Subject: POLITICO Florida Playbook: The RNC’s Florida takeaway – Wasserman Schultz goes after Canova – DCCC’s marital-rape attack v. Rep. Mica – Feds indict South Florida school board member
From: Marc Caputo <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2016 05:00:49 -0600

04/22/2016 06:58 AM EDT

By Marc Caputo ([email-masked]; @MarcACaputo) with Kristen East ([email-masked]; @kristenicoleast) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

Good Friday morning. The most important story from the RNC's spring meeting in Hollywood: there is no story. They've applied a political Hippocratic Oath and done no harm by doing nothing. All the talk of changing rules was talk right now. But it's good to remember the most important rule: There is no hard-and-fast rule. 

BANANAS -- "Rick Scott to RNC: No 'monkey business,'" by POLITICO's Marc Caputo: "Florida Gov. Rick Scott passed up a chance to urge Republican National Committee members to support his preferred presidential candidate, Donald Trump. But he warned them: no 'monkey-business.' 'We've got to be transparent,' Scott told a packed room of RNC officials Thursday at their spring meeting in Hollywood, Fla., implicitly telling them not to cut back-room deals that would undercut the frontrunner or, in Trump's terms, 'rig' the process." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d332f29145ee08058e92496ebca77d5780f33b6839dbe81f53d 

  -- "With uncertainty at top of ticket, Republicans back off in some states," by The New York Times' Jonathan Martin: "By July 1, Florida was to have 256 field organizers and Ohio another 176, for example, according to a state party chairman in possession of the strategy books who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. But Sean Spicer, the committee's chief strategist, acknowledged this week that the committee had begun informing state parties and statewide campaigns that fulfilling such plans would now be 'slower.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d338d8e1aefc31828f80edd68204ce2db2c29baefe901978144

While the news is meh on the RNC front, the multiple competitive congressional races in Florida are just getting warmed up...
 
IT'S ON -- "Debbie Wasserman Schultz attacks Tim Canova for taking money outside of Florida," by Miami Herald's Amy Sherman: "U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has attacked her Democratic challenger Tim Canova for having the bulk of his donations come from outside of Florida. Canova, a Nova Southeastern University law professor, raised about $559,000 in the first three months of 2016 as a first-time candidate." 

"There's something you should know. First quarter fundraising numbers are in. One of my six opponents raised a large amount of money. But at least 90% of his cash is flowing in from donors outside of Florida. Also outsider SuperPACs have attacked me earlier than ever before," Wasserman Schultz says in a campaign email. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33a6df216e640402eba7e3d9035327bd4847685f85e1e27308

-- "DNC chair dismisses Sanders' accusations against Clinton' fundraising," by POLITICO's Brianna Ehley: "Schultz dismissed Bernie Sanders' accusations that the Clinton campaign is violating federal election law through its joint fundraising agreement with the DNC - saying the Sanders campaign chose not to accept the same help." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33a330566e6f2065b9d6da332ce99caa6cc99c1c1fa7d0fe7d 

-- "Wasserman Schultz slammed for opposition to e-cigarettes," by The Daily Caller's Guy Bentley: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3359d2014255b47a9de65f15a90f99feb8388d4cdc276b72f3 

MICA & MARITAL RAPE - Longtime Congressman John Mica looked like he was in the clear in February, when underfunded Democrat Bill Phillips withdrew from the CD-7 race. Yet the DCCC is still after the Republican. It announced it's paying for a radio advertising campaign this week "highlighting John Mica's opposition to a Florida House of Representatives bill that would allow married women to file charges for rape by their husbands." There's a problem with tense here. That bill was filed long ago. THIRTY SIX YEARS to be exact. Still, what then state Rep. Mica said (as recounted in a 2009 Minnesota law school journal) merits a mention: "[T]he Bible doesn't give the state permission anywhere in
 that book, for the state to be in your bedroom and that's exactly what this bill has gone to. It's meddling in your bedroom ... [W]e don't need to go to meddlin' in the marriage bedroom." 

