Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 4.28.22 (Video)

By Peter Schorsch

Good Thursday morning.

“DeSanTAX.”

Oops. Spoiler alert.

That’s the punchline of a new TV commercial that Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current Rep. Charlie Crist is launching in the Orlando market. It attacks Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legislative culture war battle with The Walt Disney Co. The ad charges that Governor’s Disney ire could result in tax increases in Orange and Osceola counties or statewide.

The 30-second ad, “DeSanTAX” responds to the Governor’s Special Session effort last week to push through and sign SB 4C. It set the clock ticking to abolish Disney World’s special district government in June 2023 in response to Disney’s perceived disloyalty toward DeSantis’ political agenda.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District holds $79 million in outstanding utilities revenue and refunding bonds and $766 million in property tax-backed bonds. If Reedy Creek is abolished, as called for by SB 4C, then some other government entity would have to take responsibility for those debts.

Orange and Osceola counties may be in line to do so. The Crist ad quotes Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph, saying that could mean a 15-20% property tax increase in his county.

The spot quickly rolls through “DeSantis vs. Disney” news reports and Randolph’s assessment, then turns to Crist. He begins with his frequent criticism of the Governor: charging that all he really wants is to run for President.

“And he’s whipping up his base by attacking Disney. He doesn’t care that Disney brings thousands of tourists to Florida, or that his bill would cost taxpayers millions,” Crist says in the ad.

“Ron, if you want to run for President, do it,” Crist concludes. “But don’t make us pay your DeSanTAX.”

To watch the ad, click on the image below:

“Crist adds 10 more endorsements for his gubernatorial campaign” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Crist has announced endorsements from 10 more elected officials for his 2022 gubernatorial campaign. The endorsements are from officials in Alachua, Miami-Dade, Orange and Palm Beach counties. They include Rep. Nick Duran, Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and Palm Bay Deputy Mayor Kenny Johnson. He also received support from former state Sens. Daryl Jones and Perry Thurston. “I’m honored to have earned the support of some of the most hardworking and committed leaders the Sunshine State has to offer,” Crist said.

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U.S. Rep. Val Demings announced Wednesday that her U.S. Senate campaign will make a seven-figure investment into a Democratic voter mobilization group as she seeks to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

In a news release, the Congresswoman’s campaign said it would send $3 million to One Future Florida, which Florida Democrats launched last earlier this year in coordination with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Launched in January, One Future Florida is the earliest ever start to a midterm Democratic statewide coordinated campaign in Florida, Demings’ campaign noted. The organization houses Florida Democrats’ organizing, voter registration, voter protection, and data infrastructure for local, state, statewide and U.S. Senate election campaigns in 2022.

“We are building a historic movement across Florida to elect Chief Val Demings and Democrats up and down the ballot backed by unprecedented midterm fundraising from grassroots donors,” said Zack Carroll, Demings’ campaign manager.

“We know when voters hear our message, we win. Democrats will have the infrastructure we need to deliver our message in every community from the Panhandle to the Keys as we knock on doors, make calls, and engage voters wherever they’re found to defeat Marco Rubio and win throughout this state.”

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Florida will add an estimated 4 million residents by 2030, and more people in the state means more people on the roads.

The state’s explosive growth presents some challenges, but it also brings opportunities to connect Florida’s communities to one another and global markets.

The intersection of those challenges and opportunities will be front and center at the Florida Chamber Foundation’s 2022 Florida Transportation, Growth & Infrastructure Solution Summit.

Kicking off this morning in Jacksonville, the event will feature panel discussions and talks delivered by some of Florida’s top business and transportation leaders, economic developers, logistics leaders, land and water experts, lawmakers and more.

Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson will open the event with an overview of how Florida can prepare for future growth, paving the way for a packed slate of speakers who will spell out how the Sunshine State can move forward.

Talks include a “Roadmap to Growing Florida to 2030” delivered by John Kaliski of Cambridge Systematics, “A Vision for Florida’s Infrastructure Future” by Rep. Sam Garrison, and “Leveraging Federal Infrastructure for Florida’s Future” by Florida Transportation Builders’ Association President and former Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad.

Panel segments will include discussing connected vehicles between Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority CEO Greg Slater and Honda chief engineer and division director Sue Bai.

The final frontier will also get some airtime when Space Florida CEO Frank DiBello, Lockheed Martin Space Florida site operations director George “Gordy” Houser, and Airbus OneWeb Satellites CEO James Hindstake the stage later in the day.

Here is the full agenda and link to registration.

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“Survey: Americans support Holocaust education — and many of them need it” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a new survey shows that 10% of Americans believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated or did not happen and nearly a fifth think Jewish people are at least partially culpable for their systematic murder at the hands of Nazi Germany. The Holocaust Education Research Council survey asked 850 adults across the United States various questions about the Holocaust, finding a sizable portion are either underinformed or believe falsehoods. Still, the survey found that 93% of Americans think it is important to continue teaching about the Holocaust, and 80% believe something horrific like it could happen again. The survey was conducted by Sachs Media on April 21 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%.

Here is the link to the survey

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Americans for Prosperity-Florida announced Thursday that it is adding longtime legislative policy and communications professional Carrie Patrick as its new deputy state director.

Patrick comes to AFP-FL with nearly two decades of experience in communications, policy, legislative, state executive government, and private industry.

“Filling the deputy state director position with a leader as experienced and dedicated as Carrie makes our organization even better equipped to continue advocating tirelessly for reforms that remove barriers to individual opportunity and success,” AFP-FL Director Skylar Zander said.

Patrick honed her policy and public affairs expertise working for Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, where she helped influence legislative and budget decisions for Florida. She also worked on the 2002 Bush-Brogan gubernatorial campaign and 2004 presidential campaign for George W. Bush.

Patrick also has private sector experience, having held positions at CoreMessage and, most recently, The GTM Group. Drawing on her extensive experience, she founded her own firm, Care-Comm, working on behalf of clients to influence public opinion and policies.

“Carrie’s knowledge at both the federal and state levels, combined with her private sector experience, is exciting for AFP-FL. I’m looking forward to working closely with her and our organization to help drive long-term solutions, and work toward resolving Florida’s and our country’s challenges,” Zander said.

Patrick fills the position previously held by Starla Brown, who left AFP-FL earlier this year to take the top position at Americans for Prosperity-Mississippi.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@MittRomney: Desperate polls call for desperate measures: Dems consider forgiving trillions in student loans. Other bribe suggestions: Forgive auto loans? Forgive credit card debt? Forgive mortgages? And put a wealth tax on the superrich to pay for it all. What could possibly go wrong?

Tweet, tweet:

—@TinaPolsky: Today, we remember the 6 million Jews who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. Unfortunately, our area is ground zero for modern-day antisemitism, and we must constantly speak out against it and always remember the victims

—@Annette_Taddeo: Ron DeSantis cites the upcoming hurricane season as reasons for a Special Session on insurance — we’re from Florida, we knew hurricanes were coming during the Regular Session.

—@GrayRohrer: Looking forward to seeing Theodore Hayes‘ whiny letter to @GovRonDeSantis now that he’s vetoed the net metering bill.

—@JacobOgles: Are all these bots supposedly following people this week completely uninterested in the latest Florida redistricting news, or am I doing this wrong?