Repost from late (lb)
Affected way more people and their freedoms than a book signing. Have a nice little seat. @Christina
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/state/2020/03/28/coronavirus-in-florida-gov-ron-desantis-announces-2nd-highway-checkpoint/1443881007/
https://www.news4jax.com/health/2020/07/20/floridas-covid-19-checkpoint-on-i-95-finally-closed/
Ron DeSantis’ political team planned $25K golf games, $250K ‘intimate gatherings,’ memos say
Internal documents from DeSantis’ political committee provide a rare peek into the inner workings of the main political operation behind Florida’s top elected official.
Published Sept. 12, 2019|Updated Sept. 12, 2019
By Steve Contorno
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/09/12/ron-desantis-political-team-planned-25k-golf-games-250k-intimate-gatherings-memos-say/
The round of golf was scheduled at the exclusive Indian Creek Country Club overlooking Miami’s Biscayne Bay.
Three Duke Energy lobbyists were to join Gov. Ron DeSantis in mid February, a precious opportunity for the utility to get face time with Florida’s new governor weeks after he took office.
Internal documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times reveal that Duke’s lobbyists didn’t just request the governor’s time. They were supposed to pay for it, too.
“Is this the one that is $25k per?” asked the chair of DeSantis’ political committee, Susan Wiles, in February emails referencing the upcoming round of golf.
“A little more — Duke is going to do $100k,” responded the committee’s finance consultant, Heather Barker.
Days after the golf outing, Duke made a $75,000 donation to the Republican Party of Florida, which Wiles described in a memo as “interchangeable” with DeSantis’ political committee.
Other documents reviewed by the Times established prices donors could pay to interact with DeSantis or his wife, Casey.
Golf in a foursome? $25,000.
Golf one-on-one with DeSantis? $100,000.
A 10- to 15-minute meeting? $25,000.
A dinner event? $150,000.
One hour of an “intimate and high dollar” gathering? $250,000.
"Days after his outing with the Duke lobbyists, DeSantis returned to the same Indian Creek Country Club golf course. On Feb. 23, he was joined by two corporate executives — Bryon Ehrhart of Aon and Roger Desjadon of Florida Peninsula Insurance Co. The purpose was to “discuss future support,” according to an itinerary obtained by the Times, and his golf partners were described as “New Money.”
A month after the round, Ehrhart donated $10,000 to Friends of Ron DeSantis, the governor’s political committee. Reached by phone Wednesday, Ehrhart said the contribution was not connected to the golf round with the governor.
Ehrhart’s only other comment: “He hit the ball a mile."
There is no record of Desjadon donating to DeSantis or any other Florida Republicans since the round."