Subject: POLITICO Florida Playbook: Rep. Graham ‘seriously considering’ gov. bid, won’t run for re-election – RNC goes Hollywood (FL that is) – Rubio rebukes Trump’s ‘rigged’ claims -- Palm Beach Zoo cover-up in keeper’s slaying by tiger
From: Marc Caputo <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2016 05:00:54 -0600

04/21/2016 06:58 AM EDT

By Marc Caputo ([email-masked]; @MarcACaputo) with Ali Breland ([email-masked]; @AliBreland) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

GOLDEN GRAHAM (2) FOR DEMS? -- "Graham 'seriously considering' run for governor, won't seek re-election," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: A rising Democratic star in Florida, U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham says she's "seriously considering" a bid for governor in 2018 and won't run for re-election this year now that her district has been drastically changed. Graham, the daughter of former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, first won election in 2014 to her Tallahassee-area seat and would be a top contender in her party to fill the post Republican Gov. Rick Scott will leave due to term limits. 

"Our state government is just dysfunctional, and this causes me to rethink how I can best serve the people of North Florida and our state. Floridians are hungry for new leadership - and I'm so excited to tell you, first, I'm seriously considering running for governor in 2018," Graham says in a two-minute YouTube video she emailed to supporters Thursday morning....

Graham's election team would likely include two current staffers: Julia Gill Woodward, her chief of staff, and Matt Harringer, her communications director. Rich Davis is likely to be in charge of media, Dylan Sumner would be her mail vendor and John Anzalone would be her pollster. Steve Schale and Eric Jotkoff would have top advisory roles as well. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c6178d96573f3269372e1f01ef6c884c9aab672fc70901666

Happy Thursday morning, Florida. Remember you read the above story on POLITICO Florida, and not in other major Florida pubs first. This way, as with other POLITICO scoops the past week (Trump's campaign manager falsely dissing the RPOF chair, a prosecutor not charging him for battery in a separate incident), you can smile when other outlets try to fob off the news as if they broke it. 

LIGHTS, CAMERA INACTION IN HOLLYWOOD - The Republican National Committee is meeting in Hollywood at the Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood (yes, the GOP chose the only major union hotel in South Florida, where the Democrats usually hold events). And, while there's lots of talk about convention rule changes, the wiser RNC members seem determined not to create any drama. Doing nothing would be progress. But there's time for regression...

--"Trump sends aides to court the GOP elite: After relentlessly slamming the process, the billionaire pivots to an inside game," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Shane Goldmacher: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9ca0f9ef0b32f6a80ad436478b129f808aa6841460ff848438

-- "Stung by Donald Trump criticism, Republican National Committee meets in Hollywood," by Palm Beach Post's George Bennett: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c808ab9fcd66e47553d20357c74968071daec6e86321333b6

BURN O' THE DAY - Ted Cruz on John Kasich: "John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the nomination. His plan apparently rests upon losing 49 states, going to the convention and having the delegates say 'The guy that lost every state in the union except his home state - that should be our nominee.' That quite simply isn't going to happen," via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cb48da6ac71d5a462e19b5f1c6133fc6f2172effe43460785

INSIDERS 101 -- "Rubio: Trump's wrong, the primary isn't rigged," by POLITICO's Marc Caputo: Marco Rubio defended the Republican Party's convention system Wednesday, rejecting Donald Trump's claims that GOP politics are "rigged" and adding that delegates would have the right to choose a nominee by picking "a bunch of names in a hat."

"This is the way the way the system has been for a long time in both parties. If a primary and caucuses do not decide the nominee, it then goes to the convention," the senator told South Florida First News' Jimmy Cefalo on Miami's WIOD-610am. "The Republican Party, the Democrat Party, they are private organizations. There's basically no invalid way of choosing your nominee. They can - I'm not advocating this obviously - but you can just put a bunch of names in a hat and pull a name out and say: 'This is our nominee.' It's a private organization. They have a system. And everybody knew that going in."

