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 | | By Kimberly Leonard |
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Good morning and welcome to Monday. Republican Rep. David Smith, a business consultant and retired Marine, is facing off against Democrat Sarah Henry
, a non-profit manager, for the second cycle in a row in a key Seminole County state House race. The District 38 race is one of 16 state House races that the Florida Democratic Party has targeted as having a path to flip. The party has also made it clear that trying to win seats in Central Florida is key to its strategy to try to break the GOP’s supermajority in Tallahassee,
as the Orlando Sentinel has reported. Smith won reelection by just over 3,000 votes last cycle. He also has been the most prolific Republican fundraiser in the state House this season, according to
data assembled on campaign accounts by Fresh Take Florida. Messaging in the district has focused heavily on abortion, with each falling along party lines, but both candidates mostly talked about economic and workforce policy in interviews with Playbook. One of the first bills Henry plans to introduce
if elected would expand trade education programs — such as to become a plumber, construction worker or electrician — so students can have a “path to the middle class” without taking on massive student debt or having to work a service industry job when they start out in the workforce, she said. One possible way to do that would be to offer dual credit enrollment for trade courses while students are in high school, she said. Smith, who served on the Ways and Means Committee,
said if reelected he’ll aim to bring back Florida’s popular sales tax holidays, including for back-to-school items, hurricane preparedness, summer recreation items and toll relief. He’s also a proponent of having another gas tax holiday. Asked to share an accomplishment he was most proud of during his time in office, Smith pointed to legislation he sponsored
that allows juveniles to expunge records of arrest and non-violent felonies, estimating it would affect about 26,000 Floridians. Under the legislation, law enforcement officers can recommend a diversion program that gets approved by the state attorney. Once the program is completed, the record gets expunged, removing barriers to college, jobs and military service. “These are good kids — maybe in the wrong place at the wrong time, running with the wrong crowd,” he said.
On property insurance, Henry supports re-examining a bipartisan bill introduced last session that would have Citizens Property Insurance Corporation assume all hurricane-related risk. Under the way the state-run program is currently set up, Citizens serves as a backup for people who otherwise can’t get coverage. (The bill didn’t get taken up for a vote.)
Smith wants to take another run at an idea from last session to use state reserves to pay off the $1.6 billion assessment from the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, the nonprofit agency that handles claims for homeowners whose insurers couldn’t meet their financial obligations. He estimates doing so would cut premiums by 5 to 6 percent “overnight." Smith said he believes voters should reelect him
because of the seniority he’ll have during his fourth and final term. He also asserts he has been productive, passing 27 bills and 50 appropriations projects that have gone toward Central Florida. Much of Henry’s argument for why voters should choose her focuses on having the need to debate, negotiate and compromise over different ideas, which she said is lacking in a supermajority Legislature.
“Our Legislature is effective when we bring a diversity of experiences, knowledge and professions to the floor,” she said. “It doesn't work when we are working at the whims of one person’s knowledge and experience,” she added, referring to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget in the campaign reporting that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Uber: Thank You, Florida Uber Drivers For stepping up during Hurricanes Milton and Helene by helping thousands of Floridians get to shelters and support centers. Your efforts helped keep our communities safe.
Learn how Uber drivers stepped up. | | | |
 | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
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 People applaud as Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference with Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 in Coral Gables, Florida, on Oct. 21, 2024. | Lynne Sladky/AP |
DESANTIS POURS HIMSELF INTO AMENDMENT FIGHT — “Ron DeSantis isn’t on the ballot this year. But his political future might be,” by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Kimberly Leonard
. “Should the amendments pass, Democrats will point to that as a clear sign that Florida isn’t completely gone to the Republicans and that they still have a chance to claw it back to battleground status. … But should the amendments be defeated, DeSantis would be able to show his tremendous influence on shaping public perception. … DeSantis would also have clear wins to point to heading into the state’s next legislative session, and especially if he were to mount another run for higher office, including the presidency.”
