| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | Presented by |  | | | |  Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried speaks during a Biden-Harris 2024 campaign press conference in Miami, Florida, on November 7, 2023. | Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Monday. The Florida Democratic Party removed two county chairs Sunday night, a first-of-its-kind showdown that illustrated disagreements within the party as Sunshine State Democrats try to claw back huge gains Republicans have made in recent years. Democrats’ 120-member central committee met virtually to vote on the removals, in a meeting that unexpectedly stretched for about seven hours. The party ousted Miami-Dade chair Robert Dempster and Franklin County chair Carol Barfield. But one chair targeted by leadership survived: Mindy Koch of Palm Beach County kept her position after getting only 67 votes in favor of her removal — short of the two-thirds vote that was required. Democratic leaders accused the chairs of various infractions. They said Franklin County was missing a membership list and that audits of finances from 2022 were overdue. They accused Koch of Palm Beach of failing to cancel contracts that weren’t approved by the Democratic executive committee. And they said Miami-Dade Democrats failed to reach a quorum at meetings, had outdated membership lists and failed to follow protocol when it came to endorsing local candidates. Party leadership said they’d hired an assessment team a year ago, warned the chairs about problems in February then told them in March that they were suspended. The chairs are all volunteers who are tasked with helping register voters, holding meetings and recruiting organizers and donors. Democratic executive committees in Franklin and Miami-Dade Counties now have 45 days to elect new chairs. Each county chair was allowed to present their case Sunday to stay on in their positions. The back and forth — which was closed to the press — didn’t end until after 9 p.m. One person in the meeting granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly described the mood as “tense.” Koch told Playbook that she argued her case before the committee by pointing out how much she’d been “kicking it” with all the fundraising she’d done for the party, and the elections she’d helped the party win. She said she was “relieved” and “happy” to remain in the position. “We are just going to keep doing the work and elect Democrats,” she said. “Nothing has changed.” Asked for comment, Dempster directed Playbook to Thomas Kennedy, a former Democratic National Committee member who re-registered as a non-party affiliated voter. Reached by phone, Kennedy said he was a friend of Dempster who’d been disgruntled with the party. “Democrats are wasting valuable time, energy, effort, media opportunity and staff time,” he said, adding that he thought the party should have been spending more time talking to voters like himself who’d switched allegiances. Barfield did not respond to a request for comment. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried has said one of the reasons she wanted to push the county leaders out was to help Democrats turn things around in Florida. Democrats haven’t won the state at the presidential level since 2012 and today the state GOP outnumbers Democrats by almost 825,000 registered active voters. “When I was elected chair, I made a promise that we would never have another election cycle like 2022,” she said in a statement after the vote. “My hope has always been to get these local parties fully operational and back on track, and I trust that this process has helped them do that. We need our local parties to register voters, recruit candidates and raise money to ensure that we’re competitive in 2024 and beyond.” It’s still an open question how much national Democratic groups and the Biden campaign will invest in the state ahead of November. At this point in the election, former President Donald Trump is projected to win in Florida, polling shows, but the state party can still influence state and local races. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
| | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: KEEP CHINA AWAY FROM OUR CREDIT CARDS Corporate mega-stores are claiming that the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill would freeze out China UnionPay. In reality, this bill would benefit credit card networks that have long been affiliated with the Chinese state-owned network, and interchange mandates in general would weaken security. By helping networks that partner with China UnionPay route more transactions in the U.S., Durbin-Marshall would EXPAND the influence of the CCP. Learn more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2780356 | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
‘AIR DESANTIS’ — “Florida lands another flight of Americans out of Haiti,” reports Brandon Hogan of ClickOrlando. “Twenty-one more Americans have been flown into Florida from Haiti in the state’s second chartered flight out of the crisis-stricken Caribbean country, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.”
