Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
FIRST AND FOREMOST — PRAYERS FOR STACEY WEBB
John Webb (a fraternity brother) posts to Facebook about his wife, the wonderful Stacey Webb, a lobbyist at Southern Strategy Group: “Please send your thoughts and prayers for my wife, Stacey Smelser Webb, as she is literally fighting for her life right now at Emory hospital in Atlanta. She has an infection in her chest due to complications from open heart surgery that was performed last month. … I’m sorry if this is coming as a shock to you. We’ve kept this fairly private, but this is at a point where it doesn’t need to be private anymore. … I realize this news is difficult to bear, and many of you will want to reach out. I am struggling with all this, and am calling close friends and family to come. Heather is still here, along with Walker. Please please please don’t ask or offer help at this point. Please do keep up your thoughts and prayers for Stacey. She needs every single bit of it right now.”
ELECTION DAY 2016 is 365 days away.
NEW MARCO RUBIO CREDIT-CARD DATA SHOW LESS SPENDING via Marc Caputo of POLITICO – There was a reason the presidential candidate wasn’t letting people see his long-secret Republican Party of Florida American Express bills. … That was the conventional wisdom and hype in Florida political circles … On Saturday, Rubio released his 2005 and 2006 statements that showed he only spent $65,000 on party business … far less than other Republican leaders who succeeded him in the Florida House … Did make eight personal purchases on the card … but his campaign insisted that he reimbursed American Express $7,200 for them. “Some of these charges are from more than 10 years ago, and the only people who ask about them today are the media and our political opponents,” Rubio spokesman Todd Harris said. ‘We are releasing them now because Marco has nothing to hide.’… In the cases where he made personal purchases, Rubio paid AmEx directly for any personal expenses, Harris said. … From swank Las Vegas hotel rooms to Disney World conferences to pricey dinners, the charges show the perks of professional politicking as well as the pitfalls encountered by the at-times financially careless young legislator during a boom-time economy. So much special-interest money filled party coffers that Republican leaders thought little of the consequences of spending so much. … [Alex Conant tweeted this sentence:] As the campaign began analyzing his bills and bank statements, it waited a little longer to set a trap for critics to repeat speculative exaggerations about the size and scope of his 2005-06 credit card expenses.
THE BOTTOM LINE via Mike Allen: One year from Election Day, Team Rubio is trying to be celebratory, not smug. But yesterday’s coup – Rubio’s release of AmEx records that were long rumored to hold landmines, and instead were a nothingburger – is emblematic of a golden couple of weeks that send him into Tuesday’s debate with a ton of momentum.
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: “Inside Rubio’s messy statements from American Express: GOP candidate releases records showing late fees, personal charges,” by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Sean Sullivan and Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post; “Marco Rubio’s use of party credit card reinforces a picture of messy finances” via Jeremy Peters, Steve Eder and Jeremy Merrill of the New York Times
MARC CAPUTO VS. ADAM SMITH
— @AdamSmithTimes K, outta pocket. All I saw was press release & your snub of Times/Herald for, I guess, friendlier treatment 😉
— @RumpfShaker: you aren’t seriously accusing a Republican candidate of running to *Politico* for fluff coverage? 😉
— @MarcACaputo: Vodka, gin or rum with the Haterade, Adam?
(By the way, if you want to see a genuine, intellectually hefty, fierce exchange between two political powerhouses, watch this showdown from Friday night between Bill O’Reilly and George Will. As Erik Wemple reports, the antagonism was already in place before the Friday broadcast, as Will had used his perch as Washington Post columnist to deliver a slam on O’Reilly’s “Killing Reagan.” “Bill O’Reilly Slanders Ronald Reagan,” wrote Will, criticizing the book for its contention that the assassination attempt against Reagan in March 1981 had weakened him over the course of his presidency.)
