| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Presented by Facebook | Hello and welcome to Wednesday. Down by the river — Greetings from downtown Tampa, where Florida's local election supervisors have gathered… and where quiet apprehension and tension has built up among the Republican and Democratic elected officials who guided the state through one of its smoothest elections in years… and don't think elections are rigged. And yet... My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) — Election supervisors were met earlier in the week by a small throng of Donald Trump supporters outside the hotel holding "Stop the Steal signs" and chanting through a bullhorn that anyone attending the semi-annual conference is "un-American." The group demanded that Florida end all mail-in voting. Burned — Secretary of State Laurel Lee got a less-than-enthusiastic response from election supervisors on Tuesday after she thanked them for all their work during the 2020 election. And well, she did so without acknowledging the recently-passed election law pushed by her boss, Gov. Ron DeSantis, that subjects supervisors to $25,000 fines if they fail to implement new restrictions on voting drop boxes. Like a hurricane — The grumbling has been mostly private, but it's there. One supervisor told Playbook that Lee's performance shows why Florida needs to return to an elected secretary of state. Some other supervisors have talked about a rise in harassing phone calls and one supervisor said he was personally threatened by Trump supporters. Supervisors also have skepticism about how some of the bureaucratic rules put in place with the new election law will work. One supervisor joked about whether legislators should get subjected to fines if they pass laws that get struck down for being unconstitutional. Rockin' in the Free World — Craig Latimer, the elections supervisor for Hillsborough County, said there are people who refuse to accept what happened in 2020. "People have a First amendment right, but there's people that are still buying into false statements that are out there about machines as well as about elections," said Latimer, who is a Democrat. Walk on — "They are talking about, you know, that Trump actually won Florida. Yeah, he did. He won by 370,000 votes. 'Oh it should have been over a million. You all pulled votes back or something.' No, we didn't because we also conduct audits… You are going to have people who have their views that are parochial to them and they are not going to change and they are not based on reality." — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to be in Tallahassee for a meeting of the Board of Executive Clemency. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Florida Playbook will not publish on Friday, June 18. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, June 21. Please continue to follow POLITICO Florida. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com | | A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too
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|  | CAMPAIGN MODE | | BRACY MAKES HIS PITCH — State Sen. Randolph Bracy is out with a new two-minute campaign video where he outlines his priorities if he's elected to replace Rep. Val Demings. "We need leaders who know how to fight and win to achieve real justice and equity for every American," Bracy says in the video. The central Florida Democrat mentions his record in the Legislature while saying more needs to be done to help residents with health care, education, affordable housing and economic development. He is calling for building health care centers and spending money to extending broadband to more areas. He also promised to push for police reform and additional voting rights. UNSOCIAL MEDIA — "Florida GOP under fire for tweet accusing Democrats of antisemitism," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon and Gary Fineout: The Republican Party of Florida on Tuesday night tried to brand 2022 statewide Democratic candidates "anti semitic" in a now-deleted tweet — a move that drew immediate backlash and prompted the party to delete the post on social media and claim it was a "typo." Included in the GOP's post was gubernatorial candidate and Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is Jewish. Going after Pelosi — The Florida GOP's tweet included a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi trying to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota who is Muslim and recently criticized by a handful of Democrats for equating Israel with the Taliban and Hamas. In the video, Pelosi did not mention any Florida-elected officials. But the Florida GOP's tweet included Fried and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), both of whom are challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, and Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who is running against GOP Sen. Marco Rubio. What was deleted — "While @GovRonDeSantis works on policies and signs legislation in support of Florida's Jewish communities, Pelosi calls an anti semitic, @CharlieCrist, a valued leader. Crist, @valdemings & @NikkiFried won't stand up to Pelosi doing nothing to defend Florida's Jewish community." The tweet faced swift pushback because Fried is Jewish and Crist was seen as pro-Israel when he was a Republican governor of Florida. STAFFING BACK UP — " Florida Democrats try to rebuild ranks with new hires," by POLITICO's Gary Fineout: Five months after jettisoning two-thirds of its staff, the Florida Democratic Party is going on a hiring spree. The party, which stabilized its finances earlier this spring thanks to help from Michael Bloomberg and other donors, is bringing on seven new employees to help with communications, legal work, voter registration and finances. The new