BusinessForce Insider's Briefings

BusinessForce Insider's Briefings are not fund-raisers, but instead an opportunity to meet and hear from Florida's top political leaders and decision-makers from both political parties in an informal, private session.

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BusinessForce Boosts House Candidates In Top Priority Races

BusinessForce, the political action arm of the Central Florida Partnership, hosted a special BusinessForce "Insider's Briefing" luncheon on Oct. 25 ^th boosting the legislative candidacies of Dr. Bob Brooks, Marco Pena and Rep. Scott Plakon. All are seeking seats in the Central Florida Legislative Delegation in newly drawn, highly competitive districts that have been targeted by BusinessForce as "high priority, must win" races in 2012.

Click here to view more photos from this event.

Introducing and presenting the three candidates to BusinessForce members and their invited guests was BusinessForce Chair Jay Galbraith who praised the qualifications and credentials of each to hold public office. Each candidate expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of strong support for their campaigns from the business community and then provided an update on the current status and outlook for their respective races which are among the tightest and most hotly contested in the state.

BusinessForce President Mike Ketchum concluded the luncheon by stressing the importance of electing the three candidates in order to keep our legislative delegation a pro-business one and encouraged those present to redouble their efforts in the community between now and Election Day to insure that Brooks, Pena and Plakon are elected. He went on to remind attendees of their opponent's position on the proposed paid sick leave mandate in Orange County vehemently opposed by the Central Florida Partnership and the business community stating, "Their opponents, who are being supported by Occupy Orlando leaders and their paid sick leave advocate allies, either supported this costly new governmental mandate or supported holding a vote on the proposed referendum despite its containing ballot language which the referendum proponents openly admitted was inaccurate, misleading and deceptive."

"I Get Things Done In Washington," Mica Tells BusinessForce

Stepping off the campaign trail from his grueling Aug. 14^th Republican primary battle with Congresswoman Sandy Adams (R-Oviedo), Cong. John Mica (R-Winter Park) was the special guest speaker at the July 16^th BusinessForce "Insider's Briefing" luncheon presented by host sponsor AT&T along with supporting sponsors Bright House Networks, Duke Energy Corporation, Century Link and Publix Super Markets.

Click here to view more photos.

The powerful Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, accompanied by two key committee staffers, began his remarks to BusinessForce investors and their invited guests by recounting that his initial ambition was to go to Congress "to be a leader" and to "think in terms of the nation, not the district." He recognized early on it would be necessary to for him to become a committee chair to get things done and in order to do so, Mica revealed that he had to successfully overcome the initial opposition of current House Speaker John Boehner.

Once assuming the committee chairmanship, Mica discovered he had "inherited a mess" during his efforts to reauthorize the FAA and went on to share the "hardball politics" he played with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to expose a $3,720 subsidy per ticket for certain Nevada airports which forced the U.S. Senate to compromise on the FAA legislation. More recently, Mica has steered to passage a bipartisan Transportation Bill re-authorization which had not been accomplished since 2005.

Looking ahead, the veteran congressman foresaw opportunities for the region to become a center for air traffic control and to improve our infrastructure to better support the needs of our tourism industry. He was excited about the possibility pursuing of rail connections to Orlando International Airport and the recent proposal by Florida East Coast Railroad to connect Miami with an Orlando high speed rail route. With respect to the region's growing modeling and simulation industry where upcoming federal budget cuts could severely threaten its future, Mica strongly urged business leaders to organize now to save what we have and even seek ways to expand it.

To learn more about BusinessForce and how you can become involved, visit www.orlando.org/businessforce or contact michael.ketchum@orlando.org.

Cong. Mack Tells BusinessForce "I Want To Be Your Partner In Washington"

Cong. Connie Mack (R-Ft. Myers), the front running candidate in the Aug. 14th Republican Primary for the U. S. Senate nomination to take on veteran Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the November general election was the special guest at the May 30th BusinessForce "Insider's Briefing" luncheon presented by host sponsor AT&T and supporting sponsors Progress Energy, Bright House Networks, Century Link and Publix Super Markets.