Rubio called the process a "civics education for Americans" and later emphasized that "the delegates are going to choose the candidate." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c78d684fdbdcd470f5854aac705554f897212d49d365e7406

-- "Rubio continues to block judicial nominee but won't say why," by The Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cb5a5e69d48287d8ce454b479f1b5041c899fe2df341e83ba

-- "Marco Rubio steps into Haiti elections fray -- again," by Miami Herald's Jacquie Charles: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c493a56477bad3f0685cc367de10b5326dec5e2018f757e9c

-- "#NeverTrump collapsing: delegates bound to Marco Rubio, John Kasich begin warming to the Donald," by Breitbart's Jen Lawrence: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c78624d92f3eb495afd2f43b1a7a46fedf081952182fe9f19

STRAW (POLL) MAN -- Todd Wilcox won the Hillsborough County REC Straw Poll Tuesday night with 59 votes, followed by Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (14) and US Rep. Ron DeSantis (5). US Rep. David Jolly and Carlos Beruff received no votes. One catch: Wilcox was the only one there (but then, 80% of politics is showing up). Last week, Wilcox won the Republican Liberty Caucus Straw Poll in Brevard County and carried more votes than all his competitors combined. The wins bookend the I-4 Corridor and, while the polls are not scientific, they should be a warning shot to his competitors. When Republicans learn about the little-known Wilcox, they like him. The last guy to make a big deal of racking
 up straw poll wins was a longshot candidate named Marco Rubio.

GREAT HEADLINE, STORY - "Change for a $20: Tubman Ousts Jackson," by The New York Times' Jackie Calmes: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c0dfdd5634f8da18bffff3902ea9e841940d7331b2a50023d

--Florida Man wants to keep former Florida (Territory) Man on the $20 bill http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c6af7c5cfd073b7e03958c6454674add05a0c7cd180ea4268

TRAIL OF JEERS --Craig Pittman (aka @craigtimes) on Facebook: "While I'm glad to see Harriett Tubman get her picture on the $20 bill, I am a little disappointed that that means evicting Florida's first American governor, Andrew Jackson. Sure Old Hickory was a genocidal maniac -- but he was OUR genocidal maniac, doggone it." That's right, Jackson was the president who oversaw America's Trail of Tears shame after the former general made Florida a territory, in part to stop American Indians from harboring runaway slaves.

--Billy Mabray @billygoat: "I feel so bad for Andrew Jackson, being forced to relocate by the federal government. Must be terrible for him."

IT'S THE POLITICS, STUPIDO -- "Carnival Is A Cuba Cautionary Tale: It's Not About Business. It's About Politics," by WLRN's Tim Padgett: "Does the Carnival Corporation know something the rest of us don't? Because if it doesn't, its Fathom cruise ship may not be heading to Cuba for a long time. American businessmen, lawyers and government officials - in their eagerness to make hay from the normalization of U.S.-Cuba ties - too often forget a paramount rule about striking deals with communist Cuba: It's not the economy, stupid. It's politics, both there and here." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cd4fbbb1cdae2391ea45b497ee6582e97c6e1725754d092d1

THE 411 ON 420 ABOUT 420... 

-- "Orlando closer to decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana" -- AP: "The city of Orlando is a step closer to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, which other cities around Florida have done. The city council's 4-3 vote Monday in favor clears the measure for a final decision May 9. It would make possession of 20 grams or less a violation of city code carrying a $50 fine for first-time offenders. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c503bed6af3e1ad964f1ffc6bf3b9be096cff64fa9e81db25

--"Canova: Florida Medical Marijuana Regulations Too Difficult," by South Florida Gay News' John McDonald: "Tim Canova, who is challenging U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the Democratic primary [takes a subtle dig at the DNC chair, who didn't favor medical cannabis two years ago]. ... 'I'm fully supportive of medical marijuana...I was two years ago in 2014 as well."

"Gov. Rick Scott recently signed an expansion of the state's medical pot bill (HB 307), allowing access to the plant for patients determined to have terminal conditions and are within one year of death. 'I don't think it should be that difficult,' Canova said. 'I have seen the way medical marijuana has played out in other states. They don't confine it to just terminal patients. It relieves a lot of pain and a lot of different ailments. The medical science on this is very clear. It is not a harmful drug compared to a lot of prescription drugs that have very serious side effects.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c7d5f4ef14e785465a33320734f870970180aed44a3e349ca

-- "Marijuana Policy Project's 2016 presidential candidates and where they stand on marijuana policy," by Marijuana Policy Project http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c03ba52c7a5dc4169d91e3b506ee7664771687d3ecf3e7e19

-- "Marijuana Researchers Are Tired of Working With the US Government's Shitty Weed," by Vice News' Sydney Lupkin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9ce43eb993ee49d186f71e83563f9cbedb3180db30085557fc 

