The Big Apple's big reverberations

Politico

4 hours ago

Good morning and welcome to Thursday.
Florida Republicans were visibly giddy on Wednesday over Democratic socialist ZOHRAN MAMDANI's apparent win in the New York City mayoral primary.
They argued that New York's loss was Florida's gain. Gov. RON DESANTIS predicted that if Mamdani were to win the general election in November, it would result in far more New Yorkers moving to Florida than already had — a shift that started when people wanted out of the city's strict Covid rules. The influx here resulted in areas like Miami and Palm Beach unofficially becoming nicknamed 'Wall Street South.'
'There is an impact,' DeSantis said of the NYC mayor's race at a press conference in Tampa, 'and so I watch these things because I do know it will affect the state of Florida.' He went on to bash some of Mamdani's proposals, from creating city-owned grocery stores to his plan to revamp public safety by hiring mental health workers.
Beyond that, one of the reasons Florida Republicans are invigorated by Mamdani's rise in America's largest city is that it gives them more high-profile examples to paint all Democrats as 'socialists.'
In Florida, the term carries traumatic associations with voters whose families fled left-wing dictatorships, including from Venezuela and Cuba. It's one of the key reasons conservatives have made so many inroads with Latino voters. Nationally, several Republicans rushed to paint Mandani as the new leader of the Democratic Party, reports POLITICO's Jacob Wendler.
Broward County Commissioner STEVE GELLER, a former state Senate Democratic leader, complained that Republicans often elevated left-leaning groups like 'the Squad' in Congress as representing the whole party, despite them having just seven members in the House.
'They are the gift that keeps on giving to the Republican Party,' he said. 'And if there was only one of them, the Republicans would point to that one person as the embodiment of all things democratic.'
He and other Florida Democrats were quick to push back at any suggestion the party should move further to the left as they work to regain their footing in the state, saying socialist views were unlikely to resonate here. 'I am not a socialist,' Geller said. 'I can tell you with 100 percent assurance that the majority of Florida Democrats are not socialists — nor are the majority of Democrats in the country socialists.'
JAYDEN D'ONOFRIO, who chairs the PAC Florida Future Leaders, which supports young candidates, agreed, saying, 'Our moderation in the Sunshine State is critical in the midst of 30 years of pure Republican domination and establishment corruption.'
Instead, they insisted, any lessons to be drawn were more about style and Mamdani's hyper-focus on affordability (without forgetting former New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO's unique weaknesses). D'Onofrio pointed to how the Mamdani campaign maximized unpaid social outreach and had a 'massive ground-level surge of energy' while state Senate Democratic leader LORI BERMAN singled out the campaign's 'charisma, energy and outreach.'
'He ran a dynamic, people-powered race that felt authentic and engaging and built strong support across immigrant and multicultural communities, the kind of coalition-building we need more of in Florida,' she said.
For instance, Mamdani appeared on a range of long-form podcasts and posted videos on social media to help illustrate to New Yorkers not only how expensive things were, but what he would do as mayor to change it. (Here's one about price hikes on halal in food trucks caused by burdensome city permitting rules and another about his promise to make buses free.)
House Democratic Leader FENTRICE DRISKELL said that in her caucus she'd strived to focus on issues like housing, health care, property and car insurance, and grocery prices.
'It is a reminder to Florida Democrats that we must have a clear vision,' she said, 'and give voters something to vote for.'
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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
DESANTIS ON 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' — 'DeSantis on Wednesday rejected environmental criticism of a proposed immigration detention center in the Everglades dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,'' reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie.
He said: 'There's zero environmental. You're talking about the guy who plowed how much money into Everglades restoration?'
However: 'Environmental groups and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava have raised environmental concerns about the detention center being built at a 10,500-foot air strip west of Miami owned by the county. But DeSantis labeled the county's response as 'more posturing.' He insisted the facility will be temporary and said the state, which has offered to buy the property, eventually would let the Everglades 'grow over' the site.'
Another detention center floated: The governor also said that the state 'is considering setting up similar temporary facilities at the 73,000-acre Camp Blanding National Guard site in Clay County, southeast of Jacksonville.'
PREPARING FOR STORMS — Florida's Department of Emergency Management is still putting together the formal plan in case 'Alligator Alcatraz' faces the threat of a hurricane, reports Alex Harris of the Miami Herald.
The agency said: 'We will evacuate the facility if a tropical cyclone with windspeeds higher than the temporary facility's wind rating is forecasted to impact the area. We are coordinating with several partners on potential locations for relocation, but ultimately it will be scenario dependent based on facility population and the projected storm path.'
EPONYMOUS AFTER ALL — DeSantis on Wednesday announced that he'd worked directly with the University of South Florida to name a mental health and substance abuse treatment center after state Sen. DARRYL ROUSON (D-St. Petersburg), reports Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times. Florida senators proposed the tribute earlier this year, given how Rouson had openly shared his story about his addiction and recovery, but the state House stripped it out of the bill.
