Florida in Five: Let's get local

Five stories to read from the past week in Florida politics.

Photo credit: Vox Efx

This is Seeking Rents, a newsletter and podcast devoted to producing original journalism — and lifting up the work of others — about Florida politics, with an emphasis on the ways that big businesses and other special interests influence public policy in the state. Seeking Rents is written by veteran investigative journalist Jason Garcia, and it is free to all. But please consider a voluntary paid subscription, if you can afford one, to help support our work.

Welcome to another installment of Florida in Five: Five* stories you need to read from the past week in Florida politics.

I have a request for you, dear reader. With the November general election just around the corner, I’d like to use this space over the next few weeks to identify some of the most significant local races on the ballot — races that are intensely important within their communities but that may be unfamiliar to folks in other parts of the state.

I’m thinking of examples like a looming in referendum in Gainesville that could take back control of the city’s publicly owned electric company after it was seized by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature. Or the campaigns by former States Attorney Andrew Warren in Tampa and Monique Worrell in Orlando to win back their jobs after DeSantis removed them from office and replaced them with his own appointees.   

I’d also like to highlight some of the work being done by on-the-ground journalists in these communities covering these races. Like this story from the Winter Park Voice revealing that a candidate for Orange County Commission is taking uncapped contributions from companies with lots of business before the county. Or this piece by WFSU examining the impact of a potentially planted spoiler candidate in a key Tallahassee City Commission race.

But there are lots of consequential local campaigns across the state that I don’t know about. So I’m asking you to flag them for me. Send examples and stories to Garcia.JasonR@gmail.com, and we’ll lift some of them up every week here in Florida in Five. These can be local elections of any kind, from ballot measures and hospital boards to city councils and the state Legislature.

Lastly, kudos to the Orlando Sentinel, which proved, yet again, the power of local journalism.

*To paraphrase Barbossa, five is more what you’d call a guideline than an actual rule.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-TurboTax)

Sarasota congressman Steube cosponsors bill to outlaw IRS direct tax filing program (Sarasota Herald-Tribune) ($)

See also: Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free (ProPublica)

More tax breaks for Publix

Publix seeks tax breaks, incentives to renovate its Kentucky Avenue offices into IT campus (Lakeland Ledger) ($)

See also: Publix, RaceTrac claim tax breaks meant to boost manufacturing (Orlando Sentinel) ($)

See also: Florida’s tax break often helps companies do already-planned work (Orlando Sentinel) ($)

A rising tide lifts all pirate ships

Corcoran's high New College salary tees USF president up for raise (Axios)

See also: Sasse to keep $1 million salary from UF until 2028 (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: Ben Sasse Spent Far More Than His Predecessor. Including on These Reports. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

See also: UF senior staffers racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs after Sasse allowed them to work remotely (Fresh Take Florida)

‘Must align with the state’

Visit Florida CEO addresses removal of LGBTQ pages on tourism website (WTSP)

See also: Book publishers file lawsuit, say book ban law is unconstitutional (Florida Phoenix)

When bullies collide

'Fire them': Gov. Ron DeSantis' spat with GOP lawmaker Randy Fine grows on social media (Tallahassee Democrat) ($)

Perspectives

Gov. DeSantis, here’s how you fix your Florida parks problem (Florida Phoenix)

Gov. Ron 'Never Back Down' DeSantis backs down from reviled Florida park plan (Florida Times-Union) ($)

Florida golf-park plan implodes. DeSantis on defense. Time to investigate (Orlando Sentinel) ($)