New Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector hasn’t officially endorsed Chris Scherer for Pinellas County Commission, but it’s clear he’s a supporter.  Rector is hosting a fundraiser supporting Scherer’s campaign for District 1, and an affiliated political committee backing his campaign.  The fundraiser will be held Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oak Street Exchange, 10787 Oak St. NE in St. Petersburg. Other notable hosts for the fundraiser include Pinellas GOP Chair and Pinellas County Tax Collector candidate Adam Ross; Commissioner Brian Scott; Pinellas/Pasco Public Defender Sara Mollo; St ..read more

Good Wednesday morning. Breaking overnight — “Congress passes bill that could ban TikTok after years of false starts” via Cristiano Lima-Strong of The Washington Post — The Senate approved the measure 79 to 18 as part of a sprawling package offering aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, sending the proposal to President Joe Biden’s desk — with the House having passed it Saturday. Biden issued a statement minutes after the Senate vote saying he plans to sign the bill into law on Wednesday. Once signed, the provision will give TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, roughly nine months to sell the wild ..read more

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics. First Shot The campaign backing the recreational marijuana amendment is launching a new initiative aimed at convincing veterans to pull the lever in November. Smart & Safe Florida’s “Vets Vote #YesOn3” statewide Veterans Coalition will emphasize to former service members and other voters that the proposal, which will appear on the ballot as Amendment 3, would guarantee “safe, regulated access to adult use of cannabis for those 21 years of age and older” if passed. The political committee said the newly announced coalit ..read more

Just over a month after Surfside voters ousted him from the town’s most prominent elected office, businessman Shlomo Danzinger is running to unseat Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. He’s the fourth Republican and seventh person to enter the technically nonpartisan race for the county’s top government post. Levine Cava, a Democrat whom Danzinger endorsed for re-election in September, is the first woman to hold the job. She’s also the first Jewish person to serve as Miami-Dade Mayor. Danzinger made history in March 2022 by becoming Surfside’s first Orthodox Jewish Mayor. The Miami He ..read more

Even after a Senator pressed Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) and the city’s General Counsel for more details on a ballyhooed investigation of recurrent issues at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a representative of Jacksonville’s Mayor says not to expect public disclosure of what was found during the probe began last year. “There is no written report on this investigation within the Office of General Counsel. DCPS has retained an outside law firm, which has been conducting the investigation. Due to pending litigation, we decline to comment further on this matter,” said Melissa Ross, a s ..read more

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