WAY OUT — “Haitians, others finally have way to escape violence: Airline relaunches Haiti-MIA flights,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles. “U.S. green-card holders, Haitian nationals and others with proper travel documents who until now have been unable to get out of violence-torn Haiti will finally get a chance to leave — if they can safely make it to Cap-Haïtien, the city north of Port-au-Prince. Haiti-based Sunrise Airways, which launched services to Miami International Airport in October, says it will operate flights three days this week out of Cap-Haïtien’s Hugo Chavez International Airport to Miami beginning on Monday.” MORE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN — “DeSantis wants more power to arrest migrants in Florida amid Haiti crisis,” reports the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos. “Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida may soon follow Texas and craft a state law that would make it a crime for migrants to enter the state without authorization, a move that would create a process for state courts to order local law enforcement to transport migrants back to the border for deportation if they are convicted. No legislation has been filed in Florida yet. But DeSantis said in an interview on The Sean Hannity Show podcast on Thursday that his administration is working to see what can be done to have such a law in place in the near future.” JOB TRANSITION — “Top DeSantis aide picked to take charge of Florida's pension plan,” reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “Chris Spencer, who has been with the DeSantis administration since he first entered office, is about to take the helm of Florida’s massive pension plan. “DeSantis on Friday nominated Spencer, who is currently the governor’s policy and budget director, to become the executive director of the State Board of Administration of Florida. The nomination will be considered formally next week by the board’s trustees — DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.” … DESANTIS SIGNS SLEW OF BILLS INTO LAW … — “DeSantis signs bill to allow Florida teens to work more hours a week,” reports the Tallahassee Democrat’s Ana Goñi-Lessan. “The final result says 16-and 17-year-olds can't work more than 30 hours a week unless they obtain parental permission. Home schoolers and virtual school students, however, do not need parental permission. The law also prohibits 16- and 17-year-olds from working more than eight hours if they have school the next day, unless it's a Sunday or a holiday. The law requires a 30-minute break every four hours if the minor has a shift longer than eight hours. The effective date is July 1.” — “DeSantis signs bill that makes demolishing historic Florida buildings easier,” reports the Miami Herald’s Alexandra Glorioso. “DeSantis signed a bill on Friday making it easier for local developers to level historic buildings near Florida’s coast, potentially threatening Miami’s iconic Art Deco architecture. The bill, SB 1526, limits local governments and local preservation boards from protecting notable establishments from being torn down … Bill proponents have said the changes are crucial to ensuring that buildings are up to code near Florida’s coast, where flooding is a problem since older buildings aren’t always the sturdiest.” — “DeSantis signs bill to keep suicide media, autopsy reports confidential,” by Florida Politics’ Jesse Scheckner. “Autopsy reports for people who died by suicide and media depicting the act will be shielded from public view under a new Florida law. The measure (SB 474), which DeSantis quietly signed, exempts from general public records requests photos, videos and audio recording of people taking their own lives. It does the same for related coroner documents. Surviving spouses, adult children or siblings can still access autopsy reports, and people who want to access the records can seek a court order to obtain them. A court could authorize the release of the material, including media of the suicide, if it determines the public’s need to evaluate government performance outweighs a family’s right to privacy.” — “DeSantis signs changes to last year’s ‘union busting’ legislation,” reports Florida Politics’ Janelle Irwin Taylor. “DeSantis has signed legislation updating a law implemented last year barring certain public sector unions from automatically deducting dues from workers’ paychecks and requiring a higher threshold of union participation to remain certified … The bill (SB 1746) exempts emergency medical technicians, 911 operators and mass transit workers from last year’s law, which requires 60 percent of workers to be union members in order for the union to remain certified. The law also requires additional reporting for unions.”
|  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis | Brandon Bell/Getty Images | PUSHBACK — “The effort to get the Florida governor to veto short-term vacation rental bill accelerates,” by the Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry. “Florida lawmakers passed a contentious bill that has irked local governments over the past decade — a proposal to give the state more power to regulate short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo platforms … But a growing list of opponents have been inundating DeSantis’ office with emails and phone calls ever since … The opponents began urging DeSantis to veto the measure, with neighborhood residents and local government officials from coastal and tourist communities saying that the bill will tarnish their quality of life.” NUMBERS ARE IN — “Calls to Florida gambling helpline doubled after launch of online sports betting,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Ivy Nyayieka. “The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling Inc., a nonprofit that runs the helpline, said “calls increased by 100 percent in mid-December compared to the month prior, after the Tribe launched its Hard Rock Bet app statewide to people 21 and over.”
