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Governor and Legislature at Odds Over Unspent Guardian Funds

August 24th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature are butting heads over what to do with unused money for school districts to arm school staff members.
In the wake of the Parkland shooting the Florida Legislature passed sweeping school safety legislation.
While they decided against the idea of arming teachers, lawmakers still put $67 million aside to train and arm school staff.
When Governor Rick Scott signed the bill into law he did so with one reservation.
“If the $67 million in there is not used, I want to work with them [the Legislature] to move those dollars over for more law enforcement,” said Scott.
So far about 1/3rd of Florida’s school districts have adopted the guardian program in some form.
Twice as many have rejected the idea.
Now the Governor says it time to make the $58 million left over available for other needs.
Andrea Messina with the Florida School Boards Association says the money could make a big difference for districts struggling to come into compliance with the law.
“The school districts, the sheriff’s departments, the police chiefs, the counties, they’ve all incurred additional costs,” said Messina. “This is a pot of money that might help them recoup some of the costs that they’ve already expended.”
Senate and House leadership aren’t on board though.
They argue the guardian program needs time to grow, fearing the program could fail if the funds are pulled too soon.
When asked about the Legislature’s reluctance to re-appropriate the guardian funds Governor Rick Scott said, “I want to do everything we can for our kids, so I’m going to fight to make sure that money goes back into our schools for more law enforcement.”
Messina says she’s confident the Legislature will come around eventually, but the sooner the better.
“This fiscal year certainly is a hope for us,” said Messina.
School districts say if the funds do become available districts need to be allowed to use them how they see fit.
Whether it be for school hardening, mental health or hiring resource officers.

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Graham Casts Ballot in the State’s Capital

August 23rd, 2018 by Mike Vasilinda
Democrat Gwen Graham became the first major Gubernatorial Candidate to vote for herself, Thursday morning.
Graham arrived at the early voting site across the street from the Capitol where she hopes to govern to the cheers of about two dozen supporters.
After voting, she called the experience chilling.
“Chills, very exciting. It was wonderful,” said Graham.
Graham has campaigned against 20 years of republican control of state government.
We asked how she would deal with a GOP controlled legislature, which isn’t likely to change even if she is elected.
“If they are not willing to work with me, work with the state government, in the best interests of the people of Florida, I will find a way to go around them,” said Graham.
Graham has a deep following here in the state’s capital.
In part because she grew up here, but mostly because her father was Governor for eight years.
Tom Lewis was a Republican working to elect Graham’s father.
He changed parties then to vote for him, changed back and changed again to vote for the daughter,
“Yes I did. Both of us did. Supported her when she ran for Congress. She’s a wonderful moderate,” said Lewis.
Polls show Graham is neck and neck with former Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine.
She declined to contrast herself with him when we asked.
“For me this is what we bring to this race,” said Graham. “It’s about having a Governor again that’s fighting for the people of Florida.”
If elected, Graham told us he will live full time in the Governor’s Mansion full time, something that hasn’t happened here in at least a dozen years.
Graham would be Florida’s first female Governor.

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Supervisors Say Implementing Bilingual Ballots Would Be Difficult Before November

August 23rd, 2018 by Jake Stofan

A coalition of civil rights groups are suing the state in an effort to force a greater use of  Spanish voting materials.

Elections supervisors say some of the demands would put too much of a strain on the system to be implemented by November.

In Florida 13 counties are already required by federal law to provide Spanish language ballots. Now a federal suit aims to force another 32 counties to do the same.

The move comes in response to the large influx of Puerto Ricans following Hurricane Maria.

The suit wants the ballots, registration forms more by November, something Leon Supervisor Mark Early finds challenging.

“While I think the numbers that I’ve seen from LatinoJustice says that there are potentially 292 voters in our county that would qualify for this, you know we have 206,000 voters who don’t,” said Early.

After being contacted by one of the groups involved, Early did begin providing just about everything in Spanish but the ballot that goes into the machine.

“We’ve done what I think we can get done, but certainly we’re being asked to do a lot more,” said Early.

Many smaller counties don’t have the same resources as Leon and haven’t been able to provide as much assistance for Spanish speaking voters.

Early says even with Leon’s resources, providing bilingual ballots on such short notice would be costly.

“That’s a big ask as far as our budget is concerned, our resources to test ballots,” said Early.

