Democratic congressional candidates David Holden and Cindy Banyai. (Photo: Author)
May 6, 2020 by David Silverberg.
Southwest Florida’s Democratic congressional candidates and party chairs came together yesterday to call on local news outlets to host a fair and inclusive debate.
Cindy Banyai, David Holden, candidates for Congress in the 19th Congressional District, and the Lee and Collier County Democratic party chairs issued the call in an open letter, stating: “We urge the local media to host a Democratic primary candidate forum. Some local news outlets have already hosted a Republican primary debate, giving the candidates ample time to express their views and platforms.”
It continued: “We strongly believe that the constituents in our district deserve to hear from all candidates equally, regardless of political affiliations.” (The entire letter is included below.)
The letter charges that local news outlets have carried only Republican candidates and that the lack of interest in the Democratic candidates “appears to be a direct attempt to maintain the status quo.”
On April 27, WINK-TV hosted an online debate for only the Republican candidates. Democrats were not invited nor has a follow-up debate been discussed or scheduled. (Questions on this have been posed to WINK-TV by The Paradise Progressive and this report will be updated if a response is received.)
To date the only forum involving all candidates of both parties was one online hosted by the Florida Citizens Alliance, a non-profit conservative organization advocating for a return to basic education. The entire 1 hour, 20 minute discussion can be viewed on YouTube.
The Paradise Progressive hosted two text-only debates between the Democratic candidates on Coronavirus and the Southwest Florida economy on April 13 and April 17.
During the 2018 congressional campaign the Southwest Florida League of Women Voters issued a debate invitation to Democratic candidate David Holden and incumbent Republican Rep. Francis Rooney, setting a date of Sept. 17. However, Rooney replied that he had no availability on that date or any in the future and that all his positions were known. Despite a letter from Holden directly to Rooney and complaints to local media, no debate ever took place.
The full text of the Democratic candidates’ letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
We are writing this letter on behalf of the Lee and Collier County Democratic Parties, and Congressional candidates for Florida Congressional District 19 Cindy Banyai and David Holden. We urge the local media to host a Democratic primary candidate forum. Some local news outlets have already hosted a Republican primary debate, giving the candidates ample time to express their views and platforms.
Despite several requests from the candidates and the county parties, no local news outlets have attempted to put together a Democratic primary candidate forum. Florida’s 19th district is a Republican-leaning district and the lack of interest in the Democratic primaries appears to be a direct attempt to maintain the status quo.
We strongly believe that the constituents in our district deserve to hear from all candidates equally, regardless of political affiliations. Especially now during this national pandemic, constituents are relying on media to cover politics. Unlike normal years when candidates have the opportunities to be out in the district campaigning, meeting voters face-to-face, our candidates have had to take to unconventional methods of campaigning.
Many constituents rely on their local news sources to stay up to date with their political candidates and provide an unbiased view. The fact that Republican candidates have been able to reach these viewers and the Democratic candidates have not been afforded the same opportunities by local news stations is shameful.
We are hoping that this letter spurs the news outlets to do the right thing and reach out to the Lee and Collier County Democratic Parties, Cindy Banyai, and David Holden about scheduling the democratic primary candidate forums.
Sincerely,
Dr. Cindy Banyai
David Holden
Annisa Karim, Chair of Democratic Party of Collier County
Gabriele Spuckers, Chair of Democratic Party of Lee County
Voters wait to cast ballots in the Wisconsin presidential primary on April 7.
May 4, 2020 by David Silverberg.
This year, election officials—in Southwest Florida and around the nation—will face threats and challenges unlike any that most Americans have experienced in their lifetimes.
At the same time, never has a clean, efficient and fairly conducted election been more important. The 2020 election will be one of America’s most historic, shaping the nation’s future in as fundamental a way as the very first one in 1788. Given the stakes, the results—however they turn out—must be seen and accepted by all parties as legitimate and accurate.
What is more, Americans tend to think of election cycles as a force of nature, like the orbiting of the planets and the rising of the sun, always taking place as scheduled. Before this year, the only postponed primary in American history that this author could find was the New York mayoral primary scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001. This year, 15 states postponed their presidential preference primaries due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
So it’s essential to look ahead to the challenges that election officials and voters may face and how they’ve faced them, where history provides any guide.
This is not a complete list, by any means. There have always been questions about elections and there’s much potential for mischief in the mechanics of counting and recording votes. However, this year some unique threats stand out.
First, there’s the threat that’s particular to Florida…
Storms
Hurricane Michael, 2018
This year Florida will be conducting a critical primary election on Aug. 18. While August is not the depth of Florida’s hurricane season—that comes in September—August, and late August especially, has always been a very active time for hurricanes.
This has been an unusually hot year already, the signs are not good and 12 long-term prognosticators are predicting a highly active hurricane season.
Hurricane Irma struck Southwest Florida in 2017 when there were no elections scheduled. But Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm and the strongest ever to hit Florida, hit the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018 just before a general election scheduled for Nov. 6.
That was in the midst of the hotly contested races for Senate between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson and for governor between Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum.
With infrastructure and local polling places destroyed, Panhandle election officials extended early voting days, starting voting on Oct. 22. In badly hit Gulf and Bay counties, officials established “mega-voting sites” that were open 12 hours a day, according to Reuters. Though voters had to travel further than usual, they were still able to cast ballots.
Ordinarily, voting by mail can take the place of in-person voting but in the case of Hurricane Michael mailed ballots were likely lost and absentee voters may not have received mail-in ballots in time.
Fortunately—if that word can be used in such a disaster—Hurricane Michael struck long enough before the election to give officials time to respond and no one promoted the idea of postponing the election. It took place in affected counties at the same time as the rest of the state.
“What a hurricane does to alter the dynamics of politics and campaigning is it reinforces to people that without government, you have nothing in an emergency,” Steve Bousquet, Tallahassee bureau chief for the Tampa Bay Times, told National Public Radio at the time.
