Broward News & Opinion

DUBOSE'S GOLDEN TICKET

Why are Tallahassee lobbying firms suddenly taking a harder look at former Broward Democratic Leader Bobby DuBose?

Two words: Byron Donalds.

Several Tallahassee lobbyists have told me that DuBose and Florida's Republican nominee for governor aren't just former colleagues. They're thisclose.

They used to hang out when they served together in the Florida House, despite coming from opposite sides of the aisle.

That relationship could now make DuBose a very valuable guy to know and several lobbying firms are said to be looking at recruiting him.

Nobody is chasing DuBose because they need another policy wonk buried in spreadsheets until midnight. But he knows Broward. He knows Tallahassee. Most importantly, he knows Byron.

Donalds won the Republican primary for governor Aug. 18. If (When) he wins in November, suddenly everyone in Florida is going to want a friend who can pick up the phone and get the governor's attention.

DuBose may already be that guy.

A SPEAKER WALKS INTO BROWARD…

Now this is a good get.

Florida House Speaker Designate Sam Garrison recently came to Broward County to raise money for House Republicans.

Future speakers can raise money almost anywhere. Tallahassee. Jacksonville. Naples. Tampa. Miami. But Garrison came here.

So who pulled that off?

Jared Rosenstein of Capital City Consulting put together the event and got one of the most powerful people in Florida government to his house.

That's a flex.

Garrison is a Clay County State Representative who was formally designated by House Republicans to take the gavel after the 2026 elections. Capital City lists Rosenstein as a partner who splits his time between Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale.

The 'Speaker D' was here to help raise money for Hillary Cassel.

For the people in the room, that meant face time with the guy who will soon have control over legislation, committee assignments and billions of dollars in the state budget.

For Rosenstein, it showed something else. His Fort Lauderdale operation doesn't just have connections in Tallahassee.

He can bring Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale. Not bad.

[Editor's note: Jared was my intern in 2010. So, naturally, I take full credit.]

DID TRUMP AND DESANTIS MAKE A DEAL?

This rumor has been floating around Tallahassee for months and it isn't going away with this week's drop of the Grand Jury Report on Hope Florida.

The story goes something like this.

Ron DeSantis makes peace with President Donald Trump. He kisses the ring.

Casey DeSantis doesn't run for governor.

DeSantis world gets out of Byron Donalds' way.

And the Hope Florida problem goes away.

The really juicy version says there was something more important than politics on the table.

The chatter was that DeSantis wanted to make sure his wife wasn't facing criminal charges over Hope Florida.

There is no evidence that Trump and DeSantis made any such deal.

But this week came the newly reported Hope Florida grand jury report.

Longtime HelloFLA readers will recognize two of the names.

Katie Strickland and Jeff Aaron

Jeff Aaron represented the Hope Florida Foundation, and his testimony drew some side eye from the Hope Florida grand jury. The jury found testimony from Aaron conflicted with testimony it considered credible from the foundation's former chairman.

Most people call that lying.

Strickland had an even rougher time with the grand jury.

Jurors branded her as unforthcoming and the “least informative” witness. Other witnesses identified her as participating in meetings and conversations about the Centene settlement.

Apparently, the DeSantis administration might need a memory care unit. Because Strickland, according to the report, could hardly remember any of it.

Longtime HelloFLA readers probably aren't surprised.

This is the same crowd that has occasionally had trouble answering another seemingly simple question: Who is the president?

Which brings us right back to the rumor.

Was there a deal?

There hasn't been any evidence proving one, but this is Tallahassee. People are going to talk.

At least when somebody remembers what happened.