Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
VOTE FOR THE TOP FLORIDA MAN HEADLINES OF 2015
Understatement Alert: “Florida is home to many of the nation’s oddest news stories.”
That’s the opening to a new blog post at Sachs Media Group, where 2015 is ending with a contest to name the “‘Florida Man’ of the Year,” based on a selection of Top 10 wacky state news stories.
“For nearly twenty years, Sachs Media Group’s PR professionals have sifted through the Sunshine State’s newspapers and read with delight and amazement some of the stories that could only happen in Florida,” the post says.
Each item is accompanied by an illustration by none other than FloridaPolitics.com cartoonist Bill Day.
Here’s a list of the headlines in contention:
1. Florida Man Allegedly Rides Sea Turtle, Spears Shark
2. Florida Man Turns Up Drunk to Collect Mothers Against Drunk Driving Award
3. Florida Man’s Flatulence In Bed Sets Off Wife, Leads To Arrest
4. Impaled Florida Man Saved by Power Saw-Wielding Pastor
5. Florida Woman Mistakenly Glues Her Eye Shut With Super Glue
6. Florida Man Films His Own Car Crash with Selfie Stick
7. Florida Man Paints His Name On Cop Cars, Gets Arrested
8. Florida Man Gets DUI While Driving A Motorized Wheelchair
9. Florida Man Flips Beer Truck Because He Was Distracted by His Adorable Puppy
10. Florida Man Bit By Shark Catches Shark, Says He’ll Eat It
Readers can vote at the bottom of the post for their favorite story. Happy reading.
Meanwhile, the between-holidays news doldrums continue apace in Tallahassee – anyone up for today’s Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission meeting?
Instead, let’s recap an abridged version of Jim Rosica’s look at some mover ‘n’ shakers’ political fortunes for next year:
Julie Jones: The head of the embattled Department of Corrections has been making headlines since her appointment this January, and 2016 promises a no less busy year. Reports of inmate deaths and abuses and criminal activity behind bars have been unfortunate staples of prisons coverage. Gov. Rick Scott has stood by her, calling his prisons chief “performance-driven.” Her next face-off with lawmakers is getting nearly $30 million into the state budget to beef up staffing, including hiring more correctional officers.
Oscar Braynon II: The state senator from Miami Gardens, who is the Democratic leader pro tempore, also is vice chair of the Reapportionment Committee. He spoke up during the recent Special Session for redistricting when a plan by GOP state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla ensured that the lawmaker known as “DLP” wouldn’t have to run against fellow Republican Miami-Dade incumbent Anitere Flores. The map eventually decided by the courts may wind up favoring Democrats, however. Braynon, who’ll be Senate Democratic Leader in 2017, could have 16 or 17 other Democrats behind him in the 40-member body, up from 14 today.
Jamie Grant: The Republican legislator has gotten a political reboot. Grant, first elected to House District 64 in 2010, was re-elected in 2014 by 19 points over a little-known Republican challenger. But the House threw out the results, citing unresolved litigation over a write-in candidate. The lawsuit forced Grant to run in an April special election, which he also won. The good news for Grant, a lawyer-turned-tech entrepreneur, is that it reset his term limits clock, sparking an opportunity for him to pursue the speakership. He has dismissed the idea but keep an eye out for him to start testing the waters this session.
Shawn Harrison: The Republican state representative represents an unpredictable swing district in Hillsborough County. He broke with House leadership this year, saying he was open to some form of Medicaid expansion. Then he (apparently) swung the race for House Speaker after the 2020 elections. Harrison switched his allegiance from Eric Eisnaugle, an Orlando Republican, to Chris Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican. Now he faces a 2016 challenge from two Democrats, Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione and Mike Reedy, a statewide organizer for LGBT-activism group Equality Florida. Don’t be surprised if Harrison unveils other contrarian policy positions this upcoming session.
Katie Betta: The Florida Senate’s spokeswoman will be wrapping up an estimable run as “consigliere” after the 2016 Legislative Session. She’s served under current Senate President Andy Gardiner, immediate past President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Dean Cannon before that. What’s next for the former SaintPetersblog “30 Under 30” honoree? A third run under President-designate Joe Negron? Skip to the private sector, as former Will Weatherford spokesman Ryan Duffy did to Hill+Knowlton?
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ISLAMIC CONFLICT VOTED TOP NEWS STORY OF 2015
The far-flung attacks claimed by Islamic State militants and the intensifying global effort to crush them added up to a grim, gripping yearlong saga that was voted the top news story of 2015, according to The Associated Press’ annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.
The No. 2 story was the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that led to legalization of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. But several of the other stories among the Top 10 reflected the impact of the Islamic State, while another group of major stories related to the series of mass shootings in the United States.