“You know, everyone’s asking, where’s FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Administration]?” he said. “Everyone’s asking, you know, where first responders are. And they’re grateful for the help they’re getting from first responders. But everywhere you look, you see the hand of government trying to give people hope.”
It’s worth noting that Hurricane Michael struck very late in the season, on Oct. 10. This year a hurricane could disrupt the primary election in August or the general election in November—and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that two separate hurricanes could strike on or near both election days.
Germs
Healthcare workers in protective gear.
This year is not the first time a United States election will be occurring in the midst of a pandemic. In 1918 a congressional mid-term election took place amidst the Spanish flu pandemic. (For an excellent article on this, and the main source for the account below, see the History Channel’s “How the US Pulled Off Midterm Elections Amid the 1918 Flu Pandemic.”)
The 1918 influenza struck in a first wave in the spring, died down and then roared back ferociously in September and October, killing 195,000 Americans. By Election Day, Nov. 5, the flu was dying down in the eastern part of the country but mounting in the west. Overall turnout was reduced, at about 40 percent.
“Despite the risks involved, there appears to have been little public discussion about simply postponing the election that year,” states the article. “Jason Marisam, a law professor at Hamline University who has studied how the flu pandemic affected the 1918 midterms, argues that there might well have been talk of postponement—if the United States hadn’t been at war at the time. But with their troops fighting overseas, Americans’ spirit of civic pride was running high, and voting was seen as a necessary act of patriotism.”
More recently, Wisconsin chose to hold its primary as scheduled on April 7 of this year despite the Coronavirus pandemic and numerous efforts to postpone the election.
According to Wisconsin’s official tally, turnout for the primary was 34.3 percent, or 1,551,711 votes cast in both the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries.
The Coronavirus had a big impact on absentee or mail-in voting in the state. “…The coronavirus almost certainly contributed to the record number of people who voted absentee,” wrote Nathan Rakich in an analysis on the website FiveThirtyEight.com. “As of Monday morning [April 13], 1,098,489 absentee ballots had been returned, meaning absentees will probably account for about 80 percent of all votes in this election. That’s an unheard-of proportion in Wisconsin, where voting by mail is not very widespread. For example, only 10 percent of Wisconsinites voted absentee in the 2016 presidential primary, and only 27 percent in the 2016 general election.”
But the mail-in and absentee ballots caused controversy in a state unaccustomed to that form of voting and the results could face legal challenges.
“There have been numerous reports of voters not receiving their absentee ballots in time to cast them, and hundreds of ballots have been found never to have been delivered at all; the U.S. Postal Service is currently investigating what happened,” writes Rakich. “Not to mention, some absentee ballots that were mailed back on time may not be allowed to count. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballots must be postmarked by April 7 in order to count, but there are already reports of several hundred ballots not postmarked, which means they might not count.”
A final official result of the Wisconsin primary is scheduled for release on May 15.
If the Coronavirus behaves the same way as the Spanish flu, there is a strong likelihood that the United States could see a second intense wave of infections in the autumn, possibly close to the voting period.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on April 28: “I’m almost certain it will come back. The virus is so transmissible and it’s globally spread. …In my mind, it’s inevitable that we will have a return of the virus or maybe it never even went away. When it does, how we handle it will determine our fate. If by that time we have put into place all of the countermeasures that we need to address this we should do reasonably well. If we don’t do that successfully, we could be in for a bad fall and a bad winter.”
That means a possible return of quarantines, closures and lockdowns, possibly at an even higher rate and more restrictive than in the spring.
Given that possibility, election offices need to be prepared for massive voting by mail and that means having sufficient forms, envelopes and the means of verifying and authenticating ballots. But it also means finding the volunteers and poll workers willing to make in-person voting available as well.
At the same time, if there are new bans on assemblies, lockdowns and quarantines once general voting begins there will be all kinds of charges and suspicions about manipulation of voters one way or another.
This raises another potential hazard…
Violence
Armed protesters in Michigan, April 30.
On April 30, armed demonstrators protesting the Coronavirus quarantine entered the Michigan state capitol building, where lawmakers were meeting. Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has been a particular target of President Donald Trump’s ire, as expressed in his tweets and in on-camera comments.
No shots were fired in Michigan but while attracting only small numbers of participants, these armed demonstrations are occurring with increasing frequency. Many were organized by conservative groups and they were certainly encouraged by President Donald Trump’s call to “liberate” Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia from the strictures imposed by their Democratic governors.
This advances a trend toward armed protests that began in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017 during which one person was killed by a car driven into a crowd by a right-wing extremist. On Jan. 20, 2020, large numbers of gun-rights protestors demonstrated against proposed gun restrictions in the state capital of Richmond. Just prior to the rally, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested three individuals planning to attend, for firearms violations. They called themselves “The Base,” an English translation of the Arabic, “Al Qaeda.”
To date, other than Charlottesville, none of the other armed protests have resulted in violence, loss of life or destruction. However, it is not inconceivable that in a hotly contested and emotional election, armed individuals or terrorists could attempt to intimidate voters or disrupt or interfere in the electoral process. What is more, in this case such protestors could have the encouragement from an aggrieved party, most likely the President of the United States.
This is not unprecedented in American history. In the 1850s pitched battles occurred on the streets of Baltimore, Md., on election days during the heyday of the anti-immigrant Native American Party, more commonly known now as the “Know-Nothings.”
Potential disruption is always a possibility in any election, so security needs to be robust and alert. But with the trend toward armed displays, this year’s polling places will need additional layers of protection and that protection must be strong, overwhelming and fairly applied to all sides.
The Trump factor
WARNING: The following contains worst-case scenarios that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
Perhaps the greatest unknown in this year’s election is the president himself. Given his past actions and character he is also the most volatile and dangerous factor in an already combustible brew.
