Judge Seeks To Clear Way For Smoking Marijuana
June 6, 2018
A Tallahassee judge on Tuesday lifted a hold on her order finding that Florida patients should be allowed to smoke medical marijuana if their doctors approve it.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers lifted the stay on her May 25 order a day after hearing arguments in the case, initiated by Orlando trial attorney John Morgan after the Legislature included a ban on smoking in a 2017 law carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.
Gievers last month agreed with Morgan and the plaintiffs, who argued that the text of the constitutional amendment allows patients to use any form of marijuana as their treatment. Morgan largely bankrolled what was known as Amendment 2, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016.
The state appealed Gievers’ decision striking down the smoking prohibition. The appeal put her ruling on hold, but the plaintiffs then went back to Gievers and asked her to lift the stay.
In Tuesday’s order, Gievers wrote that plaintiffs Cathy Jordan, a Lou Gehrig’s disease patient who credits smoking marijuana with saving her life, and Diana Dodson, who has neuralgia associated with HIV, would suffer without having access to smokable marijuana.
“Individual patients Jordan and Dodson are exposed to irreparable harm on two fronts. First, they cannot legally access the treatment recommended for them. Second, they face potential criminal prosecution for possession and use of the medicinal substance,” the judge wrote.
On the other hand, “there is no evidence the defendants (the state) will suffer harm if the stay is vacated,” the judge wrote.
“Lifting the stay preserves the status quo by returning the law to its previous state as it existed following the 2016 adoption of the constitutional medical marijuana rights” and before the 2017 law went into effect, she added.
In siding with the plaintiffs, Gievers also found that “there is no likelihood of success on the merits by the defendants.”
Gievers gave seven days before her order goes into effect, a delay requested by the state to give its lawyers more time to prepare an appeal and to eliminate what they said would be confusion if the judge were to remove the hold on her earlier order.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said the agency is reviewing the ruling.
“The use of medical marijuana is outlined in state law, which was passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan majority of the Florida Legislature. DOH is working every day to implement the law. To be clear — patients in Florida have access to this treatment in many forms outlined in state law,” agency spokesman Devin Galetta said in an email.
Gov. Rick Scott, who is running against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in what is already a heated race, controls the health department, which critics have slammed for a lackluster approach to implementing the amendment approved by more than 71 percent of voters in 2016.
Morgan, a political rainmaker who backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, continued to make smokable medical marijuana a wedge issue in the Nelson-Scott race in an interview with The News Service of Florida late Tuesday afternoon.
Last week, Morgan called on Scott to drop the appeal in the smokable marijuana case, warning that he risked losing support from veterans, independents and moderate Republicans in the battle against Nelson.
Pointing to language in the May 25 ruling in which Gievers equated breaking the Florida law with being able to breathe, Morgan quickly shifted to blaming the Republican governor and his administration for dragging their fee regarding medical marijuana.
“Rick Scott voted with the 28 percent that lost. From day one, they have done everything to stop the implementation. The Department of Health is so inept that it has to be intentional and it had to come from the top. And now here we are, years later, and Rick Scott is still denying the will of the people and allowing this appeal to go on and on. It is conscionable. It is cruel. It is mean. And he will lose the Senate race over all of this,” Morgan told the News Service.
On a less political note, lawyer Jon Mills, who represents the plaintiffs and was a chief architect of the 2016 amendment, said it would be easy for health officials and the state’s licensed medical marijuana operators to quickly make the smokable product available to patients.
Floridians shouldn’t have to choose between violating the law and getting the medicine they need, Mills told the News Service after Gievers’ ruling came out Tuesday.
“At the moment, we have an industry that exists and patients that exist, and we could solve the problem,” he said.
Lawyers for the Department of Health have maintained that the amendment does not expressly permit smoking and that the state has the authority to approve regulations to implement the law and to protect the public from the negative side effects of smoking.
In Monday’s hearing, Mills argued that hundreds of thousands of Floridians who are eligible for medical marijuana, including veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, would benefit from smoking their medicine.
“It would seem that, taking the facts as a whole, and that is the irreparable harm to the parties and to the citizens of Florida, it’s hard to imagine more a compelling circumstance,” said Mills, a former state House speaker and former dean of the University of Florida law school.