When asked about the suit, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham didn’t respond specifically, but did say:

“I think any time we can make voting easier we should do it,” said Graham.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner issued this statement regaurding the suit, “The Department of State provides all of its election materials in English and Spanish in accordance with the Voting Rights Act and this lawsuit does not dispute that fact. The Department believes that all Supervisors of Elections should continue making voting accessible for all voters including those whose first language is not English. This lawsuit names 32 locally-elected Supervisors of Elections who are responsible for voting in their counties and we will review it.”

The 13 counties already required to proved Spanish language ballots must do so because of their large hispanic populations.

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Poll Suggests Gillum Upset Possible

August 22nd, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has trailed in 3rd place since the start of the race, but a new poll suggests he may have a chance yet.
The Democratic line up for Governor seems split into two categories.
Gwen Graham and Philip Levine competing for first and second and Jeff Greene, Andrew Gillum and Chris King battling it out for third.
“Y’all have the ability to go out and vote like you’ve never voted before,” said Gillum at a rally in Tallahassee Monday.
The polls haven’t slowed Gillum down though.
He kicked off a statewide bus tour this week and is holding rallies in different cities each day leading up to the primary election, Tuesday.
“I want you to know that the poll that matters is the one on election day,” said Gillum.
It’s a continuation of his grassroots campaign strategy, which included leading a march from FSU to the Capitol following the Parkland Shooting.
Now, a new poll suggests it may be paying off.
San Fransisco Based ‘Change Research’ shows Gillum in first place, with a ten point lead over Graham and Levine.
Levine says he doesn’t buy it.
“We don’t see it on ours, that I can tell you. So if every other poll ain’t showing it,” said Levine.
And despite most recent polls suggesting Gillum is still struggling to maintain 3rd place, the candidate says he appeals to a different kind of voter that pollsters may not anticipate.
“Many of those voters, they’re black voters, they’re brown voters, they’re young voters, they’re poor voters. I believe we have the ability to move more of those voters to the polls than anybody else running,” said Gillum.
Gillum has the endosement of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
While some political experts doubt the accuracy of the Change Research poll because it was conducted online, they suggest likely indicates Gillum’s popularity among young voters.
The same demographic that supported Sanders in 2016.
The state will have to wait and see if Gillum’s base turns out, but if the country learned anything from the 2016 Presidential election… it’s that an election isn’t over until it’s over.

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Levine Stops at Universities and Early Voting Sites Ahead of Primary

August 22nd, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Philip Levine visited three college campuses, Wednesday and a number of early voting sites.
Greeted by chanting supporters at an early voting site across the street from the state Capitol, Democrat Philip Levine sounded more like a general election candidate than someone who still has to win a five way primary.
“This is the last line of defense against Donald Trump and his little mini me, radical Ron DeSantis,” said Levine.
Levine’s team is constantly polling and while he’s taking shots at the GOP candidate endorsed by the President, he concedes his own race is still tight.
“When I entered the race early on, I was in last place. Now I understand myself and Gwen are right at the top, the two of us together,” said Levine.
Latest reports show the former Miami Beach mayor has already dropped nearly $18 million of his own money into the race.
He told us he doesn’t regret one dime of it.
“Because this is fight for the soul of the nation, and I would say, investing in your own campaign, as well as the money we’ve been able to raise is well worth it,” said Levine.
Throught the day Levine stopped at  FSU, The University of Florida, and then the University of Central Florida.
Amy Datz decided to support Levine a month ago.
“He marched in the rally against fracking in St. Augustine a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t see other gubernatorial candidates doing that,” said Datz.
And Levine also made it clear that if he does has a fall campaign, it’ll be against just one person.
”I’ve fought Donald Trump. I’ll fight him again,” said Levine.
While Levine is neck and neck with fellow Democrat Gwen Graham, all but one recent poll shows the other top three contenders fighting for distant third.

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NORML Attempts to Get Voters On Board With Legal Pot

August 22nd, 2018 by Jake Stofan
A chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws hoped to gather signatures for their petition to regulate pot like alcohol at state Capitol this morning, but failed to gather a crowd.
The group needs to Collect more than 700,000 signatures to get the proposed constitutional amendment put on the 2020 ballot.
Melissa Villar Lonzano is the President of NORML Tallahassee.
She says the legal status of marijuana has negatively impacted users in the state for too long.
“We would like to see locally sourced product. We need to end any type of arrest for possession. If we must have anything it’s going to be a simple ticket and that’s it. A civil infraction is it,” said Villar Lonzano.
Similar citizens initiatives have been attempted in the past. Three similar proposals that had tried for the 2018 ballot all have zero validated signatures according to the Department of State’s website.