As noted above, Donald Trump has encouraged “liberation” of states whose governors he opposes, has consistently condoned extremism and violence and openly pursues power at all costs regardless of its impact on the American people, the Constitution or the country.
Trump has always been dangerous but this year he’s also defensive and desperate. Like a cornered rat he has no course except to lash out and attack.
Having shown himself unrestrained by law, the Constitution or the norms that have allowed American politics to function without damage to the country, Donald Trump has to be judged capable of a variety of actions that could adversely impact this election—and the future of elections in general.
Cancellation
“Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow — come up with some rationale why it can’t be held.”
Those are the words of former Vice President Joe Biden during an April 23 virtual fundraiser, discussing the possibility of President Donald Trump attempting to cancel the 2020 presidential election.
Biden is hardly the first person to worry that Trump could try to cancel the election. Numerous legal and constitutional experts have concluded that he has no legal power to do so, regardless of the pandemic or states of emergency that may be declared.
What gives rise to this fear, however, is Trump’s clear ignorance of the law and the Constitution and his demonstrated contempt for legal restraints on his actions.
Cancelling elections is a classic ploy of dictators, who of course want to rule without any democratic restraints and in the past they have used national emergencies to rule by decree. The classic example of this was Adolf Hitler who used the Reichstag fire of 1933 to get passed an enabling law that allowed him to rule without any checks or restraints.
If Trump succeeded in canceling the election it would mean the end of American democracy and establishment of an undisguised dictatorship.
Postponement
More likely than outright cancellation is the possibility that Trump could try to postpone the election, probably based on the state of the Coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, postponement now has precedents in the postponed primaries of this year.
Postponement is a slippery slope; if the presidential election is postponed an immediate fight would begin over setting a new date. There’s no guarantee that another election would be held later and it has the potential to effectively become a cancellation. It would also disrupt all the down-ballot elections critical to running the country under its current Constitution: federal senatorial and representative elections; state, local and municipal elections; and a wide array of policy questions and referenda.
An attempted postponement would be challenged in the courts and there would be an immense outcry. However, Trump has never shied away from court challenges and he has ignored past outcries.
Delegitimization
When he was facing an electoral loss in 2016 Trump denounced the electoral system as “rigged” against him. He has begun doing the same again this year, tweeting on May 1: “Don’t allow RIGGED ELECTIONS!”
While this might be a sentiment all Americans would rightly share, coming from Donald Trump it could also be seen as a threat against an election outcome that he might try to delegitimize with charges of fraud or rigging.
Trump has always attempted to delegitimize anything he doesn’t like: the news media, governors, Democrats, other nations. When he was in private life this was just disparagement. On the campaign trail, it was just denigration. But as president, it is a strategy of stripping credibility from national institutions and constitutional checks and balances that stand in his way.
Of course, if he wins through the Electoral College or Russian interference, his victory will ipso-facto become legitimate in his own eyes.
However, there is a strong possibility that Trump will try to delegitimize the entire election if the outcome is not to his liking.
Invalidation
Should he lose the election, Trump may try to legally invalidate the outcome, challenging it in court, alleging fraud and refusing to abide by its results.
In the past Trump has alleged that he lost the New Hampshire primary due to massive voter fraud and that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 popular vote victory was similarly due to voter fraud.
“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” he tweeted on Nov. 27, 2016, repeating the allegation in a January meeting with members of Congress.
Trump’s fantasies of massive voter fraud cost taxpayer money to investigate but this year he might use them to try to try to invalidate the results of an election. This is not the same as delegitimization; it is an attempt to declare the results legally invalid and of no force.
Should he lose, Trump might also refuse to concede or relinquish power in January 2021. Although the United States has never had a fight over electoral legitimacy, other countries have in the past and a prolonged struggle risks civil disorder or even domestic war.
Suppression
Voter suppression has long been a problem in US elections but given the patchwork of election jurisdictions and the decentralized nature of the US electoral system, it has been done at the state and local level.
However, with mail-in voting on a massive scale likely this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Trump has verbally attacked the US Postal Service (USPS), tried to starve it of funds and denounced voting-by-mail as potentially fraudulent.
“Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” Trump tweeted on April 8 at 7:20 am. By 6:34 pm that day he felt he had to tweet a clarification: “Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can’t get to the polls on Election Day. These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is “RIPE for FRAUD,” and shouldn’t be allowed!”
It seems doubtful that Trump could stop all voting by mail or otherwise suppress sufficient votes by command. However, his rhetoric and his encouragement of vote suppression from the bully pulpit of the White House could encourage state and local officials to conduct suppressive activities in order to skew the election in his favor.
* * *
These are just some of the scenarios threatening this year’s elections.
However, in addition to all these scenarios there is another one and it is this: The election takes place as scheduled. The weather cooperates. Voting is orderly. People can vote in whatever form they choose. All who wish to vote do so. The count is honest and accurate. The results are accepted by all parties and the public. Power is conferred peacefully, legitimately and legally. The country heals.
Southwest Florida is not usually known for stampedes—of any kind. But right now a herd of political candidates is charging through the landscape from Cape Coral to Marco Island and all are hoping to emerge as the region’s representative in Congress.
Thirteen candidates have now qualified to be on their parties’ August 18 primary ballots, according to the Florida Division of Elections; two Democrats, 10 Republicans and one Independent.
Who exactly is running right now? And just as important, why has there been such a Republican stampede in a place like Southwest Florida, a place that’s usually so politically quiet and somnolent?
This article will attempt to sort the herd.
The Democratic contest
David Holden and Cindy Banyai
On the Democratic Party side, both Cindy Banyai and David Holden will be on the primary election ballot on August 18. At a Jan. 15 meeting of the Collier County Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus, both pledged to support whoever emerged as the Party’s nominee.
