Not really an endorsement
Maxwell: Singh quotes editorial calling for him to be ousted.
We have several topics to cover today — including a remarkable admission from the governor that the state’s unemployment system was set up with “pointless roadblocks.”
But first I want to start by dusting off The Malarkey Meter.
I hadn’t revved up the factchecking device in a while. But it started beeping again last week when Property Appraiser Rick Singh debuted a new campaign ad.
Singh’s Facebook ad featured the Orlando Sentinel’s logo along with a giant headline that said: “APPRAISER WITH GUTS”
Now, first of all, no one at the Sentinel writes in ALL CAPS. Why? Because we are neither 13-year-olds on Instagram nor the president of the United States on Twitter.
Perhaps more significantly, though: The Sentinel editorial that Singh referenced urged voters not to vote for him.
Yes, he quoted a piece that urged voters to kick him out of office.
To be fair, Singh did accurately quote parts of two sentences in the editorial that gave him credit for being gutsy in the way he calculated what theme parks pay in taxes.
Unfortunately, Singh ignored the other 30 or so sentences that argued that his tenure had been a hot mess.
Some of the phrases Singh chose not to feature in his ad included: “enough already” ... “dogged by controversy” ... “voters should hit the reset button.”
And the piece’s conclusion — a hearty endorsement for Singh’s opponent, Amy Mercado.
What’s the takeaway here?
Same as always in politics: Don’t take any claim you see at face value.
As they teach in journalism school: If your mother says she loves you, check it out.
My mother hates that saying.
Unemployment debacle
By now, I think most people understand and accept that Florida’s unemployment system was set up nine years ago by former Gov. Rick Scott with the express purpose of stiffing Floridians out of benefits.
Still, there are a handful of deniers out there — Scott supporters who desperately try to argue that the system was fine and dandy until the state was struck by a pandemic that no one could’ve predicted.
Those people are wrong. The system was designed to fail. Don’t take it from me. Take it from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In an eyebrow-raising interview with South Florida TV reporter Jim DeFede, DeSantis admitted the system was designed with “pointless roadblocks” that were meant to frustrate and obstruct laid-off workers so much they would say: “Oh, to hell with it,” and give up trying to get their benefits.
“It was definitely done in a way to lead to the least number of claims being paid out,” DeSantis said.
The system was approved in 2011 by Scott and GOP legislators — including a couple of local ones who are still in politics and running for office again this year: Jason Brodeur and Scott Plakon.
But DeSantis didn’t do anything to fix the system either — even after the state’s own auditors cited problems galore in 2019 with the disastrous online system that made problems even worse. (After previously citing problems in audits in 2015 and 2016. And after newspapers like the Sentinel ran headlines like: “Florida benefits are virtually inaccessible.” In other words: These problems have been widely known for years.)
Asked why he didn’t take action, DeSantis said the audit didn’t really detail how bad things were. But he also blamed both his staff and the Legislature.
“Well, so that was an audit that was given to the agency head. Nothing ever reached my desk,” DeSantis said. “I was not asked to do anything. I wasn’t asked to seek more funding from the Legislature. If I was, I probably would have done it.”
So everyone and no one is to blame. Funny how that happens.
Screw up? Get rewarded?
Speaking of that malfunctioning website, its creator is in line to receive another $110 million contract with the state of Florida.
If that sentence confused you, it’s understandable. It would be like if I said: The first half of this fish gave me food poisoning … and I look forward to eating the other half.
It wouldn’t make sense. But this Florida, where both college students and common sense often go on vacation.
As the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported this week, Deloitte Consulting LLP — the company currently under investigation for the unemployment debacle — is poised to receive a $110 million contract to update the state’s Medicaid Program.
There I go again with another confusing sentence. I wrote the words “company currently under investigation” followed by “poised to receive a $110 million contract.”
Deloitte reportedly won the latest contract through a bidding process. But state Rep. Anna Eskamani was among those who suggested the state finish investigating Deloitte before awarding the company another contract.
Correct. In fact, it’s kind of depressing that such an obvious point even needs to be made.