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Sunburn – The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics – 8.30.22

  Good Tuesday morning.

One week after the Primary Election, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map, which erased two Black-performing districts in Florida, are launching a statewide tour to mobilize minority voters in key counties.

Starting Tuesday, Equal Ground is teaming with fellow plaintiffs Florida Rising, League of Women Voters, and Black Votes Matter for the ‘We Draw the Lines’ tour. The tour will include stops in six counties the new map impacts over the next month.

The tour’s kickoff event will be at the Sanford Civic Center Annex in Seminole County, followed by a stop at the Smith Center in Orlando on Sept. 7. Both events begin at 6:30 p.m.

Other stops at to-be-announced locations include Osceola County on Sept. 12, Hillsborough County from Sept. 13-14, Miami-Dade County on Sept. 15, and Jacksonville in Duval County on Oct. 6.

During the stops, the groups will speak with voters about the map and provide updates on the history of each district, its current composition and how that compares to its earlier makeup.

The groups will also use each stop to motivate potential voters to cast ballots on or before the Nov. 8 General Election and educate them about critical legal changes, including vote-by-mail strictures and voter registration deadlines.

The districts in contention include Florida’s 5th and 10th Congressional Districts — whose redrawing, critics argue, discriminated against Black voters — and Florida’s 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 26th and 27th Congressional Districts.

“It is incredibly important that we talk directly to people, residents and voters because they’re the ones being targeted and because voter data is what determines the makeup of these maps and whether districts will remain whole or move,” said Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground, a Black-led civic engagement nonprofit.

“The people we’re working with are residents. They’re voters. They’re people who our state is saying aren’t participants in the process but are also the ones most deeply impacted by voter suppression laws that have been passed in this state that almost prohibit their access to the ballot box.”

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Sad news out of Naples, where Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame member Joe Marlin Hilliard passed away at the age of 79.

Hilliard grew up in Hendry County and began working on his family ranch, Hilliard Brothers Cattle Ranch, in the early 1960s after graduating high school. Hilliard was a pioneer in the farming industry, specifically in the areas of cattle, citrus and sugar farming.

He was one of the first to use sandy soil to grow sugar cane and pushed for the adoption of mechanical harvesting as well. Both practices led to a significant expansion in the industry, according to Robert H. Buker Jr., president and CEO of U.S. Sugar.

RIP: Pioneer rancher, businessperson, and South Florida agricultural icon Joe Marlin Hilliard.

“Joe Marlin was an innovator in Florida sugar cane farming, an entrepreneur, a rancher who greatly improved his family’s holdings, a shrewd business partner and a close personal friend,” Buker said.

“Joe Marlin Hilliard was an industry pioneer who made great strides for area agriculture — particularly in beef cattle ranching, sugar cane harvesting and citrus production. More importantly, he was a great friend who leaves an amazing legacy in Hilliard Ranch.”

Hilliard is survived by his wife, Barbara; his children, Joe Marlin Hilliard II, Mary E. Hilliard Carroll and Bryan Reed Hilliard; stepson Richard Parker and stepdaughter Alicia Snyder; and grandchildren Rana Hilliard, Joe A. “Jack” Hilliard II, Madeline Carroll, Lily Carroll, Isabelle Hilliard, Bryan Reed Hilliard II, Isla Hilliard and Jessica Snyder.

Services will be this Friday, Sept. 2 at Hodges Funeral Home. The family is asking for contributions to Shriners Hospitals for Children in lieu of flowers or other gifts.

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Here are a few other items:

📰 — Want to know how DeSantis turned those nothingburger election fraud arrests into headline material? A new deep dive by Popular Information’s Judd Legum looks at the Governor’s playbook and spells it out.

🗳 — The James Madison Institute’s 2022 Florida Amendment Guide dropped this week and with only three proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot, it’s mercifully brief. JMI doesn’t weigh in on ballot questions, so the guide gives each proposal a fair shake. Check it out in English and Spanish.

💨 — Move over, tobacco; cannabis is now the king of smokable plants. For the first time ever, a new Gallup Poll found that more Americans say they’ve smoked marijuana (16%) than a cigarette (11%) in the past week. Check out CNN’s rundown of the changing of the guard — and its possible political implications.

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She’s having a baby — Best of luck to Jess and Alex Andrade, who are expecting a daughter in February (smart baby to come right before Session.)

Congratulations to the father-to-be — with impeccable timing, to boot.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

Tweet, tweet:

@BryanDGriffin: Florida ranks FIRST in the nation in economic freedom thanks to low taxes, sound fiscal policies, and a low regulatory burden. Live free in Sunshine State!

@ScotttWagnerFL: @GovRonDeSantis is a WAR HORSE who saved Florida. Without his leadership, we wouldn’t even have a state to compare to the rest of these failures. Gov’s opponent teamed up with Newsom and is a regime surrogate, looking to infect Florida with these destructive crippling policies.

@JeffreyBrandes: The more that comes out on the arrests the more I believe the individuals involved had no knowledge or intent to violate the law.

@MDixon55: So, I’m not going to get my apology?

Tweet, tweet:


Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel Dean, Renzo Downey, Jacob Ogles, and Drew Wilson.

The post Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 8.30.22 appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..

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