The Paradise Progressive has been holding online debates between Banyai and Holden on Coronavirus and the economy and will continue to ask pertinent questions. Both are intelligent, articulate candidates committed to social justice and democracy. Banyai did internships on Capitol Hill and taught abroad in Asia. David Holden, who holds a Harvard University degree, served in Democratic Party positions in White Plains, NY and ran for Congress in 2018 against Rooney.
But while the Democratic primary contest has seen a civilized discussion of the issues, the Republican primary battle, in keeping with the tone set by President Donald Trump, has been wilder and less enlightening.
The Republican stampede
The 10 Republican candidates can be divided into three groups.
The rich amateurs
Businessman Casey Askar and urologist Dr. William Figlesthaler are the richest candidates, with cash on hand of $3,482,873 and $1,011,164 respectively, fueled by personal loans to their campaigns. Based on their Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Askar has loaned his campaign $3 million and Figlesthaler $1,470,000 ($1,060,000 in the first quarter of 2020 and $410,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019).
Neither has any prior electoral experience, neither has ever held a government position (unless you count Askar’s stint in the US Marines) and neither has ever served in a legislative body. Both are running on the strength of their belief in Donald Trump and their respective business successes—fueled by lots of personal cash.
(Neither responded to questions from The Paradise Progressive asking them to name specific measures they would take in Congress to support and sustain the SWFL economy.)
The Old Pros
State Reps. Byron Donalds (R-80-Immokalee), Dane Eagle (R-77-Cape Coral), Heather Fitzenhagen (R-78-Fort Myers) and Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson (who on April 8 submitted his resignation effective Nov. 30 from the mayoralty, as required by law so that he can run for Congress) are all local elected officials with legislative or executive experience and existing bases of support.
Dan Severson served in the Minnesota state house from 2002 to 2011, giving him legislative experience, although not in Florida.
The poor newcomers
Darren Aquino, a New York actor before moving to Naples, and Christy McLaughlin, a recent graduate of Ave Maria Law School, who will turn 25 this summer to become eligible for office, did not report receiving any campaign donations in the first quarter of 2020, according to the FEC. Dan Kowal, a Collier County sheriff’s deputy who previously served as a US Capitol policeman, only entered the race on April 21.
In a class by himself is Independent Antonio Dumornay, a former Republican who switched to Independent.
The issues
On the Republican side of the ledger, there is virtually no distinction between any of the candidates when it comes to addressing the issues or taking policy positions.
The chief qualification they all cite is total loyalty to Donald Trump and his program—whatever that is at the moment. All are Trump defenders, so their only distinction is the fierceness of their fealty.
Christy McLaughlin stood out this this past weekend by holding an online rally calling for Florida to end any Coronavirus restrictions. She is the only candidate among the Republicans calling to end all forms of quarantine and join Trump’s “liberation” movement.
It is interesting that Dan Kowal, the newest newcomer, doesn’t mention Donald Trump anywhere on his website’s home page. While he’s another angry Republican— “It’s time to stop being ruled by the loud minority: the career politicians, special interest groups, and big business” —it’s not until well into his website, under “key issues” that he declares, “I Stand With President Trump. I’m a patriot. I’ll work to bring justice to those who conspired against the President and against this Great Nation.”
Why the stampede?
So what’s going on here? Why so large a herd of undistinguished and indistinguishable Republican candidates?
The answer is that the 19th Congressional District appears to be a plum ripe for plucking by any candidate, no matter how marginal.
The usual calculation is that in Southwest Florida only the Republican primary counts and winning that primary is tantamount to winning the general election. And the Republican primary is determined by a tiny minority of Republican activists who this year consist of fanatical Trumpers. If a candidate can win even a small following among the people who are certain to go to the primary polls, he or she can take the election.
What is more, the rich amateurs are calculating that enough money and enough advertising can easily sway these primary voters and the usual qualifications like roots in the community, name recognition, knowledge of the region, attention to local issues—in fact, attention to any real issues at all—is irrelevant.
The old pros have a more traditional approach, clearly believing that their past electoral successes, existing following and service record will stand them in good stead. In this, Dane Eagle stands out both for his political experience in the state legislature and his geographic base in Cape Coral, the highest populated city in the District, where he has an existing infrastructure on the ground.
But this year it would be a mistake to count out the Democrats. Even in conservative Southwest Florida unhappiness with the president’s Coronavirus response, his clear ineptitude in dealing with the crisis and what appears to be derangement in his statements and public appearances, may be wearing on more traditional Southwest Florida Republicans.
What is more, the March 17 revolution in the City of Naples, where voters threw out the mayor and entire city council, may just be a harbinger of a widespread discontent and readiness for overall change.
In the meantime, the stampede for Francis Rooney’s seat provides an interesting spectacle, better entertainment than TV and something to behold in wonder while quarantined at home.
The final vote on the latest Coronavirus aid bill. (Image: C-Span)
April 23, 2020 by David Silverberg.
By an extraordinarily lopsided bipartisan vote of 388 to 5, the US House of Representatives tonight voted in favor of House Resolution (HR) 266, providing $484 billion in further stimulus, aiding small businesses devastated by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Two of Southwest Florida’s representatives, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted for the bill.
Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) was absent, making this the fourth major Coronavirus relief package whose vote he has missed.
Ironically, on April 16 and 17 Rooney was vocal on the need to replenish the Paycheck Protection Plan, the previous stimulus bill for business that almost immediately ran out of money once it launched.
“Over 90 percent of our Southwest Florida economy is tied to small business owners that need the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to be funded and functioning,” Rooney argued in an April 17 statement.
“Most of these businesses are desperately trying to do the right thing by keeping their employees on the payroll and continuing to pay their bills. The people that are being helped by this program do not have weeks, or even days to wait – they need this funding immediately. This economic disaster was not caused by anything that these businesses did and was not a market driven collapse. The government, in response to the deadly health aspects of COVID-19, shut the economy down -and the government must provide assistance. Now is not the time for partisan political games.”
