Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
OBAMA, RAUL CASTRO SPEAK AHEAD OF POPE’S VISIT via the Associated Press
President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro had a rare phone call ahead of Pope Francis’ impending visit to both their nations.
The White House said Obama and Castro commended the pope’s role in “advancing relations between our countries.” Francis was instrumental in the secret talks that led to a thaw in relations between the Cold War foes, even offering the Vatican as a neutral location for negotiations.
POPE MEETS FIDEL CASTRO AFTER WARNING AGAINST IDEOLOGY via Nicole Winfield and Michael Weissenstein of the Associated Press
Pope Francis met with Fidel Castro … after urging thousands of Cubans to serve one another and not an ideology, a subtle jab at the communist system delivered during a Mass under the gaze of an image of Che Guevara in Havana’s iconic Revolution Plaza … the 40-minute meeting at Castro’s residence as informal and familial, with an exchange of books and discussion about big issues facing humanity, including Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment and the global economic system.
GOP CANDIDATES TO ATTEND POPE EVENTS DESPITE DIFFERENCES via Julie Pace of the Associated Press
To some Republican presidential candidates, it’s better to be with the popular pope than against him.
Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have deep policy differences with Pope Francis, but the senators will break off campaign travel to attend his address to Congress, a centerpiece of his eagerly anticipated visit to the United States.
Jeb Bush, a devout Catholic, will attend Mass with Francis in Washington. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another Catholic candidate, plans to attend one of the pope’s East Coast events.
… During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Bush called the pope an “amazing man” and welcomed his emphasis on mercy and compassion.
“I think he’s going to lift people’s spirits up,” Bush said of the pope’s visit to the U.S. “We’re in a time where there’s a lot of vulgarity and a lot of insults and a lot of just coarseness in our discourse. I’m not talking about politics, either. I’m talking about everyday life.
“And here’s a man who comes with a gentle soul, and I think it might be really healthy for our country to hear someone speak the way he does.”
MARCO RUBIO OP-ED: WILL POPE FRANCIS VIST INSIRE FREEDOM IN CUBA? Read here
“… In Cuba, His Holiness won’t find a government that protects its people and their God-given rights. Instead, he will find a regime that oppresses people and hinders progress, both socially and politically. He will meet with a regime that is solely responsible for the Cuban people’s plight over the past 56 years.
“… My hope is that the Pope’s visit to Cuba will remind all the Cuban citizens that they possess dignity and fundamental rights that come from God and that the Castro regime has no claim on changing what is 100% God-given.
“I pray the Pope can use his moral authority to inspire true religious freedom, and bring us closer to the day when freedom can finally take root on the island country; because only then will the people of Cuba prosper and have the opportunity to live out God’s plan.”
TWEET, TWEET: @Pontifex: I ask you to join me in praying for my trip to Cuba and the United States. I need your prayers.
CLIMATE GROUP LAUNCHES ADS TO COINCIDE WITH POPE’S VISIT via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida
As part of a national campaign, including a $2 million ad buy, San Francisco-based NextGen Climate has bought significant airtime in the Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Tallahassee media markets.
… “Pope Francis’ visit to the United States has the power to shift the conversation about climate change in a very real way,” said NextGen Climate president Tom Steyer in a news release. “His may be the most important voice in the world. Now, it’s time for Congress to join the growing coalition of military, faith and business leaders answering the Pope’s call to take action on climate change.”
The ad is entitled “Dear World” and is framed as a message to the world’s population about the dangers of climate change.
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CARLY FIORINA JUMPS INTO 2ND PLACE IN NEW CNN GOP PRESIDENTIAL POLL via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
After Carly Fiorina earned nearly universal praise as the big winner of last week’s Republican Presidential debate from the Reagan Library, the big question was whether that praise would translate into a bump in her poll ratings, which have languished in the lower tier this year … The answer to that is a definitive yes.
According to a new CNN/ORC poll … Donald Trump continues to lead the field with 24 percent, but Florina is now in second place with 15 percent … an 8-percentage point drop for Trump since last month … a 12-percentage point rise for Fiorina, who a month ago was sitting with just 3 percent support … directly related to her performance in Simi Valley – 52 percent tell CNN pollsters that Fiorina won the debate, while 31 percent say Trump was the loser in that three-hour affair.