Among the 100 voters casting ballots, first-place votes were spread among 17 different stories. The Islamic State entry received 37 first-place votes and same-sex marriage 13. The No. 3 story — the deadly attacks in Paris in January and November — received 14 first-place votes.
A year ago, the top story in AP’s poll was the police killings of unarmed blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere — and the investigations and protests that ensued. In this year’s poll, a similar entry, with more instances of blacks dying in encounters with police, placed fifth.
HILLARY CLINTON MOST ADMIRED WOMAN FOR RECORD 20TH TIME via Jeffrey Jones of Gallup – Clinton is the most admired woman in America for the 14th year in a row, her 20th time to get that honor. She was named by 13 percent of Americans in the firm’s end-of-year survey. Malala was second, with 5 percent. Oprah and Michelle Obama tied for third, with 4 percent. President Obama is the most admired man in America for the 8th year in a row, named by 17 percent of those polled. The top 10 list for men includes three presidents (Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton), three current presidential candidates (Trump, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Dr. Ben Carson), and three religious and spiritual leaders (Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and the Rev. Billy Graham). The only top 10 male finisher who doesn’t fall into one of those categories is Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.
FLORIDIAN OF THE YEAR: COLIN BROWN via Amy Martinez of Florida Trend Magazine – Last August … JM Family Enterprises implemented a $16-an-hour minimum wage for all of its employees. JM — a 48-year-old firm that operates one of only two franchised Toyota distributorships in the country — made the new wage policy effective immediately. As a result, about 400 employees got a raise overnight. Another 600 employees who already made $16 or more per hour also got a raise, maintaining the wage tiers that reflect different experience levels. Brown, president and CEO of the family-owned company … figures the decision will add $6 million to JM’s payroll costs over the next 12 months. In 2014, JM had sales of $13.1 billion, making it the 21st-largest privately held company in the U.S. “If you’re part of our family, then we believe you deserve to have a quality of life,” he says. “We wanted to make sure that people who live paycheck to paycheck have enough money to buy milk.”
JEB BUSH, COMEBACK KID? via Michael Brendan Dougherty of The Week – If you were wagering on the Republican race … Bush is the best “value bet.” Everyone thinks he’s toast. But he still has a real shot. As the panic over a Trump– or Cruz-led party putsch takes hold, Jeb can remind donors and even the conservative movement that he also hails from Florida. He can remind them that unlike Rubio, Christie, or Kasich, his super PACs are still absolutely loaded, and likely far more willing to spend their cash … Trump is a candidate many Republicans and conservative mandarins cannot abide. His victory would be a rebuke to them. Jeb has the resources and the reach within the party apparatus to grind out a race with Trump. Make no mistake: It’s better to be in Trump’s position than Bush’s. Trump is lapping the field in the national polls just a few weeks out from the first contests. But comeback stories are just as compelling as end-to-end runs of dominance.
GOOD READ — MARCO RUBIO AND THE PROBLEM OF THE POLITICAL NATURAL via Benjamin Wallace-Wells of the New Yorker – For the moment this talent is devoted, a bit awkwardly, to internecine political combat. Rubio is best when he is engaged in aspirational summoning; he has little instinct for the shiv … the politics of the Republican primary more or less forbid Rubio from making the obvious case against Cruz—that he is too conservative to be elected President—and so Rubio has gamely fought to tarnish Cruz as an “isolationist hawk,” noting that taking an isolationist line during the Tea Party ascendancy, as the Texan did, before insisting that he would “carpet bomb” ISIS until “the sand glows,” as Cruz has done recently, suggests someone who is fundamentally not serious about being President. It’s a sound argument. But it would probably have more resonance if the basic orientation of the Republican base was not also to ignore the rest of the world until it was time to bomb them.
MIAMI GOP OFFICIAL BACKING TED CRUZ SAYS RUBIO, BUSH CAMPAIGNS WANT HIM OUT via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – Miami-Dade Republican Party vice chairman Manny Roman says that because he broke that political code, the Bush and Rubio camps are now coming after him … “The official campaigns, they are not just supporters and people who want to see Bush and Rubio win,” he told POLITICO Florida. “They are putting pressure on the other [Miami-Dade] leadership to take action” … “What Manny is saying is absolutely 100% a lie,” said Nelson Diaz, the party’s chairman and longtime Rubio ally, in an email.
SENATE SWIPE via Politico’s 2016 Blast – The Right to Rise PAC backing Bush released a new ad attacking Rubio along familiar lines — for his Senate attendance record. But there’s a new wrinkle: The ad makes note of recent terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. highlights hearings on both that Rubio missed to campaign.
SPOTTED on MSNBC’s Live with Tamron Hall: Former House Speaker Will Weatherford, defending the Super PAC backing Bush criticizing Rubio’s voting record in the Florida Senate.
