Peter Schorsch
It seems as if a week doesn’t pass without some new media outlet or website springing up to cover Florida politics.
I remember when I was the new guy in town and the traditional media did not exactly roll out the welcome mat.
Nowadays, and inexplicably, I am the traditional media, or as my friend Gary Fineout describes, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance.
I genuinely don’t mind when there is a new player in the game. That’s because I remember what a friend of mine who owned a restaurant explained to me.
He owned a successful Italian restaurant located in some prime real estate with not a lot of competition around him. But then a brasserie was slated to open across the street, so I asked if he was worried.
“Not at all,” he said. With a second restaurant on the block, he explained, he was now part of a restaurant district. Customers would get a drink at his place, then dine at the French spot and vice versa. Other bars and restaurants would spring up.
He was right, and that’s why I like to see new media outposts in Florida, whether from a conservative perspective or from the left.
Of course, there is a difference between welcoming the competition and losing to it. And I refuse to lose to any of Florida Politics’ competitors.
So, yeah, there are a lot of new sites and there are a lot of new lists.
But there is only one site that covers all of Florida politics. And there’s only one definitive list of the most influential people in Florida politics.
The INFLUENCE 150 doesn’t waste your time acknowledging that Gov. Ron DeSantis is the most powerful individual in the state. Nor do we operate in a world where the Attorney General is less powerful than the Secretary of the Department of Economic Opportunity or where an incoming House Democratic leader has more juice than Wilton Simpson.
To me, the INFLUENCE 150 is sacrosanct. I spend months going over the list, discussing it with some of the most important and serious operators in Florida politics. You can’t buy your way on. And you’re only as good as your last campaign cycle or Legislative Session.
There are no legacies on this list.
As for this specific edition of INFLUENCE, it is our boldest design yet. That’s saying something, considering we took the runner-up spot for the best-designed magazine in the state.
The edition is imbued throughout in Yves Klein blue as an homage to the landmark Michael Mann film, “Heat.” I busted the budget to deploy photographers throughout the state to capture original shots of those featured.
Simply put, I believe this is the best edition of INFLUENCE Magazine we’ve published in our six years of existence.
Because that’s how you answer the competition.
To read INFLUENCE, click on the image below:
The INFLUENCE 150:
Jon Adrabi
Rick Asnani
Mat Bahl
Pat Bainter
Amy Baker
Tim Baker
Brian Ballard
Katie Ballard
Heather Barker
Brice and Houston Barnes
Rodney Barreto
Sarah Bascom
Katie Betta
Amanda Bevis
Brewster Bevis
James Blair
Ron Book
Paul Bradshaw
Oscar Braynon
Audrey Brown
Maya Brown
Monesia Brown
David Browning
Matt Bryan
Dean Cannon
Craig Carbone
Alex Heckler
Ben Gibson
Richard Corcoran
Michael Corcoran
Steve Casey
Michelle Dennard
Mallory Dimmitt
Carol Dover
Gary Fineout
Mike Griffin
Ana Cruz
John Couris
Brett Doster
Kelly Cohen
Ron Cristaldi
Rachel Cone
Ben Crump
Matt Dixon
Jeff Hartley
Robert Coker
Jim DeFede
Tim Cerio
Marty Fiorentino
Casey DeSantis
Taryn Fenske
Erika Donalds
Husein Cumber
Mori Hosseni
Ryan Houck
Nick Iarossi
Erin Isaac
Christina Johnson
David Johnson
Eric Johnson
Marva Johnson
Fred Karlinsky
Alex Kelly
John Kirtley
Stephanie Kopelousos
Ron LaFace
Brian Lamb
Andrew MacIntosh
Brian May
Tracy and Frank Mayernick
Mary Mayhew
Bob McClure
Kathy Mears
Marc Reichelderfer
Ryan Tyson
Eric Silagy
Karen Moore
Anthony Pedicini
Nancy Watkins
Will Weatherford
Steve Vancore and Drew Jones
Drew Piers and Herbie Thiele
Kim Rivers
Tom Piccolo
Nadine Smith
Nate Monroe
Sean Pittman
Bill Rubin and Heather Turnbull
Ashley Walker
Jason Unger
Tina Vidal-Duart
Kris Money & Trey McCarley
Christina Pushaw
Eric Pridgeon
Ron Whitaker
James Uthmeier
Emmett Reed
Chris Spencer
Jasmen Rogers
Lindsey Pollard
Melissa Seixas
Jeff Porter
Christian Ulvert
Susie Wiles
Mark Wilson
Rick Wilson and Ryan Wiggins
Katie Yeutter
Joe York
Skylar Zander
Jackie Schutz Zeckman
INFLUENCE 150 — Honorable Mention:
Max Alvarez
Adam Babington
Slater Bayliss
Lewis Bear
Norman Braman
Nancy Brinker
Dominic Calabro
Marc Caputo
Reggie Cardozo
Kevin Cate
Richard Coates
Tre Evers
Vince Evans
Alia Faraj Johnson
Julio Fuentes
Nicole Gomez
Max Goodman
Ryan Gorman
Rich Heffley
John Holley
Yolanda Cash Jackson
Brian Jogerst
Jon Johnson
Dara Kam
Mark Kaplan
John Kennedy
Shad Khan
Chris Korge
Adrian Lukis
Steve Marin
Andy Marlette
Scott Maxwell
Darrick McGhee
Desmond Meade
Carlos Migoya
Carol Marbin Miller
Terry Miller
John Morgan
Ana Navarro
Meredith O’Rourke
Peter Penrod
Evelyn Pérez-Verdía
Joy Reid
Jim Rimes
Jim Rosica
Chris Ruddy
Justin Sayfie
Steve Schale
Christine Sexton
Stephanie Smith
Kent Stermon
Melissa Stone
Shane Strum
Abby Vail
Jeff Vinik
Andrew Weinstein
2 comments
Mike Stovall
September 24, 2022 at 1:48 am
So north Florida does not exist politically outside of football and a few good reporters? Not Melissa Ross? Not the rising star of the legislature vocal opposition Rep. Angie Nixon? Not the mayor of the states largest city? Not the AFL-CIO state president after almost a decade of cobbling together workers self lobbying, media campaigns and tireless lobbying to hold off more anti worker legislation and arguably the most hostile State legislature for workers in the country doing better than States like Wisconsin Michigan and Ohio which have lost ground. Just poor powerless also rams eh?
This state really does need to be split in half just south of Ocala and let the Trumpy south florida transplant mess do its thing in its typical self important and historically and culturally disconnected way.
Bobby Bullets
September 26, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Not much going on up there in Florgia
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