Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 9.17.21

By Peter Schorsch    

Good Friday morning.

Let’s start the day on a nice note.

Congratulations — Dr. Julia Nesheiwat and Col. Michael Waltz were married recently in an intimate ceremony with family.

Nesheiwat served as Florida’s first Chief Resilience Officer appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and had held senior roles in the George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. Waltz, represents north-central Florida in Congress, is a combat decorated Green Beret, former businessman, and a Colonel in the National Guard. Both are proud Army veterans.

___

DeSantis’ war on mask and vaccine mandates may be a loser, but voters are lining up behind his plan to recruit police officers with a new incentive package.

The proposal, unveiled by the Governor last month, would offer a $5,000 signing bonus to entice new officers, create a scholarship program to cover police academy or state college tuition, and set up a relocation support program to lure experienced police from other states.

A poll of Florida voters commissioned by multistate think tank Foundation for Government Accountability found all three prongs above water.

The scholarship program was the biggest hit, by far.

Seven in 10 voters said they supported a plan that paid for college by offering work-study programs in law enforcement, while just 16% said they opposed it. The support was bipartisan, too, with Republicans and Democrats both crossing the 70% threshold. Independents were slightly less keen on the idea at 63%-20%.

Providing state college scholarships sans work-study requirements enjoyed majority support as well. A similar system that would pay the state college rate to attend private academies was above water 47%-34%.

The signing bonus package was significantly less popular but still snagged plurality support with 48% in favor and 29% opposed. But the pitch cracked support along partisan lines — while 60% of Republicans and 50% of independents approved, just 32% of Democrats backed it.

The floated options to recruit out-of-state officers received tepid approval. Voters were 46%-39% in favor of waiving the $100 law enforcement exam fee and 42%-31% in favor of waiving up to $1,000 in equivalency training program fees for prospective transplants.

Still, voters agreed by a 37-point margin with the Governor’s premise that there is a law enforcement shortage and that the state needs to take action to address it.

Cor Services conducted the poll of 523 likely voters Aug. 23-25. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.29%.

___

Time magazine released its 100 Most Influential People of 2021 this week, and one Floridian made the list.

Well, two if you count newish resident and reigning Super Bowl champ Tom Brady.

But with a residency requirement, the Sunshine State’s lone representative on the annual list was Tallahassee attorney Ben Crump.

One could argue a couple of other Floridians deserved a spot on the list, but none can deny that Crump’s recognition is undeserved. The Florida State University law school graduate was already among the most recognized civil rights attorneys in the country heading into 2020.

But last year saw him work three of the most high-profile cases involving Black Americans who died at the hands of police — the killings of Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright and George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose death sparked protests across the globe last summer.

TIME notes that his representation made a guilty verdict against officer Derek Chauvin — the officer who killed Floyd — possible, calling it “a flicker of hope that the change that both the world and grieving families were calling for might be possible on a wider scale.”

The magazine also praised Crump for his client service outside the courtroom, describing him as a pillar of support long after his work representing them was over.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@HeerJeet: We’re in a weird space where Trump has been effectively neutralized a cultural force in the broader world but remains a feared & shaping force in GOP politics.

—@GarrettHaake: The organizer of Saturday’s pro-insurrectionist “Justice for J6” rally tells me they’re currently expecting ~700 people (that’s what they’re permitted for). Speakers include two Republican congressional candidates, but no sitting members of Congress.

—@ajchavar: Please look at the numbers and get vaccinated. 1/500 Americans — 663,913 human beings — have died from this virus. The vast majority of people have, and who will die, are not vaccinated. Among the vaccinated, there are only 750 documented deaths from COVID-19, mostly edge cases.

—@ChrisLHayes: I think I’ve come to believe that even if the COVID death toll was *ten times* what it currently is, the politics of all of it wouldn’t be appreciably different.

—@ByronDonalds: Thank you to the , @NICKIMINAJ, for standing strong. Big Tech & health “experts” hate dissent. They’ll get in your business & coerce your decision-making. Nicki Minaj said HELL NO, & now she’s on the chopping block. Big mistake, don’t come after Nicki.

Tweet, tweet:

—@skidmorekelly: @AnthonySabatini welcome to the neighborhood! Location, location, location! Perks: being steps away from Morris Hall, quick access to parking garage, less frequented bathrooms, inside stairway to EL, secret ice machine, and friendly neighbors. #ADAaccessible #newlyrenovated

Tweet, tweet:

—@AnUncivilPhD: A pox on the person(s) who ripped off nearly 5000 #comics, pulps, and related materials from the special collections at Florida State University.

— DAYS UNTIL —