In a year of shock and awe -- even counting bad-tempered Irma -- men behaving badly easily topped Florida news in 2017, and most certainly they dominate the state losers list, too. Here's a list of Sunshine State News' top winners and losers:
WINNERS
Gov. Rick Scott. Scott has gained 13 percentage points from where he was in the November 2016 polls to where he is in the most recent U.S. Senate poll, giving him break-even chances or a slight edge should he formally announce to challenge Bill Nelson for his Senate seat. Most political observers credit the governor's attention to public safety before, during and after Hurricane Irma for his successful year. The Republican governor has won praise, even from rival Democrats: “No time for politics, all truth - @FLGovScott did a great job! He activated the state 911 plan, and he activated resources,” state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, posted on Twitter. Scott bombed in the 2017 legislative session, but produced op-ed columns, ads and stump speeches, and like low, rolling thunder, came roaring back, sending his approval rating to heights it had never been before. Bottom line: Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida did survive, they didn't hurt the governor personally, as it turns out. If anything, what transpired has enhanced his standing with voters. Despite the "Trump effect" that has flummoxed many Republicans in nationwide special elections this year, Scott can soar into the U.S. Senate race if he announces formally he's in.
Rachel Perrin Rogers. The chief legislative aide for Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, was hands-down the most courageous soul at the Capitol in 2017. Perrin Rogers first told her story of sexual harassment at the hands of Sen. Jack Latvala to POLITICO Florida, then became the only one of the six such complainants in POLITICO's story to go public and file a complaint with the Rules Committee against the Clearwater Republican. She did so in spite of a prolonged campaign to discredit her and her consultant husband, Brian Hughes, and create enough fear of retaliantion that she requested -- and received -- an armed security guard at the Capitol. Her ordeal, right up to the moment of Latvala's resignation, was a profile in courage. Perrin Rogers later said, "I came forward as the mother of a son. I could no longer look myself in the mirror; I could no longer in good faith encourage him to have courage and be kind. Because having courage means standing up against wrongdoing. Especially when others are in harm’s way."
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla. To be sure, Curbelo is in a tight spot. His South Florida district is increasingly turning blue while conservatives aren’t thrilled with his jabs at the Trump administration on immigration and other matters. Still, Curbelo had a good year, being named to the powerful Ways and Means Committee and helping lead the charge for tax reform. Democrats have high hopes of taking Curbelo down in 2018 but the most prominent candidate they’ve recruited is Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who didn’t exactly shine when she took on Anitere Flores last year in a state Senate race. Right now, Democrats are more focused on flipping the seat held by longtime U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who is retiring from Congress, giving Curbelo a little more breathing room.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. With a depleted Democratic caucus, this Florida congressman continues to move up the ranks. Deutch is now the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee where he has taken aim at the Trump administration. He also remains the top Democrat on the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee where he continues to offer bipartisan support to the GOP majority on issues ranging from the war against terrorism to supporting Israel. Deutch is pretty secure in his South Florida district and he is increasingly growing prominent among House Democrats, even proving to be a key supporter in getting U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, to lead the minority on the House Judiciary Committee. Keep an eye on him in 2018, especially if Democrats look likely to flip the House.
POLITICO Florida. By going where few news organizations dare, -- giving voice to six women who finally got to tell their stories of sexual harassment without having to give their names -- POLITICO's news team of Marc Caputo, Matt Dixon and Alexandra Glorioso revealed, as they reported, all that Sen. Jack Latvala has represented to so many women at the Capitol: an "extreme case of the 'common culture of Tallahassee,' where women are objectified, men are in charge and sex is ever-present." The story led to a sense of housecleaning, two investigations and the resignation of gubernatorial candidate and powerful Appropriations Chair Latvala from the Florida Senate. Great journalism we hope will lead to a major shift in culture.
U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla. This Southwest Florida Republican has had a higher profile than most congressional freshmen. Relying on his background as ambassador to the Holy See and working on the Panama Canal, Rooney has excelled on foreign policy. Even before his first year in Congress was finished, he was named vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and he continues to pen pieces on global affairs. If Rooney stays where he is, he could wind up filling Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s shoes when it comes to leading House Republicans on international issues.
Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami. After a string of defeats ranging from congressional bids to her stint as Charlie Crist’s running mate in 2014, Taddeo was becoming something of a joke with her frequent and failed attempts to win higher office. That changed this year in a special election to replace state Sen. Frank Artilles. Taddeo impressed with her blowout primary win over former state Rep. Ana Rivas Logan and a narrow victory over state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a rising star for the GOP, in the general election. It was a nice win for Taddeo and for Florida Democrats as they look to make inroads in Tallahassee.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). It took a four-month investigation, but this Florida office proved the state doesn't tolerate animal cruelty. Michael Wenzel, Robert Lee Benac and Spencer Heintz disgusted and angered citizens and state officials alike in July by posting on social media a short video showing them dragging a shark at high speed behind a 22-foot Aquasport. The video and many others FWC obtained during its investigation resulted in third-degree felony animal cruelty charges against the three men. The charges are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Wenzel, 21, of Palmetto, and Benac, 28, of Bradenton, were charged with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, a third-degree felony, and one misdemeanor count of violation to rules related to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Heintz, 23, of Palmetto, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty.
LOSERS
Sen. Jack Latvala. With four decades invested in Florida politics, the Clearwater Republican -- powerful Senate appropriations chair with an eye on the governor's chair -- was flying high entering 2017. But his world came crashing down in the midst of a national focus on sexual harassment when POLITICO Florida unleashed the story of six anonymous women who accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior in offices and elevators at the Capitol. In November one of the women, Rachel Perrin Rogers, filed a Rules Committee complaint against him. Along with finding probable cause that Latvala had sexually harassed Perrin Rogers, Special Master Ronald V. Swanson also focused on the testimony of an unidentified woman who worked as a lobbyist. Swanson found that the testimony and text-message exchanges between the senator and the woman appear to indicate Latvala had violated ethics rules and may have violated “laws prohibiting public corruption” because of allegations that he offered support for legislation in exchange for sexual acts. Likely, the matter hasn't ended for Latvala. The Senate has handed over its findings to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, whose spokeswoman, Gretl Plessinger, said her office has the capacity to investigate the matter further.
Frank Artiles. The former Republican senator apologized, then submitted his letter of resignation in April after he unleashed an alcohol-fueled obscenity and racially offensive tirade at the Governor's Club in Tallahassee. Though Sens. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, tried to pull Artiles through, his apology satisfied no one, Republican or Democrat. He had been overheard calling fellow Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville "this bitch" and "girl," and worse. He used the word "niggers," though he claims he really had said "niggas," something he called a harmless slang-term. On top of that, he told Gibson and Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, that Senate President Joe Negron (whom Artiles labeled "a pussy") had become Senate president because he got votes from "six niggers" in the Republican caucus. Artiles hired a Tallahassee lawyer, but in the end, opted to quit rather than fight. Republicans lost the Miami seat later in the year when Democrat Annette Taddeo defeated Rep. Jose Felix Diaz.
Alex Diaz de la Portilla. The decline of the Diaz de la Portilla family continued in 2017 with a bad loss in a Republican primary. After a decade and a half of service in Tallahassee in the state House and Senate, Alex Diaz de la Portilla lost a bid for a Florida House seat in 2012 but looked to bounce back in the special election to replace Frank Artilles in the state Senate. Jose Felix Diaz utterly routed Diaz de la Portilla in the primary as the former state Senate majority leader barely claimed a quarter of the vote. It was a major setback for Diaz de la Portilla and, with his brother Miguel having lost his seat in the state Senate in 2016, there are now plenty of questions about the family’s future in politics.
Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami. In September, Anitere Flores used her powerful position as chairwoman of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee to request favors for her mother's Hurricane Irma-damaged property, including getting a Citizens Property Insurance claims adjuster to put her mother's claim ahead of policyholders with greater damage. By using her chairmanship to gain some special advantage -- at the very least, creating a perception that the state's insurers dance to her command -- particularly failing to be forthright with the public record ... one would have thought there would be consequences. There were none -- sadly, not from Senate President Negron, not even an admonishment from the Capitol Press Corps.
Sen. Daphne Campbell.D- Miami Beach. Campbell wanted special treatment, too, but unfortunately for her she wasn't as lucky, popular or powerful as Flores, apparently, because when she tried to use her connections to restore electricity to the homes of her family after Hurricane Irma struck, the media skewered her like a kebab. Campbell sent a series of text messages Sept. 11, two days after Hurricane Irma struck, to FPL’s Director of State Legislative Affairs John Holley with the addresses for her sister and her mother, requesting help to turn their lights back on after the storm knocked out their power. Campbell said her mother was “sick” and “on oxygen.” FPL failed to oblige, but power was restored at Campbell's relatives' homes within hours anyway.
Ana Rivas Logan. More often than not, when a politician switches parties, they find that the party they left never forgives them while their new party never quite trusts them. Ana Rivas Logan might be able to attest to that. After winning a seat in the Florida House in 2010, Rivas Logan lost in the Republican primary to Jose Felix Diaz in a rare matchup of two incumbents duking it out after redistricting. Rivas Logan promptly joined the Democrats and set her eyes on a state Senate seat but lost in last year’s primary to Dwight Bullard who went on to lose to Frank Artiles. Then, with Artiles resigning, Rivas Logan tried another comeback but was blown out by Annette Taddeo in the primary. With three losses in a row, Rivas Logan looks done as a candidate.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. Coming off a tough 2016, where she steered the Democratic National Committee into an iceberg -- and with it Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations -- Wasserman Schultz had possibly an even tougher 2017. Deposed from her position in party leadership, the representative from Florida’s 23rd District has been mired in controversy all year. In February a scandal in the House erupted involving five IT workers and missing laptops, as well as the discovery of inappropriate access to House computer servers. Four of those workers were summarily dismissed, but the fifth -- Imran Awan -- was instead shielded by Schultz, who hired him directly to her staff as a consultant. This was only one of numerous curious decisions and questionable results that have played out over the past six months. The District 23 congresswoman has come under growing suspicion as Awan has become the focus of numerous investigations, all while being directly tied to Wasserman Schultz. In December, Wasserman Schultz placed second on the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust’s (FACT) “Top 5 Worst Ethics Violators” of the year.
Stephen Bittel. In November, less than a year after taking the job, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Bittel called it quits, resigning amidst allegations he made “inappropriate” and “creepy” comments to six female staffers and consultants. Bittel never put up much of a fight. He admitted his personal situation had become “distracting” to his core mission of electing Democrats. The women, who contacted POLITICO Florida, said Bittel repeatedly made “inappropriate comments,” gazing at young women and even inviting some to live the high life and hop aboard his private jet. “I am proud of what we have built as a party and the wins we have had for Florida families, but I apologize for all who have felt uncomfortable during my tenure at the Democratic Party,” Bittel said in a statement. On Dec. 9 in Orlando, Palm Beach County executive committeewoman Terrie Rizzo took the reins of the financially challenged party, winning the race to replace Bittel by a large margin.
Ritch Workman. For SSN, it was a tough call -- whether to make Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto a winner for ridding Florida consumers of a Public Service commissioner with no utility industry experience, or finding Workman a place of his own on the loser list. In the end, though, we erred on the side of Floridians, who made a lucky escape. Though the governor appointed Workman to the PSC, Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, chair of the Senate Rules Committee, had a greater knowledge of the Melbourne Republican and former state representative than she ever wanted. She recounted an experience during a charity event last year, when Workman "approached me from behind, pushed his body up against me and made vulgar and inappropriate gestures. I immediately asked him to stop. He continued to make vulgar and inappropriate comments and gestures until other attendees intervened." Benacquisto refused to let his name get past Rules, and Workman quickly bowed out.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: NancyLBSmith.
