Demings wants action over lobbyist
Mayor says it’s ‘disturbing’ county lobbyist was behind bill to limit Orange’s handling of Visit Orlando budget.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings branded it a “conflict” for the county’s own lobbyist to draft a bill restricting its ability to cut the funding of the Visit Orlando tourism agency, and said there may be consequences for the advocate’s secretive actions.
In a heated reaction to revelations published Sunday in the Orlando Sentinel, Demings said lobbyist Chris Carmody’s actions could lead the county to sever its relationship with his employer, GrayRobinson, and may trigger a Florida Bar complaint.
“Whether we get there or not, we’ll certainly explore it,” said Demings, who shared his ire in a lengthy conversation Sunday with the Sentinel. “That may be the consequence of all this.”
The Sentinel’s story showed that Senate Bill 1594 — filed last month by Orlando Democrat Linda Stewart at a time county commissioners were eyeing cuts to Visit Orlando’s $100 million county subsidy — was actually written by Carmody, not the lawmaker. The bill would have required a supermajority of five of the seven commissioners to make such cuts.
“Try not to mention my name on this one. :)” Carmody texted Stewart at one point, according to a transcript provided to the Sentinel in response to a public records request.
“That’s not what we expect the lobbyists we pay to do,” Demings said of those actions, arguing Carmody had a duty to disclose the possible conflict of interest. “It was and is disturbing that he placed himself in a position to be advocating a position contrary to ours, his paying client. We pay his firm to lobby for us and so there may be consequences for that.”
Carmody did not immediately answer an email from the Sentinel on Monday.
Last week, he said he responded to Stewart’s request for help with the legislation as a courtesy.
The mayor said he did not learn of Stewart’s bill until after she filed it.
“We had a tough conversation about it in her office in Tallahassee,” Demings said. “I
told her I could not support it because it was contrary to positions we had taken as a board and I thought it was bad politics for her.”
The bill now appears dead without a Florida House sponsor, Stewart said last week. But she said it accomplished its purpose: The county commission backed off its sharpest threats against Visit Orlando, leaving its budget mostly intact.
The tax is forecast to raise $328.3 million in fiscal year 2023-24. Visit Orlando’s share would be $98.5 million.
Demings said he plans to discuss next steps this week with Orange County Attorney Jeff Newton.
Orange County Administrator Byron Brooks shared with commissioners Monday an email the mayor sent to Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell, which mostly repeated his Sunday comments about Carmody’s role.
“Lastly, yes, there are consequences for any of the County’s paid lobbyists to knowingly work in conflict with the best interests of the County,” Demings wrote. “To do so could sever the County’s business relationship with the lobby firm and could trigger a potential Florida Bar complaint for a lawyer. I will look to our county attorney to advise me and the Board of County Commissioners in this regard.”
GrayRobinson’s contract with the county, in place since 2018, pays the firm $6,000 a month.
It will expire in April unless extended. A state lobbyist website lists Carmody as the representative for more than two dozen clients, including the Association of Builders and Contractors, the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Foundation, CarMax and the Central Florida Hotel Lodging Association, which had opposed the commissioners’ proposals for deeper funding cuts for Visit Orlando.
As to Stewart’s bill, the mayor blasted it as eroding “home-rule,” a local government’s authority to decide local matters without state interference or pre-emptions.
“Philosophically, I’m never going to support legislation that preempts local governments,” Demings said.
Commissioner Nicole Wilson agreed. “It is a disappointment to see the undermining of home-rule by even lawmakers who served on this dais,” said Wilson, who represents west Orange. “Defending home rule authority is literally our top [legislative] priority.”
Commissioner Christine Moore praised Carmody’s work overall but frowned on his help with Stewart’s bill.
“It probably wasn’t the wisest thing for him to do,” she said.
Moore said she would not support cutting ties with GrayRobinson or Carmody, whom she credited with landing state funds for public jobs in her district, including expanding the Wekiva Trail and maintaining the Vision Zero pedestrian safety project.
“They do excellent work,” Moore said.