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“Save Our Constitution” Urge Voters to Reject Amendments

August 21st, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Two of the 13 amendments slated for the November ballot have already been ordered removed by judges.
Now a group made up of former Florida elected officials calling itself ‘Save My Constitution’ is taking it one step further.
“Vote no on all CRC amendments,” former State Representative Jim Kallinger asked voters Tuesday.
The group says the 8 amendments put on the ballot by the constitution revision commission are misleading and force voters to accept controversial proposals in order to approve more popular ideas.
“When we see the voters of Florida being presented a multitude of confusing, misleading and politically bundled constitutional amendments that were promoted by special interest groups we resolve to stop it,” said former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp.
Seven of the amendments approved by the CRC are facing challenges in the courts.
Including one by former state Supreme Court Justice that targets all but two of the amendments for bundling.
In response to the lawsuit Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi argues the constitution gives the commission authority to change multiple parts of the constitution in a single proposal.
Save My Constitution says it’s evidence the process itself is flawed.
“The Attorney General’s assessment was probably correct and that in and of itself is probably the best argument that we can think of to the need for changing,” said former State Representative Don Brown.
The group hopes to convince lawmakers next legislative session to pass tighter restrictions on the CRC.
“Things like single subject, about bundling,” said Brown.
To change the CRC though would require not only legislative approval but also approval of 60% of Florida voters in the form of a constitutional amendment.
The Final decision in all of the legal challenges to the amendments will likely come from the state Supreme Court.

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Final Resting Place for Dozier Boys Set

August 21st, 2018 by Jake Stofan
The unearthed remains of 51 young men who died while in state custody at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna will soon have a final resting place.
The bodies were unearthed, some from unmarked graves, four years ago by USF anthropologist Erin Kimmerle.
The majority remain unidentified.
Under a contract signed by the state with two funeral homes, the remains of seven boys who were victims of a fire, will be returned to their original resting place at Dozier.
“They were never part of the mystery,” said Art Kimbrough, owner of Tallahassee Memory Gardens Cemetery.
Because of the raw emotions of local residents and anger from former wards of the school, the remains of the forty plus others will go to donated plots in Tallahassee
“To some extent the anger of being painted as a town of torturers,” said Kimbrough.
The most significant part of the contract with the state calls for the remains to be treated with dignity.
“The White House Boys, the ones who claim they were beaten and abused didn’t want to see these remains go back to the place where they’d been abused before,” said Kimbrough.
“They may never be identified, they’re still somebody’s loved ones and its our job to show proper humility and respect,” said Rocky Ezell, Lead Funeral Director at  Abbey Funeral Homes.
The first step is to reintern the remains, then transport them back to North Florida.
“Death is death. Burial is burial. There’s a finality to that that puts closure on things,” said Kimbrough.
If any of the unidentified remains  are ever matched with a family, the state says it will pay to move those remains to a location of the families choosing.
The contract calls for the reburial to be done within a year, but those doing the work say it won’t likely take more than 90 days.
The cost of reinterment of the remains will depend on several variables, but should come in around $300,000.
A monument to the boys will also be erected on the grounds of the State Capitol.

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Meet the Long Shot Candidates Running for Florida Governor

August 20th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
As voters head for early voting sites, those that haven’t studied their voters guide could be in for a surprise when they see who’s running for Governor.
Eight candidates appear on the GOP ballot and seven on Democrat’s ballots.
Bob Langford is one of the candidates appearing on the GOP primary ballot for Governor.
Never heard of him?
You’re not alone, but he and five other unknowns each plunked down $7,800 to get their name on the ballot.
Langford says his nine years as a state auditor is why he can be Governor.
“It taught me that I know Florida Government better than anybody that I know,” said Landford.
Perhaps the best known of the unknowns is Bob White.
White is the chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida.
He’s been vocal at pro second amendment rallies.
“And what I want people to understand is that our rights to life and liberty are secured by our right to keep and bear arms,” said White.
White is the only one who has raised real money.
$65,000 so far, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the more than $130 million spent by all of the top contenders.
Most of the unknown republicans running for Governor appear to be states rights advocates.
Democrat John Wetherbee says he is last on the ballot, but first for Flordia.
“My vision is to make sure our children are safe,” Wetherbee says in a campaign ad.
So how are voters dealing with the slew of choices?
“Don’t know who they are. Don’t know anything about them,” said Tallahassee resident Susan Foley.
“And I didn’t vote for either of those either,” said registered voter Bill Bodiford.
And when it comes to the long shots, one voter told us it’s good for Democracy.
There are five serious candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for Governor, and just two mainstream GOP Gubernatorial hopefuls.

