Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 8.27.21

By Peter Schorsch    

Good Friday morning.

ICYMI — Dr. Scott Rivkees is exiting the Ron DeSantis administration.

Florida’s phantom surgeon general is on his way out the door.

Rivkees will leave his position when his contract is up on Sept. 20

“We thank Dr. Rivkees for his meaningful work during the most challenging pandemic of our lifetime. We appreciate his service to the people of Florida and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said in a statement provided after Florida Politics first reported the news about Rivkees leaving.

A pediatric physician, Rivkees’ selection for Surgeon General in 2019 was panned due to his lack of public health knowledge.

Rivkees was largely absent from public view throughout the pandemic. One of the few appearances he made was noteworthy only because he was yanked from a panel for suggesting social distancing would last for up to a year.

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First in #FlaPol — A new ad from The Lincoln Project takes aim at DeSantis for his failure to keep Florida children safe. “Pro-Life” shows a series of empty school buses and hallways, featuring headlines such as “Florida leads the nation in kids hospitalized for COVID.” The 60-second spot ends by quoting DeSantis: “Florida got it right, and the lockdown states got it wrong.”

“As the man Fox News has chosen to replace Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis is the perfect example of the modern Republican: he doesn’t believe in local control, he doesn’t believe in science, and he’s indifferent the lives of the people who he governs,” says Rick Wilson, the political consultant and author who co-founded The Lincoln Project. “Thousands of Floridians may die unnecessarily, including a tragic number of children and young adults, but hey at least he’s ‘owning the libs.’”

The ad is set to debut today in the Tallahassee market.

To watch “Pro-Life,” click on the image below:

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Just off embargo — Former Joe Biden campaign financial adviser Alicia Pardo is joining Nikki Fried’s bid for Florida Governor as the lead finance consultant.

“This is the most important Governor’s race in the country,” Pardo said in a statement. “We are going to raise whatever it takes to beat Gov. DeSantis and end two decades of one-party control of state government.”

Pardo most recently served as Biden’s Southeast Regional Finance Director, managing a team of seven financial staffers to oversee nine states and two territories — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In all, the high-profile political veteran helped raise than $55 million in the region for the Biden for President, Biden Victory Fund, and other affiliated committees. Pardo also played a role for the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee, where she raised funds from individual and corporate donors in the Southeast.

“We are thrilled Alicia is joining our campaign,” Fried said. “We are building the most talented, diverse, and ambitious campaign team in Florida history because that’s what it’s going to take to win.”

In addition to her work on the Biden campaign, Pardo served on several Democratic campaigns, including as a senior adviser to Sen. José Javier Rodríguez’s reelection effort.

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Lee Health’s Michael Nachef gives back with ‘Clips for Cancer’ — Nachef, the vice president of government relations at Lee Health, is participating in the Clips for Cancer challenge to support “Barbara’s Friends,” the Golisano Children’s Hospital Cancer Fund. The fund, part of the Lee Health Foundation, helps with the needs of patients and families. He’s shaving his head on Sept. 3 for the cause, hoping to raise $10,000 to support Barbara’s Friends. Before heading to Lee Health back in 2016, Nachef spent six years as a legislative assistant to Sen. Garrett Richter. For more info on the Clips for Cancer fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/michaelnachef.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@Stengel: In the not-too-distant future, historians will look at this withdrawal as one of the most successful in history. It is already one of the largest airlifts ever.

—@GovRonDeSantis: Casey and I are praying for the families of the fallen U.S. Marines and for the safety of our service members, fellow citizens, and Afghan allies in Kabul. Our troops are doing heroic work under dangerous circumstances, and they deserve our continued admiration.

—@MarcoRubio: Coordination with the Taliban was a colossal mistake. We have Americans stranded, our forces under siege at the airport & even more sinister terror plots in the works. @POTUS must now implement a new evacuation strategy, or more horror lies ahead

—@ToledoforTampa: My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the service members and Afghan civilians we lost today in Afghanistan. I am proud to represent many of the men and women who serve and work at CENTCOM and SOCOM. May God Bless them, their families and our great Nation.

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It can not be emphasized: Florida, alone as far as I can tell, will have MORE deaths/day in this wave than any prior time, despite having ready access to vaccines, therapeutics, non-pharmaceutical interventions, & fair warning.

Find me another place in world where this is true. pic.twitter.com/iElzMqjOw5

— (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) August 26, 2021

So … the Jonas Brothers (along with Daily’s Place) are the latest to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis.

—@TLHElderLaw: The “nut-free” classroom issue is an interesting comparison to school mask mandates. A parent is not allowed to send a child to school with items in their lunches that may contain nuts for the protection of a classmate who may be allergic to nuts

—@MichelleTodd: This is terrifying. Oxygen was crucial to my recovery from a non-COVID-related medical emergency last month. Without it, I wouldn’t be here. Tell me again how your refusal to get vaccinated doesn’t impact anyone other than yourself.

—@SenJanetCruz: Here’s to the women who created equality by necessity. Women like my Mom, Gracie, who was the first woman to work in a Port Tampa gypsum plant and spent 15 years there. 15 years of hard hats, steel toe boots, & 10-12 hr days supporting her family as a single mom.

—@JulieKBrown: This is the “new” world of distorted journalism. I guess This reporter (Javier Manjarres) didn’t read the follow- up — because I clarified this (I’m not a lawyer), but the journalist didn’t even email or call me btw.

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