| Legislative |
| Self-funded Anthony Perosch enters HD 113 fray with $155K |
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| Alberto Perosch is going all in for his campaign to win House District 113. Image via Florida Politics. |
The race for House District 113 just got more interesting with the entry of Alberto Perosch, who, in just one month, dropped more money into his campaign than his two opponents hold combined.
A member of the Venezuelan American Republican Alliance and recently registered voter who has hobnobbed with GOP bigwigs including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Manny Díaz Jr., Perosch added $150,000 of his own money to his campaign coffers in February.
He’ll face the winner of a Democratic primary between lawyer A.J. D’Amico and Biscayne Neighborhoods Association President Andres Althabe, who have raised $59,000 and $33,000, respectively. |
– Jesse Scheckner,
Florida Politics |
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| Broward |
| Barbara Sharief might be taking on Lauren Book in Senate District 35 |
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| Former congressional candidate eyes seat the Senate's leading Democrat says she's going to be representing. Photo via Florida Politics. |
After coming in No. 3 in a crowded field of Democrats vying for Primary victory in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, former Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief has new plans that could mean challenging the Senate’s leading Democrat.
Sharief said she is strongly considering a race for Senate District 35, which could mean a primary challenge against Democratic Leader Lauren Book.
Book’s advisor slammed Sharief’s Senate plans as harming Democratic candidates' fundraising potential statewide, but Sharief has no apologies.
“This is my home district,” she said, noting she's represented some SD 35 cities for 13 years. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Legislative |
| Alina García closes distance in SD 38 contest with $100K in February |
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| It was a short month, but Alina Garcia made it count in fundraising for SD 38. Photo via Florida Politics. |
Republican Alina García had another big fundraising month in February, when she added nearly $100,000 to her campaign for Senate District 38.
The veteran political operative now has $232,000 between her campaign account and political committee. That positions her about $100,000 shy of matching Democratic opponent Janelle Perez, a local business owner and active LGBTQ community member.
Among García’s 90 individual donors: Juan Kuryla, who in January left his role as director of PortMiami for an executive position with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Perez raised a comparatively meager $14,000, which brought her total holdings through Feb. 28 to about $338,000.
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– Jesse Scheckner,
Florida Politics |
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| Legislative |
| Ileana Garcia apologizes if you were offended |
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| Ileana Garcia did not mean to offend anyone by saying being gay was not permanent. Photo via Florida Politics. |
Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia offered an apology this week to those she offended when she said that being “gay is not a permanent thing” on the Senate floor earlier this month.
The comments came during debate about a parental rights bill critics are calling the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“My comments in no way were intended to generalize or disregard the experiences of any member of the LGBT+ community,” Garcia wrote. “I was trying to explain my very personal life experiences and did not properly articulate my sentiments.”
She did not explain further what she meant by her comments, however. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Legislative |
| A short month of fundraising injects $100,000 into race for open seat in HD 91 |
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| It's Boca Raton v. Highland Beach as two elected officials battle for new open legislative seat. Photo via Florida Politics. |
Palm Beach County's newly redrawn House District 91, that combines parts of the old HD 91 with parts of the old House District 89 and House District 81 has come open and inspired something of a municipal rivalry.
Even though February is a short month, the opening has drawn more than $100,000 in cash to the race between a Democratic Boca Raton Councilman and a Republican Highland Beach Commissioner.
Boca’s Andy Thomson raised $70,000 for his bid for the seat and Highland Beach’s Peggy Gossett-Seidman raised $6,300 in addition to the $30,000 loan she made to her campaign last month. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Miami-Dade |
| Micky Steinberg exceeds $500K raised for Miami-Dade Commission campaign |
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| Mickey Steinberg is drawing much support in her bid for a Miami-Dade County Commission seat. Photo via Florida Politics. |
Former Miami Beach Commissioner Micky Steinberg kept stacking cash in February with nearly $22,000 raised as the lone candidate running to succeed longtime Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally Heyman.
As of Feb. 28, Steinberg – who left office in November because of term limits – raised more than $500,000 and spent about $69,000, assuming a strong position against potential upstart opponents.
Nearly half her gains last month came from companies linked to real estate investor Sergio Rok.