HERE’S WHY RUBIO’S CORPORATE CARD SAGA ISN’T REALLY A SCANDAL via Michelle Ye Hee Lee of the Washington Post – Rubio’s handling of his state Republican Party-issued corporate card is under renewed scrutiny … addressed questions over his corporate card usage. His answer gave us pause … seemed to rebut many of the claims we have read in recent media coverage of the credit card controversy. Was he rewriting history? We decided to dig into his explanation … And we found, for the most part, his story matches up. It’s unclear what the party’s policy was over personal charges on the corporate card — or if party officials even knew what the policy was. We’ll be keeping an eye on this issue but based on the information released so far, a mountain’s been made out of molehill, by the media and Rubio’s opponents.
RUBIO ASKED SCOTT WALKER TO ENDORSE HIM via Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO – After last week’s debate in Boulder… Rubio tried to initiate a phone call with the Wisconsin governor … A source close to Walker, who requested anonymity to discuss the outreach, said the two connected by phone late last week. That conversation, which lasted between 15 and 20 minutes, began with friendly banter … Toward the end of the conversation, the source said, Rubio made a ‘hard ask’ for Walker’s support.
REPS. KRISTI NOEM, MIKE POMPEO ENDORSE RUBIO via Eliza Collins of POLITICO – Rubio‘s week of endorsements continued, with two newer house members, Reps. Kristi Noem, of South Dakota, and Mike Pompeo, of Kansas. “… Rubio represents the kind of next-generation conservative leader that puts our party in the best position to win back the White House next year,” Noem said.
JOE POUNDER JOINS RUBIO CAMPAIGN via Florida Politics – America Rising president and cofounder Joe Pounder is joining Rubio’s campaign as a senior adviser … America Rising PAC became one of the leading Republican oppo research firms, serving as an alternative to American Bridge PAC, its Democratic counterpart. Pounder also worked on Rubio’s 2010 Senate campaign.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I used to hate Darth Vader, but now I kind of feel a little bit sorry for him knowing what he went through to get to that point. And he’s probably the most fascinating character in the whole movie, because he started out as this individual with a lot of talent and promise, then something went wrong, something went really bad, he went dark, he went nasty.” — Marco Rubio, as quoted by the Washington Examiner.
BEN CARSON CLAIMED WEST POINT SCHOLARSHIP BUT NEVER APPLIED via Kyle Cheney of Politico – According to a tale told in his book, ‘Gifted Hands,’ the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by the offer of a ‘full scholarship’ to the military academy. West Point, however, has no record of Carson applying, much less being extended admission. … When presented … with these facts, Carson’s campaign conceded he never applied. … Carson [told the N.Y. Times]: ‘I don’t remember all the specific details. Because I had done so extraordinarily well you know I was told that someone like me – they could get a scholarship to West Point. But I made it clear I was going to pursue a career in medicine. … It was, you know, an informal “with a record like yours we could easily get you a scholarship to West Point.” Carson … was asked by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly whether he should have been more clear, … and replied, “I guess it could have been more clarified. I told it as I understood it.”
EDITOR’S NOTE OF THE DAY via Politico: “POLITICO stands by its reporting on this story, which has been updated to reflect Ben Carson’s on the record response. The original story and headline said that Carson’s campaign had admitted he “fabricated” a “full scholarship” from West Point, but now Carson denies that his campaign’s statement constituted such an admission, and the story and headline were changed to reflect that. POLITICO’s reporting established that Carson said he received a “full scholarship” from West Point, in writing and in public appearances over the years — but in fact he did not and there is actually no such thing as a “full scholarship” to the taxpayer-funded academy. And today in response to POLITICO he acknowledged for the first time that was not the case. Carson never explicitly wrote that he had applied for admission to West Point, although that was the clear implication of his claim to have received an offer of a “full scholarship,” a point that POLITICO’s initial report should have made clear.”
WHY THIS MATTERS – West Point has occupied a central place in Carson’s personal story for years. According to a tale told in his book, “Gifted Hands,” the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by the offer of a ‘full scholarship’ to the military academy.
TWEET, TWEET: @BuzzFeedAndrew: “This West Point story is a false flag to get us to stop talking about Pyramids.
