| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout | |  Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones is seen during a hearing at the Florida State Capitol Jan. 11, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning and welcome to Monday. Miami-Dade is home to the largest concentration of Democrats in the state and is integral to any chance Democrats have of turning back the Republican tide statewide. But the local party in Miami continues to be in “turmoil” just months ahead of the election. This Friday, the local Democratic Executive Committee is supposed to pick a new leader after Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried ousted Robert Dempster and two other county chairs. The decision by Fried — which drew a torrent of commentary from supporters and detractors — to get rid of Dempster was upheld by a supermajority of the state central committee. It turns out that was just the opening chapter of the drama. State Sen. Shevrin Jones earlier this month announced he would step forward and seek to lead the local party until after this year’s election. But filmmaker Billy Corben — known for documentaries on the University of Miami and Miami’s wild cocaine frenzied past — decided to challenge Jones. Corben’s attempt to schedule a forum between himself and Jones ahead of the vote, however, has sparked its own conflagration. Corben said he had discussed the forum with Jones and then proceeded to line up a set of moderators who had been chair of the Miami-Dade party: Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo, former state Rep. Joe Geller … and the recently deposed Dempster. Screenshots from a nearly 200-member Miami-Dade Democratic chat group that were shared with Playbook show that Jones said he was not in agreement with the moderators, and also suggested that the forum needed to be arranged with the acting chair. But the acting chair had already endorsed Jones to take the position, and Corben pushed back on her involvement. But it was also clear that the idea of Dempster being one of the moderators drew sharp criticism. Corben in the chat said he approached former state Sen. Dwight Bullard — who is also a past chair — and then Dempster in an effort to be inclusive. (Both men are Black.) The chair of the DEC Interclub Council ripped Corben by saying "you are full of crap about it being necessary to have Dempster there. Saying you tried to get Bullard shows your interest in [diversity, equity and inclusion]. If you are honestly interested in an effective forum, you do not ask the ousted chair to moderate. You must think we are idiots." The DEI comment, however, was criticized by Dempster after he heard about it. “That is the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee," Dempster said in a text. The club chair who made the comments — Bentonne Snay — would later apologize for her remarks in the chat. She said on Sunday many people were “shocked” when Corben tried to set up the forum and that it was wrong to bring in Dempster. “We’re struggling to bring Democrats together and having someone shoot us in the foot is not what we need,” Snay said. She added that she was tired and angry when she made the chat comments but added that she thought it was “admirable” for Corben to try to get diverse representation. Corben said he can’t understand the resistance to putting together a forum, and said it shows how dysfunctional Democrats remain. “We’re supposed to be for fair and free elections and for open and honest dialogue,” Corben told Playbook. Jones, in a text message, said that “I believe everyone, including me, is open to an open dialogue.” He said his suggestion to work with the acting chair was to “ensure party unity” and to have the “buy in and direction of the current leadership of the DEC. So I am in full support of a dialogue. I just asked that it be done the right way.” The chats shared with Playbook also show people “exhausted from all this turmoil” and a desire to work to defeat Republicans such as Sen. Rick Scott and former President Donald Trump. There is an effort underway by other Miami-Dade Democratic leaders to still go ahead with a forum for this Wednesday that would feature Corben, Jones and two other candidates seeking the post. Stay tuned. — Gary Fineout WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis has a 10 a.m. press conference in West Palm Beach with Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
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Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | — “The greatest book a politician ever wrote,” POLITICO Magazine’s Michael Grunwald on the late Gov. Bob Graham. POPULAR WITH GOP — “DeSantis has one of the highest governor disapproval ratings, poll finds,” by Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times. “DeSantis’ disapproval rating of 44 percent was tied for the third-highest of any governor in the [Morning Consult] survey, which tracks voter sentiment in each politician’s state … Overall, DeSantis remains relatively popular in Florida, with 51 percent of voters approving of the job he’s doing, the survey found … The poll offered potential good news for DeSantis’ political future. Florida’s governor, who must leave office in early 2027 due to term limits, was tied for the second highest approval rating of any GOP governor among Republicans at 84 percent. DeSantis also performed better than any governor in the country in one telling metric. More Republicans said they strongly approved of the job DeSantis is doing than any other GOP governor, the survey found.” IN COURT — “Appeals court judges question Florida, ACLU lawyers in challenge to Chinese land-buying law,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “Federal appeals court judges gave no indication how they would rule in a challenge to a 2023 Florida law that restricts land-buying by Chinese immigrants and those from other hostile foreign nations in a hearing in Miami on Friday. The three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals didn't indicate when it will rule, but judges did question whether the plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union were affected by the law or lacked standing to challenge it.”