He also tweeted: “Small businesses are hurting and the original PPP funds have been exhausted. Hopefully leaders of both parties will quickly work out an additional funding plan.”
That was precisely what was in HR 266.
A request for comment by Rep. Rooney and his office had not been answered as of this posting.
Passage of the bill by the House approves action taken earlier by the Senate. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature to be enacted into law.
Projected Coronavirus deaths in Florida. The shaded area shows the range of uncertainty in the projection (how high or low the death rate per day could go), the dotted line is the projected deaths and the solid line shows actual fatalities. (Chart: IHME)
April 23, 2020 by David Silverberg.
Florida appears to have hit its peak of Coronavirus deaths on April 12 and may safely re-open in mid-June, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a respected independent population health research center at the University of Washington.
According to an analysis released yesterday, April 22, “After June 14, 2020, relaxing social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size.”
According to the Florida Department of Health, as of today Lee County has 821 COVID-19 cases and has suffered 30 deaths. Collier County has 487 cases and suffered 11 deaths. Charlotte County had 154 cases and 11 deaths.
At the moment the state is prohibiting mass gatherings, is requiring residents to stay at home, and non-essential businesses and educational facilities remain closed.
Lee and Collier county election officials say they are ready for massive voting by mail in this year’s elections.
Voting-by-mail has become a hot political topic amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump has denigrated the practice as being subject to fraud, tweeting on April 8 “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” And he added the same day, “Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can’t get to the polls on Election Day. These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is “RIPE for FRAUD,” and shouldn’t be allowed!”
At the same time others view it as the single most viable alternative to in-person voting, which may endanger people’s health during the current pandemic. On April 15, a panel of Democratic Party officials urged Florida officials and voters to prepare for a big increase in mailed voting this year, according to Florida Politics.
In Southwest Florida, with its strongly seasonal populations, voting by mail has long been in use.
“Statistics show that vote by mail continues to be the preferred method of Lee County voters, with approximately 51 percent choosing to do so in the 2018 Gubernatorial Election,” Vicki Collins, communications director for the Lee County Supervisor of Elections stated in an e-mail response to questions from The Paradise Progressive.
“Lee Elections is prepared to meet the higher demand for voting by mail in both the August Primary and November General Elections,” she stated.
When it comes to in-person activities, she added, the office is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to ensure a safe and sanitary environment for staff and our voters.”
Collier County is even more forward leaning on vote-by-mail.
“We are aggressively encouraging voters to vote by mail,” wrote Trish Robertson, the public relations officer for the Collier County Supervisor of Elections office, in response to The Paradise Progressive’s questions.
The very day Robertson responded, the Collier County elections office sent vote-by-mail request forms to over 211,000 voters.
Not only that, pointed out Robertson, “voters can expect the same dates and deadlines for the elections as prior to this pandemic. This won’t change unless the Governor makes a change in how the election is conducted.”
In an April 7 letter, Florida election supervisors urged Governor Ron DeSantis (R) to be flexible when it comes to voting by mail and made some recommendations for the upcoming elections. (Reproduced in full below.) “We are still waiting on a response,” stated Robertson.
As in Lee County, voting by mail is extremely popular in Collier County, pointed out Robertson.
“Voting by mail has been the most popular way to cast a ballot in the last three elections,” she noted.
In the 2018 Primary, of all voters: 53 percent voted by mail; 17 percent voted early; 29 percent voted on Election Day.
In the 2018 General: 38 percent voted by mail; 32 percent voted early; 30 percent voted on Election Day.
In the 2020 Presidential Preference Primary: 54 percent voted by mail; 22 percent voted early; 24 percent voted on Election Day.
To date, there have been no charges of election fraud in mailed ballots in Southwest Florida.
In this instance at least, Southwest Florida may be a leading region in the nation when it comes to voting by mail.
The letter by Florida election supervisors to Gov. Ron DeSantis:
RE: Recommendations Concerning Election Related Issues Caused by COVID-19
April 7, 2020
Dear Governor DeSantis:
All 67 Florida counties successfully completed the March 17, 2020 Presidential Preference Primary. However , due to the COVID-19 situation and concerns of the public, Supervisors of Elections encountered significant challenges with polling places becoming unavailable, difficulty in acquiring hand sanitizer and other supplies, and substantial numbers of poll workers deciding not to work, many at the last minute.
In anticipation that these challenges will continue and likely will impact the August 2020 Primary Election and the November 2020 General Election, Florida’s Supervisors of Elections request your assistance through the issuance of an Executive Order modifying current Florida statutory procedures. These changes would give each county the flexibility to best administer the election in their county, based on their specific needs. As counties are preparing and making staffing and logistics decisions now, the flexibility and authority provided as soon as possible would be of great benefit.
We anticipate a significant statewide shortage of poll workers for the 2020 elections. While we anticipate that some level of in-person voting will continue, we believe that based on our March 17, 2020 election, alternatives or additional voting methods must be available to counties. We must also advise you that Florida is not in a position, at this time, to conduct an all-mail ballot election this year. Supervisors of Elections must be made a priority for the acquisition of supplies like hand sanitizer and other resources to ensure in-person voting is in accordance with CDC and FDOH guidelines.
For these reasons, we respectfully request modifications to existing statutory provisions and allow or provide for the following:
As provided in your Executive Order Number 19-262 (for Bay and Gulf Counties), suspend applications of provisions of Section 101.657(1)(a) and (b), Florida Statutes, and allow each county Supervisor of Elections to designate additional or alternative Early Voting site locations.
Allow counties the option of beginning Early Voting up to 22 days prior to the August and November 2020 elections, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 101.657(l)(d), Florida Statutes, and allow Early Voting to continue, at the chosen locations, through 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Consistent with Executive Order 19-262, concerning relocation or consolidation of polling places, suspend the provisions of sections 101.001 and 101.71(1), Florida Statutes, which require there to be one polling place in each precinct. This will allow the Supervisor the option to relocate or consolidate polling places with Early Voting sites.