MICA'S MONEY - Mica's camp responded to the ad with a lengthy retort about "the latest of almost weekly DCCC attacks" in the race: "When the DCCC's hand-picked Democrat candidate recently withdrew after he failed to gain any local support, cleaned out all but $750 dollars and returned big out of state donations, they ratcheted up their attacks and ridiculous rhetoric. Sadly for Central Florida, the DCCC is showing that they care only about partisan politics and electing a Democrat rather than electing a representative with a track record of accomplishing real things that benefit the daily lives of every resident in Central Florida, regardless of party. ... There are plenty of reasons the
 Mica campaign has more than 6,400 contributors, including prominent local and state Democrats, and why our campaign has 1,700 grassroots supporters and volunteers and why we reported $639,000 cash on hand, the most raised in individual donations for any Central Florida Congressional candidate."

PERKINS' PETITIONS -- Multimillionaire Randy Perkins, a Democrat running to replace Rep. Patrick Murphy in CD-18, just dropped over 6,200 signed voter petitions on election supervisors in Palm Beach, Martin and St Lucie counties to qualify for the 2016 ballot. Under Florida law, candidates for congress can qualify in one of two ways. He only needed to collect 2,298 of them. Or he could have paid a $10,440 qualifying fee. But Perkins knows how to save money, make money and raise money. Perkins already put in $2 million of his own money and raised another $700,000. Perkins also significantly outraised his potential opponents on both sides of the aisle and snagged endorsements from Nancy
 Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and local congressman Alcee Hastings. 

-- "Former Rep. Robert Wexler endorses Randy Perkins for Congress," by the Palm Beach Post's George Bennett: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33d52d415f10878d42e2844020ad116420538531ddd4d8f927

EXPENSIVE SUIT -- "Corrine Brown's campaign spends $40 K. on legal fees in first quarter," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: As she fought to overturn newly drawn congressional seats in federal court, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown's campaign spent $40,000 on legal fees, according to campaign finance reports. The money was spent with Jacksonville firm Sheppard, White, Kachergus & DeMaggio PA. William Sheppard, one of that firm's partners, has been Brown's lead attorney on the case.

A federal court in Tallahassee earlier this week dismissed Brown's voting rights lawsuit. She had claimed her new seat drawn after a redistricting legal challenge was at odds with the Voting Rights Act because it lowered her black voting age population from 45 to 50 percent. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33526b5c5098210605a4645a746c0f085fcb4bf65040c5a5e7

NOT-BITTER ENDER -- "Crenshaw kept fundraising until retirement announcement," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw's campaign was raising large sums of money and paying political consultants until just before he decided to retire after eight terms in Congress. The Jacksonville Republican raised $179,850 during the first three months of 2016, the sixth most of Florida's 27-member delegation. Some of the members who raised more are in heated re-election fights, not something Crenshaw expected to face. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33e87ae9eae789e3a07163297e003ba127a8c019d2416ee7e9 

OLD SHERIFF IN TOWN? -- "John Rutherford's congressional bid endorsed by sheriffs in Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties," by Florida Times-Union's Nate Monroe: "Former Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford's campaign for Florida's 4th Congressional District picked up support Wednesday from the top law enforcement officials in Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. 'John's courage and determination to make Jacksonville safe is well known around the region,' Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said in a statement released by Rutherford's campaign. 'His travels to Washington and Tallahassee to advocate for our region have been important and effective. He is a man of great integrity and, as his
 successor, it is my honor to endorse him.' Rutherford, a well-known Republican who was Jacksonville's sheriff for more than a decade, is the first high-profile candidate to announce a run for the seat since U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw abruptly announced last week he is retiring." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d336556a905a7e9baff98c01b31d0ec4a62cc96885f923ab34a 

MORE SHERIFF NEWS -- "Sheriff Morgan endorses Hill for Fla. Senate," by the Pensacola News Journal: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33df4929a5e6f9e7402ea1049860517c6f3b07b4a8f94d47d7 

