Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
With the kids firmly back at school and the holidays bearing down on the calendar (at least they are if you visit Publix or Walmart, where the aisles are already stuffed with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas merchandise), many Florida politicos took to the road Monday, while many others laid plans for future trips.
Marco Rubio was at The Villages. Jeff Atwater, Adam Putnam, and a host of others in The Process were in Orlando for the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Future of Florida Forum. Even Al Gore was spotted in Miami.
Still, all eyes were on Tallahassee, where the trial (is that what’s its called?) to determine the state’s congressional districts concluded. What happens next in the case is anyone’s guess.
No wonder so many folks are away from the capital…
FIVE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FUTURE OF FLORIDA FORUM
— CFO Atwater’s data-driven presentation on the state of Florida’s economy was simply dazzling. I can’t wait to post a version of it on our websites. Like I tweeted Monday, Atwater’s 2018 plans are clear: he’s running for Chief Infographic Officer.
— Not to be outdone by his Cabinet brethren, Putnam turned heads with a wide-ranging address that hit on and expanded upon familiar topics important to the Ag. Commissioner, such as water policy.
— In between the presentations, the networking (and gossiping) was on overdrive. Top lobbyists, such as Johnson & Blanton’s Jon Johnson and Darrick McGhee, GrayRobinson’s Fred Leonhardt, Smith Bryan & Myers’ Andrea Reilly and AT&T’s Joe York, worked the lobby and reception area. Enterprise Florida’s Mike Grissom — a veteran of several forums — was never seen actually listening to a presentation; rather he held court for hours on end just outside the meeting space.
— $150K was raised for the Chamber’s Florida Jobs PAC. Nice work, Andrew Wiggins and Andy Gonzalez.
— Volunteer Florida’s #BringABook initiative, where those attending the forum bring new or gently used elementary-school-level books, appears to be a smashing success — at least if you go by the size of the stack of books its gathered.
OPTIMISM, CONCERNS ABOUT ACCESS TO CAPITAL TOP CHAMBER’S SMALL BIZ SURVEY via Florida Politics
Florida’s small businesses are optimistic about the future of the state’s economic recovery, with nearly 60 percent of respondents expecting the economy to improve during the next 12 months and half of all respondents indicating higher sales over the previous year.
While small businesses remain optimistic with 77 percent expecting their company’s sales to improve during the next year, nearly one in four respondents cited “Access to Capital” as their top issue. “Economic uncertainty” was the second most frequently cited challenge facing Florida small business community.
“The Florida Chamber’s Small Business Index results clearly show that while our state has made tremendous progress, Florida’s future is fragile. When we create opportunities for small business to succeed, we create greater economic opportunity for all Floridians,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce.
The survey, conducted in conjunction with the Florida SBDC Network, also shows 43 percent of small businesses reported plans to hire personnel over the next six months.
SPOTTED at the #FutureofFL Forum: Reps. Eric Eisnaugle (Atwater called him “Speaker D”) and Kathleen Passidomo, Jillian and Adam Hasner (thank you for the nachos!), Bill Carlson Oscar Anderson, Gina Evans, Erin Gillespie, Justin Hollis, Jeff Johnson, Christian Minor, Aakash Patel, Chris Spencer, Brad Swanson, Amanda Bowen, Doug Izzo, Doug Wheeler. There was even a rumor that Jack Latvala was on property!
— MORE NEWS FILLING UP THE CALENDAR —
AL GORE BASHES RICK SCOTT AT CLIMATE-CHANGE SUMMIT via Joey Francilus of POLITICO
Miami Beach’s streets flooded at high tide Monday. And the timing couldn’t have been better for a visit from former Vice President Al Gore, who used images of South Beach’s inundated sidewalks to criticize Gov. Rick Scott and the state’s power companies for ignoring the effects of global warming.
“The glacial ice is melting in Greenland, and some of it is on the streets of Miami Beach,” Gore, highlighting the pictures on an overhead projector, told a crowd of about 1,200 activists on the opening day of a three-day “Climate Reality Project” conference in Miami. “I don’t know how the governor wades through this and says ‘I don’t see anything, do you see anything?'” Gore said, adding he wasn’t making an “ad hominem” attack. Scott’s office declined to comment.
