Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
DANIEL WEBSTER TOPPLES KEVIN MCCARTHY’S SPEAKER BID via Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel
In one of the most unlikely upsets in American political history … Daniel Webster‘s long shot bid for the speaker’s position has topped front-runner U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy … [who] withdrew … after Webster’s bid picked up 40 votes from the House Freedom Caucus … Webster said he began picking up some votes from members dedicated to McCarthy, though he is far from closing in on what he needs.
McCarthy’s capitulation leaves Congressional Republicans’ attempts to elect a new leadership in chaos. Webster’s bid was more of a protest over house rules and procedures than a serious attempt to become one of the most powerful men in the world … with McCarthy out, Webster is one of only two willing candidates. The other is … Jason Chaffetz … a hard-line Tea Party pick who makes plenty of mainstream members of Congress uncomfortable.
David Jolly … believes that Webster may have a real shot to be elected …“I think that’s good news for Dan Webster, someone I not only had intended to support, but was planning to nominate from the house floor … I think Dan has demonstrated he can lead the Legislature in Florida, and he can lead a
Now that McCarthy has made the ultimate concession … there is little known about who might emerge as the next speaker, or if Webster might ride his supporters into the forefront. Jolly said no one else has emerged right away, and it is possible no one will … a strong effort by House Republicans to draft U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan … but Ryan … had no interest. Jolly said Ryan might still emerge. Even so, Jolly said he would support Webster.
MCCARTHY’S IMPLOSION SIGNALS A FULL BLOWN REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION via Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post
There is a revolution happening within the Republican party right now. The establishment’s hold on power is more tenuous than it has been at any time in recent memory. There is no one currently in office that can claim with any credibility that he or she speaks ‘for’ the party as a whole.
GOP PLEADS WITH PAUL RYAN TO RUN FOR SPEAKER
Boehner “personally asked House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to run for speaker over two long phone conversations… Boehner has told Ryan that he is the only person who can unite the House GOP at a time of turmoil,” The Washington Post reports.
Politico: The Wisconsin Republican is getting bombarded with calls and one-on-one appeals from GOP lawmakers urging him to be the party’s white knight. Boehner has had multiple conversations with the Ways and Means chairman. Even before he dropped his own bid, McCarthy told Ryan he should do it.
— “McCarthy’s exit came after personal threat over affair allegations” via Huffington Post
— “David Jolly: Paul Ryan would win speaker’s race ‘unanimously’” via POLITICO
— “Dennis Ross: McCarthy announcement ‘shocked’ House Republicans” via POLITICO
TWEET, TWEET
— @DWSTweets: McCarthy’s announcement is proof positive of Republican disarray at every level as Tea Party extremism takes control of the House GOP.
— @BylineBrandon: And in the race for chaotic dysfunction, D.C. retakes a narrow lead over Tallahassee
— @GrayRohrer: Headline if Webster wins: Florida Man Saves US House from Chaos
WORST TWEET OF THE DAY: @BillMcCollum: Hey @Mdixon55 wanted you to be the first to know that I’m announcing … that if I was still in the House I would vote for @RepWebster for Speaker — he’s a man of great character and integrity
GERALDINE THOMPSON TO CHALLENGE WEBSTER AS HE SEEKS U.S. HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP via Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida
Thompson will officially announce her campaign for Congress … entering what could be a crowded Democratic field to topple the Orlando Republican who has a renewed shot at becoming U.S. House Speaker … decision to run for Webster’s seat has been in the works for months … The race against Webster will draw national scrutiny now that he has a good shot at becoming U.S. House Speaker … Thompson’s decision to enter the Democratic primary against former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings could paradoxically entice yet another Democrat to enter the race, Bob Poe … Thompson and Demings are both African-American. Poe is white.
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— “Donald Trump takes (some) credit for Kevin McCarthy’s decision to abandon speaker’s race” via Ledyard King of USA TODAY
MARCO RUBIO RAISES $6 MILLION IN LATEST QUARTER via Eli Stokols of POLITICO
Rubio‘s campaign raised $6 million in the third-quarter, according to donors … That’s short of expectations for a candidate who has been rising in the polls, but an uptick in contributions in September shows a positive trajectory without putting a larger target on the back of a candidate who is trying to stay under the radar and out of the fray as long as he can.
More than momentum, what the campaign values most is the money it has in the bank … Rubio is starting the fourth quarter with $11 million cash on hand. That’s the number that Rubio’s team is highlighting as he and Jeb Bush continue to battle for support from the party’s establishment and donor class.
