DeSantis v. Warren, election bio book, and the administration’s $376K fine for secrecy

It’s Monday, Dec. 5, and we are now in the court-case chapter of election season. Many of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new policies that attracted headlines during the election were challenged in court, and now the cases are piling up.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

DeSantis vs. Warren: In a case with potentially broad implications for public officials throughout the state, the trial of Andrew Warren, the ousted Hillsborough County state attorney, versus Ron DeSantis took place in federal district court in Tallahassee last week. Both sides scored, leaving Judge Robert Hinkle clearly conflicted. “I don’t know who’s going to win,” he said at the end of the trial.

At issue is whether DeSantis violated Warren’s right to free speech when he fired him for signing a pledge to refrain from prosecuting abortion-related cases. DeSantis argues Warren refused to enforce state laws. Warren argues that signing a pledge, with other elected prosecutors, did not make it official policy or government action.

Keefe lobbied: Testimony revealed that the most aggressive advocate for ousting Warren was Larry Keefe, the governor’s public safety “czar.” Keefe researched Warren’s record but only spoke to Republicans, particularly GOP sheriffs. Warren’s chief of staff, who was hired by Warren’s replacement, testified that he warned Warren not to sign the pledge and did consider it a signal he would withhold prosecution.

Hinkle is expected to rule on reinstating Warren before the end of the month. An appeal is expected.

Fraud case fizzles: Another one of the governor’s “voter fraud” cases settled last week. This one involved a Tampa resident who agreed to accept a plea deal of no contest, allowing her to avoid any punishment and get credit for time served: a few hours in the Hillsborough County jail.

Secrecy costs $: A Miami-Dade judge has ordered the Department of Children & Families to pay $376,665 in attorneys fees to lawyers for the Miami Herald and other news organizations for withholding public records detailing the state’s failed efforts to protect a Miami toddler who died in 2020.

The money that otherwise could have been spent on services for at-risk children will now go to reimburse the news organizations in one of several public records battles that have played out under the DeSantis administration. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Barbara Areces earlier this year censured the DCF for defying the state’s open government laws and awarded the attorneys fees.

Migrant lawsuits expand: Two members of DeSantis’ administration are among new defendants named in a class action lawsuit filed against the governor over the plan to fly 49 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September. The amended complaint accuses DeSantis’ Chief of Staff James Uthmeier and the governor’s “public safety czar” Larry Keefe of working together with others to “deceive” migrants.

$3.4 million in migrant flight purchases orders: The state continues to withhold information about its opaque program to relocate migrants from Texas to Democrat-leaning states. Last week, new documents emerged on the state contract disclosure site that show two additional purchase orders for payments have been made for the vendor, Vertol Systems Company. The total for the yet-to-be disclosed activity now appears to be $3.4 million.

But rather than explain if the new purchase orders were modifications of a previous document, or if they are three payments for one expanding project, the governor’s office has chosen to remain silent — and keep the public in the dark.

Contempt charge: Meanwhile, a public records watchdog organization has asked a Tallahassee judge to charge the DeSantis administration with contempt of court for continuing to withhold public records about its handling of the relocation of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. Judge J. Lee Marsh ordered the state on Oct. 25 to turn over by Nov. 14 text messages, call logs and other communications for his chief of staff James Uthmeier about the migrant flights. Only some of the documents have been released.

Disney truce? Pushing back on some media reports, House sponsor of the bill repealing Disney’s Reedy Creek special taxing district denied reports that legislators are planning to “reverse course” and suggested that while a compromise is possible, it could still dramatically dismember the special privileges the company has held for 55 years. Signs also point to an emerging truce as the law gives Disney the advantage and neither the governor nor legislators have announced a plan to resolve the standoff.

Box checked. Victory secured: It’s a rite of passage for any candidate running for national office: pen an autobiography that allows the candidate to shape a narrative before his or her opponents do. Florida’s recent presidential hopefuls former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio did it. Potential 2024 Republican candidates Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have released books in recent weeks. Now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has written his autobiography. The projected publishing date is February. The theme: “blueprint for governance.”

In addition to his “blueprint,” DeSantis is also declaring victory. According to HarperCollins, his book will tell “story after story of victory over entrenched elites.”

Magic City sale: The owners of one of the longest-running gambling operations in Florida are selling Magic City Casino in Miami to an Alabama-based Native American tribe for an undisclosed price and are asking the state’s newly formed Gaming Control Commission to transfer its lucrative gambling permit. The commission, however, last week postponed the transfer of the gambling permit to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians until more details are disclosed to the public.

