Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 8.25.21

By Peter Schorsch    

Good Wednesday morning.

The preelection polls got this one right.

As expected, Ken Welch and City Council member Robert Blackmon finished one-two in the St. Pete Mayoral Primary and will advance to the General Election in November.

St. Pete Polls predicted this outcome for several weeks as Blackmon moved solidly ahead of Councilperson Darden Rice into second place in the nine-candidate field.

The top two finishers qualify for the General Election.

Rice took heavy criticism after a mailer that linked Welch to former President Donald Trump. She dropped dramatically in the polls after that mailer and never recovered.

The primary result ensures that the November election will ensure a first for St. Petersburg.

Welch would be the city’s first Black Mayor, while Blackmon would be St. Pete’s first Millennial Mayor.

There were other races of interest.

In City Council District 1, Bobbie Shay Lee narrowly defeated Copley Gerdes by 16 votes — 2,263 to 2,247 — in the four-candidate field. They will square off in the November General Election.

In District 4, Lisset Hanewicz and Tom Mullins will oppose each other in November.

Voters will choose between Richie Floyd and Jeff Danner in District 8.

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For the first time since Category 5 Hurricane Michael, the Florida Ports Council and Florida Seaports Transportation and Economic Development Council will hold their statewide annual meeting in Panama City today and Thursday.

Port directors from Florida’s 15 seaports, along with leaders from Florida’s Departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation and Economic Opportunity, and elected leaders from the state House and Senate, will join the meeting to discuss headwinds like COVID-19 impacting ports and tail wind opportunities to navigate beyond the pandemic.

Florida’s seaports lost an estimated 169,000 jobs and nearly $23 billion in economic activity through 2020. Florida Ports Council President and CEO Michael Rubin will present conference attendees with a state-of-Florida’s seaports update. Rep. Jay Trumbull, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, will deliver Wednesday’s keynote luncheon speech.

With support from the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s seaports recently received critical pandemic relief funding to help mitigate the ongoing economic impacts seaports experienced throughout the pandemic. During the conference, the Florida Ports Council will honor several lawmakers, including Trumbull, Rep. Michelle Salzman and Sen. George Gainer, with the Seaport Champion Award.

Seaport leaders will also have an opportunity to see the community’s post-hurricane rebuild progress. They’ll tour Port Panama City to see firsthand the tremendous growth of the regional seaport.

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Noah Valenstein has been tapped to serve as the first presidential fellow at The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Valenstein is the immediate past Secretary at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which he held for four years. During the end of his time at DEP, he also served as Florida’s Chief Resiliency Officer. He is also a former executive director of the Suwanee River Water Management District.

“When Noah left the DEP, we saw a wonderful opportunity to include him as part of our team in The Water School,” said Greg Tolley, Ph.D. executive director of The Water School at FGCU. “Noah’s experience serving two consecutive governors as the secretary of DEP will help us advance the agenda of The Water School across the state. He will also help us focus our efforts on issues related to water policy.”

FGCU announced the appointment Wednesday, though his tenure began Aug. 7.

“Since it was announced two-and-a-half years ago, The Water School at FGCU has worked to find solutions to our state’s water issues,” said Valenstein. “I’ve watched this program come into its own over the last few years, and I want to be part of the good work happening here.”

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Ashley Clark is the new Chief Operations Officer at Allegiant Strategies Group, the firm announced Wednesday.

“Ashley has an incredible eye for detail, is extremely organized, forward-thinking, and her collaborative approach to solving challenges is unparalleled. She will be managing all operations of the firm, as well as strategy on other business and investment ventures,” said David Clark, founder and managing partner of Allegiant Strategies Group.

Clark comes to the firm from the Public Service Commission, where she spent the past two years serving as Inspector General. In that role, she managed the Internal Audit and Investigations programs within the OIG. Clark led several audits, most notably relating to telework compliance resulting from COVID-19 and another relating to safety grant funds received from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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BillieAnne Gay, a skilled communicator with extensive government relations and public policy experience, is joining HCA Healthcare as its new Government Affairs Manager in Tallahassee.

In her most recent position as Director of Advocacy and Legislative Services for the Florida School Boards Association, Gay represented Florida’s elected school boards before legislative and executive branches. She oversaw the association’s communications activities, including website updates, media outreach, and heightened social media presence and engagement.

Gay holds a Designated Professional Lobbyist (DPL) designation and has served in leadership positions, including secretary of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists (FAPL) Foundation Board and as an Executive Board member for the Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (FLAEYC).

In her new role, Gay will be involved with HCA Healthcare’s state-level legislative activities and Good Government Group employee advocacy program, which supports nearly 50,000 employees across 50 hospitals with opportunities to get involved with health policy issues.

Gay earned a master’s in education leadership from the University of West Florida after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. She also holds multiple teaching certifications and an Education Leadership certification.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@KenDilanianNBC: (Abdul Ghani) Baradar was once captured and jailed with the CIA’s help. Yesterday he sat across the table from CIA Director William Burns as the de facto leader of the victorious Taliban.

—@GovKristiNoem: If @joebiden illegally mandates vaccines, I will take every action available under the law to protect South Dakotans from the federal government.

—@oneunderscore_: That’s a thing I don’t get about the messaging on vaccines: People keep saying “talk to your doctor” about it. A lot of people don’t have primary care doctors! Especially dudes under 35, who are the people not taking the vaccine. No wonder they’re going to Dr. Facebook MD.

—@JohnLegend: Don’t DeSantis our California. Reject the ridiculous recall. Vote No and return your ballot by 9/14.

Tweet, tweet:

—@MobileMort: I probably shouldn’t be surprised anymore when I enter a business in Florida to find no staff or customers wearing a mask or distancing. But somehow, it still shocks me, given the exceptional scale of the tragedy ongoing in our state. Even now, I still find it stunning.

—@Gangrey: Hell is a school board meeting on mandatory masks.

Tweet, tweet:

—@SShawFl: Congratulations to my fraternity brother and friend, @KenWelch! Tonight is a big win for the future of St. Pete. #PartnersInProgress

—@NoahPransky: Only 51% of travelers in 2021 think you’re supposed to let the row in front of you off the plane before you rush to the front. I miss 2019.

—@SimonCHolland: The pumpkin spice latte is back at Starbucks if y’all want to go ahead and start playing Christmas music.