Sunburn â The morning read of whatâs hot in Florida politics â 6.3.21
Good Thursday morning.
A top-of-Sunburn birthday shoutout to my brother from another mother,Â
Reggie Cardozo. Florida and D.C. politics know Reggie as a former Obama White House staffer and a top-flight political strategist, but I know him as a dedicated husband to
Stephanie, father to
Fallon, and
Sutton James, and a trusted friend to many. He’s also my boat buddy, a fellow connoisseur of Bloody Marys and dirty martinis, and just funny as hell.
Happy birthday, brother.
Converge Government Affairs has added top Jacksonville lobbyist
Deno Hicks as a partner in the firm.
It appears that Polk County escaped any vetoes of funding items in Florida’s $101.5 billion budget.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office released a list of line-item vetoes Wednesday as he announced his signing of the appropriations bill in New Smyrna Beach. DeSantis trimmed about $1.5 billion from the budget submitted by the Florida Legislature.
A scan of the veto list found no cuts for Polk County projects. By contrast, DeSantis vetoed about $1.4 million in local appropriations last year.
Some Polk County legislators said before the session began in March that they would be more selective than usual in making funding requests. The state’s financial outlook appeared dire at that point as the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a projected decline in state revenue.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Judge Lori Winstead of Lakeland to fill an opening on the 10th Judicial Circuit Court.
Winstead, 41, has been a Polk County Court judge since 2019. She will succeed Judge Steven Selph, who retired this year, and will serve in the felony division.
Winstead, an Illinois native, earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College in 2005 and then a law degree from Barry University. She served as an Assistant State Attorney in the 13th Judicial Circuit from 2008 to 2019. That circuit is based in Hillsborough County.
State Rep. Fentrice Driskell first debated in the Florida House chamber when she was 17 and a student at Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland.
Driskell went to Tallahassee the summer before her senior year to participate in Florida Girls State, an educational program for selected rising seniors that simulates the functions of state government. During the weeklong session, Driskell met Florida’s governor, the late Lawton Chiles, a Lakeland native.
In an indication of what lay ahead, fellow participants elected Driskell governor of the student delegation.
“It completely changed my life,” Driskell said last week. “Before that, I thought I wanted to be an engineer. But after that experience, I fell in love with government. I decided to study it in college, which I did. I decided I would go to law school so that I could learn the language of government.”
The pandemic created new circumstances for how the Florida Legislature conducted business and it came on the heels of one of the country s most historic years – bringing along legislation that tackled unique issues.
As the 60 days come to a close, take a look back at the best stories and photo galleries by USA Today-Florida Network Capitol Bureau reporter and photographer Tori Lynn Schneider.
1. Florida legislation a family affair
Three legislators with young families move to Tallahassee full-time for the 2021 legislative session – making a local apartment, townhome and an RV park a home.
2. The Senate s new top dog
Say hello to Briar Burgess, Sen. Danny Burgess s family dog who became a Capitol celebrity as lawmakers trickled back into town for the start of the 2021 legislative calendar.