Eskamani sets her sights on Orlando's top job

Politico

07-03-2025

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Democratic state Rep. ANNA ESKAMANI hopes to become mayor of a city that remains one of the state's ever-shrinking Democratic strongholds, telling Playbook she wants to prioritize the needs of residents and not just visitors in tourism hot spot Orlando.
The mayorship will be open for the first time in 25 years, with BUDDY DYER calling the 2023 election his last. But in that time, the state's control over local governments has ballooned. Eskamani, 34, has been in the Florida House seven years and said she understands that Tallahassee may try to interfere with her vision for Orlando if she wins.
'The Legislature, unfortunately, has had a track record of targeting local municipalities through preemption,' she said. 'And it's nothing new.'
In 2023, DeSantis suspended Democrat MONIQUE WORRELL from her role as Orange-Osceola County state attorney. Worrell won her job back in November, but whether she'll be allowed to stay is an open question.
The governor also announced the creation of Florida's very own DOGE task force, dedicated to 'audit[ing] the spending habits of local entities to shine the light on waste and bloat.' In response, Eskamani pointed to DeSantis' use of state dollars to campaign against amendments on pot and abortion, as well as legal fights over laws he signed and the state's relocation of migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard.
'It's like, first of all, look in a mirror,' she said. 'There's so many examples of your wasteful spending.'
The mayoral election isn't until 2027, which means whoever wins may face an early test on navigating changes to property taxes. DeSantis has said he thinks the legislature should go as far as it can to put a ballot measure before voters during the 2026 election that would eliminate, or at least reduce, the tax. To Eskamani, it's part of a 'larger, more insidious agenda' to consolidate state power and 'destroy and weaken local governments.'
'It's not a tax break. It is a tax shift, because the dollars have to come from somewhere,' she said. 'And obviously you would have to make cuts. But there are just some things that you can't cut. You can't cut police response times. You can't cut fire response times. So it just puts local governments in a really impossible situation.'
That doesn't mean that Eskamani thinks the status quo is working. Instead, she said she would want to work with voters to look at other options, such as using the tourism development tax — largely collected through hotel stays and short-term rentals — for community projects such as public transit. She filed a bill this session that would eliminate the provision that requires at least 40 percent of the tourism development tax to be used solely for advertising tourism in Orange County.
Eskamani is seeking Orlando's top job at a time when the state's GOP base has swelled. Florida Democrats set out to try to chip away at the Legislature's GOP supermajority by running through Central Florida in 2024. But it didn't work; Democrats only gained one of the seats and lost another.
When it comes to sustaining Orlando's Democratic base and working-class identity, Eskamani acknowledged that, for the local Democratic Party, there's work to be done in building 'stronger relationships, especially with younger demographics of voters [and] communities of color.' She said she hopes if she becomes mayor, the city can measure success not only by its GDP, but by whether residents are bringing in higher wages.
Orlando is Orange County's largest city or, as Eskamani calls it, the county's 'anchor.' And the county contributes billions in state revenue, something Eskamani said she hopes the city will be able to leverage. It brings in more than 74 million tourists a year, in large part thanks to major attractions that include Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, both of which are expanding.
'We often get ostracized … because of the political climate, but it's like, you need us to survive,' she said. 'We subsidize the existence of other physically constrained counties every year, so we play a very important role in the long-term success of Florida.'
— Isa Domínguez
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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
BALLOT REFERENDUM OVERHAUL — 'Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature is taking its first steps in 2025 to crack down on ballot initiatives following contentious and bitter election battles over abortion access and recreational marijuana in 2024,' reports POLITICO's Gary Fineout.
'The legislation that started moving Thursday doesn't come close to the severe restrictions suggested by DeSantis, but it would still place steep new hurdles for ballot initiatives that critics suggest would all but choke off future efforts.'
RAISING PRIVACY CONCERNS — 'Florida seeks drug prescription data with names of patients and doctors,' by Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins of The New York Times. 'Florida's insurance regulator has demanded an unusually intrusive trove of data on millions of prescription drugs filled in the state last year, including the names of patients taking the medications, their dates of birth and doctors they've seen.
'The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in January sought this information from pharmacy benefit managers like UnitedHealth's Optum Rx and CVS Health's Caremark, companies that oversee prescription drugs for employers and government programs. It remained unclear why the state was ordering the submission of so much data.'
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES — 'President Trump's relentless drive to expand his authority and test constitutional limits come even as DeSantis' boundary-busting days look like they're ebbing,' reports John Kennedy of USA Today Network — Florida. 'It's the latest mile-marker in the pair's long, entangled relationship.'
LGBTQ FLORIDA POLL — 'Less than half of young LGBTQ Floridians feel accepted in their communities, according to a new report released by The Trevor Project,' reports Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network — Florida.