ADAM PUTNAM ANNOUNCES DETAILS ON FLORIDA ENERGY SUMMIT via Florida Politics
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to host a summit aimed at diversifying the state’s energy resources, promoting energy conservation and furthering economic growth.
The 2015 Florida Energy Summit will be held in Jacksonville from Oct. 14 to 16 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
The event’s keynote speaker is Christopher Guith, senior vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. He will discuss how he’s taken steps to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders and the public by displaying practical solutions and a common-sense energy strategy aimed at keeping the country both prosperous and clean.
Also planned are a series of panel discussions including “America’s Energy Revolution and Sustainable Development.” That discussion will take a look at how Florida can foster economic development by investing in all forms of energy. Other panel discussions include conversations on alternative fuel vehicles and the infrastructure needed to serve them. Panelists will also discuss advances in energy efficiency.
CONNECTICUT GOV. DAN MALLOY TO KICK OFF FLORIDA DEMS’ STATE CONVENTION IN OCTOBER via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
The Florida Democratic Party will be holding their State Convention at Disney World during Halloween weekend … the event will kick off with a speech by Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy.
FDP Chair Allison Tant said … “Governor Malloy … has established a winning record of standing strong for the Democratic priorities of growing the middle class, improving our public schools, and protecting the environment.”
Malloy … elected governor of Connecticut in 2010 … the first Democrat … elected in the Nutmeg State in 24 years … will chair the Democratic Governors Association in 2016.
MARK HALPERIN TO KEYNOTE SAYFIE REVIEW SUMMIT via Florida Politics
This year’s Sayfie Review’s Florida Leaders Summit will feature Bloomberg Politics analyst and author of 2010’s best-selling Game Change Mark Halperin, the publication announced Monday.
Halperin, a longtime political reporter for Time, ABC News and MSNBC who sits of the board New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, will bring his insider’s perspective to a 2016 Sayfie forum likely well-stocked with fellow insiders.
The invite-only summit is set for November 16-17 in Orlando. Mosaic, Duke Energy and HCA will be – along with Google – among the major institutions sponsoring the event, modeled after the annual World Economic Forum in Switzerland where pols, analysts and interested parties cross-pollinate and seek to refine their agendas.
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IN VILLAGES, MARCO RUBIO TALKS WITH RETIREES ABOUT AGE via The New York Times
Rubio, his presidential campaign enjoying a jolt of sudden popularity, came to this sprawling retirement community on Monday and asked nearly 1,000 people who were old enough to be his parents to take a gamble on a young guy for president.
With a mix of self-deprecating humor and sobering history lessons, Rubio gave a speech that was filled with references to his youth and to the perils he believes lie in electing a president who does not understand the seismic economic and technological shifts underway.
Listing some of the greatest challenges the United States has faced, including the Great Depression and the Cold War, he joked that Americans were resilient enough to have made it through calamities far worse. “We even survived disco music in the ’70s,” he said, getting a hearty round of laughs.
Then, possibly sensing that some in the crowd might not believe he was old enough to remember disco, he added: “Are the Bee Gees disco? ‘Saturday Night Fever’? See, I’m not that young.”
He noted how the Industrial Revolution upended the American economy in the 19th century. “Imagine if you used to build horse-drawn carriages, and then this Henry Ford guy builds a car,” he said. “But that generation chose to embrace the future, not to resist it.”
Though Rubio, never mentioned any opponents by name, his arguments for generational change were barely disguised shots at … Jeb Bush.
“The time has come for both the Republican Party and the United States of America to elect a new generation of leaders with ideas relevant to the times in which we live,” Rubio said.
RUBIO’S FLORIDA CAMPAIGN STOP FORESHADOWS LOOMING CLASH WITH JEB BUSH via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times
The Tampa Bay Times looks at the beginning of a Florida campaign swing for Rubio and concludes, “being Florida, anything he’s says has to be viewed in the context of Rubio vs. Jeb Bush . The longtime political allies seemed destined for a political collision, particularly when Florida holds its presidential primary March 15 and only one candidate walks away with 99 delegates.”