TWEET, TWEET: @ZekeJMiller: Of 444 Republicans/leaners that CNN/ORC called, none backed Walker
RUBIO DOWNPLAYS HIS CNN POLL SURGE via Ben Schreckinger of POLITICO
Citing the new CNN/ORC poll … ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopolous asked Rubio if his breakout moment has arrived.
“No,” Rubio said. “These polls don’t really mean anything at this stage, George. You’re a veteran of campaigns, and I’m not sure the mid-September winners are where you want to be.”
“Obviously, you want to do well, and they’re relevant because they’re deciding who gets on the stage,” Rubio added. “But they’re not going to decide this election. And I’ve always said that.”
MORE POLLING: A new NBC News/Survey Monkey poll finds Trump continues to lead the crowded GOP presidential field with 29%, followed by Ben Carson at 14%, Fiorina at 11%, Bush at 8%, Cruz at 7% and Rubio at 7%. No other candidates gets more than 3% support. … (N)early a third of Republican voters now say that they expect Trump will be the eventual nominee. H/t to Taegan Goddard.
THAT WAS LIKELY THE LAST JV DEBATE via Sean Spicer on CNN
Likely to be only one on the next debate, Oct. 28 in Boulder, Colo., on CNBC. RNC’s Sean Spicer told CNN’s John Berman on-set at the Reagan Library: “I doubt that there’ll be an undercard … [As candidates drop out,] that undercards soon turns into an interview.” Possible that not every candidate makes it – RNC and CNBC haven’t set criteria. Spicer said, “Eleven was … there was a lack of elbow room at the table.”
NEW GOP. RULES TO PICK NOMINEE COULD BACKFIRE via Adam Nagourney and Jonathan Martin of the New York Times
[T]he campaigns … have begun building organizations in … Guam [March 12] and American Samoa. [March 8] … [L]ongtime Republican hands have begun conversations about how to handle a race that could last through the last day of voting on June 7, when five states representing about 15 percent of all delegates, including California and New Jersey, cast their ballots.
BUSH WHACKED IN NEW AD FOR SAYING HIS BROTHER KEPT AMERICA SAFE via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
In a clash between front-running Trump and Bush, Bush defended his brother George W. Bush’s time in office, saying that he “kept us safe.” It seemed like an obvious rejoinder for Trump to follow up, but he didn’t … Americans United for Change is now going up with a thirty-second ad that will on national cable starting this week that challenges that assertion. “It’s as if Jeb Bush believes his brother’s presidency began on September 12th, 2001. But we’re not letting Jeb rewrite history … It’s convenient but not honest to ignore the facts that the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor happened on George W. Bush’s watch after dismissing warnings from U.S. intelligence officials weeks before 9/11 that Osama bin Laden was ‘determined to strike in US’ and that his terrorist network might hijack American planes.”
BUSH BRIDGES TWO GREAT AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS: POLITICS AND FOOTBALL via Florida Politics
As fall arrives, so does two all-American traditions — football and politics … candidates are beginning to stake ground in both fields.
Bush … rolled out a schedule of … football-related appearances, as well as the formation of a ten-member Southeastern Conference Advisory Committee. The committee is part of an effort “bring some fun” to the process and drum up grassroots support ahead of the March 15 “SEC primary.” On Oct. 10 … will be at the Tennessee vs. UGA game in Knoxville; he will then go Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the LSU and Alabama Crimson Tide rivalry Nov. 7. Later in the month, Bush will be at the Ole Miss Rebels vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs on November 28 in Starkville, Mississippi.
BUSH’S RUSH THROUGH THE REVOLVING DOOR via Eli Stokols of POLITICO
Bush … vowed in his first policy speech as a presidential candidate last June to halt the “revolving door” between Congress and K Street … But the promise was undercut both by the audience to which Bush spoke — which included numerous lobbyists from his days as governor — and by the intensity with which Bush replenished his personal bank accounts upon leaving office by cashing in on the connections he had made. When it came to Florida, at least, he wasn’t the man who stopped the revolving door — he was a beneficiary.