NEW POL IN THE CLINK - "School board member Mike Murgio indicted in bribery scheme," by Palm Beach Post's Andrew Marra: "FBI agents arrested Palm Beach County School Board member Mike Murgio Thursday on charges that he participated in a bribery scheme to conceal an illegal bitcoin exchange operated by his son. Murgio, 65, was arrested Thursday morning at his home west of Palm Beach Gardens and later released on bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned in a federal court in New York next week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33dadc029b864f89b52cdf32c452e1c6d823a3be059146b858 

120 DAYS? -- "Gyrocoper pilot gets prison time for Capitol Hill landing," by POLITICO's Brianna Ehley: The Florida mailman [Douglas Hughes of Ruskin] who piloted a gyrocopter over Washington, D.C. and landed on the West Lawn of the Capitol last year was sentenced to 120 days of prison, U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips announced on Thursday. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33a5704f184790b178c811f994dcf7e886b5bd14cf6b136e51 

SENATE $$$ -- Fundraising reports are trickling in for the last quarter. Here's what we know as of March 31. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (Raised $251k, spent $292k, $389k cash on hand); Carlos Beruff (Raised $112k, loaned $100k, spent $153k, $59k COH); Todd Wilcox (raised $108k, loaned $250K more; spent $149k, $1m COH - all from candidate loans)

-- "Murphy attacked over contributions from father's company," by the Orlando Sentinel's Steven Lemongello: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d334f5422872d3f70a497b81cab025448cd851731fcf5db7598 

JEWISH AFTER ALL -- "Mazel tov! Florida Lt. Gov. Lopez-Cantera has a quickie bar mitzvah in Israel," by Miami Herald's Amy Sherman: "Nothing clears up the ambiguity of Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera's religion like having a bar mitzvah. Yep, at the not-so-tender age of 42, Lopez-Cantera - who once described himself in his House biography as Catholic - had a bar mitzvah at the western wall in Jerusalem last week while traveling with the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association. 

"The Jewish rite of passage into adulthood typically occurs at age 13, but it's not unheard of for adults to have the ceremony if they didn't have one as a teenager. Lopez-Cantera's wife, Renee, and mother are Jewish, while his father is Catholic. Lopez-Cantera, a candidate for the U.S. Senate this fall, brought up his bar mitzvah with the Miami Herald during a brief interview Monday after an event at the Jewish Community Center in Davie, where Gov. Rick Scott held a ceremonial bill signing to create a Holocaust Memorial in Tallahassee." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3370a107d085e2829f2eeaaa8e0ca3cb2829fb75bfbed96b85 

FAMILY FEUD -- "Tavares mayor's wife sentenced to probation, anger management after brawl with sister," by the Orlando Sentinel's Christal Hayes: "The wife of Tavares Mayor Robert Wolfe was sentenced to probation along with anger management after allegedly hitting her twin sister over the head with an oscillating fan and a fraternity paddle, records show. Sharon Wolfe was given a year of probation in March and will be required to complete a four-hour anger management course after the January crime where deputies say she and her twin sister, Shawn Steedley, got into a scuffle that quickly escalated. Wolfe will also be required to have a drug-abuse evaluation followed by any treatment
 recommended during the evaluation, said Walter Forgie, supervising assistant state attorney in Lake County." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33fa13af37784f218ade19bd90cc3626f4fb3b27dfb1963f8f

PLAY BALL -- "A Florida spring training attendance record," by Herald Tribune's Maggie Menderski: "Major League Baseball spring training games in Florida reached a record high in per game attendance this season, with an average of 7,096 spectators." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33175a9d0caa732d01a4b65de7302ba48868e7f17b79946542
 
