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Florida Legislation

Priorities for the 2023 Legislature

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on March 3, 2023. OUR POSITION: The Florida Legislature opens its 2023 session this week and among the dozens, maybe hundreds, of issues its members will address there are a few we urge our lawmakers to make a priority. The Republican-led Florida Legislature will no doubt

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Opinion

DeSantis seeks complete control over us

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Mar 3, 2023. A caution. Well, Florida, You chose DeSantis for governor, . . . again! Here he is, along with his Republican enablers, doing their best to change you into their idea of the perfect conservative. My mother cautioned me, “Be

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Opinion

What is Ron DeSantis doing to Florida’s public liberal-arts college?

By Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, February 22, 2023 DeSantis is not simply inveighing against progressive control of institutions. He is using his powers as governor to remake them. In the context of other universities—the sort of assessment the Princeton Review’s guidebooks might do—New College of Florida, situated on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico,

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News

10 big issues in the 2023 FL legislative session

By the  NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA, Mar 1, 2023. Florida lawmakers next week will start the annual 60-day legislative session. Here are 10 big issues to watch: AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, has made a priority of trying to find ways to make housing more affordable for workers. The Senate could quickly pass a

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Issues

Florida welcomes you — with certain exceptions

Satire by DIANE ROBERTS, Florida Phoenix, Feb 27, 2023. Welcome to Florida! We’re glad to have you. If you’re white. Black people are such a lot of trouble, aren’t they, always demanding “equal justice” and voting rights and AP classes blaming white people for stuff like slavery and lynching and whatever. They get a whole month to

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Health Care

Hospital critics have their own agenda

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on Feb 27, 2023. OUR POSITION: Critics of a Sarasota Memorial Hospital report on its COVID response seemed focused on political theories instead of what the report said. A common theme among the people who criticized Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 response report Tuesday was that questions, especially

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Florida Democratic Party

Nikki Fried is the new chair of the FL Democratic Party

By DIANE RADO, FLORIDA PHOENIX, Feb 25, 2023. Former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who had hoped to become the first woman governor of Florida but didn’t win in the 2022 gubernatorial primary race, has been elected as the new chair of the Florida Democratic Party. The FDP tweeted: “The Florida Democratic Party congratulates @NikkiFried

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Florida Legislation

Scrutiny of charter schools out the door

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on Feb 24, 2023. OUR POSITION: The recent approval of a charter school for the Wellen Park community in North Port is an example of the lax oversight dictated by the Legislature. Let’s start a charter school. A for-profit one for sure. There’s money to be made.

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News

Charlotte commissioners face huge challenges

The following editorial was published in The Daily Sun on Feb23, 2023. OUR POSITION: Charlotte County commissioners are facing some difficult long-term challenges, brought on by the area’s rapid growth, and their solutions will define their tenure. The responsibilities of public office can be frustrating and taxing. No one who accepts the task of guiding public policy

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Florida Legislation

Florida takes dangerous turn with permitless carry

The following Bloomberg Opinion was published in The  Daily Sun on Feb 20, 2023. After winning reelection in November with nearly 60% of the vote, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had political capital to spend on any number of priorities. Sadly, he’s settled on one of the most the ill-considered choices available: allowing the public to

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Florida Legislation

Alien relocation program costing the taxpayers

This Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Feb 20, 2023. Governor DeSantis and the the GOP-controlled Legislature is at it again with another piece of proposed bad legislation. Specifically, the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program. This piece of ill conceived legislation would allow the use of taxpayer dollars to transport undocumented

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Republicans

What qualifies Richard Corcoran to make up to $1 million at New College?

By Carrie Seidman, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Feb 17, 2023. I’m sure I am not alone in being stunned by the compensation package approved at a recent special meeting of the New College of Florida board for Richard Corcoran, appointed as the school’s interim president following the Jan. 31 ouster of Patricia Okker. Corcoran, who will take over

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Analysis

Who’s afraid of Black History?

By Henry Louis Gates Jr., The New York Times, Feb 17, 2023. Dr. Gates is the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard. He is the host of the PBS television series “Finding Your Roots.” Lurking behind the concerns of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, over the content of

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Florida Legislation

DeSantis is creating a totalitarian state

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Feb 18, 2023. Gov. DeSantis wants you to believe that his agenda is focused on “freedom.” In reality, he is creating a patchwork of highly discriminatory laws, rules, and practices. Taken as a whole, these practices target virtually every minority group in Florida.

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News

Attend this FDP Chair Forum on Tuesday Feb 21st

Check out this FDP Chair Forum on Tuesday 2/21 at 6 pm. Learn about the candidates. Register to attend  via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7O2OiMZeSRWqCRubt4hAcA?_x_zm_rtaid=ZvD6SG9zRp-N8yStsDB23A.1676750010878.4c583a776deeb06d20fc28c9acfa430d&_x_zm_rhtaid=133

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Events

Attend our Englewood Democratic Club meeting on Feb 22nd

Please join us for our Englewood Democratic Club Annual Meeting at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, Feb 22nd. It will be held in person at the Englewood Chamber of Commerce located at 601 S. Indiana Ave in Englewood.  You can also join remotely via Zoom. Please make your best efforts to attend this meeting, since members

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Analysis

Ron DeSantis shouldn’t be covered like just another Republican

By Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair, February 16, 2023 Florida’s wannabe autocrat and possible 2024 contender isn’t Trump, but he’s as dangerous to democracy. Trumpism without Donald Trump has long been a fantasy of the GOP donor class. Plenty of things about the Trump presidency generally delighted Republicans, like the tax breaks for the wealthy, the desire to

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Analysis

Ron DeSantis’s war on “woke” in Florida schools, explained

By Fabiola Cineas, Vox.com,  Feb 15, 2023 From book bans to a hostile campus takeover, here’s a rundown of DeSantis’s conservative plan for Florida education. In 2020, Ron DeSantis’s administration declared him the “Education Governor” for how eager he was to dramatically change the state’s education system. Three years later, he’s provoked — and been

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Opinion

Do Democrats want “abortion on demand” even late in pregnancy?

By Bea Dixon, PhD, Democratic Political Activist, Feb 16, 2023. Republicans and pro-life activists repeatedly claim that Democrats support “abortions on demand” even late in pregnancy. For example: Senator Rubio from Florida tweeted on Sep 6, 2022: “Val Demings supports abortion up until the moment of birth.”1 Senate nominee Blake Masters from Arizona wrote on

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Elections

Who will we elect to lead the Florida Democratic Party?

With thanks to Roxy Moore & Politico Florida Playbook , we offer the following synopsis of the 5 candidates.  Also see https://www.floridadems.org/our-party/fdp-chair-candidates/ Please advise Dr. Lucy Huke Garner and Tom Garner of your prefered leader at lucyhuykegarner@gmail.com  and tomgarner1@gmail.com before Feb 25th, when this election will take place. Feb 17th update:  Alex Berrios, one of

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