Bush, who has yet to release his third-quarter fundraising totals, is expected to outpace Rubio; but there are concerns about the campaign’s total cash on hand given the higher burn rate of Bush’s larger operation.
ANONYMOUS DONORS SEND MILLIONS TO PRO-RUBIO GROUP via Julie Bykowicz of The Associated Press
While other … candidates also have ties to secret-money groups, the Rubio arrangement is the boldest. Every pro-Rubio television commercial so far in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina has been paid for not by his campaign or … by a super PAC that identifies its donors, but instead by a nonprofit called Conservative Solutions Project.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Rubio continues his campaign swing through Nevada.
JEB BUSH LIKELY TO SURPASS SECOND-QUARTER FUNDRAISING via Beth Reinhard of the Wall Street Journal
Bush is expected to surpass his $11.4 million haul from last quarter, according to people involved with the campaign … more money than some donors expected and may alleviate some concerns about his decline in the polls. However … fundraising pace has slowed considerably over the last three months as he lost his front-runner status to Donald Trump. In the second quarter, Mr. Bush raised $11.4 million in just 15 days … was outraised over the summer by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has never held run for office before … Carson … collected $20 million over the last three months, for a total of $31 million this year.
Bush’s supporters are counting on the super PAC backing him, Right to Rise, to offset any rival’s campaign fundraising advantage … raised a record-setting $103 million in the first six months of 2015.
SUPER PAC BACKING BUSH PLAYS UP OUTSIDER RECORD via Reena Flores of CBS News
Right to Rise USA, a super PAC supporting Jeb Bush‘s presidential run, continues its media blitz in New Hampshire with an anti-establishment message … “Town Hall,” will soon be out in the state casting the first primary ballots, and it emphasizes Bush’s willingness to “disrupt” politics as usual. “We need to disrupt the old order in Washington, D.C. … We can do a lot better by applying conservative principles.”
BUSH EXPLAINS WHY HE OPPOSES VOTING RIGHTS ACT PROVISION via Zeke Miller of TIME Magazine
Bush said that states like Georgia no longer need to be covered by the now-defunct pre-clearance provisions, while controversial moves such as Alabama’s recent closure of motor vehicle offices are covered by the provisions that remain intact.
The interview clarified Bush’s comments earlier in the day, when he commented at a campaign event that he “[doesn’t] support reauthorizing it as it is,” which had been criticized by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee.
“What I’m saying is that, restoring this automatic pre-clearance process designed for an era of the 1960s is not relevant to 2015,” Bush said. “The rest of the Voting Rights Act has an important role to play.”
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush has private events in Illinois and Tennessee on Friday.
JEB TAILGATING SATURDAY: Bush plans to attend Saturday’s game between the Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs.
IN FIRST TV AD, LAWRENCE LESSIG ASKS WHO ‘OWNS’ MARCO RUBIO via Ashley Parker of The New York Times
Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard professor who has raised $1 million for a single-issue presidential campaign, has placed his first television ad, in which he takes aim not at his better-known Democratic primary rivals but at … Rubio … Ignoring both … Clinton and … Sanders … Lessig’s 15-second commercial provocatively asks, “Who owns Marco Rubio?” and plasters an image of Rubio with the logos of big corporations like Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo that have contributed to his campaign.
“This is what our political system has turned into,” warns a woman’s voice.
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FINAL DEMOCRATIC DEBATE TO BE HELD IN MIAMI MARCH 9 via Dan Sweeny of the South Florida Sun Sentinel
The final Democratic presidential primary debate will take place March 9 in Miami … the six debates — and the dates of the first four … will take place on Oct. 13 in Nevada … each month afterward: Nov. 14 in Iowa, Dec. 19 in New Hampshire, Jan. 17 in South Carolina, Feb. 11 in Wisconsin … March 9 in Miami. The exact location of the Miami debate has not yet been announced.
QUINNIPIAC POLLS FLORIDA’S U.S. SENATE RACE, BUT LEAVES OUT GOP FRONTRUNNER DAVID JOLLY via Florida Politics
Quinnipiac Polling released … results of a new survey in the race to succeed Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate. For Democrats, the news is all good … Patrick Murphy leads … Carlos Lopez-Cantera37 – 29 percent and tops … Ron DeSantis 37 – 30 percent.
Alan Grayson gets 35 percent to Lopez-Cantera’s 32 percent and leads DeSantis 37 – 31 percent.
[There] is (at least) one glaring omission in this poll: Where in the poll is … David Jolly? He actually is the (nominal) frontrunner for the GOP nomination, yet he was not ballot-tested against Murphy or Grayson.
