Anne Geggis
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried said she’s doing her best to fill the void that Gov. Ron DeSantis has left in his refusal to deal with the resurgence of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Fried, a Democrat candidate for Governor, spoke via Zoom to the Mid-County Democratic Club in Palm Beach County Monday night and 15 listeners came.
“I feel like I’m wearing four hats at this point — Commissioner, Governor, emergency management (director), and candidate,” Fried said.
Fried slammed DeSantis’ refusal to provide daily data on COVID-19 infections, his order that takes away school districts’ authority to order that all students wear masks, and the way he’s selling merchandise poking fun at Dr. Anthony Fauci, an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the President. She decried how the “radical right” has taken over the state’s agenda.
“We are in an emergency situation, and this Governor is playing COVID-19 roulette with our lives,” she said. “ … He’s governing for a loud minority.”
To get to the Governor’s Mansion, Fried must first get past Charlie Crist in the Democratic Primary Election for the right to face DeSantis in next year’s General Election. Although he hasn’t announced, DeSantis is widely assumed to be running for reelection.
“We’re done with it, and we’ve got to break the system,” Fried said. “ … We’re in a chaos that’s been spewed and created by this Governor, and we’ve got to stand together and say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Club members urged Fried to keep going. Ellen Baker said she’s a special education teacher in Palm Beach County schools, and she’s currently under quarantine because of exposure to COVID-19 at work. Parents are signing the paperwork that lets their children go without a mask, she said.
“Opt-out is alive and well,” Baker said, noting that she was seeing about 34 kids a day among the nine classes she visited before her quarantine.
The burden that the optional mask policy is putting on teachers is unbelievable, Fried said.
“How do you know who’s supposed to be wearing a mask and who’s not?” she said.
Fried urged everyone in attendance to keep sharing stories about the impact the COVID-19 resurgence is having on them.
“The fundamentals of the Ten Commandments is to protect your neighbor …” she said. “We live in a community, and we have to recognize that we don’t live in isolation and our actions have a direct impact on our neighbor.”
19 comments
Pat
August 16, 2021 at 10:47 pm
DeathSantis
Tom
August 16, 2021 at 11:18 pm
Nikki Fraud.
Is a joke.
Tom
August 17, 2021 at 6:35 am
Nikki Fraud Is a joke.
All of you are fools.
Fraud is a corrupt cannabis queen.
She has no clue.
She Just throws crap on the wall With no proof or offers no solutions.
Wait til the legislature holds hearings on her lack of financial accountability on her earnings.
Governor Ron will win re-election.
How do you like your corrupt Dem. Governors?
Cuomo, Whitmer, Whitmer and Northam.
Pedro
August 17, 2021 at 1:14 am
Either Nikki Fried or Charlie Crist would be infinitely better than the present disastrous Republican governor. I hope the two Democrats don’t tear each other apart in the primary. The loser of the Democratic primary should immediately get behind the winner of the primary. We must be united for the fight in November.
Liz
August 17, 2021 at 1:30 am
I’m a Democrat, Millennial, and woman of color. I am not at all enthusiastic or impressed by Nikki Fried or Charlie Crist as our Governor nominee.
Ron DeSantis needs to be defeated but these two aren’t the ones to do it. They’re already having big problems raising the much needed cash to go up against the Governor.
Ron Ogden
August 17, 2021 at 6:33 am
From the perspective of Fried, the loony lefty, any good governance that doesn’t toe her rhetorical line is “radical right.” Governor DeSantis is standing for basic American rights, and that is what is earning him the undying gratitude of many hundreds of thousands of Floridians who reject the childish name-calling that is Fried’s trademark.
Tom
August 17, 2021 at 6:57 am
Get your mouth shut Nikki Fraud!
What a disgusting liar.
Just scream every day on every topic.,
Kirk Grones
August 18, 2021 at 9:39 am
Wow Tom, you need to chill and just listen to what you’re saying. We are experiencing huge COVID exposures at every school district with a simple fix if only people would put politics aside and listen to our medical experts. Masking works and children have no problem wearing them, at least until their parents make it political. Put community health above what ever your politics are. We all want the pandemic to end and everybody knows all precautions to protect our students and teachers must be taken. Let’s move forward without COVID 19 along with its variants getting in the way of educating our students.
Just sayin’
Evan Miller
August 17, 2021 at 7:38 am
Fried and Crist together, couldn’t do a better job than DeSantis.
Ed
August 17, 2021 at 7:51 am
Fried is a fraud, a lunatic, and a joke all in one. Still hasn’t delivered her financials from 2020. Is she still digging holes in her yard and hiding that “devils lettuce” money? If you want governance that is Cuomo, Newsom, or Whitmer like then vote for her, if she gets the nomination. I have never been involved in politics before but if she is the nominee I will volunteer my time and become very active in preventing this “Pelosi” clone from becoming Governor of Florida.
Sonja Fitch
August 17, 2021 at 8:59 am
Val for Governor!
Ed
August 17, 2021 at 9:19 am
Seeing that Dementia Man selected the giggling incompetent over Demings doesn’t bode well for her Senate run.
zhombre
August 17, 2021 at 9:44 am
Demings has run for statewide office previously and only won her congressional seat because a district was gerrymandered for her after she lost in her initial effort. She may run a close race anyway. Remains to be seen. There’s a lot of dislike for Rubio.
zhombre
August 17, 2021 at 9:45 am
* has not run
Louise Machinist
August 18, 2021 at 12:06 pm
She’s running for Senate. Perfect candidate to defeat Marco R
ross
August 17, 2021 at 11:33 am
DeSantanis must be impeached for setting up covid “treatment” center in Citrus Bowl without declaring an emergency or getting a medical clinic license. He is not a king and can’t just spend taxpayer’s money to suit his whim.
Tom
August 17, 2021 at 5:43 pm
LMAO
You are a fool Ross.
Matthew Lusk
August 17, 2021 at 1:28 pm
5 hats. You forgot the witch hat.
Joe
August 18, 2021 at 10:04 am
Trumsantis that is the perfect potential 2024 Potus match up for Biden/Harris team-victory can not be easier. The dumb fool FL Governor already forgot the con man loss re election cause of way he handled COVID-19 causing 600k needless deaths-keep it up Ron Dems really appreciate your style of governing to your minority base.
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