“Ben Carson’s past faces deeper questions” via Reid Epstein of the Wall Street Journal
INSIDERS: CARSON CAN’T WIN via Katie Glueck of POLITICO – Carson may be flying high in the polls for now, but he can’t win the Republican nomination … according to more than 80 percent of Republicans in this week’s POLITICO Caucus … “Smart guy – Yes; Nice guy — Yes; Ready for the presidency — Hell No!” offered one New Hampshire Republican … “Questions are going to get tougher and tougher which should hopefully expose his lack of depth,” predicted a South Carolina Republican. “Honestly,” said a Nevada GOP respondent, “I believe he will tire of the attention that the front-runner or one of the front-runners will garner, and will write a best-seller about the experience.”
JEB BUSH: I BELIEVE BEN CARSON OVER POLITICO via Matthew Kazin of Fox Business – Bush … trusts the renowned neurosurgeon … “I believe him to be true, I’m not going to speculate this – I admire the guy a lot … We can all be vetted. I feel like I’ve been thoroughly vetted, to be honest with you, and that’s part of the process of running for president, but it ought to be done in an intellectually honest way and a thoughtful way and if he says that he didn’t do something then I trust him, I believe him. If it’s between Politico and Ben Carson, put me under the Ben Carson column please.”
BUSH ZEROES IN ON NEW HAMPSHIRE, WHERE VOTERS’ JUDGMENTS COME SLOWLY AND LATE via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times – The most likely state to resurrect or finish off … Bush’s presidential ambitions” and surveys voters there who are giving him hope by taking time to make their decision. “I don’t think he really wants it,” [said] Kim Boyce … dismissively. “I think he’s in there just because of his lineage, and I want a candidate to want it … His time has past.” Bush … is bent on proving otherwise … spending far more time in New Hampshire than anywhere else, and following the standard playbook for winning the state — no big entourages, lots of events in living rooms and small community centers, plenty of listening, substance, give-and-take with voters.
BUSH’S LOOSE-LIPPED DONORS via BuzzFeed News – Bush’s aides have grown increasingly frustrated this fall with the loose-lipped nature of their fundraisers and financial backers. Hardly a week passes anymore without a fresh round of news articles featuring apocalyptic quotes from anonymous “donors,” and campaign strategy details leaked by unnamed “insiders.”
This is not a problem unique to Jeb, of course. Rich people have always written big checks to presidential candidates in part for the privilege of having reporters dial them up and treat them like political Svengalis. But Bush’s blabbermouth donors are further complicating the campaign’s already arduous task of raising money amid plunging poll numbers — and the dire quotes the contributors are feeding the press only serve to perpetuate the cycle of panic. When an unnamed Bush donor told the Washington Post last month that the campaign was in a ‘death spiral,’ the quote immediately ricocheted across the web and was stretched across TV screens in countless cable news segments.
ADAM SMITH’S LOSER OF THE WEEK IN FLORIDA POLITICS: Brian Ballard – “Saint Brian, an uber-lobbyist in Tallahassee with a knack for cozying up to politicians who can help him and his clients, was so offended by Jeb Bush questioning Marco Rubio’s attendance in the U.S. Senate that he declared himself done with Bush and ready to jump to Rubio. Perish the thought that this had anything to do with Bush’s fall and Rubio’s rise in the polls!”
TWEET, TWEET: @SaintPetersBlog: Dont agree w/ @BallardFirm’s move or rationale for it, BUT in his defense he showed loyalty sticking w Crist in 2010
SOME FLORIDA DONORS HEDGED THEIR BETS AND GAVE TO BOTH BUSH AND RUBIO via Nicholas Nehamas and Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – At least 45 people in the state have made financial donations to Miami’s two presidential candidates, totaling nearly $221,000 between both campaigns as of the end of October … Some intended to back Bush all along but gave to Rubio’s Senate re-election effort and let him keep the money after he switched to run for president. Others refused to pick between a pair of Republicans they know and like … a few decided to hedge their bets — a move that’s looking wise now that Bush, the one-time frontrunner, has plummeted in early polls while Rubio has surged.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush will be in Wisconsin where he will join Gov. Scott Walker to highlight education reforms and visit charter and private school students and their families participating in the state school choice program. The event, hosted by the Hispanics for School Choice, is 3:30 p.m. CT at La Casa de Esperanza, 410 Arcadian Ave. in Waukesha.