Taking direct aim at an "out of control" Washington that seeks "to divide us, not unite us" and the burdensome regulations that often plague businesses, Mack charged we have a "federal government that doesn't believe in you" and oftentimes "destroys what we are trying to save or protect." As an example, he cited the 31 permits and fees a boatyard in his congressional district recently faced in order to expand. Also cited by Mack as detriments to the business climate were the passage of Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank financial industry regulation. He went on to call for their repeal and asked his audience of BusinessForce members and their invited guests to "judge me on what I can repeal because I want to bring government, laws and regulations back to the people. I want to be your partner in Washington."

The Ft. Myers congressman took to task both the Republican and Democratic Parties on their continuing failure to solve the deficit problem by blasting Senate Democrats for not passing a budget in 3 years and House Republicans for passing a budget that does not come into balance for 28 years. "We can do better," he said calling the huge federal deficit "a national security problem." He went on to tout as a remedy the "One Cent Solution" plan which would largely require the government to cut one cent out of every dollar of its total spending each year for 6 years. Mack added, "Right now we are on the road to Greece. I want us on the road to prosperity instead."

Turning to his upcoming campaign against Nelson, Mack revealed he was encouraged by his running evenly in current polls against the two term incumbent who has held various public offices in Florida 36 of the last 40 years. He criticized Nelson's recent priority of controlling pythons in the Everglades along with his key votes supporting several controversial Obama Administration initiatives and indicated he would defend himself against the expected Nelson attacks against him on social security and Medicare by asking him "What is your plan to save social security and Medicare?"

Cong. Adams Calls Washington "Broken"

The freshman congressman, who was first elected in the 2010 Republican sweep by ousting incumbent Cong. Suzanne Kosmas (D-New Smyrna Beach), called her first 18 months in office "interesting" and confirmed for her audience of BusinessForce investors and their guests that "Washington is broken - it's true."  Adams described President Obama as having been "in a full re-election mode" throughout her term in office and only interested in playing partisan politics with legislation.  As evidence, she cited White House opposition to her leadership on re-enacting the "Violence Against Women Act."

The inability of the U. S. Senate to pass a budget in over three years also came under fire by Adams who praised the efforts of the U. S. House to not only pass a real budget addressing the deficit and entitlements but approve as well numerous measures to get the economy back on track and create jobs only to see them die in the Senate.

Cong. Adams went on to report on the 24 Town Hall meetings she has held in her congressional district since taking office.  During these meetings she has emphasized the need for Congress "to make the hard decisions" to solve the looming fiscal crisis facing the United States before it heads down the same road as other countries.  "We got put in this situation by both parties but the question now is how will we go forward?" Adams said and urged as the solution "changing the people who are in charge of how Washington works."

Commenting on her grueling Aug. 14^th Republican primary campaign which already has drawn national attention and pits her against veteran Cong. John Mica (R-Winter Park) in the new Congressional District 7, Adams called it the "unnecessary primary."  Brandishing a map of the new district, she cited figures showing she currently represents over 50% of the district she has chosen to run in while Mica currently represents 72% of new Congressional District 6 where he could have chosen to run.  She categorically denied rumors that she would bow out of the race stating "I have to do what is right" and it would be wrong to run somewhere "just to have a seat in Congress."

During the question and answer period Adams responded to an inquiry on the status of the new Veterans Hospital at Lake Nona which has been plagued by what she called a "disconnect and little oversight by the VA."  Adams predicted an opening by the end of 2013.

To learn more about BusinessForce or how you can become involved, visit www.orlando.org/businessforce or contact michael.ketchum@orlando.org.

Batchelor, Perez Mix It Up

Two of the state's premier political strategists and commentators, Democrat Dick Batchelor and Republican Tico Perez, took the stage on April 13th as BusinessForce, the political action arm of the Central Florida Partnership, kicked off its 2012 series of "Insider's Briefings" hosted by AT&T along with supporting sponsors Progress Energy, Bright House Networks, Century Link and Publix Super Markets.

Dick Batchelor	Tico Perez

Batchelor, a former state legislator from Orlando, heads the Dick Batchelor Management Group, a business consulting firm, while Perez is a local attorney and the founder of Edge Public Affairs. Both are highly respected community leaders and political observers who are often sought out for their political expertise and regularly appear as political commentators in the local media.