After two terms as governor, Bush left office in 2007 with a net worth of just $1.3 million — but within seven years … built it up to $24.89 million … driven by income from consulting work and a dozen board seats on the firms of people with significant business interests before the state while he was governor — including more than $12 million from firms that earned millions in fees when Bush redirected $350 million of Florida public workers’ retirement funds into venture capital investments run by major donors to his brother and his campaigns.
The effort to build up Bush’s bank account was a highly calculated affair … to ensure that should this third Bush seek to enter national politics, he’d have the ability to do so without worrying about his family finances.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush delivers the keynote address at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) National Convention in Houston, Texas at 12:45 p.m. CT. Following the event, Bush heads to Mason City, Iowa for a town hall at the Music Man Square at 6 p.m. CT.
PERSONNEL NOTE: Keaton Alexander has left her position as a legislative assistant for Senator Wilton Simpson to serve as a Miami-based finance consultant for the Jeb Bush campaign. Prior to her work with Simpson, Alexander was a communications associate with Brian Hughes‘ GOP firm Meteoric Media Strategies.
DAVID JOLLY SUPPORTS REAUTHORIZING FUNDING FOR 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
Marc Kadushin was working near the Brooklyn Bridge in Lower Manhattan for the New York City Department of Transportation … on September 11, 2011. Along with tens of thousands of others who worked near Ground Zero, he ultimately ending up suffering physically afterwards … Kadushin moved to Palm Harbor in 2007, and met Congressman David Jolly at the Belleair Women’s Republican Club a year ago to tell him about his plight, asking him if he could support the reauthorization of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act when it came up for renewal this year … chief of staff, J.D. White … “said ‘Congressman Jolly is going on’” … (Kadushin) was “very impressed” by the Pinellas Congressman’s support, considering so many other Republicans have opposed it. “I don’t understand why they’re not on this” … specifically mentioning Pasco/Pinellas Congressman Gus Bilirakis and Rubio’s refusal to support the bill.
— “Wounded war vet, GOP congressional candidate Brian Mast recalls his ‘Alive Day’” via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post
EX-FELON VOTING RIGHTS GROUP’S MONEY TROUBLES COST IT LEAGUE BACKING … FOR NOW via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
Florida is one of only three states left in the country that takes away ex-felons voting rights for life … More than 1.6 million Floridians cannot vote, hold office or serve on a jury, according to The Sentencing Project, a prison-reform group. There’s an effort to get a constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot that would restore voting rights for ex-felons, an effort one might assume the Florida League of Women Voters would be supporting.
And they are. Sort of. “We absolutely, 100 percent support the restoration of ex-felons rights,” Florida League of Women Voters president Pamela Goodman said … But for now, her organization isn’t devoting any resources to help get the measure on the 2016 ballot … the League’s board is propositioned to support many citizen initiatives. Before it does, though, the campaigns must pass a “litmus” test of questions submitted to the organizer.
POLL NUGGETS via Public Policy Polling
– Floridians continue to be firmly supportive of Medicaid Expansion – 63% of voters in the state favor it to only 31% who are opposed. Democrats (87/11) are almost universally for it, a majority of independents (52/35) are, and even Republicans (41/52) are relatively split on it. This is just the latest in a long run of our poll findings about how popular it is in the Sunshine State.
– 73% of voters in the state support increasing the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour, with only 13% thinking it should be kept where it is and another 13% who think it should be eliminated altogether. 95% of Democrats, 69% of independents, and 52% of Republicans support an increase to a minimum of $10. This is an issue where the Republican base is a lot further along than the Republican Presidential candidates.
– We continue to find that background checks on all gun purchases are universally popular across party lines everywhere we poll. In Florida there’s 88% support to only 7% opposition, and backing for them comes from 92% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans, and 82% of independents.
– Rubio may not want to do anything about global warming, but 63% of his constituents support the EPA Clean Power Plan to only 29% who are opposed to it. 84% of Democrats, 63% of independents, and 39% of Republicans express support for it.
– The reaction to gay marriage being legal in Florida is mostly ‘no big deal.’ 76% of voters in the state either say that it’s had no impact on their lives or a positive one, with just 24% claiming it’s been a negative. Even among Republican voters 71% say it hasn’t been a big deal.