CASTRO'S CUBA -- "Cuban exiles to judge: Don't let Carnival discriminate" -- AP: "Two Cuban-American men are asking a Miami federal judge to guarantee that they and other Cuban exiles will not suffer discrimination on upcoming Carnival Corp. cruises to Cuba. Carnival reversed course this week and announced it will allow Cuban-born people to book passage on its trips to Cuba. Previously, Carnival had said it was barring Cuban-born people from buying tickets for the Cuba cruises scheduled to begin May 1 because the Havana government prohibits Cuban nationals from departing or entering the island by sea. Tucker Ronzetti, attorney for the Cuban exiles who sued Carnival claiming civil rights
 violations, said at a hearing Thursday that a judge's order would ensure the company doesn't change its latest decision." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3396ec187173358ac0cfbe4b0ea6d0879d5bf6fe8798177d6b

RAISING COIN -- "Bill Nelson holding fundraiser for Jos&eacute; Javier Rodr&iacute;guez," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is holding a fundraiser for state Rep. Jos&eacute; Javier Rodr&iacute;guez, who is running for a South Florida Senate seat. Rodr&iacute;guez, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla in Senate District 37, which includes many of Rodr&iacute;guez's current constituents. The seat is heavily Hispanic and slightly Democratic-leaning, with President Barack Obama winning 53 percent of the vote there in 2012. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33ac0270e7787fb82cecade2d1bff60a527aa351052ba787f2 

NO FLOW PLEASE - "Feds reduce Lake O discharges as water level drops," by POLITICO Florida's Bruce Ritchie: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday it is further reducing discharges from Lake Okeechobee that threatened estuaries and fueled support for Everglades restoration funding during the legislative session. Lake Okeechobee has dropped nearly two feet since Feb. 8, allowing the Corps to reduce discharges aimed at mitigating the threat of breaching the dike around the lake. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d331825fc291d0c7e6ccd447f67d695fd3c7e4a95ff3ad0f1b2 

RISING TIDE - "Books: A warning for Miami, Miami Beach," by Susannah Nesmith for the Miami Herald: "There is something deeply embarrassing when your state features prominently as the what-not-to-do option. But that is increasingly true when it comes to climate change and the inevitable effects on Miami, Florida's largest city and one that is already seeing those effects first hand.

"In 'Retreat From a Rising Sea: Hard Choices in an Age of Climate Change,' the authors point out to the rest of the country something many Floridians already know: One of our state senators, Marco Rubio, is a climate change denier, and our governor, Rick Scott, is even worse - he has prohibited state employees from using the term." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33f4db049427e5b3000ad4010f7304202127eb0c499c31b97e

SICK SEA -- "Officials: Don't swim in Lantana's beach or Dubois' wading lagoon," by Palm Beach Post's Alexandra Seltzer: "Health officials have issued a 'No Swimming' advisory for Lantana Beach after recent samples showed 'poor' levels of enterococcus bacteria, according to a news release. The tests showed 120 colonies per 100 milliliters of marine water at the beach. The exact cause of the elevated level of bacteria isn't known at the time, but it could be because of wildlife, heavy recreational usage, high surf, high tides, or runoff following heavy rains, according to the release." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d334ec50b2e2249e95425d683b70d6e7807904124fe271ae19e

POWER PLAY - "DEP head rejects nuclear plant canal recommendations criticizing agency," by Bruce Ritchie: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday rejected a judge's recommended order criticizing its oversight of the cooling canal system at Florida Power & Light Co.'s nuclear plant near Miami. 

In February, Administrative Law Judge Bram D.E. Canter blasted the DEP for failing to act on "undisputed evidence" that discharges into the canals had caused saltwater intrusion from the sea to advance further inland, and for failing to craft a legally enforceable cleanup plan. The agency had until May 15 to act on his recommendation to craft a new plan. But DEP Secretary Jon Steverson on Thursday concluded in a final order that Canter had "invaded" the "exclusive province" of the department to choose an enforcement remedy. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33a6a4318bd6a0e62cb8a4bcfd1a498b2901e6d7b9bed0ece4 

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

-- Hospitals receive funding to train future physicians," by POLITICO Florida's Christine Sexton: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3381567723a724c5ac8256774707a9fa08866102238d93ca63

--"Bill won't impact rape kit backlog as Scott claims," by POLITICO Florida's Daniel Ducassi: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33803e824059dbae4b70a2724a942f7c1b9a788e4e4db352c5 