“We tried to deal with a race where there are several relatively unknown candidates. It’s always a challenge in situations like this,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
JOHN MORGAN SAYS HE’LL MATCH MEDICAL POT DRIVE DONATIONS 9-TO-1 via Ryan Ray of Florida Politics
Morgan announced on Thursday all donations in 2015 to his United for Care group — which is pushing for a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana — will be personally matched by the millionaire attorney to the tune of nine to one.
Morgan said in a statement his personal convictions will drive him to spare no expense when it comes to bringing patients who use cannabis to treat their ailments out of the shadows.
“Over the past two years I’ve met so many people across our state that NEED safe, legal access to medical marijuana. We are going to make sure that happens,” said Morgan.
SOLAR CHOICE REPORTS STRONGEST FUNDRAISING NUMBERS TO DATE via Florida Politics
Backers of an amendment that would expand consumer access to solar energy … bounced back from a slow August to raise nearly $450,000 this past month … Floridians for Solar Choice … committee officials said the $446,670 they brought in last month put them at $211,701 cash on-hand at the end of the reporting period.
The September report easily bests the cumulative $412,000 total FSC posted since forming in December … a major shift from August numbers, which saw the committee take in only $491 against a six-figure expenditure tally that sent FSC coffers below negative.
POLL SHOWS GROWING SUPPORT FOR ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
The group supporting a change to the state’s anti-discrimination law … released a new poll showing 68 percent of Florida voters support their effort … Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce … … 65 percent of men and 70 percent of women in favor of updating the Competitive Workforce Act … 60 percent or better among voters of every age level, and fully 69 percent of seniors … Support for the law has increased by seven points to 68 percent, with 49 percent indicating they would “strongly favor” updating the law. Opposition dropped five points to only 26 percent since 2013 … support for updating the non-discrimination law stands at 57 percent or better in every region of the state.
— “Neal Dunn nabs endorsement of three state GOP lawmakers” via Florida Politics
— “Republican fundraising shows a serious challenger in Democratic HD 9” via Florida Politics
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HOW NEW YORK POLITICIANS MAKE FLORIDA LOOK GREAT via the New York Post
Florida has plenty of selling points over New York. For starters, no personal-income tax, estate tax or capital gains tax … New York’s top city-state total income-tax rate is 12.7 percent, one of the nation’s highest. The Tax Foundation ranks Florida fifth best for business. The Empire State? Fifth worst. No wonder Florida passed New York as the third-most-populous state last year. And no wonder, Scott notes, New York lost $80 billion in income from 1992 to 2013, with Florida the top destination of those who fled.
STATE ECONOMIST’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IDEAS CLASH WITH GOV. SCOTT’S via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times
While … Scott was in New York recruiting jobs … the state’s top economist is in Tallahassee telling lawmakers that Florida’s strategy for growing the economy is off-base … Amy Baker laid out recommendations for economic incentive programs that differ from much of the development strategy that the state has taken. The state should give more support to small businesses and entrepreneurs, she said, and spend less effort attracting businesses in industries that might be drawn to Florida anyway.
Baker further pointed to the problems with using tax incentives to bring in large companies that have a presence in other states … state’s return on the investment becomes diluted, as money ends up boosting economies in other states where a company already exists. Much of the growth in Florida … is in start-ups and small businesses, and the state can capitalize on that growth and keep more money in the state by focusing less on bigger firms.
AARON BEAN GETS AUDIENCE WITH SCOTT CHIEF OF STAFF TO CALM TENSIONS via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times
Republican state Sen. Aaron Bean … made a solo mission this week in what he called an effort to “melt the ice” between the Senate and the Governor’s Office. “It’s as tense as it’s ever been” … So the gregarious lawmaker decided to pay a brief call Monday on Melissa Sellers, Scott’s chief of staff.
“‘Hey, I’m Aaron Bean. I want to start the relationship off better,'” is how Bean describes him breaking the ice. “She was very cordial. We’ve got to work together. We’ve got to have a professional relationship going forward. Hopefully we’re headed in that direction.”
Asked if he felt he made progress, Bean hesitated for several seconds … “Uh, yes, I think so. If not, that’s what my mom told me: Go introduce yourself and say, ‘Hey, I’m here to help.'”
SENATE FINE-TUNES RULES FOR EVALUATING MEMBER PROJECTS via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times
[The] Florida Senate is fine-tuning its handling of project requests … senators must attach their names to specific projects. All groups seeking money will be asked to complete a two-page form and provide supporting documentation. The Florida House already requires members to disclose in writing the projects they are sponsoring. The forms are public records.
