Good Monday morning.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist’s campaign to retake the Governor’s Mansion this November gained an endorsement from Sen. Shevrin Jones, who cited Crist’s record and message as his motivation.
Jones said Crist’s leadership is needed now, particularly considering recent actions by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-dominated Legislature.
“We in Florida cannot continue going in this dangerous direction, which is not the direction the rest of the country is going,” Jones told Florida Politics.
The events of last week’s Special Session — most notably the Legislature’s party-line approval of a DeSantis congressional map, which, among other things, halved the number of Black performing districts in Florida to two — also factored heavily in the decision.
“As someone who represents the largest Black district in the (state), sitting on the sidelines for too long is just not an option,” he said. “And what you see right now is Charlie’s message is resonating in my community of Miami Gardens.
“They know him. They know the name. They know the work.”
Crist, who began his political career as a Republican and served as Florida Governor from 2007 to 2011, said Jones’ support “means the world” to him.
“This is one of the brightest political young stars in Florida politics today, and having the opportunity to receive his endorsement is humbling,” he said. “I am honored by it, and I’m enormously grateful to Shev and to God.”
Read the full story about Jones’ endorsement here.
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“If you want to arrest me, f**king arrest me,” said a defiant Charlie Adelson in April 2016, covertly recorded by the FBI in a noisy Miami restaurant, talking with co-conspirator Katherine Magbanua about the murder of his former brother-in-law, FSU law professor Dan Markel.
“Come back with a warrant.”
That challenge was finally accepted last week, almost six years later to the day.
The long-awaited arrest has drawn renewed international attention to the Tallahassee murder-for-hire and has cracked open possibilities for the resolution of a case that has become woven into Florida’s political landscape in various ways in the years since. FloridaPolitics.com has followed the case extensively, diving deep through the aftershocks of a murder that rocked Florida’s capital city and left a trail of victims in its path.
“Charlie’s arrest is a major milestone and reflects the tireless work put into this case by law enforcement and prosecutors,” said Markel family friend, Karen Cyphers on behalf of the grassroots group Justice for Dan.
But how did this arrest come to be, nearly eight years later? And what does it mean for the pursuit of justice moving forward? Cyphers walked me through some details of the case that are public but often left undiscussed.
For more must-read details, get the full story here.
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DeSantis already has three Democrats vying for his seat, but Roger Stone might not be making empty threats.
Someone, presumably in Stone’s camp, has registered the domains RogerforGovernor.com and StoneforGovernor.com, another sign the longtime Donald Trump ally could be serious about taking down DeSantis.
Stone threatened late last year to run for Governor as a Libertarian unless DeSantis vows to not run for President in 2024. And last weekend, Stone released a clip in which he whispers to Trump, “Ron DeSantis is a piece of sh*t.”
The latest move, registering the domain names, took place on Wednesday, as the Legislature met to pass bills targeting Disney over the company’s opposition to Florida’s anti-LGBTQ education law. Meanwhile, this week, former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis offered to represent Disney over the retaliation, which has put DeSantis back in the limelight.
Although nothing is hosted yet at the two domains, the recent actions from Trump world could be a sign of more 2024 posturing to come.
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With three games left in the 2022 regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are skating to the White House to celebrate their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021.
President Joe Biden will be the first President to host the Bolts, even though the team has won three championships. The COVID-19 pandemic had delayed celebrations for their recent titles. But lightning struck twice because the team also couldn’t celebrate its 2004 title during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
The Lightning, who have already clinched their third consecutive Stanley Cup playoff appearance, beat the Florida Panthers 8-4 in Sunrise Sunday night before leaving for Washington. Next, the team will continue north to Ohio to play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Biden could honor a host of Bolts, like defensemen Victor Hedman and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, the most valuable players in the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup championships. Of course, there’s owner Jeff Vinik, general manager Julien BriseBois, and head coach Jon Cooper.
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Spotted — A who’s who of elected officials from Manatee and Sarasota counties who turned out to celebrate Grimes Galvano crossing the century mark.