– Florida voters are pretty emphatic – they don’t want to foot the bill to defend Rick Scott against allegations that he violated the state’s Sunshine laws. 70% say taxpayers shouldn’t cover Scott’s legal bills to only 20% who support that use of their money. That’s something where there’s agreement across party lines- 79% of Democrats, 67% of independents, and 62% of Republicans.
BEST CAMPAIGN STORY YOU’LL READ TODAY – “City Council candidate used campaign funds to pay for dental work” via Janelle Irwin of SaintPetersBlog
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ICYMI: FLORIDA JOBLESS RATE DIPS SLIGHTLY AGAIN via the Associated Press
August unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, compared to 5.5 percent in July … added 19,600 jobs last month … jobless rate remains higher than the national rate of 5.1 percent with approximately 507,000 unemployed Floridians. National data shows that Florida added the second highest number of jobs in the nation in August. California added more jobs than Florida did last month. Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.7 percent. Hendry County had the highest jobless rate at 12.2 percent.
RICK SCOTT’S TAX CUT PLEDGE HITTING MEDICAID WALL via Lloyd Dunkelberger of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A new financial forecast shows … Scott’s promise to pass $1 billion in tax cuts in the first two years of his second term may be in jeopardy … An increasing hurdle to tax cuts as well as other state spending initiatives is the Medicaid program, which continues to grow … The state just approved a 7.7 percent rate increase for the private managed care companies that handle the bulk of Medicaid patients, who will represent one out of every five Floridians in 2016-17. The program will cost nearly $25 billion, although the federal government will pay about 60 percent.
Scott will push for more tax cuts when he outlines his 2016-17 budget plan … likely include a further cut in the cell phone and cable tax, a reduction in state tax on commercial leases, continuing a major manufacturing tax break that is set to expire in 2017, a corporate tax reduction and another back-to-school sales tax holiday. It is almost a certainty that lawmakers will pass a major tax-cutting package in their 2016 session. In fact, for the first time in the annual Long-Range Financial Outlook, the forecast builds in a $262 million tax cut for each of the three years, based on average tax cuts in prior years.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Gov. Scott will hold a bill signing ceremony for the All-American Flag Act beginning 9 a.m. at Viera High School, 6103 Stadium Parkway in Melbourne.
HAPPENING TODAY — BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools
The State Board of Education will take up performance-funding plans for Daytona State College, Pensacola State College, College of Central Florida, Pasco-Hernando State College and Northwest Florida State College. Meeting begins 9 a.m. at The SEED School of Miami, 15800 N.W. 42nd Ave., FIU/FMU Auditorium in Miami Gardens.
PAM BONDI WANTS TO HIRE MORE ATTORNEYS via the Associated Press
Attorney General Bondi … submitted her 2016 budget request to the Florida Legislature … included a request to spend nearly $650,000 to hire six more senior attorneys in her criminal and capital appeals division … this past fiscal year, her office handled nearly 23,000 new appeals … an 8 percent increase over the previous year … currently her attorneys are handling more than 100 cases a year … Department of Legal Affairs has nearly 1,400 positions.
WITH STINGING CRITIQUE OF FLORIDA HOUSE, RICHARD CORCORAN FACES PUSHBACK via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald
“BluePrint Florida,” released this week by Rep. Richard Corcoran … reads like a nine-step plan to addiction recovery … calls on legislators to develop coping strategies, challenge their creativity and adopt a cause to end the “dangerous” dependence on special interests and lobbyists that have “excessive influence and power in the process” … declares war on “self-promoting,” ego-driven and self-interested legislators … blames leaders who “willingly trade significant policy achievements that would benefit Florida for trinkets sought by lobbyists,” and it casts special interests as predators ready to exploit Florida lawmakers for their own agendas.
(Like) any intervention, it is rife with challenges, and many believe that Corcoran … must himself come clean.
But neither Corcoran in his speech, nor his blueprint, made any mention of the unlimited soft money contributions that legislators can collect from lobbyists for their political committees — a system that was voted on and approved by nearly every member of Corcoran’s team in the 2013 legislative session.
“Going to war against the special interests to protect the integrity of the chamber is not the same as writing a check to the Republican Party so that we can get our message out,” he told the Herald/Times. “There’s no comparison.”
