Tampa election
The results are in… Tampa voters decided to elect a city council that could act as more of a check on the current mayor.
Newcomer Alan Clendenin won over voters with 64% of the vote compared to Dr. Sonja P. Brookins for District 1’s citywide race.
Current council member Guido Maniscalco held on to a seat on the council, winning District 2 with 62% of the vote over challenger Robin Lockett.
Current councilmember Lynn Hurtak held off former State Senator Janet Cruz, with Hurtak holding 60% of the vote.
Perennial councilmember Charlie Miranda narrowly held onto his seat with nearly 51% of the vote.
All four races went to runoffs after no candidate among them received more than half the vote in last month’s regular elections. With 25,903 ballots counted, that means 10.8% of eligible Tampa voters turned out to the polls yesterday. Compared with 13.8% for the general.
House measure could shift state revenue to charter schools
The Florida House could pass a measure today that would require school districts to share local property-tax revenue with charter schools. House members took up the bill yesterday, setting it up for a vote. Under the proposal, tax dollars collected through discretionary 1.5-mill local levies would be shared based on charter schools’ proportionate share of districts’ total enrollment. The money, known as “capital outlay” funds, can be used for such things as purchasing property and constructing facilities. Charter schools largely receive such funding through the state budget. Democrats point out that taxpayers have already constructed publicly owned schools that have current needs, and this measure would shift nearly half a billion dollars into new charter school construction based on enrollment rather than actual capital needs. The measure also includes a phased-in approach to sharing the money, with bill sponsor Republican Representative Jennifer Canady, from Lakeland, describing it as a “five-year glide path.” A House staff analysis estimated districts would be required to distribute nearly $56 million to charter schools in the first year, based on a projected enrollment of 371,253 charter school students.
Senate proposal would increase funding for State Guard
The state senate yesterday agreed to a House proposal that will bulk up the Florida State Guard, which Governor Ron DeSantis revived last year. As part of budget negotiations, the Senate agreed to spend more than $100 million to train, arm and equip the mostly volunteer organization. The proposal includes nearly $49.5 million for aircraft and helicopters, $22.7 million for equipment storage, $10 million for a guard headquarters, $2.7 million for maritime craft and $1.5 million to create a “Digital Forensic Center of Excellence” that, in part, will concentrate on human-trafficking and child-exploitation cases. The state guard, promoted as assisting the Florida National Guard during emergencies, was initially set up during World War II to replace Florida National Guard members who were deployed abroad. It went inactive in 1947 but remained in state law. As it was revived last year, the state guard was promoted as assisting the Florida National Guard during emergencies. In his budget proposal released in January, DeSantis requested funding for the state guard go from $10 million in the current year to more than $95 million in the fiscal year, which begins July 1, with a goal of increasing the size of the organization from 400 to 1,500 members.
Asian/Pacific Island studies in schools
The Florida House is expected to vote to approve a bill today that would require K-12 schools in the state to teach the history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Florida agriculture
For decades Florida’s agricultural fields were rife with human-rights abuses: Extremely low pay. Sexual assault. And no guarantee of shade, water or bathroom breaks. Those fortunate to escape what could easily be called modern-day slavery formed the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Key to the group was the creation of the Fair Food Program, which demands such abuses stop.
The delegation, including the minister of agriculture and labor activists, will visit Immokalee today.
Information from the Florida Public Radio network, News Service of Florida and Associated Press was used in this report.
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