DONALD TRUMP’S SORRY NIGHT ON ‘SNL’: AN OVERHYPED BUMMER FOR US ALL via Hank Stuever of the Washington Post – Bring back the old America, … the one where our preeminent vehicle for topical satire would have ably skewered a … vainglorious presidential candidate, rather than invite him into the club … When and if boffo ratings reports come out … he will promote them as proof of his electability, rather than as evidence that anyone will slow down to gawk at a car wreck. … cast members telegraphed an awkward vibe of reluctance when it came to performing on stage with the bombastic billionaire. Even jokes about their awkwardness being around him fell flat. … It’s entirely possible that the current crew at ‘SNL’ – onstage and in the writers’ room – just isn’t cut out for the heavy comedic lifting that the 2016 election will require. This gang … just [isn’t] ready for an election cycle that has so far proven to be more bizarre than past ‘SNL’ casts ever had to grapple with.
— “Donald Trump wins Alachua County Republican Party presidential straw poll” via Christopher Curry of the Gainesville Sun
SUMMIT SHOULD JUMP-START GOP PRIMARY via Zac Anderson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Florida will be the center of GOP presidential politics this week as most of the candidates converge on Orlando for a two-day event hosted by the state party. The Sunshine Summit should jump-start Florida’s Republican primary, giving activists a chance to see the campaigns up close while offering the candidates statewide media exposure in one of the largest and most diverse election battlegrounds in the country.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush will be hosting a “Jeb 2016 Friends and Family Mix and Mingle” event Friday, Nov. 13 beginning 4:30 p.m. at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Room – Sebastian I-1, 9939 Universal Blvd. in Orlando. All ticketed guests of the RPOF Sunshine Summit are welcome.
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HAPPENING TODAY – RON DESANTIS CAMPAIGNS WITH TREY GOWDY IN THE VILLAGES: DeSantis will campaign with South Carolina Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy in the Sunshine State. Monday finds the two Congressmen at a Town Hall at the Villages at 9 a.m., and the day before that Gowdy will keynote the Volusia County GOP’s Lincoln Day dinner. Congressman DeSantis will be presented with the American Conservative Union’s “Conservative Excellence Award” for his perfect 100% ACU Conservative Rating. The honor will be presented to him by ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp.
HAPPENING TOMORROW: Conservative women’s committee Maggie’s List is holding a fundraising event in Vero Beach Tuesday to support Rebecca Negron and Sandy Adams the group’s first endorsed congressional candidates of 2016. The $250 per person event begins with a private function 5:30 p.m. with special guests Adam Putnam and Denise Grimsley. The general reception starts 6:30 p.m. at the Costa d’Este Beach Resort, 3244 Ocean Dr. in Vero Beach.
TED DEUTCH, LOIS FRANKEL ON HIGH ALERT AFTER REDISTRICTING via Kimberly Railey of National Journal – Under a new map the Florida Supreme Court is reviewing, the homes of both Reps. Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel fall into the same Democratic-leaning district. The two, who are friends, have pledged they won’t seek the same seat—but no matter the case, they’re both poised to run in areas where a sizable chunk of residents don’t know them. … The new map moves their side-by-side districts to ones that are stacked on top of each other north-to-south, a change that could open them up to about 300,000 or 400,000 new constituents. The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the proposal Tuesday, though it’s unclear when the court will issue a final ruling. … In the meantime, Deutch and Frankel are stockpiling cash to be prepared for the task of reaching new voters and squelching potential primary challengers.
BLOOMBERG GROUP TO AIR ADS TARGETED PAM BONDI FOR CHALLENGING OBAMA’S CLEAN POWER PLAN via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – Bloomberg is financing his super PAC about $10 million in television ads targeting … Bondi and three other attorneys general for their opposition to the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. “Despite the overwhelming evidence of the clean power plants progress and the lives we’ve saved, the 4 attorney generals in Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin are now directly interfering with the public interests in their state,” said Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser with Independence USA PAC … spent hundreds of millions of dollars on various progressive causes since its creation two years ago.