RUBIO AND CHRIS CHRISTIE TOIL TO BELITTLE EACH OTHER’S WORK ETHIC via Michael Barbaro of the New York Times – “Dude, show up,” Christie said of Rubio’s failure to vote on a major end-of-year spending bill, which Rubio said he opposed. “Vote no. If you don’t want to, quit.” A few hours later, Rubio lobbed the same attack right back at Christie. “You know, Chris has been missing in New Jersey for half the time,” Rubio said … “Candidates, as we get down the home stretch, some of them get a little desperate and a little nasty in their attacks.” Rubio defended his record in Congress, citing a 90 percent attendance record. Christie, mocked in New Jersey for his ample out-of-town travels, has called that explanation “baloney” … described Rubio as a talker, not a doer. “He gives a good speech, Marco … Except he never showed up.”
GEORGE PATAKI TO DROP OUT via Jonathan Swan of The Hill – … after months of lagging near zero percent in polls. “Scoop: @GovernorPataki is calling his NH supporters this afternoon telling him he will drop his bid for president #fitn,” Boston Globe political reporter James Pindell tweeted … Pataki made little impression in the undercard debates and failed to build an infrastructure of any meaningful size. He was struggling to raise money but insisted to The Hill at the recent Las Vegas debate that he was still holding fundraisers and could still marshal support from donors.
SADDEST CAMPAIGN STORY YOU’LL READ TODAY — ONE PERSON SHOWS UP TO MARTIN O’MALLEY EVENT IN IOWA, REMAINS UNCOMMITTED via Nick Gass of POLITICO – “The very last event of the night, we actually had a whopping total of one person show up, but by God, he was glad to see me. So we spent the time with him,” the Democratic presidential candidate told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” … A tweet shared by a reporter who was present showed a bearded man, identified only as Kenneth, sitting at a table with O’Malley, who told MSNBC that he was “working on him” but also said people in Iowa “want to see the whole campaign play out” before deciding on a candidate. “So I wasn’t surprised that he was uncommitted,” O’Malley said. “But I was glad he took the time to come out in the snow to see me. We almost canceled that last event but we were out there anyway, so we plowed through.”
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ONCE AGAIN, ALAN GRAYSON VIOLATES ETHICS RULES, THIS TIME USING HOUSE COMMITTEE CLIP IN CAMPAIGN AD via Florida Politics – Grayson simply doesn’t get it: Mixing a campaign with his official duties in Congress is a violation of ethics rules … to promote his Senate bid [he] uses an MSNBC clip of him speaking during a congressional hearing – yet another violation of U.S. House ethics rules … House Rule 11, Clause 4(b) … Granted, the clip is only seconds long. Blink and you may miss it. And in most cases, a candidate could explain it away as a mere oversight. But this is Alan Grayson, and his ad becomes just one more in an ever-lengthening list of campaign violations for using his taxpayer-funded Congressional office. What’s more, these shenanigans have been going on longer than Grayson’s actual Senate campaign.
SOLAR AMENDMENT NOW AT 75 PERCENT OF NEEDED SIGNATURES via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – Utility-backed Consumers for Smart Solar is sponsoring the amendment titled “Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice” … it had reported 513,375 valid signatures, according to the state Division of Elections. An initiative needs 683,149 to merit ballot placement. The latest signature tally puts it at 75 percent of its goal. “We are pleased that our signature gathering efforts have brought us to this milestone, which clearly demonstrates the continued support for the smart solar amendment,” spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said.
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ECONOMY ON TRACK FOR JOB GAINS ABOVE BOOM YEARS via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Florida TaxWatch’s analysis shows that the Sunshine State has added 975,000 jobs since January 2011, including 240,000 non-farm positions this year, “a sign that Florida economy is still on the rise going in to 2016.” That growth has been across all of the major private economic sectors, the group’s analysis said. The only sector that has not recovered was government … non-farm employment [was] above 8 million for the first time since the economic downturn … Florida’s non-farm employment is expected to reach 8,150,200, which would top pre-recession levels. Professional and business services jobs totaled 1,229,600 by October, an increase of 49,700 from 2014, while leisure and hospitality rose 49,100 to 1,152,800. Close behind was the education and health services sector, which rose 48,400 to 1,223,500.
GOVERNOR ISSUES FINAL BUDGET REPORT FOR 2015 via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools – The report, required by the Florida Constitution, breaks down the current fiscal year (2015-16) estimated expenditures by state agency … figures will be finalized after the end of the fiscal year — June 30 … the grand total is estimated at $78.4 billion. Nearly $29 billion came from General Revenue and more than $49 billion came from trust funds. The report does not show the various taxes that fuel those funds, but that can be found in the annual Florida Tax Handbook.