Suspend the provisions of section 101.62(4)(b), Florida Statutes and allow the county Supervisors to mail any requested Vote-By-Mail ballots between the 45th and 25th days before the Primary and General Election. Suspend the requirement that the Supervisor mail vote by mail ballots within 2 business days after receipt of a request and allow for 3 business days to mail.
Allow counties to begin canvassing and tabulating Vote-By-Mail ballots upon completion of public test in section 101.5612(2), Florida Statutes.
While there may be additional changes necessary for the August and November elections, which will come to our attention and need your assistance, authorizing these provisions at this time will allow us to prepare for more efficient and safe elections. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me for any questions you may have.
Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) has signed a letter to President Donald Trump that calls for making US funding of the World Health Organization (WHO) contingent on the resignation of the organization’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The letter was sent yesterday by 17 of 21 Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), of which Rooney is a member.
On April 14, Trump announced that the United States would be withholding funds from WHO, in the midst of the global Coronavirus pandemic.
“We are writing to express our support for your April 14th announcement of an administration review and hold on U.S. voluntary contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) due to their mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic response,” stated the letter (reproduced in full below).
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-10-Texas), ranking member of the HFAC, was the lead signatory.
Trump alleged that WHO failed to alert the United States to the dangers of the Coronavirus, an allegation that is widely disputed.
“I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the Coronavirus,” Trump said on April 14. “Everybody knows what’s going on here.”
“That’s the usual Trump hyperbole and flip-flopping,” stated the Washington Post in an article fact-checking Trump’s statement.
“The President’s halting of funding to the WHO as it leads the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic is senseless,” stated House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-12-Calif.) in a statement following Trump’s announcement.
“We can only be successful in defeating this global pandemic through a coordinated international response with respect for science and data,” she continued. “But sadly, as he has since Day One, the President is ignoring global health experts, disregarding science and undermining the heroes fighting on the frontline, at great risk to the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world. This is another case, as I have said, of the President’s ineffective response, that ‘a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.’
“This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged.”
The full text of the HFAC Republican letter is below:
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump:
We are writing to express our support for your April 14th announcement of an administration review and hold on U.S. voluntary contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) due to their mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Below please find additional information to help inform your due diligence related to this valuable institution.
First, we are deeply concerned with the WHO’s and Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) handling of the early stages of COVID-19. The CCP’s lies and WHO’s poor handling of this crisis enabled a regional epidemic to become a pandemic. This resulted in countries around the world, including ours, fighting the virus with incomplete information and valuable time wasted. Sadly, as a result, we will have to count the lives lost in China and around the world for far too long. This malfeasance is another example of the CCPs treatment of their own people and reminds us this is the same regime who puts millions of their own citizens in “concentration camps” and uses them for forced labor.
As you know, the United States is the largest funder of the WHO, contributing more than $893 million during their current two-year budget cycle. While the United States was assessed dues by the WHO totaling $118 million for the current cycle, Congress has provided an additional $657 million in voluntary funding. In comparison, during the same budget cycle, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) contributed approximately $86 million in both assessed dues and voluntary contributions.
Signs of the outbreak of a new, deadly virus in Wuhan were visible in early December 2019, when Zhang Jixian, a doctor at the Hubei Provincial Hospital, warned PRC health authorities that a novel coronavirus was affecting some 180 patients. Several other doctors publicly discussed the outbreak in an attempt to sound the alarm but were subsequently arrested by PRC authorities or disciplined by their supervisors. A senior doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital, Ai Fen, instructed her staff to wear protective clothing and masks despite PRC official instructions to the contrary. In a later interview, she said “I knew there must be human-to-human transmission.” Despite this, China did not send any information on COVID-19 whatsoever to the WHO until December 31st. That same day, Taiwan warned the WHO that medical staff in China were becoming ill via human-to-human transmission.
Six days after Taiwan warned the WHO about human-to-human transmission, on January 5th, the WHO released a statement claiming that “based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigative team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported.” This is despite Taiwan’s clear warning and reports from Chinese doctors that human-to-human transmission was occurring. On January 23rd, as Wuhan was being locked down, the WHO Emergency Committee was split on declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). As Director-General, Tedros had the deciding vote – he opted not to declare a public health emergency. Days later, he praised China’s response to COVID-19, calling the response and PRC’s transparency “very impressive, and beyond words.” He went on to say that the PRC was “actually setting a new standard for outbreak response.” This was despite widespread reporting that the PRC had obfuscated information and delayed its initial response. According to a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, the WHO’s public statements misled public health experts, “giving a false sense of assurance” that contributed to the spread of the disease. The WHO did not announce a PHEIC until January 30th. It is likely that this delay contributed to a regional epidemic becoming a global pandemic.
On January 6th, the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) offered to send a team of experts to China to assist the PRC’s response. Their offer was turned down. It was not until February 16th, 41 days later, that a joint WHO-PRC mission traveled to China to examine the outbreak and origin of COVID-19. Many members of that team, including at least one American, were not allowed to visit Wuhan. It was not until February 28th that their report was allowed to be published. This delay was a result of the PRC’s refusal to allow the use of certain language, such as describing the virus as “dangerous.” The same day, the first COVID-19 death occurred on U.S. soil. It would take another twelve days for the WHO to declare a pandemic, after 114 countries reported 118,000 cases; more than 4,600 people had already died.