SOLAR AMENDMENT WORKSHOP
A constitutional amendment backed by Consumers for Smart Solar will be discussed in a workshop of the Financial Impact Estimating Conference. Meeting begins 9 a.m. in Room 117 of the Knott Building.
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RHEA CHILES, WIFE OF FORMER GOVERNOR, DIES AT 84 via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald [The] wife of former Gov. Lawton Chiles … an influential force in her husband’s policy initiatives as governor and U.S. senator and an accomplished artist, died Sunday at her home on Anna Maria Island. She had been attended by hospice. “Today is a profoundly sad, but also joyous day as we gather as a family to both celebrate and mourn the life and death of our mom …” wrote her son, Lawton “Bud” Chiles … “While she has faced health challenges over the last several years, up until the past three to four months she continued to do the things she loved best – enjoying family and friends, painting and encouraging others.”
SHE WAS A GREAT HUMAN BEING, writes Ron Sachs on Facebook. “A great human being and a great Florida First Lady, has passed. She was one of a kind — just like her terrific partner for life, Gov. Lawton Chiles.”
TWEET, TWEET: @SenBillNelson: Rhea Chiles was a great First Lady, partner to Lawton and friend to many of us. One of her many legacies is Florida House, our embassy in DC
TWEET, TWEET: .@FLAnnScott & I are saddened by the passing of Rhea Chiles
TWEET, TWEET: @RepGwenGraham: I am so saddened to hear that First Lady Rhea Chiles has passed away. May she rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
— WHAT THE GOV’S OFFICE WANTS YOU TO READ —
BUILDING THE RICK SCOTT BRAND WITH A NEW STATEWIDE ‘TAX CUT TOUR’ via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times – Scott returns to the tax-cut campaign trail … when he’ll visit every major media market in the state to promote his call for $1 billion in tax cuts … [his] second tax cut tour in five months … stops in Melbourne, Tampa, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Jacksonville and Panama City … The slogan is “1st for Jobs” and the website is an official state site featuring the familiar red and blue “Let’s Get to Work” campaign color scheme.
— “Manufacturers fear loss of tax exemption on equipment” via Marcia Heroux Pounds of the Sun Sentinel
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Gov. Scott will kick off his “$1 Billion Tax Cut Tour” with a 9:30 a.m. press conference at Northrop Grumman, 1510 Grumman Pl. in Melbourne.
— WHAT THE GOV’S OFFICE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ —
2 WEEKS BEFORE HIS DEATH, DCF SAID TOT ON BOAT WAS SAFE via Carol Marbin Miller of the Miami Herald – Two weeks before 17-month-old Yadriel Alba’s small body was found floating near his parents’ boat, state child welfare administrators dismissed a report that the toddler was living with a “dangerous” father aboard a “vessel that is not in livable condition” in the middle of Biscayne Bay. The report to the Department of Children & Families’ child welfare hotline appears to have been made on Aug. 19 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission … “The conditions are disgusting and horrific … There is no type of sanitation device. … They are essentially homeless and living full time on the boat.” Child welfare investigators looked into the report for nearly seven weeks before concluding that Yadriel was not at risk. “The mother and father were very cooperative … Both stated everything was going well with them and [Yadriel].”
STATE COMMERCE SECRETARY EXPENSED PRICEY OFFICE FURNITURE, HOTELS, DINNERS via Tina Jensen of Fox 13 – Bill Johnson, who became Florida’s secretary of commerce and [Enterprise Florida’s] CEO in March, submitted expense reports and racked up credit card charges totaling thousands of dollars during his first few months as leader of the state’s public-private economic development organization … $6,600 order for four custom-made office lounge chairs … refunded by the furniture company a few days after FOX 13 requested public records of his expenses.
STATE PARKS BEING REVIEWED FOR PLACE TO ALLOW HUNTING via Craig Pittman of the Tampa Bay Times – A checklist that park planners use in reviewing what can be allowed in Florida’s park system now calls for adding hunting as a possible activity. Initially the “hunting” category was only for the larger parks, according to former Department of Environmental Protection park planner Enid Ehrbar. But three weeks ago, she said, the planners were told to apply it to each of the state’s 161 parks. … Even the Ybor City Museum State Park would have to face the question of whether hunters could find something to shoot there.