MOVING MONEY — “Florida is using opioid settlement money on an anti-marijuana ad campaign,” reports Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times
. “The state Department of Children and Families last month spent $4 million to pay a marketing agency for an ‘advertising campaign aimed at educating Floridian families and youth about the dangers of marijuana, opioid, and drug use.’ The department did not respond to questions about what that campaign includes. But in recent weeks it has released two ads warning about the dangers of marijuana use among teenagers.” PRESSURE MOUNTS — “Florida's condo crisis: Is it bad enough to call a special legislative session?”
by Mike Diamond of The Palm Beach Post. The governor wants to meet before the end of the year, but leaders in the Legislature disagree. Meanwhile, calls from local officials whose constituents are being priced out or forced to pay huge fees are pleading for help. "Along the Treasure Coast, a group of condo associations has been created to press for changes in the new law. Its spokeswoman, Darlene VanRiper, said condos from across the state are looking to join. The alliance has already hired a lobbyist.”
DO IT AGAIN — State Rep. Randy Fine’s bid to get the state ethics commission to reconsider its case against him was rejected by the panel on Friday. Fine wanted the commission to undo a finding that there was probable cause the Republican legislator misused his position over threats he made involving a political foe in his home district in Brevard County.
The Florida Commission on Ethics in April 2023 overruled recommendations from its staff and voted to move ahead with the case against the lawmaker, who is now running for state Senate. The case went to the Division of Administrative Hearings, but Fine requested it be reconsidered by the commission.
On Friday, Fine called that initial 2023 decision an “abuse of power” and told commissioners it was driven by former members of the commission, including one who had acted “unethically” in pushing the commission to take up the case. Fine didn't name the former commissioner, but last year POLITICO reported that former State Rep. Jim Waldman had called Fine’s actions “reprehensible” during the closed-door meeting where the panel found probable cause against the legislator.
Some members of the ethics commission, who are selected by the governor and legislative leaders, said they did not believe the panel could procedurally take up Fine’s request and ultimately voted against it. (One commissioner — Tina Descovich — abstained from the vote after noting she was ousted from the Brevard County school board by the person who filed the ethics complaint against Fine.)
Only one commissioner — former State Rep. Wengay Newton — voted for Fine, saying it would be a “waste of time” to proceed with the case since it would eventually get dismissed. — Gary Fineout
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PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
WORKING WITHOUT HEAT PROTECTIONS — “This Florida farmworker is 75 and still toiling in the heat,” reports The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei
. “The heat stroke that José Delgado suffered six years ago after working in a sweet potato field in South Florida left him with damaged kidneys. It happened again two years later. … Delgado used to hope that his story would move policymakers to enact heat protections for outdoor workers. He no longer believes it will. … Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed legislation banning cities and counties from imposing such protections … Delgado’s last hope is that the Biden administration will implement proposed regulations that would, for the first time, require employers to provide rest areas and water when the heat index reaches 80 degrees.”
JOB CUTS COMING — “Spirit Airlines plans to cut jobs and sell some planes amid looming financial struggles,” reports Wyatte Grantham-Philips of The Associated Press. The South Florida-based company said in a filing that it identified about $80 million of cost-cutting measures that'll start early next year. The company didn't offer specifics about which positions would be affected.
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| ...HURRICANE HOLE... | |
NEW LEGISLATION — “Rick Scott floats HSA-style plan for homeowners’ storm hardening, with Jimmy Patronis in support,” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski
. A bill from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) would allow a tax deduction when people pay into the account, with contributions capped at $4,500 a year. People could use the account to install impact resistant windows, elevate the home or take other mitigation measures approved by FEMA.
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 The roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region on Oct. 10, 2024. | Julio Cortez/AP
| ST. PETE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRS — “Decision on Rays’ interim home is pending assessment of Trop damage,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin
. “A key factor is whether it is worthwhile to repair the Trop, which is scheduled to be demolished after the 2027 season as the Rays move into a new stadium to be built on an adjacent site. … The city has filed an insurance claim; hired a firm to assess the structural, architectural and engineering status of the building (which opened in 1990); and hired another to remove what remains of the roof, which was shredded by high winds in the Oct. 9 storm.”
