Good Thursday morning.
House Speaker-designate Danny Perez is taking the reins at the GOP’s House campaign arm, and he’s announced the first wave of staffers he’s brought on to defend the Republican supermajority.
“Today, we turn our focus to 2024. We will immediately begin to defend our 85 seats, elevate the profile of our outstanding members, and immediately implement a strong candidate recruitment program, so we can pave the way toward an overwhelming majority in the Florida House of Representatives,” Perez said in the announcement.
The top spot is going to Nick Catroppo, who previously worked as the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of political operations. As executive director, he will lead all aspects of the committee and oversee day-to-day operations.
Perez also announced that longtime Republican Party of Florida staffer Faron Boggs will serve as political director; Daniel Leon will take over as finance director; Sydney Fowler will be the member liaison; Hannah Littlejohn has been tapped for finance coordinator; Tom Piccolo will be the committee’s general consultant, and Tony Cortese will be the finance consultant.
Finally, Sarah Bascom and Lyndsey Brzozowski of Bascom Communications & Consulting will be communications consultants.
“I am excited to have this team in place, as I know they are dedicated to our collective success, and it is my hope that we all utilize their talents to further our mission of bringing commonsense principles to our state through continued Republican governance,” Perez concluded.
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Florida TaxWatch is beginning its 2022 Annual Meeting at The Biltmore in Coral Gables.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. with former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux scheduled to deliver a Competitive Florida Update and Shane Strum of Broward Health and Lawrence Antonucci of Lee Health are set to take part in a health care panel.
Several top elected officials are also on the agenda, including Attorney General Ashley Moody as well as segments with Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, House Speaker Paul Renner, Rep. Perez, and former Gov. Jeb Bush.
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A new national group, Protecting Americans Project, is holding its inaugural conference outside Tampa today at Innisbrook resort. PAP was organized earlier this year to promote and support conservative prosecutors. Its affiliated political action committee spent over $400,000 supporting Bruce Bartlett, the 6th Judicial Circuit State Attorney, in his campaign this year against Allison Miller.
Honorary Chair and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and former Florida Speaker Chris Sprowls lead the organization; Sprowls serves on its advisory board. The organization plans to be heavily involved in Florida State Attorney races in the next election cycle.
Today’s conference offerings will include an economic development panel featuring Mark Wilson of the Florida Chamber, and a panel focused on law enforcement featuring Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister. Attorney General Moody will headline the reception and dinner.
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Business law firm Gunster is completing a merger agreement with Naples-based law firm Grant Fridkin Pearson.
The merger is effective Jan. 1 and will see the 12 attorneys and 15-member professional staff of Grant Fridkin Pearson join Gunster, one of the state’s largest commercial law firms.
Naples is an expansion for Gunster, which will now have a foothold in every major market across Florida, and with this added growth, expands the firm’s statewide footprint to 12 cities across Florida.
Grant Fridkin Pearson is a comprehensive law firm that represents a broad range of individuals, businesses, entrepreneurs and institutions across Florida. The firm’s attorneys focus on four principal areas of practice: transactional real estate; business services; litigation and dispute resolution; and estate planning and trust and estate administration services.
The new expansion follows Gunster’s merger with the Barnett firm in October, solidifying it as one of the largest firms in the Tampa Bay region. Gunster is a 97-year-old Florida law firm currently with 12 offices across the state and nearly 250 attorneys and government affairs consultants.
“The attorneys of Grant Fridkin Pearson are the consummate professionals, many of them achieving some of the highest recognitions available in the legal industry. Additionally, they share a strong commitment to their community, which is a pillar of Gunster’s culture. These attorneys serve in leadership roles within our profession, in civic organizations, and the broader Naples community,” said Bill Perry, managing shareholder of Gunster.
“As we continue to grow strategically, it’s important to align ourselves with attorneys who are committed to both to the legal profession and the local communities we serve. Both firms share a civic commitment to our state which ensures alignment not only from a client-service perspective but from a cultural perspective, as well.”
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@Scott_Maxwell: One thing (Ron) DeSantis leaves out: (Bob) Iger is the guy who basically pressured (Bob) Chapek into belatedly standing up for LGBTQ employees and families. Iger wanted Disney to be *more* outspoken against bigotry, saying “It’s about right and wrong.” And he’s the guy Disney brought back.
—@MaryKelliPalka: It’s been a dream job with an amazing team, but my time as the Times-Union’s executive editor/market leader & as deputy regional Florida editor is coming to an end. This was a difficult decision to make, but I’m ready to try something new. My last day is Dec 9.
—@KaleyAJohnson: Media companies: hold the powerful accountable! Journalists: you don’t pay employees enough and you retaliate against unionized newsrooms Media companies: wait no not like that
—@IsaacDovere: Hakeem Jeffries is the first leader of the House Democrats *ever* born after the end of World War II.
—@radleybalko: Yikes. Florida sheriff holds news conference with new right-wing school board chairman to call for more severe discipline of students. Sheriff then laments that children no longer fear having “the cheeks of their ass torn off.”
—@GrayRohrer: Announcement was done in front of a jail with a sordid reputation for inmate deaths, too
Tweet, tweet:
One-man crime wave Joel Greenberg is making a hot dog guy-style downward departure argument where he hopes to get lenient treatment for ratting out his crimies in all these offenses
Who was the mastermind?
Joel Greenberg, the hot dog guy
The judge is skeptical https://t.co/xJKvKJJQzw pic.twitter.com/n3IAOGD2UD
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) December 1, 2022
Tweet, tweet:
Oh look, it’s the only break in the storm front for 150 miles. pic.twitter.com/ZefupfExoi
— The Magnet (@The_TLH_Magnet) November 30, 2022
— DAYS UNTIL —
2022 Florida Chamber Annual Insurance Summit — 4; Georgia U.S. Senate runoff — 5; Cormac McCarthy’s ‘Stella Maris’ releases — 5; ‘Avatar 2’ premieres — 15; final Broadway performance of ‘The Music Man’ with Hugh Jackman — 31; The James Madison Institute’s Annual Dinner — 55; Bruce Springsteen launches his 2023 tour in Tampa — 62; ‘Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ premieres — 78; final performance of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ on Broadway — 79; city of Tampa Municipal Election early voting begins — 88; DeSantis’ ‘The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.’ is published — 89; Tampa Municipal Election — 96; 2023 Legislative Session convenes — 96; ‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ premieres — 113; Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ Tour in Tampa — 133; American Association of Political Consultants Pollies ’23 conference begins — 148; 2023 Session Sine Die — 155; ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ premieres — 155; ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ premieres — 183; Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ premieres — 232; ‘‘Captain Marvel 2′ premieres — 239; Dune: Part Two’ premieres — 337; ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Part 2 premieres — 484; ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ premieres — 540; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games — 603; ‘Thunderbolts’ premieres — 603; ‘Blade’ reboot premieres — 645; ‘Deadpool 3’ premieres — 708; ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot premieres — 806; ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ premieres — 883. ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ premieres — 1,072.
The post Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 12.1.22 appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
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