LAND USE — 'State legislators are proposing another change to a deadline for approving developments in response to a dispute in Miami-Dade County,' reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie.
'Without comment, a state appeals court last month backed state planners who, in 2023, declared a proposed industrial park near Biscayne Bay had been withdrawn from review because Miami-Dade County failed to vote on the measure at a second public hearing within 180 days. Rep. Judson Sapp (R-Palatka) said his bill filed last week would fix the 'mistake' in state law by rewriting the deadline language. But a lawyer who represented environmentalists in the case suggested there isn't a problem to fix.'
LEGISLATION ROUNDUP — State Rep. DANNY BURGESS (R-Zephyrhills) introduced legislation that would have six school districts try out a cellphone ban pilot program, reports Lucia Viti of the St. Augustine Record. … McKenna Schueler of Orlando Weekly recaps bills that have been filed to restrict unions.
— 'DeSantis opposes repealing Florida's no-fault auto law. Will his stand stall Legislature's efforts?' by Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix.
— 'Centene legal settlements are still unfinished with two states. One is Florida,' by Andy Miller of KFF Health News.
— 'Tate brothers leave Florida amid James Uthmeier criminal probe,' reports A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics.
— 'Mysterious affliction causing endangered sawfish to spin and die resurfaces in Florida,' reports Curt Anderson of The Associated Press.
EXTRA! EXTRA! The influential online news publication Florida Politics on Thursday printed its inaugural newspaper, which will contain in-depth coverage about the session. Copies will be available at the state Capitol.
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
— ''Don't be afraid of us': Bradshaw rejects mass immigration raids in talk to Hispanic leaders,' reports Valentina Palm of the Palm Beach Post.
— 'Pinellas won't enforce ICE agreement school police chief signed without authorization,' by Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix.
— 'Florida is cracking down on Spring Break 'chaos and mayhem,' DeSantis says,' by Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics.
TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP
FLORIDA MAN'S WARM WINTER — Just because he's president doesn't mean DONALD TRUMP is quitting the snowbird lifestyle. Trump is headed to Palm Beach for his sixth weekend in Florida in a row since taking office, per Kristina Webb of the Palm Beach Daily News.
FORMER DESANTIS ADVISER — 'Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Trump's nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, is using his Florida grand jury testimony about COVID-19 as part of his pitch,' reports Noreen Marcus of the Florida Bulldog.
'Florida grand jury testimony is confidential. But on Wednesday, just as his confirmation hearing before a U.S. Senate committee began, the Florida Supreme Court released Dr. Bhattacharya's name and testimony, granting a waiver sought by Statewide Prosecutor Nicholas Cox.'
— 'This scientist was making Florida beaches resilient to hurricanes. DOGE fired him,' by Max Chesnes of the Tampa Bay Times.
CAMPAIGN MODE
RERUN? — 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate GWEN GRAHAM is taking time to consider what she should do next, she said over X on Thursday after a supporter urged her to run for governor again. Graham, the daughter of the late BOB GRAHAM, is a former state legislator and US House representative who lost her primary against progressive ANDREW GILLUM.
After her comments got some attention, Graham posted again later: 'My initial response has no ulterior meaning. I have just completed 3 plus years in DC. I am mourning my Dad every day. I want to spend quality & quantity time with the people and animals I love while I ponder how I can further contribute. That's what my Dad would want me to do.'
AFTER KEY REPORTING DEADLINE — Rep. BYRON DONALDS' (R-Fla.) gubernatorial campaign is hosting a poolside cocktail reception and dinner May 1 at Mar-a-Lago, reports Forrest Saunders of E.W. Scripps. Tickets for the whole evening's events are $50,000 a person.
GONE MISSING — 'DeSantis warns Donalds about missing votes. He missed plenty in 2018,' by Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times. 'During key months of his first gubernatorial run in 2018, [DeSantis] missed dozens of congressional votes. From July to September of that year, he was in the 98th percentile of all U.S. representatives in terms of missing votes, according to the nonprofit GovTrack. That means he was one of the most absent lawmakers in Washington during that stretch. (DeSantis resigned from Congress in September 2018.)'
GEN Z PUSH — The Florida Future Leaders PAC has launched a Municipal Victory campaign to encourage and support young people to run for public office. The group endorsed DOMINICK VARGAS for Boynton City Commission District 3, KERRI-ANN NESBETH for Miramar City Commission District 4, and KEITH WALCOTT for Miramar City Commission District 3. They will spend $50,000 on those races. The group also brought on NATHANIEL PELTON as Municipal Victory director.
TRANSITION TIME
— MAX CASTROPAREDES has launched Pax American Strategies LLC, a Surfside, Florida-based advisory firm that will specialize in providing political intelligence and strategic advice to asset managers, merchant banks, political campaigns, and sovereign wealth funds. He served in the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration and is also an alum of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
— Daniel Lippman
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
— 'What was falling from the sky over South Florida on Thursday? A space ship — sort of,' by Angie DiMichele of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
BIRTHDAYS: Former Florida Rep. Joe Geller … (Saturday) Michael Bileca, chair of Miami Dade College board of trustees and former legislator ... Attorney Lance Block … (Sunday) Kristy Campbell, former press secretary for Jeb Bush ... Adam Smith, communications director for the City of Tampa.