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VENEZUELA ELECTIONS — “Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate María Machado names substitute while she fights ban,” reports The Associated Press’ Regina Garcia Cano and Jorge Rueda. “The announcement comes as Machado faces increasing political repression from the government of President Nicolás Maduro as well as pressure from foreign leaders and fellow government opponents to abandon her candidacy. Machado made the announcement two days after authorities arrested two of her campaign staffers and issued warrants for seven more, accusing them of links to an alleged anti-government plot. She told reporters that college professor Corina Yoris will be registered as an opposition faction’s presidential candidate ahead of a Monday deadline. The presidential election is set for July 28.”
— “South Florida leaders call for humanitarian solution to aid Haiti as more US citizens evacuate country,” reports 7News’ Belkys Nerey and Chantal Cook. TAX TAB — “onePulse dumps tax bill on Orange County,” by the Orlando Sentinel. “The onePulse Foundation left Orange County a parting gift when it went belly up: an unpaid property tax bill. The $50,000-plus obligation accompanied a piece of land on 438 W. Kaley St. that the group seeking to commemorate the Pulse nightclub manager bought with a county grant of tourist tax funds, and then handed over to the county in late 2023 when it announced its inability to build a promised museum on the site … [Roseanne Harrington, chief of staff to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings] said the county must pay the 2023 tax bill before April 1 or incur penalty payments (it has already missed the opportunity for an early-payment reduction of about $2,000). The commission is expected to vote on the matter Tuesday.” | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association:   | | | |  Vice President Kamala Harris | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | 2024 WATCH — “Biden campaign puts Florida — sort of — in play,” reports POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard. “President Joe Biden’s campaign is giving Florida Democrats a few encouraging signs that the conservative-leaning state — once a key battleground that both parties intensely fought over — still matters. But only a few. “Vice President Kamala Harris voted Parkland, Florida, on Saturday to address gun safety. Biden’s reelect will launch digital ads on the Affordable Care Act targeting several demographics and will go on the air to reach Latino voters. And the campaign also intends to hire three senior-level staff for the state. “Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried told reporters earlier this week that the state party had ‘complete confirmation that the Biden campaign, as well as national surrogates and national partners, will be investing dollars here.’”
| | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL INTERCHANGE BILL:
In today's digital age, where cyber threats loom larger than ever, safeguarding your personal information is paramount. So why are some DC politicians considering a bill that puts YOUR credit card data at greater risk of being hacked and exposed to foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party? The Durbin-Marshall Interchange Bill jeopardizes the financial data of hardworking Florida families. This controversial bill would shift billions of dollars’ worth of consumer transactions to untested networks. Imagine a world where your credit card details—your hard-earned money—is easily stolen by Chinese hackers. Interchange mandates undermine our safe and convenient payments system, prioritizing corporate greed over YOUR data security. Congress: OPPOSE the Durbin-Marshall Interchange Bill. Learn more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2780356 | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | |
DESCENDING ON FLORIDA — Vice President Kamala “Harris urges states to pass red flag laws during Parkland visit,” reports POLITICO’s Myah Ward. “She announced on Saturday the launch of the first-ever National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, which will support states in the implementation of red flag laws. The center, funded by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, will provide training and technical assistance to states and localities.
“Harris also made a plea for states across the country to pass red flag laws, and to use the funding from the 2022 gun safety legislation to implement these programs.” — Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland shooting, spoke with POLITICO’s Myah Ward before Harris’ visit. — “Why the vice president’s Parkland visit still matters 6 years after school shooting,” by the Miami Herald’s Alyssa Johnson. — “Judge permits Gaetz, Greene to sue California cities that canceled their events,” reports POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney.
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SPOTTED: Donald Trump having dinner with Miriam Adelson in a private room at Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening. (h/t Daniel Lippman)
BIRTHDAYS: Palm Beach Mayor Maria Sachs … John Cortes, district director for Rep. Darren Soto and former legislator IN MEMORIAM — “Rabbi, political activist, former state legislator Barry Silver dies,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. | | | | 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 | | | | |