— 'DeSantis signs 'Tristin Murphy Act' to ensure mental health treatment for detainees,' reports Drew Dixon of Florida Politics.
— 'DeSantis signs law aimed at expanding mental health care in schools,' by Danielle Prieur of Central Florida Public Media.
STOP ME IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE — Citizens Property Insurance Corp. CEO and President TIM CERIO on Wednesday contended that the state created insurer, as well as the insurance marketplace in the state, were in much better shape because of changes that sharply limited lawsuits against insurance companies.
Cerio told the Citizens board that the carrier is on pace to have roughly 650,000 policyholders by the end of the year — a substantial drop from October 2023 when there were more than 1.4 million policyholders. He said that Citizens' market share has dropped as well as its overall exposure. Cerio said it was 'simply irrefutable' that the changes pushed by DeSantis and passed by the Legislature had worked.
The size of Citizens usually rises when private insurance carriers are under distress. Citizens is responsible for covering those who can't find insurance elsewhere and its financial strength is closely watched because, if Citizens doesn't have enough money to pay off its claims, it has the power to place a surcharge on nearly all insurance policies in the state.
But while Florida's market has stabilized, overall insurance rates are still high, even if most companies are no longer asking for double-digit hikes like they were earlier this decade. Some Republicans have said the changes were a bailout for the industry and the Florida House this year sought to undo some of the legal reforms. House Republicans also argued that residents are still paying too much for insurance. But their efforts were blocked by Senate Republicans after DeSantis threatened to veto anything that rolled back the changes.
CHARLIE LYDECKER, a member of the Citizens board and CEO of Foundation Risk Partners, agreed that the legal limits had helped but cautioned that consumers would not give credit to the changes 'until rates flatten, until premiums flatten.'
— Gary Fineout
DATA CENTERS — Public Counsel WALT TRIERWEILER told an informal Public Service Commission meeting on Wednesday that possible new data centers in the future create a variety of issues and concerns for state regulators. He told the meeting of parties involved in Florida Power & Light Co.'s pending rate case that data centers' potential water use and power needs pose a threat to customers of both electricity and water utilities.
'It's a huge issue that quite frankly has just been dropped in the middle of this rate case,' Trierweiler said.
FPL representatives responded that the issue, as it involves customers other than FPL's, should not be a part of the case — and Trierweiler said perhaps it should be taken up in a separate docket. The Florida Energy for Innovation Association, recently formed to represent potential data center developers, has intervened in the case. FEIA argues that Florida stands to lose out on a 'multi-trillion-dollar economic opportunity' if the state backs FPL's rate hike request.
— Bruce Ritchie
FOSTER KIDS ARE DEPORTATION TARGETS — 'Since Donald Trump began his second term, his administration has directed immigration agents to target unaccompanied minors, moved to cut contracts that fund their legal representation and sent Homeland Security agents to homes where unaccompanied children are released to conduct welfare checks,' report Carol Marbin Miller, Syra Ortiz Blanes and Ana Ceballos of the Miami Herald.
'In at least one case, it has leaned on Florida's state government to violate its own rules and laws by sharing information about the immigrant children in its care. And earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new policy that will clear the way for the agency to deport children who are in the United States as documented victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment under a classification known as Special Immigrant Juveniles.'
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
UTHMEIER THREATENS TO ACT IN MIAMI — The state will take legal action if the Miami city commission moves its November elections, Florida Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER warned, reports Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics. Supportive commissioners say turnout will be higher if they move the election to be at the same time as state and federal elections, but it'll also result in officials getting an extra year in office, despite term limits. Uthmeier said that voters should be able to weigh in on the question directly.
UF PROBE OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POST — 'The University of Florida is investigating a law student over antisemitic posts on social media — posts the school sees as a direct threat to other students,' reports Stephany Matat of USA Today Network — Florida. 'But some First Amendment experts say the university might be going too far and could be violating the student's right to free speech, both in class and online.
'Since early April, Preston Damsky has been banned from campus by university police, who gave him a trespass warning. That was after Damsky quoted a controversial historian in an X post late March, saying 'Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.' In an interview … the 29-year-old law student called himself a 'white nationalist' and an 'antisemite' but denied that his post was a call for violence.'
DATELINE D.C.
RUBIO's DEPARTMENT — 'The State Department is bracing for widespread layoffs as soon as Friday, though one person familiar with the discussions told Semafor that the department would wait for a Supreme Court ruling on its reorganization plan,' reports Shelby Talcott of Semafor.
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
BIRTHDAYS: Florida first lady Casey DeSantis … state Rep. Dianne Hart … former state Rep. Mike Beltran … state Rep. Lawrence McClure … Tami Fillyaw with Amazon Web Services … Jessica Palombo, editor at Jacksonville Today … former Rep. Pete Peterson … Lydia Claire Brooks with the Florida Justice Association.