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Circuit Court Rules to Remove Amendment 8 From Ballot

August 20th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Circuit Court Judge John Cooper ruled to remove Amendment 8 from the November ballot Monday morning.
The lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters argued the ballot summary and title failed to inform voters of the purpose of the amendment.
The League also challenged the bundling of three separate ideas into one ballot item.
Amendment 8 would require civics be taught in school, put term limits on school board members and take away the authority of a school board to control schools it didn’t establish.
“There’s a lot of language about imposing term limits, there’s a lot of language about requiring civic education, but there’s only a few words that don’t clearly explain anything that takes away the power of elected school boards to control all of the schools in the district. What the court found is that’s deceptive, that’s misleading, that’s hiding the ball,” said Ron Meyer, an attorney representing the League.
The ruling is likely to be appealed by the state. The League says it will request the case be expedited to the Supreme Court to ensure a decision in time for Election Day.

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Wells Fargo Cancels Attorney General Candidate’s Account for Medical Marijuana Support

August 20th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Democratic candidate for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is an outspoken supporter of medical marijuana.
“That has been my primary motivation for embarking on this campaign,” said Fried.
Fried says that support resulted in her campaign’s checking account with Wells Fargo being canceled.
“These actions by Wells Fargo are totally unprecedented and crystallize the reason why I chose to run for office,” said Fried. “The failures of our laws, institutions, politicians to respect patients and doctors, the will of the voters.”
In an email exchange between a Wells Fargo representative and Fried’s team, the bank asked for Fried to clarify if she had or planned to receive any contributions from medical marijuana lobbyists.
Fried, a former lobbyist for the industry herself, confirmed and was notified her account would be closed.
Wells Fargo issued this statement regarding the closure of Fried’s account, “It is Wells Fargo’s policy not to knowingly bank or provide services to marijuana businesses or for activities related to those businesses, based on federal laws under which the sale and use of marijuana is illegal even if state laws differ. We continually review our banking relationships to ensure we adhere to strict regulatory and risk guidelines.”
While Fried says she was able to move her funds into a new account with BB&T medical marijuana treatment centers and other who do business in the industry simply don’t have that option.
“Their accounts are not longer accepted. They’re being put on notice and so a safe compliant banking system is needed,” said Taylor Beihl with the Medical Marijuana Business Association.
Although a west coast bank called GRN Funds is looking to fill the vacancy.
Fried says if elected, she’s interested in the possibility of helping the bank move in.
“I will certainly have a conversation with them and see what I can do to get them access here,” said Fried.
Fried says while she can’t say for sure if Wells Fargo acted illegally her team will be looking into the matter and may take legal action if they deem it necessary.

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Gillum Launches Last Minute Bus Tour Ahead of Primary

August 20th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew is taking to the road for a final push to earn the support of voters.
On Monday, in the state’s capital city Gillum held the first of eight rallies scheduled as part of his bus tour across the state.
The tour will travel from the panhandle as far south as Miami-Dade.
Gillum is an underdog in the race, generally fighting for fourth place in the polls, but he says he reaches an often overlooked demographic.
“We’ve been losing this race for governor repeatedly for the last 20 years, for the last five consecutive races because we have failed to nominate a candidate who has the ability to move more of our voters who typically don’t participate in midterm elections,” said Gillum. “Many of those voters are black voters, they’re brown voters, they’re poor voters and I honestly feel like I offer the best opportunity in November to win a general election. I believe we have the ability to move more of those voters to the polls than anybody else running.”
The tour’s last stop will be back in Tallahassee next Monday.
Gillum says he plans to stay with his family in the city on the day of the Primary Election.