She also accepted $2,500 from Coral Gables-based law firm Weiss Serota Helfman & Beirman and $1,000 from Ruth’s List Florida, which backs Democratic women who support abortion rights. |
– Jesse Scheckner,
Florida Politics |
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| Politics |
| South Florida’s Winner & Loser of the Week: March 23,2022 |
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| The competition for Congress continues to melt away for Jared Moskowitz. Surfside Mayor appears to suffer from overexposure. |
Winner: Jared Moskowitz. Moskowitz courted strong support upon entering the race to replace Rep. Ted Deutch. Now, the field is beginning to clear for Moskowitz. This past week, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and former Broward Supervisor of Elections candidate Chad Klitzman both bowed out as Moskowitz collected more endorsements.
Loser: Charles Burkett. The Surfside Mayor lost his bid for re-election after overseeing the town through last summer’s deadly condo collapse. Critics accused Burkett of hogging the spotlight following the tragedy and leading contentious Commission hearings. Burkett argued he needed to be Surfside’s face during the state and federal response. |
– Ryan Nicol,
Florida Politics |
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| Federal |
| Federal bounty coming to community projects in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District |
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| Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz can highlight the federal budget's boon to her district. Photo via Florida Politics. |
The federal budget signed last week means that Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston can say she’s bringing $14 million worth of community projects to her home district.
Florida’s 23rd Congressional District is getting $6 million for its higher education institutions, Nova Southeastern University, Florida International University and Broward College. The cities of Sunrise, Dania Beach and Davie are getting $5.27 million toward waterworks and flood control.
Dania Beach is getting $3 million to rebuild facilities at its C.W. Thomas Park Redevelopment. And $500,000 is going toward reaching out to girls who need teletherapy through Broward’s PACE program. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Miami-Dade |
| Indian Creek Drive improvements set to wrap up |
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| Put down your phone: The wait is over for Indian Creek Drive improvements. Photo via Florida Politics. |
The end is in sight for two years of orange cones and detours: Miami Beach’s Indian Creek Drive is expected to reopen to traffic before the end of the month.
Indian Creek Drive is a key traffic artery in Miami Beach that links the city’s North Beach neighborhood to Mid Beach. The surrounding area has frequently flooded over the years during significant weather events and high tides.
Improvements have raised the road’s elevation, added new sidewalks and installed a stormwater drainage system.
Still to come: A greenway/pathway and a new seawall. So there still might be lane closures to come. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Federal |
| Rivals are melting away as endorsers pile up for Jared Moskowitz’s bid for Congress |
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| Congress-bound? So far no major name has announced a willingness to go up against Jared Moskowitz. Photo via Florida Politics. |
The news keeps getting better for Broward County Commissioner Jared Moskowitz’s bid to succeed U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch.
Potential rivals, such as Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, keep deciding to pass on a bid to represent Florida's Congressional District 22, straddling northwest Broward and Palm Beach counties. Some seen as potential rivals are showing up on the list of people endorsing him.
Palm Beach County’s Democratic Sen. Lori Berman brings the list of elected leaders endorsing Moskowitz to 65. She joins other state lawmakers like Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, Miami-Dade Sen. Shevrin Jones and Rep. Christine Hunschofsky of Parkland. |
– Anne Geggis,
Florida Politics |
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| Sports |
| Thanks Chuckie, but please keep your shirt on |
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UM coach Jim Larranaga doesn't want to see Charles Barkley strip down any further. Photo via The Associated Press.
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Some things are better left unseen. A shirtless Charles Barkley is one of those.
After Miami's basketball team beat Auburn 79-61 to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16, coach Jim Larranaga took a playful swipe at the supersized Barkley.
“I was tuned into the games before us and I listened to (Auburn alumnus) Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew that if Auburn won, he would take off his shirt,” Larrañaga said. ”And, I thought to myself, ‘Man, no one wants to see that, Chuck.’
“So, we did everything possible to make it possible that he wouldn’t have to do that.” |
– Joe Henderson,
Extensive Enterprises Media |
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| Business |
| Big business is crying foul during March Madness |
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| The NCAA March Madness or Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is a single-elimination tournament featuring 68 college basketball teams. |
A new study says Corporate America stands to lose 13.6 billion dollars during March Madness. Fifty-six percent of millennials alone plan to miss work to watch the 68-team NCAA basketball tournament.
It’s one of the biggest events in sports betting, expected to be about $10 billion this year. That’s 30% more than the Super Bowl.
Will the boss mind if she finds you filing out your bracket during work hours? Maybe not, if you ask her to join the office pool.
FYI, according to the NCAA, odds of picking the perfect bracket are 1-in-
9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (9.2 quintillion).
Let the games begin. |
– Vikki Locke,
The SWFL 100 |
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