… DEP Secretary Jon Steverson, whom Gov. Rick Scott appointed to lead the DEP last year, is trying to make the parks pay for themselves by adding in previously banned activities. … In March, he told a state legislative committee that he wanted to make the parks pay for themselves by adding timber harvesting, cattle grazing and other money-making activities. … Steverson did not mention the word “hunting” to lawmakers. Repeated requests … to interview Steverson have been declined by his staff. They say he is far too busy to talk to reporters.
MANY FLORIDA HOUSE, SENATE PANELS NOT MEETING, VOTING ON LEGISLATION via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times – State lawmakers have spent four of the last seven weeks in Tallahassee for committee hearings, the first critical step in passing legislation and writing a state budget … Yet in that time, more than a third of the 62 committees and subcommittees in the House and Senate have not considered any legislation … Six have not met at all … No committee meetings means no votes, which could mean fewer proposals on the House and Senate floors in the upcoming session.
MORE LOW-INCOME POOL CUTS AFFECT UPCOMING BUDGET TALKS via Tia Mitchell of the Florida Times-Union – There was lots of talk during the 2015 session about the Low Income Pool … LIP program was reduced from $2.2 billion to $1.1 billion. Hospitals that rely on the funding — like University of Florida Health Jacksonville — freaked out … Now, lawmakers are starting to discuss what they will do for the upcoming fiscal year because Washington has promised to cut down LIP even more to $608 million … the federal government has indicated over the last year it’s not in any mood to negotiate with Florida on this issue. The next step will be for hospitals to lobby lawmakers to again make up the difference … hospitals will see they aren’t the only ones asking for a funding boost … Scott wants to cut taxes for businesses and families by $1 billion.
***Holland & Knight’s Florida Government Advocacy Team offers comprehensive representation that includes advocacy before Florida’s local and state governments, in Washington, D.C., and in the courtroom, if necessary. In addition to our strong presence in Tallahassee, the statewide team advocates for clients in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and South Florida. The team includes Florida’s 40th governor, former members of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, and senior staff for members of the Florida Legislature, the Florida Cabinet and other executive agencies.***
REPUBLICANS EXPRESS RELIEF OVER END OF FLORIDA SENATE LEADERSHIP FIGHT via Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times – There is one common theme in reactions from state legislators about the end of the leadership fight between … Negron and … Latvala. Relief. … Legislators asked about Latvala conceding the race said it was just good news to have the tension that surrounded the contest finally come to an end after years of hovering over the Legislature … “The healing begins and now we can move forward,” said State Sen. Rob Bradley … “There were some internal dynamics that were challenging. Those challenges were overcome and we’re now moving forward. It’s a great day.”
HEATHER FITZENHAGEN FUNDRAISER INVITE AT ODDS WITH HOUSE RULES via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – Fitzenhagen sent out a fundraising invite for her reelection campaign during the Legislature’s special redistricting session … at odds with a House rules that prohibit members from soliciting campaign cash while lawmakers are in session … scheduled for Nov. 24 at The Edison Restaurant in Tallahassee … The fundraiser itself will not take place while lawmakers are in a special or regular session, but the invite was sent out … as lawmakers were in Tallahassee for a special redistricting session.
SD 13 HOPEFUL DEAN ASHER BOOSTS FUNDRAISING LEAD WITH $55K IN OCT. via Florida Politics – Asher added to his fundraising lead in October, raising $55,250 between his campaign account and political committee … brought in $5,250 through his campaign account, which finished the month with just under $149,000 cash on-hand. Allegiant Friends for Florida, his political committee, posted the other $50,000 … from one donor: The National Association of Realtors.
— “Democrat Gary Farmer posts $210K in first month of SD 29 race” via Florida Politics
HD 15 REP JAY FANT SCORES BIG IN OCTOBER FUNDRAISING HAUL via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics – Despite running unopposed … Fant understands the importance of fundraising … with $19,700 brought in, [October] was his best month … raised $43,700, and has spent $4,780, almost exclusively on Front Line Strategies.