The guest list included U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, former Senate President Andy Gardiner, and former Sens. David Simmons and JD Alexander. Sarasota County’s turnout included County Commissioner Mike Moran and Sarasota Mayor Erik Arroya. Manatee County electeds included County Commissioners Carol Whitmore, George Kruse, Misty Servia, Vanessa Baugh and Reggie Bellamy, County Administrator Scott Hopes, Clerk of Court Angel Colonneso, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, Property Appraiser Charles Hackney and School Board member Chad Choat. The list continues with Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown and Police Chief Melanie Bevan as well as City Councilmembers Marianne Barnebey, Pam Coachman, Bill Sanders and Jayne Kocher. And Palmetto — the town Grimes Galvano’s founders first put up their shingle — was represented by Mayor Shirley Groover-Bryant.
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Fred Piccolo joins Jackie Toledo’s CD 15 bid as campaign manager — Piccolo will serve Toledo’s campaign as both campaign manager and senior adviser. Piccolo had previously been campaign manager to then-candidate Dennis Ross from 2008 to 2010 and as Chief of Staff to then-Congressman Ross from 2010 to 2012.
“I’ve known Jackie Toledo since I worked with her on her first campaign for the statehouse,” Piccolo said in a statement. “No one works harder or cares more deeply about her constituents than Jackie does. She’s demonstrated a unique ability to move legislation and articulate our conservative principles to a wide audience and expand our party into diverse communities throughout the Tampa Bay area.”
Toledo added: “Fred and I worked together for over a decade in my campaigns and in his time in the speaker’s office in Tallahassee. I value his advice and his experience, and his knowledge of the district is second to none.”
“This not a Polk County seat,” Piccolo continued. “As the only candidate in this race who grew up, went to public school, graduated from college, and raised a family in Hillsborough County, Jackie knows that the citizens of District 15 can easily distinguish between their neighbor and politicians who can’t give up power. That choice is becoming crystal clear.”
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@EricGeller: What a weird system France has, where the presidential candidate who gets the most votes wins the election.
—@NikkiFried: It’s been 30 hours since I called for 5 televised debates. Charlie’s been awfully quiet.
—@TPFabricio: Hialeah is brimming with pride! Congratulations to our soon-to-be Commissioner of Education @SenMannyDiaz! You have been Florida’s strongest excellence in education advocate. This is a much-deserved appointment.
—@RichLowry: Corporations as institutions have been corrupted, very often through bullying and fear, and there’s a chance that the Disney controversy will free them simply to fly planes, sell soda, etc. again, which would be good for these companies and good for the country’s cultural health
—@ChristinaPushaw: Thought experiment for liberals: What if your child’s teacher was religious & used a slideshow to tell class, “some people think they were born in the wrong body, but that’s impossible; God doesn’t make mistakes?” You wouldn’t like it. Let parents teach their kids as they see fit
—@ErinInTheMorn: The last 3 months, we have seen trans people: — referred to as pedophiles/groomers — called “an infection” — “need to be morally mandated out of existence” Parents of trans people are investigated. Health care may be pulled. The eugenics/genocide language is turned up to 11.
—@AGHamilton29: I’m reading this NYT deep dive into the books that FL rejected from their math curriculum and it’s only making me think that FL actually did a good job vetting. This admits the books have a lot of nonsense that has little to do with teaching kids’ math.
—@ChrisDorworth: I have read so much how the abolition of the Reedy Creek is going to lead to all manners of mayhem. It is much ado about nothing. The Gov/Leg definitely smacked them around, but it’s just paperwork. All the land will be annexed into Bay Lake or Lake Buena Vista. Those 2 cities have pops of 42 and 19 and are controlled by Disney selected people just like RCID was. 1 of those cities will gobble up the Orange County land and be about the size of San Francisco. The LBV Wikipedia says people wonder why you needed a city in the RCID.
—@AGGancarski: People are really slacking on detailed accounts of how many masks they are seeing/not seeing on planes. That’s all I want in my newsfeed at this point and for months and months and months to come.
Republished with permission [/vc_message]