TWEET, TWEET: @SaintPetersBlog: B4 heading speaking at The Villages, @MarcoRubio attended fundraiser at — @SContorno was chasing this — @CapitalGrille in Tampa. … Hosting @marcorubio today in #Tampa: Mike and Jessie Corcoran of @CJFirmFL This is 3rd event for him. Raised another $100K. … Not saying @MarcoRubio will win, but @CJFirmFL = solid track record of counter-intuitive giving. Bet on Rubio & @FLGovScott early.
RUBIO: LEAVE ME OUT OF TRUMP’S ‘FREAK SHOW’ via Nick Gass of POLITICO
Rubio wants no part of Donald Trump’s “freak show,” … “I’m not interested in the back and forth — to be a member or a part of his freak show … I would just say this: He is a very sensitive person; he doesn’t like to be criticized. He responds to criticism very poorly.”
The comments echo what Rubio told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly … when he called the billionaire mogul “thin-skinned and sensitive to criticism” and someone who “can’t have a conversation about policy because quite frankly he doesn’t know anything about policy.”
DONALD TRUMP UNVEILS TAX PLAN
The business mogul and presidential candidate unveiled his tax plan, which—unlike his immigration plan—appears to be feasible.
BUSH JABBED BY HILLARY CLINTON via CNN
Clinton lambasted Bush on Facebook Monday, calling his comment that Democrats offer ‘free stuff’ to African-American voters ‘deeply insulting.’
In a question and answer session Clinton compared Bush to Mitt Romney … ‘I think people are seeing this for what it is: Republicans lecturing people of color instead of offering real solutions to help people get ahead, including facing up to hard truths about race and justice in America,’ Clinton wrote.
BUSH CAMPAIGN MAKES $4.6M AD BUY FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY via Florida Politics
Bush will be hitting New Hampshire airwaves hard in January and February ahead of the first-in-the nation primary … has placed a $4.6 million New Hampshire ad buy … reserving time in the first two months of 2016. The new ad spending will not include digital and radio spending.
— “My tax proposal would deliver $2,000 to middle-class families” via Bush for USA TODAY
MORE RICK PERRY FOLKS FOR BUSH via Eli Stokols of POLITICO
Austin Barbour, who ran Perry’s super PAC, is joining Bush’s campaign.”Barbour, who primarily focused on securing large contributions from major donors for Perry, will serve Bush as a senior adviser focused on both finance and political efforts.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush attends a fundraiser in Oklahoma, closed to the press, before heading to Pittsburgh, where he will outline his energy plan to help achieve 4 percent economic growth. He will speak at Rice Energy, a Pennsylvania company, beginning 2:30 p.m. at 400 Woodcliff Drive, Canonsburg, PA.
ALAN GRAYSON VISITS TAMPA, ENDORSES $15 WAGE, EXCORIATES PATRICK MURPHY via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
Grayson played devil’s advocate with a group of Tampa Bay area residents fighting to increase Florida’s minimum wage … in Tampa. “The argument opponents make is that it might mean fewer jobs,” he said … “Is anyone here afraid you might lose your job if you had $15 an hour?” To the contrary, several people responded.
Grayson later said he would endorse the proposal … that calls for raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2020.
It was Grayson’s second appearance in Tampa in six days … he met with local activists who are trying to get a tougher police civilian review board implemented in Tampa, and later that night he addressed the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, where his comment that the Democratic Club was a club “like the Crips or Bloods” who fought for the middle class became fodder for political blogs throughout the state … bringing up [Patrick] Murphy’s name was sufficient for Grayson to go into full attack mode … saying the brouhaha was another of the Murphy camp’s “weapons of mass distraction.”
JUDGE TO DECIDE FATE OF FLORIDA’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE via Gary Fineout of the Associated Press
A three-day trial that could decide the fate of Florida’s political landscape ended Monday as lawyers for both sides accused each other of recommending changes to the state’s 27 congressional districts that could benefit either Republicans or Democrats.
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis, who said he would rule sometime in October, must recommend a new map to the state Supreme Court. The job fell to him after the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature failed to agree on new districts during its August special session.