PANEL OK’S ERASING CONFEDERATE FLAG FROM SENATE SEAL via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
The Florida Senate’s Rules Committee … unanimously recommended removing a Confederate flag from the chamber’s official seal and replacing it with the state flag … voted for the move 9-0.
Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner, who moved for the change, said she first asked Senate President Andy Gardiner to consider revising the seal shortly after the South Carolina shooting. Joyner … also said she did not immediately know how much the move would cost. Letterhead, business cards, lapel pins and a bevy of other items will have to be replaced. “Change is expensive sometimes,” she said.
TRANSPORTATION PANEL INCHES CLOSER TO DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS FIX via Florida Politics
The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony from staff of two state agencies and a circuit court judge … as it continued to seek answers when it comes to a Florida licensure regime previous witnesses have called “cruel.” Chairman Jeff Brandes wrote a handful of key administrators … “It is the intent of the committee to produce a substantive bill to reform the inequities in the practice of driver license suspension.”
Toward that end Brandes … called on Byron Brown … with the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability or OPPAGA … Brown’s testimony shed light on a central aspect of Brandes’ drive for reform of the state’s policy on license suspensions: most people are suspended for reasons unrelated to public safety.
‘BETTER THAN 50% CHANCE’ FOR SEMINOLE BLACKJACK DEAL via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
State Sen. Rob Bradley, who leads a legislative panel that oversees gambling in Florida … said there’s a “better than 50 percent” chance the Seminole Tribe of Florida and state officials will agree on a new deal for the tribe to continue offering blackjack. “We’re closer now than we were two weeks ago, and we were closer then than the month before,” he said.
AFP PREPARES SEQUEL TO FIGHT FILM SUBSIDY BILLS IN 2016 via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
Two major Hollywood productions intending to film in the Tampa Bay area chose not to because the state had no tax incentives to provide … “Gifted,” a new Hollywood film starring Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer … is being filmed off the coast of Savannah, Ga. Another Savannah production is “Live By Night,” the Ben Affleck-directed adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel set in Ybor City in the 1930s.
In both cases, the producers wanted to film in the Tampa Bay area, but couldn’t do so because there were no tax incentives available … Legislation that would have replenished those tax incentive funds in a program previous created by the Florida Legislature went down to defeat for the second year in a row in Tallahassee this year … Americans for Prosperity, is already gearing up to make sure those incentives aren’t available … Koch Brothers-funded group has created a new website, ScarySpending.com, to highlight for Floridians what they call the “importance of ending carve-outs for well-connected industries.” The site invites citizens to sign a petition to “Kill the Hollywood Handout Zombie!” and “Don’t Bring the Film Credit Back to Life,” done in a Halloween horror-type design.
MEANWHILE … TAX INCENTIVES GET GEORGIA ANOTHER FILM SET IN TAMPA AREA via Paul Guzzo of the Tampa Tribune
Once again, a bounty of state tax incentives and a close resemblance to the Tampa area has landed Georgia a major motion picture that’s about this region’s people and events … a month of production work started at Tybee Island off the coast of Savannah on “Gifted” — the fictional story of a St. Petersburg man who fights for custody of the brilliant young daughter of his deceased sister.
St. Petersburg had a chance of landing the production, as Ybor City did with “Live By Night,” about rum running in Ybor City during the 1920s and 1930s and directed by and starring Ben Affleck. But Florida doesn’t offer the publicly funded financial incentives that Georgia does, so Tampa’s Latin District is being recreated in Brunswick, Georgia, and production is set to begin next month.
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PERSONNEL NOTE — JESSICA SIMS TO HEAD DCF’S COMMUNICATIONS via of Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
Jessica Sims will become the Department of Children and Families’ new communications director … comes on board to a perpetually beleaguered child-welfare agency that most recently agreed to pay $450,000 as part of a settlement to head off future lawsuits in its handling of a case that resulted in the mass murder of a Gilchrist County family.
Sims most recently was press secretary for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and was the public information specialist for the Florida Division of Emergency Management … also was information director for the Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service.
4TH FLOOR FILES TALKS WITH TREY PRICE ABOUT DRY MARTINIS, THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT AND AMENDMENT 1 via Florida Politics
The latest edition of the 4th Floor Files speaks with veteran lobbyist Harold “Trey” Price, founder of Price Point Strategies … “I help people and companies successfully navigate state and local government bureaucracies to resolve the issues and problems that they face … I’m not a big fan of intrusive government meddling in our personal lives, or in business and commerce, so politically, I think that puts me in what I’ll call the ‘reasonable center.’” Motto? “It’s not over until the hanky drops. And even then, it’s not over.”