hires, which includes state Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville, had previously done campaign work on behalf of President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vit) and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "The Florida Democratic Party is assembling a strong, battle-tested team that knows what has to be done to flip Florida blue," said Florida Democratic Party chair Manny Diaz in a statement. The new party hires — Jose Dante Parra, senior communications adviser; Nixon, field and organizing director; Jorge Mursuli, voter registration director; Ben Tyler, in-house counsel; Vanessa Rolon; municipal victory director; Kyle Patterson, finance director; Michelle Sierra; deputy finance director. Background — Parra is a Democratic strategist who once worked as a senior adviser to Reid. Nixon has worked on many campaigns and worked for Sanders's 2016 campaign as African American deputy field director. Mursuli helped found Democracia USA, a non-partisan civic engagement group. Tyler was regional voter protection director for the Biden-Harris campaign in Georgia. Rolon has worked for Florida legislative campaigns and in 2019 worked to win Democratic control of the Virginia General Assembly. Patterson previously worked as finance director for North Dakota Democrats. Sierra was national finance assistant for Sen. Tammy Duckworth's (D-Ill.) re-election campaign. | 
Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee talks to reporters at the Florida Supervisors of Elections meeting | Gary Fineout POLITICO | PUSHING BACK — "Demings proposes expanding early voting drop boxes, taking on Florida's new voting law," by Tampa Bay Times' Steve Contorno: "U.S. Rep. Val Demings wants Congress to undo some of the changes to early voting in Florida that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this year. Demings, an Orlando Democrat, introduced a bill on Tuesday that requires every county in America to operate a drop box where voters can turn in early ballots for the 45 days before an election. Counties would have to install one drop box for every 20,000 registered voters and make them accessible 24 hours a day. The measure directly challenges Florida's new voting law." — " Ron DeSantis continues to dance around 2024 questions," by Florida Politics' A.G. Gancarski — "Ben Diamond rakes in endorsements from Pinellas County Democrats," by Florida Politics' Kelly Hayes | | | | DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-24. | | | | |
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | LAW, WHAT LAW? — "Ron DeSantis may try to bypass Cabinet on environmental officer pick," by Miami Herald's Mary Ellen Klas: "Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he may try to bypass Cabinet approval of his next environmental secretary to avoid a veto by top Democratic rival Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. The decision comes after the Republican governor tried and failed to get the Legislature to end the Cabinet's control over appointing the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies over which the governor must share executive oversight. Former Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein resigned from the position effective June 4." My way — "During a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Fried, the only Democrat, asked the governor when he intends to name a replacement. 'It's an executive appointment,' DeSantis responded, his voice getting agitated. 'So, that's our prerogative, and we'll do it when we want to, and we'll let folks know about it.'" DESANTIS V. FRIED — " In early clash of rivals, Gov. DeSantis, Nikki Fried spar over rule governing police funding," by USA Today Network-Florida's John Kennedy: "A heated exchange Tuesday over a provision of Florida's new law responding to Black Lives Matter protests sparked the first publicly tense moment between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democrat Nikki Fried since the agriculture commissioner announced she is challenging the Republican governor. Seated two seats apart on the Florida Cabinet dais, Fried questioned DeSantis over a Cabinet rule implementing part of the new law that gives city commissioners or a local state attorney authority to challenge any move by local government seen as reducing police budgets. Fried said the change was part of a 'disturbing trend… of Tallahassee bullying local governments into submission.'" R.I.P. — "Court: Former Florida chief justice Alderman dies at 84," by The Associated Press: "James Alderman, a former Florida chief justice and prominent cattle rancher, has died at age 84, according to the state Supreme Court. The court said in an announcement Tuesday that Alderman died June 10 in Vero Beach. A cause was not listed. Alderman, a sixth-generation Floridian, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1978 by then-Gov. Reuben Askew. He served there until 1985, including two years as chief justice from 1982 to 1984." — " Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez says more must be done to stop Florida's 'disturbing' rise in human trafficking cases," by CBS 4 | | | |   | | |
