| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Kierra Frazier | |  Austro-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach of his party Team Stronach arrives at the parliament for a TV discussion during national elections in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. Canadian police have charged Stronach with sexual assault dating back to the 1980s. | Matthias Schrader, File/AP | Good morning and welcome to Friday. Frank Stronach, an Austrian-Canadian billionaire tycoon recently charged with sexual assault in Canada, made his mark on Florida through horse racing, agriculture and real estate investments. The response to the charges has been muted here. Yet Stronach businesses have given generously to Florida political committees, entities and elected officials over the years, as the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail documented. The businesses Stronach owned secured deals out of Tallahassee about a dozen years ago, including a tax carveout and a water permit that drew the ire of environmental activists. Stronach’s ranch had also made him one of the largest private landowners in the state. Stronach was arrested in June under numerous charges of sexual assault stretching from the 1970s to this year, though he said in an interview this month that his accusers were lying and suggested they were financially motivated. A judge in Ontario is deciding whether to compel the Stronach Group to turn over evidence of a potential coverup. His attorney, Leora Shemesh, did not respond to questions for this newsletter. Stronach wasn’t allowed to personally make political donations directly because he’s not an American citizen. Much of his involvement in Florida was through the Stronach Group, which owned and operated Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. Both the Florida Republican and Democratic parties received contributions from Stronach-connected companies in the past, with more going to Republicans who were in charge of state government. “The Republican Party of Florida was unaware of these allegations and will not comment on any ongoing legal investigation,” said Helen Aguirre Ferré, state party spokesperson. Sen. Rick Scott’s political committees when he was governor also received donations from Stronach companies, and his current campaign operation declined to comment. The Florida Democratic Party declined to comment. GOP congressional candidate Mike Haridopolos worked for the Stronach Group as a lobbyist after term limiting out of the state Senate where he was president. The campaign for Haridopolos, who’s favored to win in a two-way primary race in the open 8th District, said in that role he helped the company with its water rights. "I am saddened to hear about the allegations,” Haridopolos told Playbook in a statement. “They came as a total shock to me. I do not work with the Stronach Group and have not communicated with the company, or Mr. Stronach since I left in 2017. I have not received contributions from Mr. Stronach for my congressional campaign." Businesses previously tied to the billionaire also donated in the 2022 cycle, the Globe and Mail reported. But Stronach in 2020 had turned over parts of the company on horse racing and entertainment to his daughter following a family feud. Stronach “has not held a formal role or been involved with company operations in any capacity for several years,” said Tiffani Steer, vice president of communications for The Stronach Group. She added that political donations were reviewed by “local leadership teams at each of our businesses across the U.S.” and said they were “in full compliance with applicable local and national regulations and disclosure requirements.” In 2011, Stronach also donated $1.5 million to the University of Florida, which created a science conference center in his name. Protests broke out the following year at the dedication ceremony because of the ongoing concerns about the environmental impact on water resources for the cattle operation he was building. The university’s website appears to have swapped a photo of the Stronach building sign that was in place as recently as June, replacing it with a generic agriculture picture, per a series of screengrabs taken by the WayBack Machine. A representative for the university declined to comment about whether plans were in the works to change the building’s name. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget in the campaign reporting that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | DON’T MISS OUR AI & TECH SUMMIT: Join POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit for exclusive interviews and conversations with senior tech leaders, lawmakers, officials and stakeholders about where the rising energy around global competition — and the sense of potential around AI and restoring American tech knowhow — is driving tech policy and investment. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | ‘UNABLE TO HELP’ — “Shock, frustration, anger, desperation: The real-life toll of Florida’s six-week abortion ban,” reports South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Cindy Krischer Goodman. “Across the state, women, and sometimes the men in their lives, fill the waiting rooms of abortion clinics only to confront Florida’s newest abortion restrictions if they are further along than five weeks and six days pregnant and unable to squeeze in two visits at least 24 hours apart. Sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in Creole, and sometimes in straightforward English, clinic workers tell women they can’t have what they came for.” REGULATIONS ON AMENDMENT 3 — “Florida marijuana amendment spurs lawmakers to propose outdoor ban on smoking, vaping,” reports James Call of the Tallahassee Democrat. “Three Florida lawmakers Thursday announced a plan to ban smoking and vaping on city streets, sidewalks, public parks and most common areas by the public. The ban expands a 2022 law prohibiting smoking on public beaches and according to lead sponsor, Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, would provide ‘guardrails’ for a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize the possession and use of recreational marijuana.” RENT INCREASE — “Is a software company owned by Miami billionaire’s firm the reason your rent spiked?” by the Miami Herald’s Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow. “The software [offered by RealPage] — used to to price about half of the 300,000 multifamily rental units in South Florida’s tri-county area, according to one lawsuit — relies in part on private information shared by landlords to recommend the price of rents … Between 2019 and 2023, rents jumped 30.4 percent nationwide, while wages struggled to keep up, according to an analysis from Zillow and StreetEasy. Since the pandemic, rent growth has far outpaced wage growth in 44 out of the 50 largest metro areas, the analysis says. RealPage argues that rent increases at client properties in past years were consistent with the national market, and blames rent spikes on the lack of affordable housing.” MAKING PROGRESS — “State insurance regulators hail ninth new insurer to enter Florida market in 2024,” reports Palm Beach Post’s Anne Geggis. “A new Florida insurer writing homeowner policies — in addition to other signs such as the slowing rate of premium increases — indicate the state’s insurance market is ‘strengthening,’ according to the industry’s top state regulator. But that cheery assessment has been met with some skepticism. Nonetheless, Trident Reciprocal Exchange has been approved to write homeowner policies in Florida, the Office of Insurance Regulation announced last week.