Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorDecember 19, 2016

At a time of year when every Floridian should be especially thankful for the arrival of tourists across the state, some of our lawmakers in Tallahassee seem to have taken on the role of the Grinch who stole Christmas. The escalating attacks against VISIT FLORIDA … a proven marketing effort that has driven millions of […]

Scott PowersDecember 16, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott called on Visit Florida’s Executive Director Will Seccombe to resign Friday afternoon, continuing a bloodbath at the pseudo-state agency that saw two other top executives fired earlier in the fallout from how it handled a marketing contract with Miami rapper superstar Pitbull. In a letter the governor sent to Visit Florida’s board […]

Scott PowersDecember 16, 2016

Florida’s beleaguered tourism promoter has fired two of its top executives in the wake of revelations and criticism of a $1 million contract with Miami rapper Pitbull, an action that Gov. Rick Scott said was a matter of holding people accountable. Scott confirmed Friday morning in Eatonville that Visit Florida’s President Will Seccombe has fired Chief Operating Officer […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott has confirmed the firings of Chief Operating Officer Vangie McCorvey and Chief Marketing Officer Paul Phipps at Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency. Scott was in Orlando Friday to release the latest unemployment figures. CEO Will Seccombe suddenly postponed a quarterly staff meeting scheduled for Friday morning to the afternoon. Speculation was that he was heading to the Governor’s Office […]

Joe HendersonDecember 16, 2016

There has been a lot to like about the tone new House Speaker Richard Corcoran has set in Tallahassee. There is a new emphasis on ethics and disclosure of how the people’s representatives do their business — and more importantly who they do it for. We all benefit from that. That includes, especially, Corcoran’s insistence […]

Michael MolineDecember 15, 2016

Visit Florida, beleaguered over its $1 million promotional contract with the rapper Pitbull, found a defender Thursday in Senate budget chairman Jack Latvala. In light of a soft construction sector, “what’s kept the whole outlook from softening up has been our strong tourism economy,” Latvala told reporters after the Appropriations Committee heard about the financial demands […]

Scott PowersDecember 15, 2016

In a surprise move, Miami rapper Pitbull released his entire controversial contract with Visit Florida this morning by posting it onto a tweet Thursday, revealing the breadth of duties he’d signed onto as a celebrity tourism ambassador for the state, and Florida’s fee for his service — $1 million per year. The move comes just […]

Michael MolineDecember 14, 2016

A key state senator on Wednesday endorsed House Speaker Richard Corcoran‘s lawsuit seeking to open Visit Florida’s contract with the rapper Pitbull to promote tourism. “That’s a public record,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, chairman of the Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Subcommittee, which oversees Visit Florida. Corcoran sued in state court Tuesday seeking permission to subject […]

Scott PowersDecember 13, 2016

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran sued PDR Productions Inc. Tuesday for a judge’s permission to publicly release documents involved in the Visit Florida deal used to hire Miami rapper Pitbull to promote Florida tourism. At issue is Corcoran’s concern that Visit Florida deals — done increasingly in secret — may require deeper scrutiny in how it’s spending state […]

Phil AmmannNovember 22, 2016

New House Speaker Richard Corcoran expects funding requests for Florida’s top jobs agency to move through his chamber’s committees, despite his strong personal objections to taxpayer-financed economic incentives. Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida reports Gov. Rick Scott is requesting $85 million in incentives for a broad range of business deals to attract businesses to Florida. […]

Tag: Visit Florida
Uloma Ekpete Kama. Image via campaign site.

Don Fox: VISIT FLORIDA makes good business, common sense

Visit Florida housecleaning continues: Rick Scott calls on chief Will Seccombe to resign, board to publish business

Rick Scott says Visit Florida firings are holding people accountable

Visit Florida axes top officials after Pitbull controversy

Richard Corcoran battle over Pitbull, Visit Florida contract sets the right tone

Jack Latvala defends Visit Florida amid Pitbull contract controversy

Pitbull releases $1M Visit Florida contract on Twitter; state suit still pending

Jeff Brandes backs House lawsuit to make Pitbull contract public

Florida House sues over Visit Florida-Pitbull deal documents

Despite philosophical differences, Richard Corcoran expects House committees to consider incentive requests