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | FLORIDA, FLORIDA, FLORIDA — "Florida emerges as a cradle of the insurrection as Jan. 6 Capitol riot arrests keep piling up," by Sarasota Herald-Tribune's Zac Anderson and USA Today's Dinah Voyles Pulver: "Florida is emerging as a cradle of the insurrection as the fallout from the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building paints a clearer picture of those involved. Florida is tied with Texas for the most individuals facing charges stemming from Jan. 6, with 47 arrests in each state out of the 484 total nationwide, according to a database maintained by USA Today. And Florida leads all states in arrests of individuals associated with two far right groups — the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys — that were active in breaching the Capitol. More than 40% of the Oath Keepers arrested on charges stemming from Jan. 6 are from Florida, and about a quarter of the Proud Boys." | | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | FOR YOUR RADAR — "Florida nursing homes sees spike in COVID-19 cases," by Tampa Bay Times' Hannah Critchfield: "Coronavirus infections among people living in nursing homes are on the rise in Florida, despite widespread vaccine availability. Almost 20 percent of Florida's nursing homes had new confirmed resident cases in the last month — nearly double the national average, which sits at 10 percent – according to a new report from AARP." SETBACK — " Royal Caribbean cruise ship launch, sailings postponed after crew members test positive for COVID-19," by USA Today's Bailey Schulz: "Royal Caribbean International is postponing the inaugural sailings of its newest cruise ship after eight crew members received positive COVID-19 test results during routine testing. The Odyssey of the Seas initial sailings, which the cruise line had laid out as six- and eight-night Southern and Western Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from July 3 to July 31, are being canceled out of an abundance of caution, Royal Caribbean spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro told USA TODAY." — " Gov. DeSantis downplays COVID-19 variant," by News Service of Florida's Christine Sexton | | | | TUNE IN TO DISPATCH+ ON APPLE PODCASTS : POLITICO Dispatch, our daily podcast that cuts through the news clutter and keeps you up to speed on the most important developments of the moment, is expanding. In collaboration with the new Apple Podcasts Subscription platform, Dispatch+ launches this week! This new podcast gives premium Dispatch+ subscribers exclusive bonus weekly reporting and analysis from POLITICO's newsroom. Don't miss out, subscribe and listen to Dispatch+ on Apple Podcasts. | | | | |
| | DATELINE D.C. | | STAYING ON MESSAGE — "Sen. Rick Scott calls on NBCUniversal to urge that 2022 Winter Olympics be relocated from China," by Deadline's Ted Johnson: "Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is calling for NBCUniversal to urge the International Olympic Committee relocate the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing, citing the Chinese government's human rights abuses… Scott had fired off letters to the network several times, most recently calling on the network to not just call for moving the Games but to threaten to not air it. He got a recent response from Phil Tahtakran, NBCUniversal head of government affairs, who wrote that the media company has no role in selection of the host city. He also wrote that 'refusing to air the Games to a U.S. audience would only hurt Americans: Team USA Olympians and Paralympians, many of whom have trained for much of their lives to compete in a single Games, who would be denied the opportunity to shine in front of family, friends and fans.'" | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | THANK YOU, ALEXA — "Mackenzie Scott makes large gifts to 3 Florida schools," by The Associated Press: "Mackenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on Tuesday donated $40 million each to two state universities in Florida that have a history of promoting social mobility and educating students from communities traditionally underserved by higher education, and made a $30 million gift to a community college in South Florida. The philanthropist and her current husband, Dan Jewett, made the donations to Florida International University in Miami, the University of Central Florida in Orlando and Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. In the case of UCF, the gift was the largest in the school's 58-year history." COMPLAINT FILED — "Federal investigation initiated into St. Johns County Schools' dress code policy," by The St. Augustine Record's Colleen Michele Jones: "The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating the St. Johns County School District for potential violation of federal statutes for its dress code policy based on gender bias. The school district received a complaint Monday from the Department of Education's OCR's southern regional office (Complaint No. 04-21-1208), alleging its dress code has unfairly targeted female students; publicly humiliated those female students; and also altered only female, not male, images in this year's yearbook photos for Bartram Trail High School, one of nine secondary schools in the county's public school system." | | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
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| | ODDS, ENDS, AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Tierra Verde blast killed hundreds of snook, tarpon, captains say," by Tampa Bay Times' Matt Cohen: "Charter fisherman Terry Russo was near the bridge in his boat 'No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems' that day. He had just been recovering from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, and he and fellow charter fisherman Michael Anderson were angry. They depend on keeping these populations of protected fish healthy against threats such as Red Tide. But Red Tide didn't kill the fish this day, Russo and Anderson said. It was an underwater bomb detonated May 18 to remove support pillars as part of the state Department of Transportation's demolition of the old Tierra Verde bridge on the Pinellas Bayway." BIRTHDAYS: Omar Khan, senior managing director for state and local government affairs at WSP … former state Rep. Elaine Bloom
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