This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

South Korea’s leaders got face time this week with both the sitting president of the United States and a potential top contender for the White House. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo had a meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis during the governor’s international trade mission this week. Then President Yoon Suk Yeol was off to D.C. for a state dinner with President Joe Biden and a number of prominent Asian American politicians, business leaders and athletes. It’s good to be the boss(es).

Two of the most prominent Black Floridians in politics were tapped to serve on a federal panel that advises President Joe Biden on African-American issues. (Its title is so long we’ll skip it here.) Vincent Evans is executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus; Fedrick “Fed” Ingram used to head the state teachers union. Both are Democratic stars. Not bad representation for a 21-member group.

In the marquee race of the Tampa municipal runoffs on Tuesday, this incumbent councilmember held onto her seat with over 60% support against her challenger, former state Sen. Janet Cruz. The margin of victory provides a strong mandate for Lynn Hurtak, who has been a thorn in the side of Mayor Jane Castor since being appointed to her seat. Now, she’s set to keep pushing back for the next four years.

To quote the whistleblower, “Oh my god, they wrote down the racism policy.” In one of the Tallahassee-based state attorney’s offices was a flier tacked on a wall that has harsher sentences for those with “Extensive Criminal History and/or Hispanic.” Jack Campbell claimed it was a mistake made by a junior prosecutor who was leaving the office and that it was actually the policy meant for “undocumented immigrants.” Will some civil rights attorneys get a payday here?

It’s never a good day for an elected official when the Florida Commission on Ethics says the words “probable cause” about them. That’s what the commission concluded about GOP state Rep. Randy Fine, in reference to his allegedly threatening to block state budget funding for West Melbourne over a dispute with school board member Jennifer Jenkins. Fine says he did nothing wrong and called the commission a “kangaroo court.” He’ll still need a lawyer.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo changed a state-driven study about COVID-19 vaccines last year, according to new reports. Yipes. Some went as far as to call his changes lies. Uh oh! He made recommendations that certain groups not get vaccinated based on the study, which excluded information that went against his recommendation – because he removed it. It probably won’t have long-term political consequences for him but OH so not a good look.