Director-General Tedros has failed in his mandate to objectively respond to the largest global health crisis since the HIV/AIDS pandemic reached its peak in the mid-2000s. Similar criticism was brought to bear on his leadership during the WHO’s response to the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the New York Times, Director-General Tedros reportedly covered up three cholera epidemics in Ethiopia during his time as Minister of Health. In addition to a troubled record of response to health emergencies, Director-General Tedros has a record of embracing PRC propaganda and policies. After serving as Minister of Health, Director-General Tedros served as Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister from 2012-2016. During his tenure, China invested $13.6 billion in his home country, leading many to refer to Addis Ababa as “the city China built.” The next year, during his candidacy for his current office, he was supported by the Chinese. In the days leading up to the election, he gave a public speech at a Chinese university in Beijing where he praised the PRC for its global health and disease control work. The day after his election as Director-General, he announced that the WHO would follow the PRC’s “One China” policy which resulted in Taiwan being banned from participating any longer in WHO forums. As a result, despite Taiwan warning the WHO on December 31st that human-to-human transmission was occurring, that information was not published on the WHO’s platform for data exchange amongst its member countries.
In sum, there are several concerning facts that have been established:
WHO knew that COVID-19 was spreading through human-to-human interaction at least three weeks before it informed the rest of the world.
Director-General Tedros’ policies prevented the WHO from heeding Taiwan’s warning and undermined the credibility of the information Taiwan provided to other countries.
Director-General Tedros cast the tie breaking vote that delayed the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, despite clear evidence of the rapid spread and human-to-human transmission of COVID-19.
Director-General Tedros heaped praised on the PRC despite clear evidence that the Chinese government COVID-19 cover up delayed the proper response to the initial outbreak.
Director-General Tedros’ long-standing relationship with PRC authorities and embrace of CCP propaganda and polices undermines his ability to serve impartially as Director-General.
As such, we have lost faith in Director-General Tedros’ ability to lead the World Health Organization. We understand, and value, the vital role that the WHO plays around the world, especially in acute humanitarian settings. At times, the WHO is the only organization working on the ground in the worst places in the world, and the U.S. should continue to support this important work. However, it is imperative that we act swiftly to ensure the impartiality, transparency, and legitimacy of this valuable institution. In light of the information presented in this letter, we recommend that you condition any future Fiscal Year 2020 voluntary contributions to the WHO on the resignation of Director-General Tedros. Sadly, we know COVID-19 is not the last pandemic the world will have to face.
Casey Askar, a Republican businessman and entrepreneur who only entered Florida’s 19th Congressional District race on March 20, became the top-funded candidate in the field in the first quarter of 2020 thanks to a $3 million loan he made to his own campaign, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
Askar’s loan, plus $506,230 in donations from roughly 270 donors makes him by far the best-funded candidate, with a war chest of $3,482,873 after expenses of $23,356. Among his donors was Naples developer Todd Gates, who gave the legal limit of $2,800 each for the primary and general campaigns.
The 19th Congressional District race is now in line with national cost trends, where congressional races cost between a half million and three million dollars.
After Askar’s campaign, the next best-funded campaign was Republican William Figlesthaler, whose campaign now has $1,011,164 on hand thanks to a $1,060,000 loan from the candidate and $276,278 in donations.
All candidates’ filings from the 1st quarter of 2020 are (with the exception of Ford O’Connell, who announced the end of his candidacy):
With the US economy in deep difficulty, The Paradise Progressive asked the two Democratic congressional candidates in Florida’s 19th Congressional District the question:
When the 117th Congress takes office in January 2021, the United States is likely to be in the midst of a deep economic downturn, even a depression. As the member of Congress from the 19th Congressional District, what would you specifically do at the federal level to support, sustain and improve the economy of Southwest Florida?
The answers are presented in full below, without editing. In our last debate question, we went in alphabetical order. This time we’re reversing that.
David Holden:
David Holden
SWFL faces several unique challenges to its economy that will undoubtedly be exacerbated by this crisis. Many of our talented young people leave year after year, creating a dearth of youth-lead politics, energetic new businesses, and cultural innovations enjoyed by other parts of Florida with the population density CD 19 boasts. While we may have the likes of billionaires like Rick Scott reveling in Medicare money on our beaches, we also have one of the largest gaps in income inequality in the entire nation. We have local governments more interested in satiating developers than cleaning up literal toxic waste dumps in portions of Ft Myers. All the while, committing to a denial of climate change and a dedication for polluting the same waters that keep our economy afloat. And though engineered factors like these have slowed the speed of progress drastically, it is still inevitable. We can fix this.
First, we must address the ongoing challenges to good policy-making precipitated by the 1994 Republican takeover of the House. Lawmakers have been too complacent about the stripping away of staff and expertise. To address that I will urge my Democratic colleagues to restore staffing levels and funding for House operations to 1993 levels, adjusted for inflation.
Bolstering our economy in SWFL, retaining talent, and shoring up our shrinking middle class will take several steps to address. I will introduce legislation mandating direct income support for working Americans though what may be a prolonged economic crisis. The measures taken by Canada and Great Britain make clear that one-time checks, no matter how welcome, simply aren’t enough to sustain our workers. What will allow our nation to recover economically is increased demand for goods and services, that only happens when folks have money to spend. In addition, we must fight for a living wage. I will co-sponsor a bill for the fight for $15, but those numbers need to be adjusted and we must legislate raises in the minimum wage that take into account inflation, increases in productivity, and buying power.
People in SWFL are dying because of the COVID crisis, but every year our populace falls prey to toxic algal blooms and poisonous red tides. We must allocate federal funds for research on connections between algal blooms, red tide, and human health. I will support immediate efforts to mend the tattered fabric of the American healthcare system. First strengthening the Affordable Care Act, then moving briskly to a single-payer system that provides every American with quality healthcare. Our district has families going bankrupt over medical bills which is flatly unacceptable anywhere, let alone in the richest country in the world.
Additionally, our national infrastructure is a disgrace. We have sucked resources out of public goods for decades in a never-ending obsession with providing tax cuts and bailouts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. We need to build a new American Dream and we can begin by rebuilding our roads, bridges, mass transit systems, and hospitals. We must craft legislation to protect the USPS—a service we all rely on—and provide funding to transit in SWFL instead of toll roads to nowhere.
