News: POLITICO Florida Playbook: Tampa Bay Bucs are Super Bowl champs — Major turnover for DeSantis administration — Parscale urges Trump to run again as 'martyr'

Monday, February 8, 2021

POLITICO Florida Playbook: Tampa Bay Bucs are Super Bowl champs — Major turnover for DeSantis administration — Parscale urges Trump to run again as 'martyr'

Feb 08, 2021

Good Monday morning. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their second Super Bowl in franchise history, following a dominating performance on both sides of the ball. In the quarterback battle of the aging yet savvy veteran vs. the rising superstar, it was Tom Brady who came out on top to win his 7th title and another Super Bowl MVP award. For someone who's first-ever NFL game was a Bucs playoff game, this was a marvelous moment. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday night called Tampa Bay "Title Town" since two of the area's three professional teams won championships in the past year, and the third — the Tampa Bay Rays — made it to the World Series. (And yes, that phrase is sure to cause consternation with Packers fans.) Now about some of those maskless celebrations…

The daily rundown — Between Saturday and Sunday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 6,624 (nearly 0.4 percent), to 1,777,983; active hospitalizations went up by 5, to 5,382; deaths rose by 97 (nearly 0.4 percent), to 27,696.

Departures — The halfway point of any administration is usually a natural time for turnover. But what's going on now with Gov. Ron DeSantis could prove to be a pivotal storyline to watch as he moves toward re-election.

One by one — On Friday, the most significant overhaul of his administration came in rapid succession as the governor installed new leaders in two agencies, including Department of Children and Families, after DCF Secretary Chad Poppell resigned. Then it became known that another agency head — Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter — had already turned in his resignation as well. The word is that this has been in the works for several weeks and anticipated since those involved had only promised to spend two years inside of state government. At least one other top official in the administration is anticipated to leave soon as well.

And there's more to come — It appears likely that chief of staff Shane Strum may be leaving too. This could be the biggest test for the governor. Unlike past governors who routinely met regularly with agency heads, DeSantis has relied on a small circle, including his chief of staff to make decisions and pilot the administration. So Strum's replacement will carry a heavy load as DeSantis begins his pivot toward the 2022 re-election campaign. Meanwhile, the vacancy list is already long: DeSantis hasn't replaced his communications director or tapped anyone to permanently take over as general counsel.

— WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.

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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR — "DeSantis turnover: 3 Florida agencies fighting coronavirus get new leaders," by Tampa Bay Times' Kirby Wilson and Christopher O'Donnell: "Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration announced Friday that it is shaking up the leadership in agencies on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Top staffers responsible for fighting the virus, combating the negative social consequences of the pandemic and getting unemployment claims processed are all leaving their current roles."

MOVIN' OUT — "'The jockeying has begun': Likely departure of Trump top staffer adds to turnover," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis' chief of staff is expected to depart in the not-too-distant future — and the positioning to replace him is well underway. Shane Strum has an interview next week to become chief executive of Broward Health, one of the biggest publicly run hospital chains in the United States. The board is expected to vote Feb. 24 on hiring a new CEO, and Strum, who hails from Broward County and has a background in health care administration, is seen as the favorite. "If fortunate [enough] to be selected by Broward Health to serve as their CEO, I've committed to overseeing a smooth and successful transition," Strum told POLITICO on Friday. "The Governor is dedicated to appointing qualified, diverse and talented individuals to key leadership roles who will take our state to the next level."

IN THE WAITING ROOM? — The early short list to replace Strum is largely comprised of DeSantis' top staffers. Deputy chief of staff Adrian Lukis, Director of Policy and Budget Chris Spencer and Legislative Affairs Director Stephanie Kopelousos are all in the mix, according to five people familiar with the initial search process. "It's clear that Shane's going to be moving on and the jockeying has begun for the next chief of staff," said one Republican lobbyist familiar with the search. "It's been fairly well known that it was only a matter of time before he returned to Broward and that a high-level healthcare job was the most obvious fit."

MAGIC 8-BALL SAYS — "Broward Health: A major hospital system at a crossroad," by Sun Sentinel's Cindy Krischer Goodman: "Broward Health, the five-hospital health system that serves hundreds of thousands of patients in Broward County, finds itself at a critical juncture. Will the health system choose a new CEO with political ties to the most powerful man in the state, or will the board select someone with high-level experience running a health system to steer it through the pandemic? On Monday, the interview process begins. Up for the job: Shane Strum, chief of staff for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Joseph Mullany, Chief Executive Officer of Bayfront Health System in St. Petersburg; and Dr. Michael Hochberg, a senior executive of a Texas health network, president of a physician group and board-certified in emergency medicine."