Both speakers began their special election year appearance by taking a close look at the upcoming presidential election with Batchelor maintaining the outcome of the U. S. Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, Romney's weakness in the GOP base as well as with the female vote would be key factors on whether Pres. Obama is re-elected. He also suggested possible events in Iran or further gas price increases could be key additional factors. Perez saw the race as one that will be overshadowed by themes and messages and stated "Obama can't win but the Republicans could lose." He panned Obama's 2008 campaign slogan of "Yes, We Can" by charging it now had become "Why We Couldn't." With respect to Obamacare, Perez confidently predicted it "would fall before the Supreme Court."

There was also some speculation over Romney's Vice Presidential pick with Perez suggesting Sen. Marco Rubio and Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno as leading contenders and Batchelor clearly hoping for Newt Gingrich.

Turning to state politics and with the upcoming 2014 governor's race just ahead, Batchelor saw as potential Democratic candidates 2010 nominee Alex Sink, current party chair Rod Smith, former Gov. Charlie Crist and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. He added that should Gov. Scott's poll numbers remain weak, Chief Financial Office Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi or Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam may jump in the race on the Republican side. Perez countered that Scott's poll numbers were on the uptick and potential opponents would be deterred by Scott's considerable financial resources.

With the favorite to become Senate President in 2014, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) sitting in the BusinessForce audience, Perez and Batchelor agreed on the importance of having a "hometown" Senate President who "understands community issues."

Both speakers offered their perspectives on the controversial creation of a 12th state university by separating the USF Polytech campus in Lakeland from USF and also on potential university student tuition hikes. On school funding issues, strong differences emerged with Batchelor criticizing what he characterized as deep cuts to education and Perez lauding the $1 billion increase in educational funding this legislative session while maintaining the cuts were really nothing more than a decrease in the rate of spending growth.

To learn more about BusinessForce and how you can become involved visit www.orlando.org/businessforce or contact Michael.ketchum@orlando.org.

Sen. Gardiner Previews Legislative Session

Florida Senate Majority Leader Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) was the special guest at the Dec. 2nd BusinessForce "Insider's Briefing" luncheon presented by host sponsor AT&T and supporting sponsors Progress Energy, Bright House Networks and Tucker Hall.

With the 2012 legislative session kicking off on January 10th, Gardiner focused during his remarks on the three "mega-issues" which will likely dominate the upcoming session - redistricting, gambling and the state budget.

Florida Senate Majority Leader Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) Click here to view more photos from this event.

Redistricting required every 10 years is always a contentious process among legislators and Gardiner expects this year it will be no exception. He predicted congressional redistricting will be the most difficult to accomplish while the Senate and House will likely accept the redistricting proposals of the other body. He added there is a strong likelihood of lawsuits by those who feel the requirements of Amendments 5 and 6 to the Florida Constitution which were approved in 2010 by Florida voters were not followed.

Regarding prospects for the proposed expansion of gambling in Florida, the powerful Majority Leader, who is a staunch gambling opponent and will oppose the proposed legislation, foresaw "a 50% chance of its passage."

Upon their arrival in Tallahassee, Gardiner reported legislators will face a budget shortfall in excess of $2 billion dollars as the Florida economy continues to struggle in the midst of a brutal recession. In view of that, he went on to project Central Florida will come out of the recession earlier and stronger than other areas in the state.

In a wide ranging question and answer period following his prepared remarks, the Orlando Republican fielded questions on such topics as closing the internet tax loophole, immigration, space and further pension reform.

Insider's Briefings Archive

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Affecting positive change in the Central Florida Region requires strong "Regional Public Policy Advocacy" - an important line of business for the Central Florida Partnership.  BusinessForce, our "Political-Action-Arm," is making a positive difference by sharing important regional conversations, encouraging and supporting candidates for public office, and helping to guide civic, political and business leaders about the future.  Working together with Orlando, Inc. focused on Regional Entrepreneurship, Leadership Orlando (Regional Leadership), and myregion.org (Regional Research & Resolves), the Central Florida Partnership is moving "Ideas to Results."