ORANGES VS. APPLES: FLORIDA AG PAM BONDI BETS GATORS BEAT WOLVERINES via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – The high stakes: Fresh fruit … Bondi says she’s betting Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette a crate of — what else? — Florida oranges that the Florida Gators will beat the Michigan Wolverines in the New Year’s Day college football game … Schuette has wagered a bushel of Michigan apples … “Beating the Michigan Wolverines will be as easy as apple pie, which I plan to enjoy after watching my Florida Gators win the Citrus Bowl,” Bondi — a Florida alumna — taunted Schuette in a statement. Schuette teased back: “The University of Michigan will certainly prove to be victors over the Gators. I’m looking forward to having freshly squeezed orange juice on the table in Midland, (Mich.) next week.”
WHY YOU READ …
SHOT 1: FloridaPolitics.com – “Fla. Revenue Department head Marshall Stranburg says he’s resigning” posted at 12:11 p.m. on Monday.
SHOT 2: PoliticoFlorida.com – “Stranburg leaving Department of Revenue” posted at 12:28 p.m. on Monday.
CHASER: Times/Herald – “Agency head Gov. Scott sought to remove earlier this year, announces resignation” posted at 1:48 p.m. on Tuesday.
TWEET CHASER: @Fineout: ah, so it appears the battles between the rebel alliance and resistance against the DeathStar will continue in 2016
EXPERT: ATTORNEYS FEES BILL WOULD ‘EVISCERATE’ ACCESS TO FLORIDA’S PUBLIC RECORDS via Frank Fernandez of the Daytona Beach News-Journal – House Bill 1021, filed by Greg Steube … and its senate companion by Sen. Rene Garcia … are the worst proposed changes to public records law in a quarter of a century, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation. The bill would mean that even if a person wins a public records lawsuit, he or she could still have to pay huge legal fees. As it is now, the government would be responsible for legal fees if it loses. “The impact would be horrific and I think this bill, if it passes, would eviscerate our right of access, our constitutional right of access. It’s hard for me to overstate the damage this bill would do,” Petersen said. The bills would change the wording in the law from saying a government agency “shall” pay attorney’s fees and costs to “may” pay them and leaves it up to a judge to decide.
MARK PAFFORD FILES BLACK BEAR LEGISLATION via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – the “Florida Black Bear Habitat Restoration Act,” would find that “there has been a lack of interagency coordination to preserve the habitat for the Florida black bear.” That “lack of coordination has resulted in an increase in human-bear conflicts” … Among other things, the measure would set aside $50 million to “purchase and distribute bear-resistant garbage containers” to homes in or near where bears live. It would ban permits “to harvest saw palmetto berries” on “state lands identified as including Florida black bear habitat.” And it would prohibit the ability of logging companies to buy rights to harvest trees on state land where the bears roam.
NEW TESTING BILL ON ITS WAY, DON GAETZ SAYS via Jeffrey Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times – As Florida’s 2016 legislative session fast approaches … One highly anticipated measure, though, remains conspicuously absent … some key legislative leaders said they wanted to give some students and schools the option of replacing state exams with nationally recognized ones. The idea … aimed to let students use single tests such as Advanced Placement for multiple purposes. It garnered support early, but also carried complications that even students easily identified. Gaetz, a leading proponent of the concept [said] crafting the language “takes time,” and that staffers are working on the details in advance of the Legislature’s January return to the capital. “We’re trying to make sure we work out as many issues as we can.”
BLOGGER’S LATEST CRUSADE: ‘IN SATAN WE TRUST’ PLAQUES AT CITY HALLS via Susanna Bryan of the South Florida Sun Sentinel – If Mayor Joy Cooper has her way, the words “In God We Trust” will be mounted above the dais in commission chambers at City Hall … atheist blogger Chaz Stevens wants equal time. He is asking permission to display a banner with the motto: “In Satan We Trust.” Hallandale’s mayor said she has no plans to give up the push for an “In God We Trust” plaque at City Hall. “It’s our national motto,” Cooper said. “It sends a loud message that we’re all united.” Arguing for separation of church and state, Stevens has made it a mission to end prayer at public meetings. “Hallandale is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg,” Stevens said. “We intend to go across America.”
SAVE THE DATE: Former St. Petersburg City Councilman Wengay Newton celebrates the New Year with his Ninth Annual neighborhood appreciation Bar-B-Que, Saturday, Jan. 2. The event, which will also serve as a kick off for Newton’s House District 70 campaign, begins 1 p.m. at Dell Holmes Park Pavilion #1, 2800 22nd St., South in St. Petersburg. For more information, email [email protected]or (727) 327-4664.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY belatedly to LG Carlos Lopez-Cantera. Celebrating today are Brock Mikosky (stateside this year) and Eddie Thompson.