STORY YOU WON’T READ IN SUNBURN: “Florida Republican speaker-designate skewered by FOX-TV” via the Palm Beach Post — If you can’t pronounce Corcoran’s name, you should save your criticisms. The reporter in that video sounds like a buffoon.
HOUSE EDUCATION CHAIR: IF YOU WANT TO OPT OUT OF TESTS, GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOL via Jessica Bakeman of POLITICO Florida
If parents don’t want their children to take standardized tests, they should send them to private schools, the chair of the House education committee said … “In public school … you cannot opt out of the tests,” Rep. Marlene O’Toole, a Republican from Lady Lake … “Every child must have a test. As a parent, if I don’t want to do that … I have the option to take my child and put them in a private school.”
Both O’Toole and education commissioner Pam Stewart … stressed that opting out of taking the tests is illegal … “I would suggest that as a legislator, as a room of legislators — it’s in law. So, from that aspect, you should be concerned that there would be individuals out there that would want to choose not to follow the law. Every student is required to take the assessment. It’s part of the public school system.”
IN WAKE OF VICTORIES, LGBT ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR NEW LEGISLATIVE FIGHTS IN FLORIDA via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times
(As) meetings begin for the 2016 legislative session … lawmakers are at a crossroads with two key bills that form the next phase in the debate over sexual orientation and gender identity. One would expand workplace discrimination protections, making it illegal to fire someone because they are gay or transgender. Another reinforces churches and pastors’ right not to perform weddings that run afoul of their religious practices.
Florida LGBT activists worry about lawmakers tacking on provisions to allow other businesses and possibly even county clerks to refuse service to gay couples … Equality Florida is putting its weight behind … “Florida Competitive Workforce Act” … to make Florida the 18th state to ban discrimination in employment, housing and education because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
To groups like the Florida Family Policy Council, which opposes same-sex marriage, these kinds of bills pose a problem … worry about lawsuits against religious business owners who don’t want to hire gay employees. Other proposals could soon be in the mix, as well … legislation allowing adoption and foster care agencies to refuse to work with gay couples, which failed in the 2015 session. Two Democrats are again pushing a bill to ban therapy programs that attempt to change children’s sexual orientation.
The indication now, however, is that the nondiscrimination and pastor protection bills are most likely to get heard in committee, the critical first step to passing legislation.
DWIGHT DUDLEY FILES BILL THAT WOULD LEAD TO INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
Dudley filed his bill (HJR 201) that would establish a bipartisan redistricting commission in Florida … responsible for drawing political boundaries for Congress and the state legislature … If approved by the Legislature, the issue would go before voters as a constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot, and become applicable the next year reapportionment rolls around, in 2022.
Members from the public could submit their names to serve on the commission … Sixty possible members would be chosen by the state auditor, and majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate would have veto power over names … the Democratic Party and Republican Party would get 19 preemptory challenges each, whittling down the list to 22. Ultimately, eleven of those 22 names would then be chosen in a public lottery, consisting of four Republicans, four Democrats and three unaffiliated or third party commissioners … Chances aren’t great for the bill to be approved. “Cloudy to fairly dark,” Dudley says about the bill’s chances.
LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools
With a tip of the hat to Legislative IQ powered by LobbyTools, here are the latest movements – both on and off – of the legislative merry-go-round.
Off: Pepper Uchino is no longer staff director of the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation.
On: Ellen Rogers is now staff director for the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation.
On: Gail Vail joined the Senate Minority Office staff as a legislative analyst.
On: Mary Kassabaum was promoted to legislative assistant at Wilton Simpson’s Brooksville office.
Off: Danny Collins is no longer a legislative analyst with the House Economic Development & Tourism Subcommittee.
Off: Ellen Wolfgang Rogers is no longer a senior attorney for the House Finance & Tax Committee.
On: Martha Adeyemo is now an administrative assistant for the House Local & Federal Affairs Committee.
Off: Kathleen Brown-Blake is no longer the attorney for the House Business & Professions Subcommittee.
On: Melinda Ward is the new district secretary at Democratic state Sen. Joseph Abruzzo’s Wellington office.