FOR THE PEOPLE, & CRIST -- "Morgan & Morgan again bankrolling Charlie Crist," by Tampa Bay Times' Adam C. Smith: "The Morgan & Morgan personal injury firm, as millions of Florida TV watchers know, is FOR THE PEOPLE. And glancing through the most recent fundraising report filed by Democratic congressional candidate Charlie Crist of St. Pete, it's clear Morgan & Morgan also remains very much FOR CHARLIE CRIST. More than 60 percent of the donations - and half of the $271,000 Crist raised in the first three months of 2016 - came from Morgan & Morgan lawyers. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cc8e48b2167b4f3eb9cebc18fdfdfd3377b1f8a506e97aa8f

WAIT FOR IT -- "All eyes on Atwater as insurance pick looms," by POLITICO Florida's Christine Sexton: With just weeks to go before the start of another hurricane season, there's one storm that seems unlikely to dissipate soon and that's one over the state's insurance commissioner post.Another key moment in the drama could arrive on Thursday when Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater is expected to announce who he wants to interview in tandem with Gov. Rick Scott and other members of the Cabinet when they meet again April 26. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c41255bded00d646839efa1eb88c932868d0bf36715ba0562

LAWYER OR LOBBYIST? -- "Ethics complaint dismissed against DC law firm," by POLITICO Florida's Daniel Ducassi: The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed ethics complaints against a Washington, D.C. law firm, Dickstein Shapiro, and one of the firm's former attorneys concerning their interactions with Attorney General Pam Bondi and her staff. The complaints were filed by Charles Swofford, a private citizen who lives in The Villages. They were touched off by a 2014 New York Times article that described a cozy relationship between Bondi's office and the law firm. The firm had been accused of improperly spending money to lobby Bondi and her office without registering. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c647b24405aebdc1db036fd53614e860ec7a377f2a87de0ae 

--Bondi's silence amid questions about lobbying, the gift ban and free trips," by The Fine Print's Gary Fineout: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cccc9ee2fa4a944d21fc8dbdb7410df9dce29b7048dec0728

CELEBRATIONS AND ALARMS -- "Industry scrambles after court decision on attorney fees, contracts," by POLITICO Florida's Christine Sexton: Business groups are sounding the alarm and plaintiffs' lawyers are celebrating an appeals court decision declaring unconstitutional Florida's sweeping restrictions on injured workers' rights to sign contracts with workers' compensation lawyers. Plaintiffs' attorneys can't be criminally prosecuted for entering into contracts with injured workers outside the workers' compensation system, a three-member panel of the First District Court of Appeal unanimously ruled. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c7719550c13e7f189b61886b106d267c8a5f2dcfcf1510a4d

IT TOOK A FEDERAL COURT -- "Brown says she'll run for newly-drawn congressional seat," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: Days after a federal court tossed her voting rights lawsuit, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown said Wednesday she will run for the newly-drawn 5th Congressional District she went to court to overturn. "Although I still maintain that the new congressional districts will be severely disadvantageous to minorities throughout the state of Florida, I intend to declare my candidacy for the newly-drawn Congressional District Five for Florida," the Jacksonville Democrat said in a statement. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c6264027cec30a51bcf46fc0d8e11eda6287200ccd0b781b8 

TURKEY POINT NUKES - "Appeals court reverses Cabinet decision to expand FPL nuclear plant," by POLITICO Florida's Bruce Ritchie: A state appeals court on Wednesday found that the Cabinet in 2014 failed to properly consider state and local environmental regulations when approving a nuclear power plant expansion in Miami-Dade County. Sitting as the power plant's siting board, the governor and Cabinet approved two new nuclear units at Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey Point facility, along with transmission lines. The two units would join two existing nuclear units at the utility's 9,600-acre site 25 miles south of Miami along Biscayne Bay. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cb7bb3e5970c798f103792f6d45492965b32335939acdf3f5 

RIP -- "Pam Doto Remembered as Editor who Extended Faith and Friendship to Her Reporters," by South Florida Gay News' Michael d'Oliveira: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cd0468a44dd78f5e4f5f075581a7f624387f166196717e751 

LOOSE (OR WEIRD) ENDS....