NOW ARRIVING — Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is bolstering her communications office. Fried is bringing on board Natasha Sutherland as deputy director of communications, María Carolina "Maca" Casado as director of Hispanic media, and Sarah Solomon as digital director. The three new staff members will report to Franco Ripple , the director of communications. Sutherland — who started late last month — was recently deputy communications director for Florida House Democrats. Casado, who will be based in Miami, recently worked as a regional press secretary for the Biden-Harris campaign in Florida and worked on former Rep. Donna Shalala's campaign in 2018. Solomon has been working as the governance and media production coordinator at the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.

GAPS — " Staffing, pay issues plague Florida departments amid pandemic," by Orlando Sentinel's Gray Rohrer: "Fewer officers patrol Interstate 95, not enough guards monitor state prisons and there weren't enough people to take calls for unemployment claims. Lack of staffing and high turnover across several agencies in Florida, which consistently ranks among the lowest states in government employees per capita, has led to large gaps in key services as the state attempts to endure and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Low pay compared to similar employers has long plagued agencies like the Department of Corrections, the Florida Highway Patrol and other agencies before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has exacerbated the problems. 'There are not enough employees to do the job,' said Joel Figueroa, an Orlando resident who left his job processing applications for welfare assistance — food stamps, Medicaid and cash assistance — at the Department of Children and Families last month after five years."

— "Appeals court refers 'Grim Reaper' beach case to Florida Bar," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders

— "Lawmakers blame flood of Florida homeowner insurance fraud on lax state enforcement," by Tallahassee Democrat Capital Bureau's Jeffrey Schweers

— "Home insurance benefits could shrink to head off 'the spiral towards collapse,'" by Sun Sentinel's Ron Hurtibise

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

PANDEMIC? — 'No one is thinking about COVID': Get ready for Super Bowl Superspreaders," by The Daily Beast's Francisco Alvarado: "[Strip club owner Warren] Colazzo added that he's been so busy preparing for the big game festivities that he hasn't had time to schedule an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which is available to people 65 and over in Florida. After all, the hometown Buccaneers, led by future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, are playing for the Lombardi Trophy. 'With the Bucs playing in the Super Bowl, no one is thinking about COVID,' Colazzo said. 'It's an escape from what's going on. The last three nights, I've met a lot of people from California and other lockdown states who came here just to party. They are not even here to watch the football game.'"

Fans watch a broadcast of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden before the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.

PROVING THE POINT — "Super Bowl revelers without masks crowd Ybor City streets despite coronavirus," by Tampa Bay Times' Dennis Joyce: "Dr. Anthony Fauci advises people to lay low for the Super Bowl, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say your risk of spreading coronavius increases with the number of people you encounter, and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has ordered people to wear masks in popular outdoor areas through next week. But judging by photos and videos from the scene, these exhortations fell on largely deaf ears the night before the Super Bowl along historic Seventh Avenue in Ybor City."

AND MEANWHILE — "U.K. coronavirus variant spreading rapidly through United States, study finds," by Washington Post's Joel Achenbach: "The coronavirus variant that shut down much of the United Kingdom is spreading rapidly across the United States, outcompeting other strains and doubling its prevalence among confirmed infections every week and a half, according to new research made public Sunday… Florida stands out in the study as the state with the highest estimated prevalence of the variant. The new report estimated the doubling time of B.1.1.7 prevalence in positive test results at 9.1 days. Florida leads the nation in reported cases involving B.1.1.7, with 187 as of Thursday, followed by much more populous California with 145, according to the CDC."

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DATELINE D.C.

A SMART VOTE? — "4 Latino Republicans voted against Marjorie Taylor Greene. A first step against disinformation?" by NBC News Suzanne Gamboa: "Carlos Curbelo, a former Florida Republican congressman and current NBC News and MSNBC political analyst, said the vote by the three Florida Republicans wasn't surprising 'given the reckless and insensitive nature' of Greene's statement that the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was a hoax. Seventeen people were killed in the February 2018 shooting. 'This will afford them the chance to make the case that they are taking each vote individually and trying to reach the best decision,' Curbelo said. He said some voters will be upset by how the lawmakers voted, particularly Republican primary voters. But in South Florida, he said, 'broadly speaking, this will be widely appreciated.'"

