State Rep. Rick Roth Updates Us on the 2019 Session
Our May meeting featured HD85 Representative Rick Roth, who described some of the significant actions taken by the Florida Legislature in the just completed session.
For a description of the various bills that emerged, please see: 2019 Legislative Session Update.
Villagers for Trump Letter on Voter Fraud
Los Tres Amigos 2019
5 eyes. 5 arms. 4 legs. All American
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., an Army veteran, welcomed two fellow wounded veterans, Rep. Jim Baird, from Indiana, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, from Texas, to Congress by tweeting a remarkable photo with his Republican colleagues.
Ken Abramowitz at January Meeting
RCNPB December Meeting
Tony Khawam at October 14th Meeting
The Ethical Lapses of Andrew Gillum
The following is excerpted from the Sunshine State News:
Now that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is the Democratic Party nominee for governor, the press and voters need to take a much closer look into his service as our ceremonial mayor.
Gillum has been consistently involved in issues that the FBI is investigating as part of their work into corruption at City Hall and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
While Gillum alleges he was told by the FBI that he’s not a subject of their investigation, no one has ever corroborated that statement.
First and foremost is the ethical concerns around the New York City trip that Gillum took for his former employer. We now know, after persistent questioning by the Tallahassee Democrat, that Gillum stayed on after that meeting, relocating to a plush NYC hotel, the Millennium Hilton, attending the “Hamilton” Broadway play where tickets cost hundreds of dollars, and even going on a boat ride around Manhattan and the Statute of Liberty with Adam Corey and Mike Miller, where pictures were taken.
Gillum has recently told The Washington Post that sometimes his brother Marcus Gillum pays some of his expenses, and he has said that his brother paid his expenses in NYC.
DeSantis Rocks Trump National
On Saturday, Republican candidate for Governor Ron DeSantis appeared at Trump National in Jupiter with “The Great One” Mark Levin, Fox pundit Dan Bongino, and CD1 Congressman Matt Gaetz. The large crowd was welcoming and enthusiastic, and possibly indicative of a surge in popularity for his candidacy. With some polls showing that the double digit lead held by Adam Putnam has waned, Ron appears to be making the most of his endorsement by President Trump, and has begun to define his value proposition as governor.
Ron has had support among the tea party grassroots since before his election to the sixth congressional district seat (Coastal from south Jacksonville to New Symrna Beach including Daytona Beach) in 2012. A tea party conservative, he is a key player in the House Freedom Caucus. I have long been a fan of his work in Congress, repealing Obamacare, opposing the Iran deal, and pushing for oversight of the corruption at the top levels of the Justice Department and FBI. His candidacy for Governor though, had seemed to be weak.
For the most part, Ron had seemed to be touting his Congressional bona-fides, and his campaign literature and fund raising appeals seemed more a call for Congressional re-election than a bid for the top executive job in the third largest state. A line of attack from the Putnam camp is that he is running his campaign on Fox News (Ron is a regular), has never held an executive job, and knows little about the Florida issues outside of Washington.
It was a different message we heard on Saturday. First, his surrogates described his work in DC as just as much “Florida Issues” as national ones. Health care, Immigration, tax cuts and de-regulation to boost the economy – these are all things that concern us within the state’s borders.
When Ron took the podium, he brought the focus back locally. Water issues and toxic algae, sanctuary cities and immigration, these are state issues, as is opposing common core and introducing civics back into the K-12 curriculum. He drew a sharp contrast to Adam Putnam on Sugar money (he doesn’t take it), ethanol mandates (Putnam opposed a measure to stop the measures that were harming the marine industry), and Congressional term limits (Putnam opposed).
Although his website is still short on specifics, he seems to be holding his own on the issues with Putnam and referred the audience to the Fox News debate between them last month, which he feels he won.
On the Democrat side, Jeff Greene seems to be developing a lead. With the money he plans to put in the race, a unified GOP will be needed to hold on to the Governor seat. DeSantis and Putnam are both credible candidates, but a tightening race may see the race turn negative. Let’s hope not.
At the end of the day, the Trump factor may make the difference. The President has endorsed DeSantis, and praised his work with the Freedom Caucus. There is evidence that Putnam has never really been a Trump fan. We will see how much weight that carries in Florida.
Bill Bone Saving Limbs Ride
