Florida Democrats fundraise against open barber shops, nail salons
Lee Garner cuts a customer’s hair at J Henry's barber shop in Orlando after salons and barber shops were allowed to reopen because of the coronavirus Monday. Image via AP.

haircut salon open
Opening shops, Democrats said, showed disregard for workers.

The Florida Democratic Party is betting that at least some of its email list is outraged over open hair and nail salons.

A fundraising email Thursday said that Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ decision to allow these shops to open demonstrated a “blatant disregard for the people of Florida.”

The FDP asserts, in somewhat garbled syntax, that “DeSantis decided to extend Florida’s state of emergency by nearly two months while simultaneously declaring businesses such as hairdressing and nail salons to open.”

“This essentially forces workers to either risk infection in the service industry or lose their source of income. We cannot allow this kind of blatant disregard for the people of Florida to continue,” the FDP email says, adding that a donation will “help us elect Democrats across Florida to oppose [the Governor’s] negligence!”

Earlier this month, the Governor decided to allow the shops to reopen, even as other contact-intensive personal services, such as tattoos and massage, are still prohibited.

Worth noting: DeSantis did so only after attending a meeting in Orlando, with the Democratic Mayor of Orange County and various barbers and nail techs asserting they could do business safely.

DeSantis sat down with Mayor Jerry Demings and industry and health experts , and all parties discussed masks, sanitation, and other innovations necessary to make good grooming compliant with the new strictures of the social distancing age.

At least one barber endorsed the reopening heartily.

“We are ready to get back to work and make some money,” Orlando’s John Henry said in a video announcing the reopening.

“But getting back to work, we want to be safe to continue to wear gloves, wear masks, bookmark appointments and continue to keep the community safe. I know everyone is happy to come out and support the barbershop, and we want to continue to keep one thing in mind, safety is always first.”

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


4 comments

  • Palmer Tom

    May 21, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    Is whoever thought up this campaign in their right mind? Do Democratic Party leaders have a death wish? This is bad politics.

  • Dan FLaat

    May 21, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    My Guess is A.G Gancarski is a uneducated POS that has no understanding what Barber Shops and Salon do for sanitation….This is the reason why so many dip Shts like him should not be allowed to write as all they do is spread fake news….

  • Dan FLaat

    May 21, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    Also A.G Dum ASS Gancarshi is danger to small businesses as the Democrats believes in big government and want to erase the small business so they can control your life!

  • Marge

    May 23, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    The dems in the House have still not returned to Washington, but guess what, they’re still getting their FULL TAXPAYER PAY CHECK, so they don’t give a 💩 whether any small business reopens.. They want to keep everything locked down so that we turn into a socialist country and they have power over us.
    We can’t let that happen. We are proud Americans who work and earn everything we get and not depend on the government to take care of us.
    Our President will get us back on track, so let’s give him four more years to do it.

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, William March, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704