— "South Florida Republicans explain why they broke with their party. 'I had to hold Marjorie Taylor Greene accountable,'" by Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man

— " Biden team under fire for deportation uptick, backing Moise at Haiti tensions multiply," by Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles, Michael Wilner and Monique O. Madan

TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP

WELCOME MAT — "Florida GOP leaders strive to make silenced President Trump feel right at home," by Sarasota Herald-Tribune's John Kennedy: "While Trump is silenced by a social media ban after being accused of inciting a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, hardly a week has passed since the November election without Florida Republicans paying him some homage. 'There's no question this is still Trump's home state, and the people of Florida rewarded him by increasing his victory margin by threefold,' said Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota, the Republican Party of Florida chair. 'He's come back home and we're happy he's here.'"

FLORIDA MEN — "Parscale urges Trump to run again as a 'martyr,'" by POLITICO's Ben Leonard: Brad Parscale is calling on former President Donald Trump to run again, saying multiple impeachments can work in his onetime boss' favor. "If they only impeached you twice, you need to run again. Because to change the system you have to kick it in the a#$," Trump's former campaign manager wrote in a tweet Saturday addressed to the now Twitter-less Trump. "I would love to be [sic] the only President to be impeached three times. Because history remembers those that didn't conform. I'm in, are you?"

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

OUT IN THE STREETS — "Bucs fans celebrate Super Bowl win outside Raymond James and across Tampa," by Tampa Bay Times' Zachary Sampson, Emily L. Mahoney, Divya Kumar, Juan Carlos Chavez, Margo Snipe and Natlie Weber: "Bucs fans celebrated outside Raymond James Stadium and across other parts of the city Sunday after the team won its second Super Bowl in franchise history with a dominating 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans were thick outside the stadium before, during and after the game, while fans packed bars and restaurants in SoHo and Ybor City. The scene in SoHo got particularly raucous after the win, with police officers getting into the middle of a large crowd and appearing to get overwhelmed before they took a person into custody."

— " Mayor: We'll have a Super Bowl celebration in 'Tompa Bay,'" by Fox News 13: "'I've said I didn't want to jinx anything, bring on any bad mojo talking about it beforehand, but we're definitely going to have a discussion,' Mayor Jane Castor told FOX 13 News as the game wrapped up. 'We have to celebrate this. This is unbelievable.'"

MARKETING MIAMI — " Stymied by City Hall, Miami's mayor turns to 'Cafecito Talks,' tweets with Elon Musk," by Miami Herald's Joey Flechas: "Miami Mayor Francis Suarez launched his reelection campaign this week, but you wouldn't know it from his on-camera appearances and social media feeds. Less than nine months from Election Day, the city's first Gen X mayor is too busy courting Elon Musk and hosting tech roundtables in the mayor's suite to spend much time talking about winning a second term.

Branding — "The 43-year-old attorney spoke Friday with Musk about boring a tunnel under the Miami River to connect Brickell Avenue to Biscayne Boulevard. He just launched a web series called "Cafecito Talk," hosting guests like former soccer star David Beckham and Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy in his office. And he applauded as Miami-based tech investor Marcelo Claure came on his program last week to announce a plan to invest $100 million into Miami-based tech companies."

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE — "Big Cypress oil permits again raise concerns from environmental groups," by Naples Daily News' Karl Schneider: "A Texas-based oil company's applications to build roads and oil pads in Big Cypress National Preserve through Florida's newly assumed wetland permitting program has rekindled opposition from environmental groups. Burnett Oil Co. filed four applications with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Jan. 22 to begin constructing the pads in the nation's first national preserve. The company previously undertook seismic exploration projects in the preserve in 2017 prompting a legal battle the oil company ultimately won."

ODDS, ENDS, AND FLORIDA MEN

— "How a Florida TV reporter caused a Super Bowl national anthem betting kerfuffle," by ESPN's David Purdum: "A local TV reporter in Florida on Friday disrupted the international betting market on one of the most popular Super Bowl propositions with a 2-minute and 16-second video he posted on Twitter. Zach Maskavich, a multimedia journalist for Orlando's WESH Channel 2, was working out of his car in the parking lot of Hillsborough Community College across from Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl LV, when he heard the rehearsal for the national anthem begin."

Unsocial media — "Living in Florida with no legal sportsbook options, Maskavich said he's not much of a gambler, but he knew people were interested in the national anthem. 'I had a feeling it was going to gain some traction, leading up to the Super Bowl, and people liking prop bets,' Maskavich said on Saturday morning. 'But I didn't think it was going to blow up like it did. People are reaching out to me, wondering if Vegas paid me to do it, and all these other crazy shenanigans.'"

BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Gus Bilirakis … (Was Sunday) … State Rep. Brad Drake … former Rep. Allen West is 60 … (Was Saturday) State Rep. Clay Yarborough … Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley

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