Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 3.30.22

By Peter Schorsch    

Good Wednesday morning.

With today’s launch of The Panhandle 100, Extensive Enterprises Media has launched its third political newsletter in less than nine months with The 100 Companies platform.

The Panhandle 100 is a weekly newsletter and website featuring 100-word stories on topics of intrigue to those in Pensacola, Panama City and a dozen counties in between.

The inaugural issue went to nearly 25,000 readers, and though the campaign is still in progress, readers are opening the issue, and thousands are clicking through to EEM’s flagship publication, Florida Politics.

The Panhandle 100 comes nine months after Extensive Enterprises Media took over management of The Tampa Bay 100, doubling its frequency to weekly and doubling its readership to 40,000. The South FL 100 launched in December, heading out to 95,000 readers.

EEM now manages four large markets in The 100 Companies’ most successful state, including the website only The St. Pete 100.

“As I said before, I loved this 100-word newsletter format the first time it landed in my inbox,” said Peter Schorsch, president and CEO of EEM. “Apparently, Florida readers are enjoying it as much as we are. We were so happy to bring The 100 to Florida’s Panhandle, which we observed was an underserved media market.

“The 100 Companies team is so great to work with. Their design, list management and production capabilities are first-rate and make it easy for our content creators to scale quickly.”

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Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has hired Caleb Spencer to manage his 2022 re-election campaign.

“Caleb Spencer has been an incredible asset as a member of the team for my 2018 campaign and then as the External Affairs Director at DFS. I’m excited to have him back on the campaign trail with me, this time as my campaign manager, where I know he’ll continue to work hard and make sure we get a big win in November,” Patronis said Tuesday.

Spencer has worked with Patronis since the 2018 cycle, serving as Patronis’ travel aide and political director during his first successful bid for CFO.

He most recently worked as the external affairs director for the Florida Department of Financial Services, overseen by Patronis. In that role, Spencer led a team of regional managers, specializing in stakeholder development, constituent services and event coordination.

Notably, Spencer helped orchestrate the ‘Year of the US&R’ events around the state. The events were part of a push by Patronis to honor Florida’s urban search and rescue teams for their efforts following the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside. The events also saw Patronis advocate for increased equipment and training funding for US&R teams.

Spencer is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where he earned a degree in political science. He is a native of Apopka and currently lives in Tallahassee.

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Another day, another five names were revealed on Florida Politics’ ninth annual list of Tampa Bay’s 25 Most Powerful Politicians.

On Day One, Florida Politics unveiled No. 25 through No. 21 on the list and published a roundup of honorable mentions. On Tuesday, Florida Politics published No. 20 through No. 16. Here’s a rundown of the second set.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kim Overman debuted at No. 20. She earned her spot after taking over as chair of the Commission and her ascension to leadership positions on numerous boards in the county, including the Affordable Housing Advisory Board, Transportation Management Area Leadership Group, and Commission on Human Trafficking.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco ranked No. 19, climbing up six spots from last year’s list. The ranking reflects his popularity with Pasco County voters, who have thrice elected him since his appointment to the post in 2011.

Clearwater Rep. Chris Latvala moved four spots this year on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians, from No. 14 to No. 18, mostly because term limits prevent him from hanging on to his seat. Don’t be fooled, though — Latvala won’t be leaving the realm of Tampa Bay politics so soon, with a Pinellas County Commission bid already in motion.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp checks in at No. 17 in this year’s ranking. Though she is no longer chair, her work on public transportation and her role in redrawing the Commission’s districts show she still holds plenty of leverage on the Commission.

Coming in at No. 16 was St. Petersburg Sen. Jeff Brandes. Though the longtime Republican lawmaker is on his way out of the Senate, his penchant for voting by principle and standing up to directives from his party’s leadership keep him on the list despite term limits ushering him out of Tallahassee.

Stay tuned Wednesday when Florida Politics will drop the names of No. 15-11 on the list of Tampa Bay’s 25 Most Powerful Politicians.

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She said ‘Yes!’ — Congrats to our friend Brittany Dover, the Legislative Affairs Director for Laurel Lee and daughter of our great friend Carol Dover, on her engagement to Eddie Bass.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@MarcoRubio: The @WaltDisneyCo filmed Mulan near #Uighur genocide camps & then thanked the people who run those camps in the credits. But they are outraged that Florida schools will not be indoctrinating 5-year-olds on “gender identity.”

—@GovRonDeSantis: The state of Florida is governed according to the interests of the people, not according to the political posturing of corporate executives in California. We will never allow corporate influence to repeal the substantive rights of parents in our state.

—@JimmyPatronis: I’m glad @GovRonDeSantis is moving his redistricting maps forward. That’s the right thing to do. The hysteria from liberals that this is part of a vast right-wing conspiracy is hilarious. This is the democratic process after all, and the Governor is protecting Florida law by fighting gerrymandering. He continues to be a great leader — and it’s to his credit that the Free State of Florida continues to be a place that takes the law seriously.

—@BryanDGriffin: Florida: record budget surplus, no income tax, consumer-minded tax breaks coming up. This isn’t an accident — it’s the mindset and practice of our conservative state officials and will give us a fighting chance to hedge against (Joe) Biden admin’s inflation.

—@JoeMobleyJax: What? I honestly can’t tell you whether any of my teachers were gay or straight. I mean, at a certain age, I might have been able to make a guess, but for some crazy reason, my teachers taught me the subject at hand.

—@CrowleyReport: Is your Florida homeowners insurance going up? Are you having trouble getting insurance? Don’t worry @GovRonDeSantis is fighting for you — not to have to wear a mask on a plane.

Tweet, tweet:

—@RyanBenk: The insidious ridiculousness of Ca**horne’s comments aside, a lot of people saying things like “DC is too bland for this” or “not fun enough” have obviously never heard of Crew Club.

—@Ellen_E_Clark: Got a PR email asking if I’m doing any gift guides for 4/20 and think I’m done for the week.