Nikki Fried to tour state talking clean water, COVID-19

Nikki Fried inspects the potential environmental disaster at Piney Point.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried will have a robust travel schedule early this week, with five stops Monday through Wednesday.

Fried will begin Monday a statewide tour promoting the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Office of Agriculture Policy’s Clean Water initiative, which will update the OAP’s water policies.

The events will offer Fried messaging opportunities in smaller markets if the media release description for the kickoff event Monday morning in Fort Myers is any indication.

“In the first of five events, Commissioner Fried will join Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation CEO Ryan Orgera, Environmental Policy Director James Evans, and Marine Laboratory Director Dr. Eric Milbrandt for a boat tour at 9 a.m. departing from Fort Myers. Immediately following at 10 a.m., Commissioner Fried will hold a news conference at the Punta Rassa boat ramp to discuss FDACS Clean Water Initiative and harmful algal blooms (HABs) impacting local waters, including red tide blue-green algae. This will be followed by a brief COVID-19 update as Commissioner Fried continues to provide regular information to Floridians as cases surge across the state,” the media release contends.

The Fort Myers event is at 10 a.m. Monday. There will be another event in Sarasota at 2 p.m., and Mayor Hagen Brody is slated to be in attendance.

Tuesday finds Fried beginning the day in Tampa at 9:30 a.m. and ending up in St. Petersburg at noon. Expect robust messaging there for a critical media market for Fried’s 2022 campaign.

Fried has urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency due to red tide but to no avail. Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby will be at the Tampa stop Tuesday morning.

The Commissioner finishes the tour Wednesday on the East Coast with a stop in Stuart at 2 p.m. touching on several areas, including “touring ORCA’s Buffered Shoreline Project” and a “news conference immediately following on FDACS Clean Water Initiative, blue-green algae, recent manatee deaths, and other local water issues.”