Weekly political notes from The News Service of Florida
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
After asserting the Democratic Party in Florida is “dead,” Sen. Jason Pizzo says he’s running for governor as an independent and will make that official in a couple of months.
Orlando attorney John Morgan, describing the Democratic Party as “broken,” believes Pizzo is making a mistake if he runs without party affiliation.
Morgan, who is semi-retired to Hawaii and has teased a gubernatorial run for years, isn’t advocating for the Republican or Democratic parties. He considers both to be run by their extreme fringes. Instead, he’s promoting the creation of a third party, focused on finding middle-of-the-road consensus, which could serve as his own base to make a gubernatorial run.
“This is going to sound phonier than s—, what I’m going to say, but you have to make a sacrifice for the common good,” Morgan said Wednesday during an appearance at the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee. “I don’t care if it’s me. But I think we need a vehicle to make it possible.”
As his face beams from billboards advertising his Morgan & Morgan law firm and after using his wealth to lead successful efforts to pass a 2016 constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana and a 2020 amendment to raise the minimum wage, Morgan believes he can take longer than Pizzo to open a campaign account for the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Pizzo, who dropped his party affiliation after stepping down as Senate Democratic leader on April 24, told Jim DeFede of CBS News Miami on Friday he intends to run. Expect a formal announcement around September.
A Sunny Isles Beach attorney with a net worth of $59.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2023, Pizzo told DeFede that Floridians care more about keeping a roof over their head and their kids fed instead of “the rhetoric that the Republicans want to push” or the “visceral reaction that Democrats have to every little step or statement that the Republicans make.”
On Wednesday, Pizzo posted online a photo of himself with Nancy Jacobson, president of the national political organization No Labels, with the tag, “Great meeting.”
With Gov. Ron DeSantis barred from seeking a third term, next year’s race is expected to draw wide interest in a state where — as of April 30 — Republicans made up 40 percent of the registered voters. Democrats comprised 31 percent, and voters without party affiliation approached 26 percent.
Republican Congressman Bryon Donalds, who has the backing of President Donald Trump, has filed to run and started making campaign appearances, while much speculation continues about whether Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis will seek to succeed her husband.
David Jolly, a former Republican Congressman who is now a Democrat, has also been getting attention as he explores a run.
TURNING OUT THE LIGHTS?
Florida has more than 400 municipalities, and maybe not all would survive a push to lower residential property taxes.
Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who co-chairs the House Select Committee on Property Taxes, said that as the panel looks at a series of proposals to cut property taxes, local governments should also make sure they’re spending money efficiently.
“You have 411 cities, some with what we heard today with very few people living in them,” Lopez told reporters after a committee meeting Tuesday. “So the question will be for them, does it make sense? Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it does. But they’ll have to work that out. But this conversation, certainly, I think, is going to cause them to really think about whether or not that makes sense.”
The committee also sent an invitation to DeSantis to present “proposals” at an upcoming meeting. DeSantis has led calls to cut property taxes while feuding with House Speaker Daniel Perez, who proposed cutting the sales-tax rate.
“We would be honored to give you the floor at our next hearing to present your ideas directly,” a letter from the committee said.
Perez, R-Miami, has criticized DeSantis for a lack of specifics in proposing to increase the homestead exemption or eliminate property taxes.
DeSantis, who has criticized the House committee as a “dog-and-pony show,” rejected the invitation.
“I’m not going to go sit in front of a committee. That’s not the role of the chief executive,” DeSantis said Wednesday while in Brandon.
DUST ‘STILL SETTLING’
Amid an extended legislative session to try to reach an agreement on a budget, DeSantis has delayed filling the positions of state chief financial officer and lieutenant governor.
During an appearance Monday in Tampa, DeSantis said he still wants to get through the legislative session before making the appointments. The session was supposed to end May 2, but could continue into June.
The chief financial officer job opened when Jimmy Patronis was elected to Congress in a special election, while former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez was named interim president of Florida International University.
“Of course, every day that goes by, we’re a little bit closer,” DeSantis said. “You know, I did say I wanted to get through the legislative session and see how the dust settled. Obviously, the dust is still settling.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK: “Back in Tallahassee for about four hours. Today, the Florida House will be extending the Legislative Session till June 30th; this is due to the fact that we still don’t have a state budget, and there are major disagreements between both chambers and the Governor on what tax relief should be pursued. The Florida Senate will not be extending beyond June 6th — so we’ll see what happens.” — Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, on Instagram (annaforflorida).