Lewis has seven different maps to sort through including three that came from the Legislature, although the judge during the trial said he may craft one of his own based on a “combination” of the rival versions.
The veteran Leon County judge also expressed skepticism over a proposal to shift the district of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown from a north-south configuration to one that stretches from Jacksonville to just west of Tallahassee. Brown has filed her own federal lawsuit in an effort to block the potential change which has been recommended by both legislators and the groups that sued the Legislature.
But most of the three-day court battle hinged on South Florida and whether or not the proposals before him would help one party or another. Voters in 2010 approved the “Fair Districts” standards that mandate legislators cannot draw districts intended to help incumbents or a member of a political party.
David King, an attorney for a coalition of groups including the League of Women Voters of Florida, asserted that the proposal drawn up by legislative map drawers could help U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Miami Republican keep his seat in Congress. Curbelo knocked off a Democratic incumbent during the 2014 elections.
“I don’t know whether you call it accident, coincidence, serendipity, happenstance,” said King. “The Republican map drawers go into a room and they come out with this result.”
Attorney Raoul Cantero, a former state Supreme Court justice who represented the Florida Senate, argued that legislative staff came up with a proposal for Curbelo’s seat that was drawn up without any consideration of political performance. The legislative employees who helped draw the proposal testified that they did not know that they had moved three black neighborhoods that vote Democratic into an adjoining district.
“You cannot look at reds and blues, you simply look at the map and draw and let the chips fall where they may,” Cantero said.
— “Congressional redistricting trial closes: What did we learn? What’s unanswered?” via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald
SAVE THE DATE: Florida Senate District 13 candidate Dean Asher hosts a fundraiser in Winter Park tomorrow. The event begins 5:30 p.m. at Cocina 214, 151 Welbourne Ave. East in Winter Park. Suggested minimum contribution is $250. RSVP to Brianna Jordan at [email protected] or (203) 313-4695.
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RICK SCOTT TAKES ON HOSPITALS AGAIN — WANTS PUBLIC TO KNOW MORE ABOUT “PRICE-GOUGING” via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post
Scott, who battled Florida hospitals and the state Senate last spring over expanding Medicaid, added fuel to the fight … saying he will push hospitals to provide more pricing information on their websites.
Scott announced his plan to seek what he called anti-price gouging legislation … Updating the state’s FloridaHealthFinder.gov website to help consumers estimate out-of-pocket expenses … Require hospitals to post on their websites the prices and average payments received for all products and services offered … Give patients an easy-to-use path toward filing price-gouging complaints against hospitals with law enforcement agencies. … Require all nonprofit, tax-exempt hospitals to make public their annual financial reports; currently, only investor-owned, private hospitals must post financial reports.
Scott’s move comes just weeks after Senate President Andy Gardiner … a hospital executive … said that state hospitals next year will face another reduction in federal funding, a cut which drove the earlier bid to expand health coverage.
ERIC EISNAUGLE SEEKS TO CURTAIL SPEAKER POWER AMID HOUSE LEADERSHIP FIGHT via Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel
Amid an ongoing intra-GOP fight to become House Speaker in 2020, Eisnaugle is unveiling proposals for weakening the power of the job he’s seeking.
The proposals would shift more power to committee chairs and other House leaders to set agendas and dole out everything from committee memberships to parking spots at the Capitol, according a memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel that Eisnaugle will send to members Tuesday.
But Eisnaugle says his proposals aren’t part of his struggle to retain a hold on the 2020 Speaker race.
“I don’t think it’ll have any impact. This is something I’ve been talking about for years now,” Eisnaugle told the Sentinel.
Since the beginning of the year, however, Eisnaugle has lost several votes, or pledges, from freshman House members who say the process for electing a new House Speaker needs to be reformed because lobbyists and special interests can influence the election, and members start choosing a leader before they’ve been elected.
FLORIDA LAWMAKERS LIVING ON $17 A DAY THIS WEEK TO DEMONSTRATE MINIMUM WAGE via the Associated Press
At least 18 Florida lawmakers plan to live on a minimum wage this week to draw attention to efforts to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour … lawmakers will live for five days on $17 per day.