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Amendment 8 Challenge Heard By Circuit Court Judge

August 17th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
A circuit court judge heard arguments in a case to remove amendment 8 from the November ballot Friday morning.
Amendment 8 would require civics be taught in public schools and put term limits on school board members.
The League of Women Voters argues those two ideas only seek to conceal a more controversial part of the amendment, which would take away a local school board’s authority over schools it didn’t establish.
“They take these two disjunctive things to distract you from the unintelligible part in the middle,” said the Leagues attorney Ron Meyer.
But the state says the choice for voters is clear.
“This constitutional change is really a very simple fundamental change and we believe that really the voters have a right to see this,” said the attorney representing the Secretary of State, Blaine Winship.
The League argues the change would allow the state to hand over control of charter schools to a state agency and eliminate local control.
It argues the language voters will see doesn’t fully explain what the amendment does and should therefore be removed from the ballot.
“The real meat of this amendment, the damage that’s being done to public education by it, it’s not explained anywhere,” said Meyer.
Both sides agree if Amendment 8 passes, the longterm effects are unclear and subject to the Legislature’s interpretation.
“This would be something that would presumably be up to the legislation that’s turned out by our elected Legislators and subject to judicial decisions,” said Winship. “You know in this state almost everything in this area tends to get litigated.”
Judge John Cooper says he hopes to issue a final ruling on the case by Monday morning.
Amendment 8 is also being challenged in a separate suit brought by a former State Supreme Court Justice.
That lawsuit is seeking to remove a total of six amendments from the November ballot for breaking the multiple subject rule.

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Democratic Attorney General Primary Candidates Trading Lawsuits

August 16th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
The two Democratic Candidates for Florida Attorney General are trading lawsuits. 
Attorney General Candidate  and State Representative Sean Shaw filed suit against his primary opponent Ryan Torrens last month, claiming Torrens received an illegal campaign contribution. 
Shaw argues Torrens should be disqualified.
“We took that action because I’m going to hold everyone accountable, including my primary opponent, including anyone committing medicaid fraud, including the people in this building,” said Shaw.
Now Torrens is firing back by suing Shaw for libel.
Torrens tells us he worries the legal battle between the two candidates might hurt Democrats chances in the Attorney General race. 
 
Shaw’s campaign declined to comment on the countersuit.
Torrens has acknowledged that he received a $4,000 contribution.
 
$3,000 is the max allowed by law. 
Torrens says the money came from a join account that he shares with his wife. 
Candidates have no limits when contributing their own cash to their campaign.
“I don’t know about whether it was an illegal contribution. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actionable slander or liable,” said GOP Political Consultant Mac Stipanovich.
Stipanovich says the suits are more likely about drawing eyeballs than seeking justice.
“I believe that both lawsuits are mostly just for attention that they can’t buy for lack of resources,” said Stipanovich. “And they are succeeding or you and I wouldn’t be talking.”
The suits are scheduled to be heard on August 22nd, just six days before the Primary Election. 
A quick decision could give a last minute boost one way or the other.
 
Both candidates have released statements highlighting the needs for Democrats to remain unified to ensure a blue victory in the 2018 general election.

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Explore Offshore Coalition Wants Florida to Consider Offshore Drilling

August 15th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
A coalition calling itself “Explore Offshore” wants to encourage the exploration of the oil and natural gas off the coast of Florida and other states.
“Reliable and affordable energy greatly bolsters economic security, which bolsters national security,” said Explore Offshore Co-Chair Jim Nicholson.
Nicholson previously served as the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President George W. Bush.
Explore Offshore says drilling could bring in $2.6 billion a year, and create 56,000 jobs in Florida alone, but Jonathan Webber with Florida Conservation Voters says Florida can’t afford another disaster like the 2010 BP oil spill.
“Anything that would put our coastal tourism in jeopardy needs to be considered long and hard by our elected officials and the people of Florida,” said Webber.
Also serving as a co-chair of the coalition is former Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp.
Kottkamp and Nicholson both say developments in technology have made off shore drilling safer than ever.
“We can do this in a balanced and responsible way to protect the environment of Florida,” said Kottkamp.
But Webber says no technology is fool-proof.
“There’s no human endeavor that’s ever been without any kind of human error,” said Webber.
President Donald Trump announced earlier this year offshore drilling would be on the table for The United States’ coastlines.
Soon after the announcement U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Florida would be exempt.
“We are going to take the new oil platforms, new oil and gas platforms off the table,” said Zinke in January.
How much weight that commitment holds is unclear.
A constitutional amendment appearing on the November ballot would ban off shore drilling in state waters if it receives 60% voter approval.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday is seeking to remove the amendment from the ballot because it also would ban vaping in the workplace.

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