Re-open Florida task force: Chaos, cacophony on working group conference call

Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ task force to reopen Florida had breakout sessions Wednesday morning and the task force dealing with agriculture and other issues was the most heavily politicized going in.

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried balked at her exclusion from the task force, the latest in a series of slights from the GOP Governor on the other side of the Capitol’s Plaza Level.

Gov. Ron DeSantis had ready backup. Republicans said Fried was “whining” about exclusion, and that Senate President-designate Wilton Simpson, an egg farmer empaneled on the task force, was able to represent that sector just fine.

With Fried again on the outside looking in, the Governor’s committee was slated to mull Agriculture, Finance, Government, Healthcare, Management and Professional Services on Wednesday morning.

But “technical issues” delayed the discussion, chewing up much of the time and blunting what would have been a wide-ranging field of inquiry even under ideal circumstances.

The call covering those disparate topics started late, with an ad hoc feel. One participant, ahead of the call’s formal beginning, noted that the Governor’s Office had contacted him the night before asking him to join in, with concerns about not having a “wide enough range” of people on the panel.

DeSantis offered remarks, including questioning the distinction between “essential and non-essential businesses,” saying that “lower risk” sectors that aren’t traditionally considered essential may be candidates for reopening.

“Agriculture,” DeSantis said, “is kind of downstream” of the food service sector, adding that Simpson and others would handle the details on that.

“He’s somebody tailor-made” for “a leadership role here,” DeSantis said before jumping off the call.

Simpson noted the grim reality facing farmers, with Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association President Mike Joyner starting his presentation after three or four purges of the line by “the organizer.”

Thirty minutes into the call, the task force had descended into a cacophony of unmuted lines and befuddled participants, a tower of babble far removed from coherently discussing, never mind solving, the problems of economic reopening. The line was purged again.

“Does anyone on the line know if this call is going to resume,” asked one piqued participant.

Forty one minutes into the call, the first presentation began.

Joyner, whose focus is the fresh produce industry, described “staggering” losses for agriculture, before the call was again disconnected at the 45 minute mark.

“There’s issues with the phone system,” observed Amy Mercer of the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

Indeed, there were.

The call was rescheduled for noon, but there was nothing but dead air on the line for the 40 minutes until this reporter disconnected.