That figure represents what a minimum wage worker has after the costs of taxes, childcare and housing are deducted from an $8.05-an-hour paycheck. The lawmakers — mostly Democrats — will also go grocery shopping with a minimum wage worker at the start of the week.
BILL TARGET FOOD STAMP FRAUD via Christine Stapleton of the Palm Beach Post
In a continuing effort to crack down food-stamp fraud, bills have been introduced in both chambers that would make it illegal to sell or barter items purchased with EBT cards, formerly known as food stamps. The bills, SB 218 introduced by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast and HB 105 by Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness, also prohibit the exchange of food assistance benefits for firearms and ammunition.
WHY IS FLORIDA PAYING FOR TWO ANTI-HAZING PROGRAMS? LOBBYISTS? via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post
A small Florida firm that landed an almost $1 million state contract in 2014 to develop an anti-hazing course for college students said it is now being bullied by a well-connected rival in a lucrative campus turf battle.
Across Florida campuses, events concluded … the annual National Hazing Prevention Week, meant to educate students to the dangers of campus harassment. AliveTek Inc. … is still struggling to figure out the rough, political treatment it recently drew from a state House whose incoming leader is publicly touting a need to reduce the power of special interests and favoritism.
“We’ve provided an anti-hazing course for a year and now here comes another company that mysteriously gets money in the state budget to do the same thing,” said Sandy Mills-Alford, a former school teacher and president of AliveTek … new business rival is Educational Management Services Inc., a Miami company, whose president, Alina Gomez, is married to longtime Capitol lobbyist Fausto Gomez, who also is listed as a company director.
ORLANDO’S COMMUTER RAIL GETS FUNDING TO EXPAND via the Associated Press
Federal transportation officials say they will give $93.4 million to help extend central Florida’s commuter rail to the southern section of the metro area. The Federal Transit Administration … said an agreement with the SunRail commuter service will help extend the line by more than 17 miles into Osceola County.
The second phase of construction for SunRail will extend from south of Orlando through Kissimmee and Poinciana in Osceola County … The federal funding makes up about half of the $187 million projected cost for the project.
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CONTEXT FLORIDA: MARTIN SHKRELI, POLITICAL INACTION AND BUTTERING UP IN MARITN COUNTY
Today on Context Florida:
Martin Dyckman talks about Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager who bought the sole source of the lifesaving drug Daraprim and raised its price from $18 to $750 per pill. His message to people with weakened immune systems suffering from the parasitic disease toxomoplasis was the same as the old Jack Benny joke: “Your money or your life.” In this instance, though, it was no joke. The welfare system is crashing, healthcare is broken; politicians are paralyzed by personal attacks and inaction, writes Marc Yacht. Political leadership infighting must give way for productive action. Countries and corporations have collapsed with failed leadership. A focus on U.S. poverty, needed universal healthcare, and community infrastructure renewal, requires political will, collaboration, and every available dollar, Yacht says. Sally Swartz reports on two members of Martin County’s legislative delegation – state Rep. Gayle Harrell and state Sen. Joe Negron — who listened for hours last week while more than 30 residents buttered them up, begged for money, griped about the Florida Legislature’s recent bad decisions and brought wish lists for 2016.
Visit Context Florida to dig in.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF GATORADE via Florida Politics
The research question posed to University of Florida professor J. Robert Cade, M.D., and his research fellows in 1965 was a simple one: Why were so many Gator football players getting sick in the unrelenting Florida heat? “That question changed our lives,” Cade would later tell reporters, because the answer led him and his team to develop an innovative product that forever changed athletic performance, launched a new industry, helped people suffering from dehydration and sparked a legacy of innovation that persists at UF today — Gatorade.
This year marks 50 years since Cade and his team — Dana Shires, M.D.; Jim Free, M.D.; and Alejandro de Quesada, M.D. — concocted the mixture of water, electrolytes and lemon juice that ultimately became UF’s most famous invention. Numerous activities will be held Saturday, Oct. 3 at the UF vs. Ole Miss game to celebrate the anniversary.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friends David Bishop and Steve Schale. Also celebrating today are David Fifer and Brian Graham.