-- "Miami Beach city manager on Floatopia's nine-dumpster trash disaster: blame it on the rain," by Miami New Times' Kyle Munzenrieder: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d33be1ae5c572cada7f21e6fcd41ad48fb195710b7e007cd3b3 

-- "Bill Nelson pushing for $1.9 billion to fight Zika," by The Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d334295af329e824af407f8ebe03fb7b9d16d50ca5d9b03252e

--"Bear that attacked Seminole Co. woman among those featured in new zoo habitat" by WFTV http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d337702ba4f9531eddf88f4bb4caac910d976970d2375ed8972

DRIVING LAWSUITS -- "Same-sex couple sue Fla. DMV after driver's licenses revoked" by WFTV: "Dan and Scott Wall-Desousa said they were trying to get their names hyphenated before Florida recognized sex marriages ... The couple spoke with Channel 9, and just days later, the DMV revoked their licenses. The couple said the story is not about gay marriage, saying, 'This is about being punished for speaking to the press." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3378d9326b3d6ca5e0bfe6ea9c051a91d20e7026fde15ae2be 

WHEATIES WASN'T ENOUGH -- Florida man changes name to Bruce Jenner to preserve name's 'heterosexual roots,'" by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Selima Hussain: "This Bruce Jenner was formerly Mark Behar, an actor and bodyguard who legally had his name changed in order to preserve the 'heterosexual roots' of Jenner's original name, according to a statement from his publicist, Tom Madden." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3390775f37e53215a6df583a7fe39d8790257c08e60b4f4f3a

NOT DOG FOOD -- "Retired K9 fights off alligator attack," by Herald Tribune's Carlos Munoz: "Chris Leister, a St. Petersburg police officer, said there are two things his retired police K9 doesn't like: water and losing. So when an 8-foot alligator sprung from the private lake behind his home in Palmetto on Tuesday, it came as no surprise that even though the gator had the 7-year-old Belgian Malinois by the leg, the feisty former police dog - named Arek - fought off the attack." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d337de5591cdaea7913f5784e8a60db64c6e3ad71be75299920

DUDE WHERE'S MY PULITZER? -- "Former Journalist Steps In to Claim His Half of a Pulitzer," by NYT's Michael M. Grynbaum: "Dude, where's my Pulitzer? When Brian Gleason heard this week that his old employer, Sun Newspapers of Charlotte Harbor, Fla., had won its first Pulitzer Prize, he was elated. Then he asked his former editor, Jim Gouvellis, what the award was for. 'He said, "The prisoner death editorials,"' Mr. Gleason recalled. 'I said: "Jim, I wrote some of those." ... The problem: Nobody on the current staff remembered. 'It was not hard for me to remember,' Mr. Gleason, now the communications manager for the local county, said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d339d8e2ba5a3247413906c28d4beb75827a59afb46e12fd13d 

GUT-WRENCHING -- "St. Petersburg man catches 400-pound fish with wrench," by ABC Action News' Clifton French: "The catch of a lifetime. That's how Ryan Hein of St. Petersburg describes the 400-pound Goliath grouper he caught last week. The bait: a lure he made out of a number-11 wrench. 'A lot of mechanics know that you don't really use an 11 for anything,' Hein said. 'At least I never have.' All he did was attach two hooks to the lure then tied it to his line. 'Some jigs can cost $20,' he said. 'I was just looking for a way to make a jig without spending so much money.' He posted a picture of the makeshift bait on Facebook as a sort of a joke the day before he went out on the water. He
 said he knew he would probably catch something. He didn't realize how big that fish would be and how fast he would catch it. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d330f16dcd3995af5c7c9f5cd1a1717a679bac78e3247f748cd 

FOR MORE political and policy news, check out Politico Florida's home page: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce5c343ebc499d3371d1d26ff3dcc7c723c2d29c80b9a520e3d99b6e7f81a34b And please follow out staff @mdixon55, @christinesexton, @dducassi, @jessicabakeman and @bruceritchie on Twitter.

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