First Read for Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023

Good morning. It’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The South Florida Sun Sentinel recently published a four-part investigation on trafficking in the state.

FIRST UP

Coming off his November election win, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political committee raised nearly $327,000 in December – and ended 2022 with about $70 million in cash on hand, according to a newly filed finance report. 

The Friends of Ron DeSantis committee raised $326,746 during the month, including receiving a $100,000 contribution from Key Largo resident Bruce Rauner, a former Illinois governor, and a $50,000 contribution from Ormond Beach insurance executive Charlie Lydecker. The committee has played a key role in DeSantis’ political operations, including in his 2022 re-election campaign.

Meantime, the Republican Party of Florida collected about $10.27 million from Nov. 4 through Dec. 31, including $1 million contributions from the state’s two largest electric utilities, according to a finance report. The contributions ranged from the closing days of the 2022 election campaign to the days leading up to DeSantis’ Jan. 3 inauguration. It is unclear from the report how many of the contributions were tied to the inauguration. 

But Florida Power & Light made a $1 million contribution to the party on Dec. 30, while Duke Energy made a $1 million contribution on Dec. 16, according to the report posted on the state Division of Elections website. In all, the party received 25 contributions of at least $100,000 during the nearly two-month period.

– The News Service of Florida

FROM CITY & STATE 

* Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, along with the Resilient305 partnership and the Miami Foundation, recently announced the launch of the county’s Extreme Heat Action Plan, the first in the county’s history. 

* Nine months after a Florida federal judge blocked a requirement that airplane passengers and other travelers wear masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an appeals court next week will take up a Biden administration challenge to the ruling.

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

* DeSantis announced plans to spend $3.5 billion in his second term on environmental projects such as restoring the Everglades and addressing water-quality problems, the News Service of Florida reports.

* At his environmental press conference, the governor also weighed in on the World Economic Forum at Davos, a proposed ban on gas stoves and Chinese concerns buying land in the state, Florida’s Voice reports. 

* Students who see New College of Florida as a safe space are vowing to protect it amid fears that, as the small college becomes a target for the conservative culture war, it will attract racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ attacks, the Daily Beast reports (via Yahoo). 

* When DeSantis announced he'd appointed six hard-core conservatives to the board of trustees of New College last week, one former white nationalist took it personally, Axios reports.

* Newly released emails show Stephanie Kopelousos, a top DeSantis aide, worked in early 2021 on a proposed tax break that could have saved the Walt Disney Co. tens of millions of dollars, Seeking Rents 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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* Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is unveiling his first legislative proposal since taking office, a first-in-the-nation measure to prevent businesses from tracking Floridians’ firearm and ammo purchases, Florida Politics reports. 

* A federal appeals court is turning to the Florida Supreme Court for help as it considers the constitutionality of the state’s 2021 ‘anti-riot’ law (HB 1) that enhanced penalties and created new crimes in protests that turn violent, the News Service of Florida reports. 

* The almost-fight on the U.S. House floor stemmed from the GOP caucus believing Rep. Matt Gaetz would vote for now-Speaker Kevin McCarthy ahead of the confrontation, the Miami Herald reports.

* Maxwell Frost, Orlando’s new 25-year-old congressman, is getting more national media attention, with a profile in Teen Vogue and featuring him on the magazine’s cover, the Orlando Sentinel reports. 

* New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat with an eye on national politics, poked fun at DeSantis’ saying that Florida is “where woke goes to die” in Murphy’s annual State of the State address, Politico reports. 

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DESANTIS WATCH 

The governor on Tuesday had a call with Chief of Staff James Uthmeier before holding his environmental press conference in Bonita Springs, had individual meetings with Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Kelly, Director of Policy and Budget Chris Spencer and Public Safety Advisor Larry Keefe, then attended a staff budget briefing, according to his official schedule. 

2024 ROUNDUP

* Ahead of the next presidential race, potential candidates like DeSantis are taking a more radical approach: Not just attacking nonpartisan news outlets, but ignoring them altogether, the New York Times reports. 

* DeSantis is polling well against Trump in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary matchup, but that changes in polls with other candidates in the mix, FiveThirtyEight’s Nathaniel Rakich writes. 

* Republicans seized on revelations that several classified documents from Joe Biden’s time as vice president were found in his former private office to create cover for former President Donald Trump’s hoarding of secret records, but the two cases are different, CNN’s Stephen Collinson writes. 

* Indicting Trump just became more politically difficult for the DOJ after the Biden classified document issue, but the former president isn’t out of the woods yet, the National Review’s Andrew McCarthy writes.

ANALYSIS & OPINION 

* Speaker McCarthy let down U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who lost his bid to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee – a loss that means no member from Florida will chair a full committee this Congress, Florida Politics’ Peter Schorsch writes.

* Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, who was once called the “Trump of the Tropics,” is watching his supporters implode from the Florida home he’s staying in not far from Disney World, Vanessa Barbara writes in the New York Times. 

* Hillsborough County students deserve comprehensive sexual health education, as too many young people lack the tools and the language to make healthy choices, Dr. Amy Weiss writes in the Tampa Bay Times.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Adam Blalock, deputy secretary for ecosystems restoration at the Department of Environmental Protection … to former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Liz Dudek, now director of health care affairs for Greenberg Traurig … to state Rep. Tommy Gregory of Lakewood Ranch. 

ON THE MOVE: The Dean Mead law firm announced that Donald Anderson has been hired as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer. As COO, “he will take primary responsibility for overall administrative management and operation of the firm, providing direction and leadership toward achievement of the firm’s mission, strategy, and fiscal goals,” a press release said. 

Gov. DeSantis appointed John D. Haas as the next Adjutant General of Florida, commanding the Florida Army National Guard. He most recently was director of strategic plans, policies and programs for the Guard. Haas replaces the current Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. James O. Eifert, who is retiring. 

Allison Kuhn is now legislative aide for Democratic state Rep. Susan Valdes of Tampa. 

CONGRATULATIONS: Sarah Redmond marks 13 years at LobbyTools. 

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

"They are trying to undo the small progress making New College a better home for its community. It feels very personal."

– Ex-white nationalist Derek Black, via Axios Tampa Bay, on the governor’s decision to appoint six conservatives to the college’s board. He credits his attendance at New College of Florida for changing his views.