Finally, the rolling disaster of global warming is critical to all of us alive, especially in a Congressional District running entirely along a rising Gulf of Mexico. We must connect the dots between the pandemic, our environment, and broad-based economic prosperity. We must create a national mitigation and adaptation strategic plan addressing impacts of environmental challenges, pandemic response, and economic vitality. Jay Inslee’s 2019 “Climate Mission Agenda” has a fresh new iteration called “Evergreen” that he’s hoping Joe Biden and congressional hopefuls will adopt. There are new policies, like a new White House Office of Climate Mobilization and revising tax credits for carbon, that will be integral to addressing this existential threat. I will work tirelessly to institute these policies. I urge everyone to read Inslee’s plan–SWFL depends on bold change in how we address our environment.
These questions, though prudent, rest on America’s ability to vote in this upcoming election, and Congress’s ability to serve in a Democracy. Candidates now must inform themselves on mail-in ballots and early voting to ensure we have a safe, secure election that is not undermined by dubious threats by our current administration. We must do all we can now to ensure the institutions our democracy depends upon do not falter under crisis. And most importantly, we must preserve human life in the process. I pray that we follow Governor Andrew Cuomo’s advice on how to “reopen” America: “We must make decisions based on the science and the data. Human lives are at stake.”
Cindy Banyai:
Cindy Banyai
Today we are sitting on 22 million new unemployment claims and by the time the 117th Congress gets to Washington we will be living in a much different world from where we were at the beginning of the 2020 campaign cycle. Millions of Americans will likely still be displaced with jobless rates of a least 10% leading into 2021 (Reuters) and an annual global economic contraction of up to 28% (CBO). This situation will leave development and tourist dependent economies like Southwest Florida mired in economic crisis.
The future Representative Dr. Cindy Banyai will continue to work, as she always has, for the people of Southwest Florida. Prioritizing individual and family safety nets over corporate welfare. I will advocate for a continuation of the individual household supports we are seeing now so people can have food in their belly and a roof over their heads. I would work to extend unemployment benefits and streamline processes to access these support payments, holding state governments accountable when they fail to meet the needs of the people.
I will work to pass a fiscal stimulus package that will provide employment opportunities and improve our country and its infrastructure overall, much like we saw after the Great Recession. I would prioritize improvements to our bridges and complete streets, drinking water systems, climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, and energy transformation projects. We will also need to provide support opportunities to revive small businesses, which make up 91% of the businesses in Southwest Florida. In such a stimulus package, I will advocate for the creation of locally administered block grants to revitalize main streets and support the return of small businesses (new or re-opened), encourage existing small businesses to make technology upgrades to improve their overall consumption rates and environmental impact, and support innovative new businesses. These grants also serve as an opportunity to diversify our local economy, instead of relying so heavily on tourism, building up more innovative small businesses, leaving people in Southwest Florida less vulnerable to economic shocks overall.
I will also advocate for education and training to help move displaced workers into needed areas in our economy, locally this includes healthcare, management, entrepreneurship, and digital technologies. I will work to ensure that any stimulus package prioritizes people’s lives and not corporations, as well as work to reduce inequalities. This means advocating for incentive funding family-friendly workplace policies, such as childcare support, remote-working, flexible scheduling, and job sharing. This will keep more women in Southwest Florida engaged in the workforce and enable more companies to build the necessary administrative capacity to be adaptive to social distancing protocols.
On top of these priorities, I would support the “green stimulus” proposed by economists and professors that includes a $2 Trillion commitment to living-wage jobs, public health, affordable housing, and moving away from fossil fuels. I would support continued efforts in oversight and accountability in the disbursement of stimulus funds and would require proof of concept for programs and demonstrable outcomes.
The IMF predicts there will be an addition half a billion people worldwide that will fall below the global poverty rate of $1.90 a day. This will exacerbate many problems around the world, including political instability and capacity for countries to continue the pandemic control strategies. It will be important for the US to regain its status as a global leader and fund international work on poverty alleviation and international public health to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus and continued economic disruption.
We have a long road ahead, but the people of Southwest Florida can take comfort in knowing that they have someone representing them that is just as vulnerable to economic crisis as they are, truly understanding their everyday struggles, and has the knowledge and background to make policy that serves them.
Annisa Karim, chair of the Collier County Democratic Party has been named to the Florida Democratic Party’s Judicial Council.
“I’m honored to be appointed to the Florida Democratic Party’s Judicial Council and look forward to representing Collier County to the best of my abilities,” stated Karim in a posting to the SWFL Democrat Chat Room.
“The fact is that we have a robust and effective leadership TEAM here in Collier,” she continued. “We have amazing people working very hard and many more volunteer opportunities for folks who want to join the team and work in concert to get our work done. The promise of America is Liberty and Justice for All. As patriots fighting to preserve this promise, we have 200 days to elect Democrats up and down the ballot to get us back on track.”
Karim was the second appointment made by Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. The first was an appointment to the Path to Power Commission last year.
“When Chairwoman Rizzo was first elected, she developed and implemented a 67-county strategy” Karim told The Paradise Progressive. “She’s effectively communicating with all of the county Democratic parties throughout the state and her appointments reflect the diversity contained within the party.”
According to the Florida Democratic Party bylaws, the Judicial Council, which consists of one representative from each congressional district, is one of the Party’s permanent, standing committees. Its purpose is “to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the Charter of the Florida Democratic Party, the Bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party, rules or policies of the Florida Democratic Party and its respective county executive committees, or Florida Statutes.”
Democratic congressional candidates David Holden and Cindy Banyai. (Photo: Author)
Voters wait to cast ballots in the Wisconsin presidential primary on April 7. 
The final vote on the latest Coronavirus aid bill. (Image: C-Span)
The Paradise Progressive 