HILLSBOROUGH TO POST PAID LOBBYISTS’ VISITS ONLINE via Mike Salinero of The Tampa Tribune
Paid lobbyists in Hillsborough County will soon have to register so notice of their visits with county officials can be posted online … County commissioners voted 7-0 to pass a motion by Chairwoman Sandy Murman aimed at bringing more transparency to lobbying … the county will set up an Office of Professional Lobbyist Registration in the county attorney’s office. Murman … wanted lobbyists to have the same level of accountability at the local level as they do in Tallahassee.
“I think we should hold ourselves to the highest standards, and this is part of that,” Murman said.
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Caitlin Brongel, Southern Strategy Group: Apple Inc., Educational Testing Service
Electra Bustle, Southern Strategy Group: Town of Southwest Ranches
Peter Diroff: Source Code Systems, Inc.
Jeff Kottkamp, Regional General Hospital
David Ramba, Ramba Consulting: Sunrise Sports and Entertainment
TWEET, TWEET: @SteveBousquet: New water district chief Pete Antonacci’s wife can continue to represent clients in front of his board, draft ethics opinion says.
SPOTTED: The James Madison Institute in this National Review article about the the value of state think tanks.
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CONTEXT FLORIDA: LIKING CANDIDATES, THERAPY AND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
On Context Florida: Fifteen months before the presidential election, New Hampshire and Iowa is where the action is. That is true every four years, says Bob Sparks. Voters might agree with some, or many, of a candidate’s positions, but they want to vote for someone they like. In a close election, too many might stay at home if the nominee does not make them want to get out and vote. Catherine Durkin Robinson describes how she became a cliché, a middle-aged woman with everything she’d ever wanted, fighting waves of sadness and in need of professional help. Robinson finally admitted she couldn’t get through this on her own. Her issue didn’t need drugs, it needed analysis. She wanted to talk to someone who didn’t love me unconditionally. Robinson says she wanted to talk to a stranger. While humans are great at building systems or solutions that focus on highly specific problems or tasks, Teresa Barber says we sometimes struggle as communities or teams to connect those systems or pieces together in a holistic manner. Some Florida communities are connecting the dots as they step up to promote community schools. A series of community schools have been established in Central Florida, and most recently, Tallahassee has built tremendous momentum to launch a pilot at a site in South City.
Visit Context Florida to dig in.
WEEKEND TV
Black Almanac with Dr. Ed James on WWSB, ABC 7 in Sarasota: Celebrating 100 years for Sarasota’s African-American community.
Facing Florida with Mike Vasilinda: Cristina Bullins on correctional officer safety and political gurus Pete Dunbar and Screven Watson on the politics of the week.
Florida This Week on Tampa Bay’s WEDU: Political consultant Fred Piccolo, USF-St. Petersburg Professor Darryl Paulson, Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano, and Stacy Carlson of the Helios Foundation.
On Point with Shannon Ogden, on WFCN in Jacksonville: UNF Professor JeffriAnne Wilder on race relations in the U.S., WJCT’s Stain Cleiland and meteorologist Wes Hohenstein on the weather conditions that led to tragedy aboard the El Faro.
Political Connections on CF 13 in Orlando: Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, plus reportage from Troy Kinsey and Al Reuchel.
Political Connections on Bay News 9 in Tampa Bay: Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson and Orlando mayoral candidate Paul Paulson.
The Usual Suspects on WCTV-Tallahassee/Thomasville (CBS) and WJHG-Panama City (NBC): Hosts Steve Vancore and Gary Yordon with guest Mary Ellen Klas.
This Week in Jacksonville with Kent Justice on Channel 4 WJXT: Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun, Adjutant General of the Florida National Guard, and Dr. Ronald T. Libby, political science professor at UNF, on his book Purging the Republican Party: Tea Party Campaigns and Elections.
ON THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF THE ROTUNDA
Trimmel Gomes’ newest episode of The Rotunda examines the latest push to allow the ‘open carry’ of guns in the wake of the most recent mass shooting. Bill sponsors Rep. Matt Gaetz along with his father Sen. Don Gaetz argue the measure helps protect Second Amendment rights and promotes public safety.
With nothing to lose, Rep. Alan Williams says he plans to go all out in his last regular legislative session. And could Congressman Dan Webster be the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives? Gomes looks at the growing support around Webster following the surprised departure of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The Rotunda podcast is available every Friday via iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud. Subscribers receive free automatic downloads of episodes to their devices. Follow on @RotundaPodcast for daily updates.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to state Rep. Janet Adkins, Keyna Cory, Ben Diamond, Tia Mitchell, and state Sen. Joe Negron. Oh yeah, it’s also Mike Grissom’s birthday.
