesn’t understand the NATIONAL Incident Command System during a NATIONAL STATE of EMERGENCY. The Governor of the STATE is the INCIDENT COMMANDER that is responsible for MANAGING the INCIDENT. The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT provides the NATIONAL RESPONSE to AVOID POLITICIANS creating CHAOS and MISINFORMATION during a NATIONAL INCIDENT. If the Agricultural Commissioner continues to demonstrate insubordination it is imperative that she be disciplined for her actions. The Department of Homeland Security and FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION is the appropriate agency for the commissioner to spend our time learning about EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION that does not cause MISINFORMATION and CHAOS. fema.gov/coronavirus
Holly
March 21, 2020 at 11:46 am
Ron Desantis is failing Floridians miserably. Having all these tourists on beaches and depleting our resources is criminal. Spring breakers running rampant spreading covid19 and bringing it back to their families. He is at fault fr the next deaths regardless of where they are if the person was in Florida.
Ian
March 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm
Everyone needs to understand that Fried is planning to run against DeSantis for governor. Therefore, she will take every opportunity to criticize him, as long as her criticism is covered by the news media.
DeSantis hasn’t issued a statewide “stay at home” order, so she says he should have done that already.
If he had already issued a statewide “stay at home” order, she would criticize him for doing so.
She’s just following Politics 101. It’s not rocket science.
Truth
March 21, 2020 at 2:41 pm
She’s right. Trump is relying on the states to make decisions, and DeSantis is relying on local governments.
Don’t kid yourself. Our republican leaders are leading from behind – and it’s failing
Robert Romano
March 21, 2020 at 4:55 pm
Shutting down the restaurants dining rooms is a mistake by Gov. Desantis. The local economy will suffer unnecessarily. Restaurants will have difficulty staying afloat. Landlords will tell the restaurateurs, you should of had business interruption insurance . Some will but not all. This is a mess.
Holly
March 21, 2020 at 6:21 pm
All airports are letting people fly without even taking their temperature getting on and off and they all land in Florida UNCHECKED! I hope Nikki runs and beats Ron, he has failed us and has his lips on Trumps **S
Rex Reid
March 22, 2020 at 10:03 am
Capitalist, Governments and a Pandemic, a view from the rational right and the Florida Delima
In the coming days, you will see and hear much said by the Ron Paul apostles and the like about black helicopters, martial law and troops in the streets. The truly sad part for our fellow travelers of freedom is they will be overcome by the same spirit of irrationality the safe space sun screamers have been infected with and since there is no test they won’t even know it.
The simple fact is all they have to do is to look no further than the market they say they love to know they have tested positive for the Tin-Foil Hat-2020 virus. On Sunday, March 15 Disney World announced it would close its door for the foreseeable future. And like all things market vs. government throughout history which they proclaim to believe in, the market is correct long before the government. But somehow when the government acts, in the same manner, they scream the government has unleashed the brown shirts. Funny how the left test positive for the same thing when you say curb the right to murder the unborn but I digress.
Now don’t get me wrong, it could go the way of the regular flu which drives little to no panic every year or it could go the way of 1918 pandemic and be very serious. However, a rational person would have to admit with TDS having infected the media and at least 30% of the nation one could easily make the case for a media-driven event but that raises a very simple question. Are you willing to bet your life as well as all those you love that is the case? For me, there are a few tale-tale signs of the later even though I have to look upon them with some skepticism.
Notice nothing focus’s the mind of political hacks, race-baiters and the open borders crowd like the fear of actual harm coming to them. See those groups in the ruling class don’t have to face the consequences of their action as they ride in limo’s and live behind walls the poor they keep in poverty cannot scale but a virus does not stop at their properties edge. Hence the clearness of thought drives them to act in a rational life-preserving manner at least for the moment. Which sad to say is more than we can say for the apostles of Paul.
But on to Florida, I think DeSantis given the unprecedented situation he finds himself in has done a good job but he should have listened to the capitalist and the same goes for the counties and cities. See we can divide the state into three distinct parts, the retired/elderly (most vulnerable), ranch/farmland and the Disney World/beach amusement park. And what did the non-government part of the later do, shut it down. See the governor like all local authorities should have issued a Hurricane type mandated evacuation of all non-resident or property owners in the state, period.
I know what you are saying, he has lost his mind but it a very simple proposition. Is he not doing the same thing half-ass by closing everything? Not yes but hell yes and he is making it worse especially for the elderly that are the core of the state by driving all those people into places like Walmart where they have to go daily? Like I said earlier when the left, EU, Mexico and the like have a momentary lapse of rationality already foretold by the capitalist, governments at all levels would be well served to listen. P.S. if we are circa 1918 the beach is the best place a person can go save the hospital that has been infected after you closed the schools and then sent their parents to work with tourists from larger cites with the highest probability of being infected, just saying.
Thomas Knapp
March 22, 2020 at 10:14 am
“one could easily make the case for a media-driven event but that raises a very simple question. Are you willing to bet your life as well as all those you love that is the case?”
Everyone bets his or her life on a number of things every day.
Based on the actual mortality numbers that we know, and infectious disease researchers best estimates of total infections, the effect of COVID-19 is looking like a fairly bad seasonal flu season. Not as bad as the Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968-70, but worse than usual.
What it’s NOT looking like is an excuse to shut everything down.
I’m not worried about black helicopters and martial law for two reasons:
1) If governors and the feds try to keep America shut down for more than a couple of weeks, the populace will start ignoring the orders, even more so than at the moment.
2) If governors and the feds try to crack down on being ignored, the easiest they can expect to get off is mass rioting and burning cities. As for how hard they might get off, see Ceausescu, Nicolae.
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