BlackRock’s black list: Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis took another step to punish a powerful corporation for attempting. to use its power, he said, for “societal influence.” He said last week that his office will freeze about $2 billion in state funds held in long-term securities and short-term investments managed by BlackRock, the largest asset-management firm in the world, because of the firm’s use of “Environmental, Social, and Governance” standards — known as ESG.

ESG ratings can involve a wide range of issues in investments, such as companies’ climate-change vulnerabilities; carbon emissions; racial inequality; product safety; supply-chain labor standards; privacy and data security; and executive compensation. But conservative legislators across the country have pushed back on the practice. A day before the announcement, Patronis participated on a panel on the issue during an event held by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council in Washington, D.C.

Cuban questioning: A book that examines the advantages federal immigration law granted Cubans who came to the United States came under fire last week by newly elected Miami-Dade County commissioner Kevin Cabrera. He condemned Florida International University for inviting the author to speak.

The book “Cuban Privilege,” by Boston University Professor Susan Eva Eckstein is an academic exploration of how U.S. policy has treated Cuban immigrants as compared to treatment of immigrants from other countries, such as Haiti. Cabrera called it “hate-filled” and “anti-Cuban.” In response to the criticism, FIU announced a venue change and the addition of a speaker who is a leading advocate against the Cuban regime.

Greenberg gets 11 years: A former Florida tax collector whose arrest led to a federal probe into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses. Joel Greenberg, former tax collector for Seminole County, was accused of stalking a political opponent, public corruption, making fake licenses and scheming to submit false claims for a federal loan.

Shrinking beaches: Florida’s sandy beaches aren’t just beautiful and one of the biggest money-makers in the state’s tourism-based economy. They’re also the first line of defense against storm surge flooding during hurricanes.

Now, after hits on both coasts during the 2022 hurricane season, those beaches are in desperate need of repair. Even before hurricane season began, 426 of Florida’s 825 miles of sandy beaches were listed as “critically eroded” in a June report from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

Water projects planned: DeSantis announced the state will award $22.7 million to support water quality and other protection projects in Biscayne Bay. The money, divided into seven awards, will be used to improve septic or sewer infrastructure, prevent sewer overflows and increase freshwater inflows to protect marine life and coral reefs.

Housing help: Miami-Dade’s government is spending $2.3 million to install air conditioners in about 1,700 aging federal public housing units that are managed by the county. The goal is to fill gaps in a federal policy that doesn’t require cooling systems in public housing, even in the Sun Belt.

Herald’s old home: Genting, the Malaysian casino company that once planned to turn the former Miami Herald property into a gambling resort in the heart of Miami, is selling its prized 15.5-acre parcel for an asking price of more than $1 billion. The sale signals the end of Genting’s bold Miami ambitions, which launched in 2011 with the surprise purchase of the Herald real estate for $235 million and renderings of a luxury casino resort that hinged on company lobbyists securing changes in Florida law needed to bring slot machines and table games to the city waterfront.

Genting also used the property to put itself at the center of Miami-Dade’s transit plans, securing a county contract with partners to build a monorail line from the old Herald site to South Beach. With costs soaring over $1 billion, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava scrapped the deal in early November.

Trump wants Doral deal: As he pursues a new residential complex at his Doral resort, former President Donald Trump is offering the city a chance to keep developers away from the property’s prized golf course. The plan: allow him to expand but ban development at the signature golf course, the Blue Monster, and require public access.

Rioter sentenced: Mason Joel Courson, 27, who lives in Tamarac, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a weapon during the Jan. 6 riots. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison at his March 31, 2023 sentencing. Courson and more than 2,000 others stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the Electoral College’s vote count and overturn the election.

What happened in the midterms? Matt Isbell, the Democratic data guru, is out with some solid analysis that helps explain In the effects of the massive turnout collapse among Democrats across Florida. In two traditionally blue congressional districts, voters elected Democrats to Congress, but they also gave DeSantis more votes than his Democratic rival Charlie Crist.

In the Congressional District 9 race, the Hispanic-majority district in Central Florida gave U.S. Rep. Darren Soto a closer-than-expected 7% win while Republicans not only flipped Osceola County, the deep-blue seat did not even deliver for Charlie Crist. And Democrats in Congressional District 23 in Broward elected Jared Moskowitz but also voted GOP for governor.

Isbell notes that Republicans’ record-level turnout advantage of 12 points also helped to flip red traditional Democratic counties of Hillsborough, Osceola, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

Good luck, Bianca! Finally, a fond farewell to our talented and wonderful colleague Bianca Padró Ocasio. She is leaving the Miami Herald, where she has been our trusty political reporter, to pursue new adventures as a correspondent in Latin America. We will miss her tons, and wish her the best!

Thank you for reading. Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas curates the Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State newsletter. We appreciate our readers and if you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

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