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | |  A supporter shouts slogans during a protest against the result of the presidential election on July 30, 2024 in Caracas, Venezuela. | Jesus Vargas/Getty Images | | DO OVER? — “Biden joins calls for new elections in Venezuela,” reports POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil. “President Joe Biden joined the leaders of Brazil and Colombia on Thursday in calling for new elections in Venezuela, following an election both the U.S. and others have said appeared to have been rigged in favor of the sitting president. Asked by reporters if he agreed with calls from Latin American leaders for new elections in Venezuela, Biden said, ‘I do.’” But the White House quickly walked back Biden’s comments. “The president was speaking to the absurdity of Maduro and his representatives not coming clean about the July 28 elections,” the National Security Council said in a statement. “It is abundantly clear to the majority of the Venezuelan people, the United States and a growing number of countries that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes on July 28.” CHECKING INTO IT — “DeSantis says state will look into former UF President Sasse’s millions in expenses,” reports the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos. “Gov. Ron DeSantis and top Florida Republicans are putting pressure on the state university system’s Board of Governors to look further into the spending habits of former University of Florida President Ben Sasse after a student-run newspaper reported that he’d spent millions in university funds on secretive consulting contracts and jobs for GOP allies.” TRASHED — “New College of Florida tosses hundreds of library books, empties gender diversity library,” by Steven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “Hundreds of New College of Florida library books, including many on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies, are headed to a landfill. A dumpster in the parking lot of Jane Bancroft Cook Library on the campus of New College overflowed with books and collections from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center on Tuesday afternoon. … In the past, students were given an opportunity to purchase books that were leaving the college's library collection.” College responds … “After the Herald-Tribune reported on the book disposal, New College spokesperson Nathan March sent a statement asserting that the account was false. He said the college undertaking a routine maintenance of its campus library and removing materials from the GDC because the gender studies program no longer exists.” NEW BEGINNINGS — “Six months into St. Pete’s housing experiment, enforcing rules and measuring success,” reports Tampa Bay Times’ Lane DeGregory. “Residents have access to counselors, cooking classes, rides to a food pantry, movie nights. ‘Everything they need to start over,’ said Janet [Stringfellow, CEO of Volunteers of America of Florida.] Leaders hope it will become a model for similar projects across the country. Since February, counselors have spent six hours a month with each formerly homeless tenant, helping them set goals. They’ve encouraged people to make ‘honest budgets,’ including expenses for Bud Light, 305 cigarettes and lottery tickets.” HONORING HER SON — “A slain Parkland teacher loved attending summer camp. His mom is working to give kids the same opportunity,” reports Associated Press’ Terry Spencer. “The Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund sent 264 children ages 9 to 16 to seven sleepaway camps this summer in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, most of them underprivileged or touched by gun violence…The program started with 54 children in 2018 and has grown steadily since. More than $360,000 was raised this year.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | |  Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) speaks during a press conference on June 24, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | TODAY — Senate Democratic candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell will vote early in Miami. SENATE RACE — “As primary nears, Stanley Campbell lays out his case for Senate Dem nomination,” reports Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix. “The Miami native and Florida A&M graduate is the decided underdog in the Aug. 20 Democratic Party primary to former South Florida U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell … But there’s no question that he’s a substantive candidate.” CONTRADICTIONS — “Sheriff uses image of VP Harris in mailer to Democratic primary voters, funded partly by Republican DeSantis allies,” reports South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “The Broward First [PAC’s] mailer is one of many about the sheriff’s race landing in Democratic voters’ mailboxes from candidates and their associated political committees. The mailing featuring [Kamala] Harris is careful. It doesn’t state that there’s an endorsement of Tony from Harris or [Barack] Obama…Some of the financial muscle behind Broward First comes from Republicans close to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is not exactly a fan of the Democratic presidential nominee.” — “Conservatives are pushing a ‘parental rights’ agenda in Florida school board races. Will it work?” by Kate Payne of The Associated Press.
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | TRUMP-LESS — “Donald Trump leaves his name off a luxe condo complex he’s building in the Miami market,” reports Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks. “The former president’s latest South Florida real estate play moved closer to reality on Wednesday evening when the Doral City Council gave preliminary approval for the residential and commercial complex he wants to build on the edge of the Trump National Doral Miami… So far, the 1,429-unit condo complex the Trump Organization wants to build above 141,000-square-feet of retail on the resort’s southeastern corner has what may be the most generic name in Trump’s holdings: Doral International Towers.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | SNAKES ON A PLATE — “Python challenge: Why state recommends not eating Florida pythons,” reports Palm Beach Post’s Kimberly Miller. “The Florida Department of Health has recently established an advisory of ‘do not consume python’ caught in the state no matter the snake size because of the risk of unhealthy mercury levels in its meat. The recommendation, which irks at least one scientist who said pythons caught in the southwestern part of the state have lower mercury levels, means a nascent scheme to assist in the cull of the apex predators by making them dinner-table fare is a no-go.” BIRTHDAYS: Michael Grunwald, journalist and author … Former Rep. Tim Mahoney … (Saturday) Florida Senate President-Designate Ben Albritton … former state Rep. Vance Aloupis … former state Rep. Sharon Pritchett … (Sunday) Former Florida Democratic Party chairman Bob Poe. | | | | 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 | | | | |