CONGRATS to George Platt of LSN Partners on his election to the Port Everglades Association’s Board of Directors.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Dean Cannon and Larry Cretul on the third year of your burgeoning lobbying firm, Capitol Insight.
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Brian Ballard, Michael Abrams, Brady Benford, Bradley Burleson, Chris Dorworth, Ballard Partners: Orange County Tax Collector; Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
Brian Bautista, David Browning, Christopher Dudley, Mercer Fearington, Clark Smith, Southern Strategy Group: Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority; Florida Opportunity Fund
Robert Blair, Corcoran & Johnston: Preferred Medical Plan
Michael Horner, Macy Island Consulting: Avatar Properties
Anna Kimsey Edwards, Grayling: GreatSchools.org
Yolanda Cash Jackson, Becker & Poliakoff: Neighborworks Florida Collaborative
Jonathan Kilman, Foley & Lardner: Telehealth Association of Florida
Jeff Kottkamp, Jeff Kottkamp PA: AltMed
Susan Langston: LeadingAge Florida
Alisa LaPolt, Topsail Public Affairs: Intervention Project for Nurses
Ehren Oates: Department of Transportation
Kellie Ralston: American Sportfishing Association
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WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Jon Adrabi, Hillary Clinton’s Deputy National Finance Director for the Southeast, and his wife, Abra, welcomed Dora Rose Adrabi to the world on Monday, November 2nd. Dora is hoping to grow up in a world with no glass ceilings.
FUTURE OF ORLANDO ROLLER COASTER IS IN DOUBT via Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press – [The] Wallack family announced plans … to construct the world’s tallest roller coaster … centerpiece of a $500 million entertainment complex on Orlando’s International Drive … More than a year later, Skyplex’s future is in doubt, thanks to opposition led by neighboring Universal Orlando, which says the proposed 570-foot “Skyscraper” coaster, which would have a 450-foot drop, is not only too tall, but would adversely change the culture of the tourist corridor. Joshua Wallack … believes it’s nothing more than some of the area’s older tourism businesses being fearful of competition. “That’s all it is. That’s 1,000 percent what it is … It’s the big theme park trying to restrict competition. They are stomping all over everyone. It’s bullying.” John McReynolds, Universal senior vice president of external affairs, denied Wallack’s accusation. “If they want to have the tallest moniker in town – have at it. Welcomed to it … This is not a competitive issue. We don’t have to be the world’s tallest to be world class. We already are world class.”
NEW ‘STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS’ TRAILER REVEALS CHUNK OF NEW FOOTAGE – Disney dropped a brand new, international trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on Friday. But more importantly, there’s real character dialogue in these new scenes. Behold actors acting, the mystery box is revealed. …The notoriously secretive director J.J. Abrams, along with Disney and Lucasfilm, have all been so quiet about “The Force Awakens” that it feels downright strange to see the new class interacting with one another. Surprise, the new “Star Wars” isn’t just gorgeous shots of X-Wings on a burnt orange horizon and blasts of new lightsabers.
Speaking of lightsabers, there is plenty of crossguard lightsaber action from new, alleged villain Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). That red, cackling saber looks exceedingly DIY. However, we have no clue what that could possibly mean, yet. … Plus it looks like we’re finally privy to the first time Rey (Daisy Riley) and Finn (John Boyega) exchange names. But besides that, and a glimpse of C-3PO, there’s not much else to decipher.
PLAYOFF PULSE: CLEMSON, ALABAMA CLEAR UP PLAYOFF PICTURE via Ralph Russo of the Associated Press –The playoff race cleared up pretty quickly. There is still plenty of time for things to get messy … Clemson (9-0) … Alabama (8-1) … Ohio State (9-0) … If those three get through unscathed, spot No. 4 would likely go to either an undefeated Big 12 champion, a one-loss Pac-12 champion or Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish can win out.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend, Rep. Dana Young. Belated wishes to Leah Bickley and Emily Sitzberger.