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CAMPAIGN MODE | | THE MONEY GO-ROUND —
With a little more than a week left before Election Day the groups pushing Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 have raised tens of millions for their final push. Trulieve, the medical marijuana company that has been the main backer of the initiative that would allow recreational marijuana, in the past week poured in another $28 million, according to campaign records filed on Saturday. Trulieve has now donated roughly $140 million for the pro-amendment effort as well another roughly $815,000 in in-kind donations.
The latest report from Smart & Safe Florida shows the committee has nearly $7.5 million in cash heading into the last few days. Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group pushing the abortion access amendment, has raised nearly $19 million in the past two weeks, according to reports filed Friday and Saturday. Of that total, $13 million has come from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a Washington non-profit aligned with progressive causes. Floridians Protecting Freedom has more than $13 million in cash left in its campaign account.
Two groups aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis that are trying to help defeat the amendments continue to raise money as well, although money also is being steered to the Republican Party of Florida. The party does not have to report how much it has raised for the past two months until this Friday.
Florida Freedom Fund has raised nearly $800,000 in the past two weeks, including a $200,000 donation from the Sports Betting Alliance. Campaign records show the committee, led by DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, has transferred $4.5 million to the RPOF in the past month. The party has aired ads urging a no vote on both amendments.
Keep Florida Clean, a second committee led by Uthmeier, has raised $7.75 million in the past two weeks, according to the latest reports. This includes $3.5 million from a group associated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and $4.25 million from Save our Society from Drugs, a St. Petersburg non-profit that was founded by Betty Sembler, an anti-drug crusader and Republican fundraiser who died in 2022. — Gary Fineout
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Former President Donald J. Trump speaks at his rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO | MSG BLOWBACK — “Trump’s New York homecoming sparks backlash over racist and vulgar remarks,”
report Meredith McGraw and Lisa Kashinsky of POLITICO. “Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, billed as a triumphant homecoming, turned into a political fiasco on Sunday night as a pro-Trump comedian’s racist diatribe [about Puerto Ricans] drew furious condemnation, including from prominent Republicans. … GOP Rep. María Elvira Salazar wrote on X
that she was ‘disgusted’ by his ‘racist’ rhetoric that ‘does not reflect GOP values.' Sen. Rick Scott denounced the joke as ‘not funny’ and ‘not true.’” Others chimed in: Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) called it “completely classless and in poor taste
” and unreflective of “my values or those of the Republican Party.” The Trump campaign issued a disavowal after the event. Roughly 1.2 million people who live in Florida are of Puerto Rican heritage. CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP — Democratic candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell voted early on Sunday in Miami, and she'll be in Tallahassee today doing a press conference on reproductive rights and a meet and greet later in the day. … Sen.
John Barrasso (R-Fla.) joined Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in Jacksonville for door knocking on Saturday, and today Scott is holding press conferences in Charlotte and Collier Counties. … Smart & Safe Florida is hosting a series of events today and Tuesday at Trulieve stores around the state in support of Amendment 3 featuring Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, state Sen. Shevrin Jones
(D-Miami Gardens) and state Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota).
| | | | A message from Uber: Thank You, Florida Uber Drivers
In the face of Hurricanes Milton and Helene, Uber drivers gave Floridians rides to shelters and support centers. We thank the thousands of Uber drivers who went above and beyond, ensuring that during a time of crisis, no one was left behind. Your dedication made a difference when it mattered most. Learn how Uber drivers stepped up. | | | |
| TRANSITION TIME | |
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The U.S. lobbying firm Ballard Partners is expanding its presence into Latin America through a partnership with Cefeidas Group in the Argentine Republic. Their services include public policy advocacy, international market consulting, public affairs campaigns and crisis management in the Southern Cone and the U.S. "This partnership will increase our capacity to provide our clients with enhanced and unparalleled access to American markets, industries and institutions,” Juan Cruz Díaz, managing director of Cefeidas Group, said in a statement.
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ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
— Trooper, the dog who was rescued after being tied to a fence post during Hurricane Milton, has secured a foster home, reports USA Today Network-Florida. BIRTHDAYS: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds … Alia Faraj-Johnson
, president and CEO of Alia Strategic Group … Tiffany Vause, director of strategic initiatives at WIN Learning ... Bill Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Law Group. | |
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