|  Geveral view of the Everglades National Park in Florida on December 7, 2023. | Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images | SPECIAL REPORT — “As they wait and work for Everglades restoration, the swamp keeps dying,” report WLRN’s Jenny Staletovich and Patrick Farrell. “The WLRN podcast Bright Lit Place examines what happened to Florida’s promise to undo the damage killing the islands and restore the Everglades with a massive plan approved in 2000. Work was originally expected to cost just under $8 billion and take about 20 years. The price has now soared to $23 billion and fallen decades behind schedule. Meanwhile, the swamp keeps dying.” POT HOLIDAY — “4/20 [was] the busiest time of year for Florida’s medical marijuana dispensaries,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Ivy Nyayieka. “In the past two years, Floridians with medical marijuana cards bought more weed during the week of 4/20 than any other week of the year. That’s according to a Times analysis of cannabis dispensary data from the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use.” UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS — “Florida’s jobless rate ticks up in March to 3.2 percent, still lower than national number,” reports Florida Politics’ Drew Dixon. “In total, there were about 353,000 Floridians on the unemployment roll last month out of some 11 million people in the state’s workforce. Florida’s unemployment rate was still lower than the national figure of 3.8 percent last month.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | CRISIS IN HAITI — “Haitians scramble to seek food, water and safety as gang violence chokes the capital,” reports Dánica Coto for The Associated Press. “Life in Port-au-Prince has become a game of survival, pushing Haitians to new limits as they scramble to stay safe and alive while gangs overwhelm the police and the government remains largely absent. Some are installing metal barricades. Others press hard on the gas while driving near gang-controlled areas. The few who can afford it stockpile water, food, money and medication, supplies of which have dwindled since the main international airport closed in early March. The country's biggest seaport is largely paralyzed by marauding gangs.” BLASTING BIDEN — “Immigrant groups blast the resumption of deportation flights to Haiti,” reports Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix. “The Haitian deportation flight came a week after South Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and two other members of Congress held a telephone conference call asking the federal government to provide more protections for Haitians in the U.S. who have fled the country amid the violence.” NO PENALTY — “Florida ethics panel waives fines imposed on an ethics commissioner,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher. “The Florida Commission on Ethics waived $1,500 in fines levied against one of its members on Friday, finding that unusual circumstances led to a required form not being filed correctly. Ethics Commissioner Freddie Figgers didn’t submit his 2021 financial disclosure statement on time when he served on the Board of Directors of Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development organization. The commission voted 4-1 to waive the fines. Figgers, who did not speak about the issue at the meeting, abstained from the vote.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | TOMORROW — “Biden to deliver abortion-focused speech in Florida,” reports POLITICO’s Elena Schneider. STILL DECIDING — “Uncle Luke for Congress? Luther Campbell, rapper turned civic activist, preparing to challenge congresswoman,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “A decision has to come quickly. Even though the primary isn’t until August, Florida congressional candidates face a Friday, April 26, deadline to qualify to get on the ballot. In one of his many social media posts about running, Campbell promised a decision two days before the deadline.” — “It’s official: Andrew Warren is running. Now, does he have a chance?” by Sue Carlton and Dan Sullivan of the Tampa Bay Times.
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | WEEKEND ON THE HILL — See how members of the Florida delegation voted on foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and a bill to force the sale of TikTok, per The New York Times. The four pieces all passed overwhelmingly, and will be bundled up and sent to the Senate. — “Rick Scott pushes for financial protections for military members,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. EX-REP — “Former NC congressman named in crash report. Why he was cited in updated Florida traffic law,” reports the Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen. “According to the citation [of former Rep. Madison Cawthorn] of Cape Coral, the former congressman was charged with violating Florida’s recently reinforced Move Over Law. The new amendment to a 2002 traffic law, enacted and heavily promoted in January by members of FHP and the Florida Department of Transportation, requires drivers to shift over one lane — or reduce speed if moving into another lane isn’t safe — for ‘any stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, and utility service vehicles, tow trucks or wreckers, and maintenance or construction vehicles with displayed warning lights.’”
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | WEDDING – Ricky Gill, an attorney and real estate developer and former California congressional candidate and Trump administration alum, and Dr. Annie Shergill, a gastroenterology fellow at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, recently got married at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. The couple were married in a traditional Sikh ceremony and then danced the night away to Latin beats with their guests, many of whom were Trump administration alumni. Pic SPOTTED: Miguel Correa, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and Julia Nesheiwat, Eddie Vasquez, Andrew LaBruna, Ron Nussle, Marc Moyer, Nels Nordquist and DJ Bernstein. — “Upcoming SpaceX launch: Starlink mission may lift off Monday night from Cape Canaveral,” reports Rick Neale of Florida Today. — “Taylor Swift namedrops this Florida city on “The Tortured Poets Department.’ Where is Destin?” by Samantha Neely of USA Today Network — Florida. BIRTHDAYS: Former state Sen. Frank Artiles. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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