Off: Nicole Graham is no longer a legislative assistant for Hollywood Democratic state Sen. Eleanor Sobel.
On: Jonathan Riveras is now the district secretary for Hialeah Republican state Rep. Bryan Avila.
Off: Wesley Davis is no longer the district secretary for Lakeland Republican state Rep. Coleen Burton.
On: Eric Gooden is now the legislative assistant for Deerfield Beach Democratic state Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed.
Off: Tyler Russell is no longer the district secretary for Eucheeanna Republican Rep. Brad Drake.
On: Allison Hopkins is now Drake’s district secretary.
Off: Jennifer Fudala is no longer legislative assistant for Pensacola Republican state Rep. Clay Ingram.
On: Zachary McCulley is now Ingram’s legislative assistant.
Off: Sarah Schmuck is no longer Ingram’s district secretary.
On: Ashley Fairbrother is now district secretary for Jacksonville Republican state Rep. Lake Ray.
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WE’RE HEADED TOWARD AN EPIC FLORIDA PRIMARY: JEFF BRANDES VS. JACK LATVALA via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times
We’re likely to see every state Senate seat in Florida up for election next year after legislators finally settle on the district lines … Tampa Bay could be ground zero for the mother of all campaigns for the soul of the Florida GOP: state Sen. Jeff Brandes … vs. state Sen. Jack Latvala … growing Buzz may have more to do with supporters of Sen. Joe Negron trying to distract Latvala from his effort to win enough other Senate races to edge out Negron for the Senate presidency … Brandes allies suggest the race is more likely than not and insist that Latvala … would be the underdog … “It could be an exciting time. But I’m going to be prepared for whatever comes,” Latvala said at a Republican club meeting in Clearwater … none too happy by the tea party activist filming his every word.
SAVE THE DATE: House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Speaker-Designate Richard Corcoran and state Rep. Jose Oliva are holding a re-election fundraiser for state Reps. Bill Hager and George Moraitis on Wednesday, October 7 beginning 5 p.m. at the Governor’s Club Library Room, 202 South Adams Street in Tallahassee. RSVP to Katie Ballard at [email protected] or (954) 803-3942. On the same day, State Reps. Tom Goodson and Kathleen Passidomo are also holding a joint fundraiser at 5 p.m. in the Governor’s Inn, 209 South Adams Street. RSVP to Ann Marie Milano at [email protected] or (561) 271-9320.
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Al Cardenas, Cardenas Partners: Dr. Alfredo Murciano; Film Florida
Ali Davidson: Florida Police Benevolent Association
Paul Mitchell, Matt Brockelman, Deno Hicks, Monte Stevens, Southern Strategy Group: School District of Clay County; UNF Student Government; Greenstreet
Ruth Elizabeth Nunnally: SAS Institute
Dennis G. Strange: Orange County Sheriff
PERSONNEL NOTE: MELISSA SHUFFIELD JOINS ALL ABOARD FLORIDA AS VP OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS via Florida Politics
Communications specialist Melissa Shuffield has joined All Aboard Florida as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs.
Shuffield, a Miami native, will lead communications and government affairs for the privately owned passenger rail project seeking to connect Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. She most recently worked in business development for Miami real-estate firm EWM. Shuffield has also served as an Executive Director for Corporate Communications for JP Morgan Chase in New York and as a senior vice president at a leading public affairs firm in Washington, DC. She was press secretary for John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign, and also worked as press secretary for U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.
WHAT DEAN CANNON IS READING — FAMU SETTLES WITH FAMILY OF DRUM MAJOR WHO DIED AFTER HAZING via Mike Schneider of the Associated Press
Florida A&M University reached a $1.1 million settlement … with the family of a drum major who died after being hazed by fellow band members. The university agreed to name the marching band’s anti-hazing program after Robert Champion as well as place a memorial plaque dedicated to Champion on campus under the terms of the agreement reached with Champion’s parents … Of the $1.1 million, $800,000 will be paid by an insurance company and $300,000 will be paid by the state Department of Financial Services. Champion’s parents agreed to drop the negligence lawsuit.
CONGRATULATIONS to the newly married Tim Reilly and Joy Friedman.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sen. Dorothy Hukill, former Sen. Al Lawson, and my good friend, Chris Dudley.