-- "School districts tightening budgets," by Pensacola News Journal's Thomas St. Myer: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c489146b8faece3113ac17b51f4bdf52840e91246334e4ca8

-- "Suspect in St. Augustine priest's death faces multiple charges in separate counties after leading police to body," by The Florida Times-Union's Dana Treen and Dan Scanlan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c0aced48b5a41e586a324dd5901fa448c2ba4e27a98889ac9

-- "Hundreds attend Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall ceremony," by Florida Today's R. Norman Moody: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cf620c1eea6b3d682b2a4270bbea2e2a68b5766f74a1a7988 

-- "Fired Daytona Beach officer says someone may have slipped cocaine in her drink" by WFTV http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9ce6c47d585fec4cb67e4fbe8b0df9ca8bbfab698b6d95baf6

--"Boynton Beach cop fired for negotiating sex with undercover deputy posing as prostitute, officials say," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Tonya Alanez: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c61d015a3149cbe3fcbb726ff202d9a852dd271fc30514120

SCUM -- "Man pleads guilty for his role in human and sex-trafficking ring that spanned Central and SW Florida," by Jacob Carpenter of the Naples Daily News: A Lakeland man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Collier County to three felony counts tied to a human and sex-trafficking ring busted last year, becoming the first defendant to admit responsibility for his role in the operation. Moises Rodriguez, 67, will receive three years in prison followed by three years of probation if he follows through on providing assistance to prosecutors, who have charged 14 other people in the case. Rodriguez was accused of transporting women to brothels across Central Florida and conspiring with one of the
 ringleaders. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9cae159aa469b28be7af089a5127b072ba057c14f83e78f3b1

REV AIN'T RIGHT -- "Lake Wales pastor arrested on charges of solicitation, lewdness at boat ramp" by WFTV: "A pastor was arrested Tuesday on charges of solicitation and lewdness at the Lake Fannie Boat Ramp, Polk County detectives said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9ca38bfc33d78f02420a891e4c9d2ddd82f0aa1021601d30d7

COVER-UP, COVER-UP BURNING BRIGHT - When zookeeper Stacey Konwiser was killed by a tiger last week at the Palm Beach Zoo, it indicated there was a fatal protocol problem. Mistakes happen, and if they happen around apex predators, death usually follows. People get that. This is what tigers do. But when a zoo goes out of its way to hide the problem in a 911 call and then asks the media not to print the tiger's name (to protect the animal?), it's suspect. Consider a partial transcript of the 911 call made the day the zookeeper was killed. It took the zoo staffer more than a minute and a half to disclose that a TIGER was involved [my commentary in bolded italics in brackets]:

--CALLER: "We have an animal situation going on [not a TIGER, just a 'situation]...there is a keeper that's injured [actually, she was probably dead by this point]. We need you to come on the west side of the zoo. We'll have people to direct you [oh yeah, we'll totally trust you to 'direct' the ambulance. Not like there could be a TIGER]."

--OPERATOR: "You know what kind of animal he[sic] was injured by?" [After all, it could be, you know, a TIGER]

CALLER: "Yes ma'am. It's a tiger. Yes. I don't' have any other additional information about that -- except for that -- at this time ... [ahh, the classic P.R. dodge. Not that 'I don't have more info. I just don't have more info FOR YOU right NOW'] ... I have other job duties as well [another cover up perhaps?]. So once you're done with me, let me know. [Oh, sorry you're so damn put out, but the rescue folks have a right to know that they might encounter a TIGER]. ...

'DOWN TO THE BONE' -- "Zookeeper's killer likely was stud tiger; Officials won't say, but evidence points to Hati, a 'down-to-bone' male," by Palm Beach Post's John Pacenti, Barbara Marshall and Jorge Milian: "Shortly after The Post requested comment on Hati, the zoo announced that authorities were investigating threats against the animal involved in the death of Konwiser, the first time in the zoo's history that an animal killed a person. Zoo officials appealed to all media sources to refrain from naming the tiger, part of a critically endangered breed. There are an estimated 250 Malayan tigers in existence.

"Identifying the animal only serves to stigmatize and potentially places the tiger in harm's way,' the zoo's statement read. ... [T]he zoo removed news releases on its website after inquiries about Hati, who came to the Palm Beach Zoo last year ... Ron Magill, spokesman for Zoo Miami, described Hati as aggressive and domineering, "a freaking, down-to-bone male tiger."

"I was wondering if it was Hati right away," Magill said. "Hati is everything a male tiger should be. He is incredibly territorial and we all knew that at the zoo, you can take the animal out of the wild, but not the wild out of the animal." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d50819fc7b046e9c693f5d80dee972ad38bd1da74dfeda0d37b9768ce69f0ce2

--BUT IT'S TIME TO TAKE THE COVER-UP OUT OF THE ZOO

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