First Read for Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023

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FIRST UP

After the trouncing his party experienced in November, Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz has thrown in the towel, announcing his resignation in a five-page letter addressed to Democratic Executive Committee chairs and other Florida Democrats, the Florida Phoenix reported. (It should be noted he had a family tragedy earlier last year: His brother, a gay rights activist, was found murdered.)

His stepping down was not unexpected; progressive groups connected to his party especially have been calling for his removal or resignation. The People’s Progressive Caucus of Miami-Dade and Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida wanted him out. And activist and Democratic National Committee member Thomas Kennedy has been saying publicly since 10 days before the election that Diaz failed the party.

Chatter about who may be running to replace him already has started. And some are declaring an interest. Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, also a progressive, entered the race Monday night in a Twitter thread. Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo, who was both a candidate for governor and Congress last year, hinted she is considering running for the post. 

Indeed, it’s likely a host of former elected and political figures are likely to soon enter the fray, despite the inherent uphill battle of the job. Check out City & State’s story from shortly after the election for names of other contenders that could pop up – and those that won’t. 

– Tristan Wood

FROM CITY & STATE 

* Bill Cotterell: DeSantis’ siege of quirky New College of Florida with conservative trustees fits with what he’s done in K-12 education, battling school boards and teacher unions over everything from mask mandates to gender fluidity. 

* A Leon County circuit judge will hear arguments Friday about whether he should toss out a lawsuit filed by a South Florida state senator after the DeSantis administration flew about 50 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in September.

THIS MONTH’S MAGAZINE

The Florida Women Power 100

* Who are the most influential women in Florida politics and government? City & State Florida's Women Power 100 identifies the most important government officials, high-powered lobbyists, leaders of the worlds of business, nonprofits, strategic messaging and social justice in the arena of Sunshine State politics and policy.

 ▶ Read This Month's Issue

NEW THIS MORNING

*After an appeals court upheld a school-board policy that prevented a transgender male student from using boys’ bathrooms, a federal judge reopened a legal battle about a state law that bars transgender female students from playing on women’s sports teams, the News Service of Florida reports.

* The union representing Disney World’s first responders says it supports a plan by DeSantis and the Legislature for the state to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

* President Joe Biden will host Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Washington next month as some Democrats are calling for his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, to be kicked out of Florida due to his supporters’ attempted coup, Politico reports.

* A bill filed by state Rep. Chip LaMarca would allow more institutional involvement from universities and colleges regarding student athlete endorsement deals, enabling the schools to steer opportunities toward athletes, the Orlando Sentinel reports. 

* USA Today released an interactive article unpacking the historic damage caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida, which knocked out power for 2.6 million residents and caused $12.6 billion in insured losses, the newspaper reports.

More news below …

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YOUR MESSAGE HERE: City & State First Read is the must-read morning roundup of Florida politics and government. Reaching thousands of subscribers each morning, it's the most effective and targeted digital ad venue to get your message in front of city and state elected officials, agency and industry leaders, and the staff, advocates, media and operatives who drive the issues of the day – all by 7 a.m. each weekday. For advertising information, please email: advertising@cityandstatefl.com

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* Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz will serve as a co-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in the U.S. House, continuing his yearslong work on the issue, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

* Some New College of Florida students say DeSantis' appointment of conservatives to the school’s board of trustees goes against their school’s values, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports.

* When Boca Raton attorney Michael Barnett is sworn into office, Republicans will control the Palm Beach County commission for the first time since 2006, the Palm Beach Post reports. 

* Rod Velez has filed a lawsuit to try to get back his Broward School Board seat that DeSantis filled the same day Velez had hoped to be sworn in, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

* All seven current Tampa City Council members have now filed to seek reelection March 7, with Bill Carlson and Charlie Miranda formalizing their candidacies in recent days, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

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DESANTIS WATCH 

The governor had a call Monday with Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, the only item on his official schedule. 

His office announced he will hold a press conference today at 9:15 a.m. in Bonita Springs, at Coconut Jack's Waterfront Grille. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton, Chief Resilience Officer Dr. Wes Brooks and Chief Science Officer Dr. Mark Rain will also attend. 

2024 ROUNDUP

* DeSantis is the early front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, but lawmakers and strategists warn this can sometimes be the “death knell” for a candidate, The Hill reports.

* If the governor wants to be a viable candidate for president, he'd better prepare himself to make a change and show some signs of moderation, the Palm Beach Post editorial board writes.

* DeSantis’ positions on Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq shows how he is different from former President Donald Trump on some key foreign policy issues, Bonnie Kristian writes in the New York Times.

* Fanis Willis – Fulton County, Georgia’s district attorney – finds herself at the center of a legal inquiry with the potential to make history and influence the course of the next presidential vote, the Washington Post reports.

ANALYSIS & OPINION 

* Progressives couldn’t help themselves when Florida U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who is Black, received support for becoming House speaker by making it about his race, the National Review’s Brittany Bernstein writes. 

* The fight over the future of New College is about more than just the fate of this small school in Sarasota – it’s part of DeSantis’ broader quest to quash progressivism in public education, the New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg writes.

* No matter how hard right various factions in the Republican party might be, actions taken during the Kevin McCarthy speaker vote saga shows they’ve absorbed the progressive lesson that representation matters, Bloomberg’s Robert George writes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To state Rep. James Buchanan of Osprey … to Daniel Sohn, managing partner and senior lobbyist at Floridian Group … to consultant and Tampa Bay Times and Orlando Sentinel reporting alum Susan Clary Zayas. 

Belated wishes to Cragin Mosteller, director of external affairs at the Florida Association of Counties, and Ron Pierce of RSA Consulting Group, who celebrated Saturday. 

CONGRATULATIONS: Karen B. Moore marks 31 years at The Moore Agency, her marketing and communications firm, with offices in Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, Denver and New Orleans.  

Have a birthday, career change, birth, death or life event to announce? Email us: editor@cityandstatefl.com.  

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YOUR MESSAGE HERE: City & State First Read is the must-read morning roundup of Florida politics and government. Reaching thousands of subscribers each morning, it's the most effective and targeted digital ad venue to get your message in front of city and state elected officials, agency and industry leaders, and the staff, advocates, media and operatives who drive the issues of the day – all by 7 a.m. each weekday. For advertising information, please email: advertising@cityandstatefl.com

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KICKER

“Volunteer recruitment was not a priority. … Large events and recruitment efforts, traditional tools for capturing volunteers, did not exist. We have plenty of social media activists, not roll-up-your-sleeves volunteers.”

– Now-former Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz, via the Florida Phoenix, listing some of the problems that caused Democrats to underperform statewide last year.