Florida’s GOP stays vague about abortion; Gillum indicted and defiant; Surfside remembers

It’s Monday, June 27, and we are still recovering from last week’s news whiplash. The U. S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, even though the ruling was expected, it wasn’t any less jolting for both sides. Will it matter to voters?

Less expected was the indictment that came down from the federal government against former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, once a rising star on the Democratic Party’s national stage who came within 32,000 votes of becoming Florida governor.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Gillum investigated since 2016: The 2018 Democratic nominee was accused of 21 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements. Gillum called his arrest and indictment “political,” but the indictment indicates that he has been under investigation since the Obama administration, and the criminal charges were handed down by the Biden administration.

“There’s been a target on my back ever since I was the mayor of Tallahassee,’’ Gillum said. “They found nothing then, and I have full confidence that my legal team will prove my innocence now.”

Abortion’s new battleground: By overruling Roe v. Wade, the fight over abortion access has now shifted from the courts to the states and in Florida, the issue is already sharpening partisan divides.

Democrats, beleaguered after electoral and legislative losses in the past four years, hope the issue will mobilize voters to break the mid-term trend and show up at the ballot box.

“This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Joe Biden said Friday after the ruling. “Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, liberty, equality, are all on the ballot.”

Republicans, fresh off a legislative session in which they pushed through a ban on abortions after 15 weeks that mirrors the Mississippi ban, could go further and outlaw most abortions entirely.

Deep and mixed emotions: In Miami, the decision brought fear, praise and anger. Leaders in South Florida’s faith communities had divided perspectives on abortion and the ruling. But at the Hialeah Woman’s Care Center, it was business as usual Friday at the small but bustling clinic. The cramped waiting area of the center was packed, with all but one of the 14 chairs filled.

Vague about next steps: But consider this: the majority of Floridians oppose the state’s new abortion law. And a May survey by Florida Atlantic University showed 67% of Floridians want abortion to remain legal in either all or most cases, including 85% of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and — this is significant — 63% of independents.

After the ruling, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would “work to expand pro-life protections.” But he was careful not to provide any specifics about what that would mean.

Will voters demand specifics answers about what’s next? Unless the issue becomes a litmus test for voter support, watch conservative abortion opponents keep their positions vague in advance of the November mid-term elections.

Privacy “hurdle”: Florida’s constitutional right to privacy remains a hurdle for abortion restrictions, however. House Speaker Chris Sprowls underscored that point in his statement: “Our attention must now shift to the state courts and the Florida Supreme Court as they evaluate HB 5 and determine its constitutionality here — an additional hurdle present in our state.”

Surfside remembered: Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Champlain Towers South, which claimed the lives of 98 people. Most of the rubble has been hauled away but twisted strands of rebar still jut from the condo’s park garage, reminders of an unprecedented and catastrophic collapse that shocked a nation and forever associated the tiny town of Surfside with one of the deadliest building failures in U.S. history.

The victims ranged in age from 1 to 92, spoke an array of languages, were émigrés fleeing repressive regimes, retirees seeking repose and newlyweds embarking on new lives. We remember their names and stories here.

More pain today: We spoke with survivors of the collapse, who say they are suffering even more today than they did on June 24, 2021, when two-thirds of the 12-story oceanfront building fell, one floor pancaking on top of another at 1:22 a.m. that Thursday.

They try hard to believe they are alive for a reason. They wrack their brains for a reason. But where is the reason in an incomprehensible tragedy?

For the families of the victims, many pray their loved ones died peacefully in their sleep, with no pain or fear. They prefer to think the 98 people who were killed in the collapse never knew what hit them. But many grieving relatives know otherwise.

Three-hour memorial: To mark the day, the families of victims and the community gathered for a three-hour memorial at the site of the collapse.

“Take one breath at a time,” said First Lady Jill Biden, at the Friday memorial service. “We are praying for you, and we are grieving with you.”

Also attending was the governor, who debuted a new road sign that will designate the stretch of Collins Avenue “98 Points of Light Road.”

Swift settlement: One day before the one-year anniversary of the Surfside tragedy, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman gave final approval to a $1 billion settlement. It is the second-largest class-action lawsuit in Florida history and the judge he praised it as “remarkable not only in terms of its size but for its speed.”

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Florida’s botched vaccine roll-out: Dozens of South Florida pharmacies, community health centers, children’s hospitals and pediatricians received delivery last week of the first COVID-19 vaccines available for children as young as 6 months old — much earlier than anticipated after state officials missed a deadline for pre-ordering the shots.

Destroying doses: But pediatricians and public health advocates working to vaccinate newly eligible children under 5 said they are throwing away the majority of the doses they have ordered because DeSantis will not authorize state programs to administer the vaccines for infants and toddlers. The Florida Department of Health will not promote the vaccines to parents, so doses that must be used within 12 hours are often going to waste.

State won’t assist: Doctors have relied on county health departments to supply them with smaller amounts of the vaccine for adults and older children, but by denying Florida’s county health departments the authority to provide the vaccines to the newly eligible children, the doctors say the state has cut off access for some of its youngest and neediest children.

Pharmacies off limits for under age 3: Most pharmacies will not vaccinate children younger than 3 years old due to a federal law that shields medical providers from liability only in cases of children 3 and older. And one of the largest retail providers in Florida — Publix supermarkets — said its stores will not offer the newly approved vaccine for young children “at this time.”

DeSantis vetoes business preemption: The governor delivered another blow to outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson by vetoing another of his priority bills, one that would have required taxpayers to pay damages if a local government ordinance results in a business losing 15% of its revenues.

The measure “will lead to both unintended and unforeseen consequences and costly litigation,’’ DeSantis wrote in his veto message. SB 620, would have allowed businesses that have been in operation for at least three years to file lawsuits seeking to recover lost profits for up to seven years if they lose revenues as a result of a local ordinance or citizen initiative.

Hedge fund relocates to Miami: Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin is moving the headquarters of his Citadel investment firm to Miami after 32 years in Chicago. He said he plans eventually to build an office tower in the pricey Brickell financial district to house it.

Griffin, a major Chicago philanthropist and GOP donor, first moved some employees to South Florida in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the Florida native purportedly shelled out $75 million in December 2021 for a house on Star Island, shattering the record for Miami-Dade County. He’s the latest in a series of high-profile CEOs to move corporate operations or expand to the Miami area.

Rivera says he’s still in: Last week we reported that former Miami Congressman David Rivera did not qualify for a state House campaign, even though he had filed his paperwork. Now Rivera, who is embroiled in a federal lawsuit over being an unregistered foreign agent to lobby for PDV USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, says he might still have a chance at being on the ballot.

Citizens flooded with lawsuits: The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. could be on a path to spend $100 million this year on attorneys to defend an increasing number of lawsuits. Citizens had 883,333 policies as of the end of May, up from 609,805 policies a year earlier and 463,247 policies two years earlier. Those numbers have climbed as private insurers have shed customers and sought large rate increases because of financial problems.

Thank you: Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas curates the Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State newsletter. We appreciate our readers and if you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

Please subscribe! We are offering a special offer for you: Unlimited digital access of just $1.99 a month for newsletter readers. Please check it out!

Know someone who’d like to get this free newsletter? Send this to a friend to receive it weekly.