Senate map sets up Democratic clashes
George Bennett
A court-imposed redrawing of Florida’s Senate districts should help Democrats pick up a few seats statewide, but it will create some internal turmoil for the party in Palm Beach County.
Sens. Joseph Abruzzo of Boynton Beach and Maria Sachs of Delray Beach appear to be headed for a Democratic primary clash over the new District 29 seat in the southern and western portion of the county. And a new northcounty District 30 is shaping up as a primary battleground between state Rep. Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach, and Emily Slosberg, the daugh- ter of Rep. Irving Slosberg, D-Boca Raton. Retired technology executive Gregg Weiss of West Palm Beach, who’s active in the county Democratic Party, is also considering a District 30 run.
Within days of the state
assigning district numbers to the new seats, Abruzzo and Emily Slosberg moved quickly to lock up endorsements in their respective districts.
In District 29, which includes a portion of Broward County, Abruzzo on Friday announced he’s been endorsed by 23 current and former elected officials from Palm Beach and Broward counties. Abruzzo’s list includes Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and State Attorney Dave Aronberg. Also significant: Mike Limongelli of Century Village of Boca Raton, the condo association president and unofficial political gatekeeper for the huge, heavily Democratic retiree community.
Abruzzo has also put together a consulting dream team to steer his campaign. He has retained Rick Asnani of Cornerstone Solutions, veteran strategist Eric Johnson (who’s chief of staff and top politi- cal adviser for Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy) and former Florida Democratic Party operative Christian Ulvert.
In the new District 30, attorney and political consultant Slosberg announced endorsements from Bradshaw, Abruzzo, Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary Lou Berger and School Board member Karen Brill.
Democrats have a 12-point registration advantage in District 30 and President Barack Obama got 57 percent there in 2012.
But Riviera Beach Councilwoman Dawn Pardo, a Republican, is considering a run for the seat. Pardo crossed party lines to endorse Democrat Murphy’s re-election bid in 2014 over Republican challenger Carl Domino.
■ Everyone figured businessman Randy Perkins would pour big bucks from his personal fortune into his Democratic campaign for the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast District 18 congressional seat. Get the latest news on politics in Palm Beach County at the Post on Politics blog.
He did — transferring $1 million into his campaign account in December. But Perkins showed he won’t merely be a self-financer. His campaign announced last week that the firsttime candidate collected more than $420,000 from contributors last month.
A report detailing where the money came from isn’t due until the end of this month.
Most of the other candidates in the crowded District 18 race haven’t announced fundraising totals yet, though Democratic Palm Beach County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor’s campaign said she raised about $40,000 during the final quarter of 2015 for the congressional race.
■ More than 200 Palm Beach County movers and shakers are expected to converge Wednesday on Tallahassee to lobby legis- lators for the annual Palm Beach County Day.
Five of seven county commissioners are slated to come to the state Capitol. They’ll be joined by School Board members, representatives of the county’s Economic Council, Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach State College and businesses including the Palm Beach Kennel Club, which has a stake in the proposed $3 billion gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that is now before lawmakers. The Kennel Club’s president is state Rep. Pat Rooney Jr., R-West Palm Beach.
The county’s priorities include items for the Glades, county road and environmental improvements and sober home legislation.
“We’re hoping it’ll give us a collective foot-forward with all our priorities this session,” said county lobbyist Todd Bonlarron.