But Assistant Attorney General Karen Brodeen argued that there was no hurry for Gievers to lift the stay, in part because of a lengthy state rulemaking process. Smokable pot “won’t be available for a long time,” if the courts ultimately decide that it is legal, Brodeen said.
“There’s no irreparable harm here. Nobody, at this time, can go to a medical-marijuana treatment center and purchase smokable marijuana. That’s going to take several months down the road, after an order that requires it to be available,” she said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Molino Park Grades 3-5 Awards Presented
June 6, 2018
THIRD GRADE
A Honor Roll
Jayden Arredondo
Brielle Garcia
Savannah Gilmore
McKinsey Mayne
Addison Parsons
A/B Honor Roll
Khloe Gibson
John Parker Miller
D’Marcus America
Camden Borelli
Tristan Buck
Autumn Dinkle
Isabella Joiner
Aydan Nigam
Daniel Tourney
Perfect Attendance
Cortez Chambers
Brielle Garcia
Felix Soileau
Good Citizenship
Dayton Andrews
Auna Arredondo
Jayden Arredondo
Grace Barraclough
Camden Borelli
Dalton Davidson
Rosie Denham
Autumn Dinkle
Morgan Driver
Taylor Dyer
Brielle Garcia
Khloe Gibson
Savannah Gilmore
Annabella Grant
Cooper Halfacre
Landen Harris
Taylor Hart
Jonas Houston
Nicholas Kahalley
Chelsea Mace
Elizabeth Madden
Darla Massey
John Parker Miller
Aydan Nigam
Addison Parsons
Elias Ridgley
Rayna Thompson
Christian Ward
Brooklynn White
Third Grade Special Recognition
Most Accelerated Reader Points/Bethea-John Parker Miller
Most Sunshine Math Points/Bethea-John Parker Miller
Sunshine Math/100 points or more-
Grace Barraclough
Waylon Downing
Khloe Gibson
Annabella Grant
Cooper Halfacre
John Parker Miller
Gavin Newman
Brooklynn White
Math Facts Master/Bethea-Rosie Denham
Most Improved/Bethea-Annabella Grant
Most Improved/Godwin-Taylor Dyer
FOURTH GRADE
A Honor Roll
Ayden Crabtree
Lily Driver
A/B Honor Roll
Destiny Abrams
Taylor Anderson
Jack Boutwell
Alyssa Brooks
Garrett Crabtree
Larry Chambers
Caden Eady
Kamryn Gibbs
John Hatch
Austin Jackson
Macy Miller
William Nowlin
Mary Oliver
Aryanna Smith
Perfect Attendance
Kaiden Harris
Excellent Attendance
Jordan Thibodeaux
Good Citizenship
Destiny Abrams
Jack Boutwell
Alyssa Brooks
Lily Driver
Chase Gibson
John Hatch
Gus Leatherberry
Andrew Milam
Macy Miller
Mary Oliver
Noel Pugh
Aryanna Smith
Sophia St. Cyr
Fourth Grade Special Recognition
Most improved Reading/Madril & Driver-Veronica Williams-McFarlain
Most Improved Reading/Reed-Isaiah Sasser
Most Improved Reading/Robinson-Claire Roetter
Most improved Math/Madril & Driver-Cameron Bodiford
Most Improved Math/Robinson-Natalie Andrews
4 th Grade District Award: Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution (Good Citizens)-
Andrew Brown
Andrew Milam
Claire Roetter
Aryanna Smith
Sunshine Math-
Alyssa Brooks
Raegan Holley
Austin Jackson
Caelan McKillion
Macy Miller
Mary Oliver
Top Accelerated Reading Award in 4th Grade-Austin Jackson – 260.7 AR pts.
FIFTH GRADE
A Honor Roll
Jericha Finlay
Aubree Jordan
Logan Shoffner
A/B Honor Roll
Emma Benson
Blakely Campbell
Alysia Enfinger
Kaylen Fore
Olivia Franks
Rhianne Gayagoy
Tyler Gilmore
Noah Goslee
Aiden Harris
Megan Houston
Kristopher Kelley
Joshua Kennedy
Emma Nigam
Madison Smotherman
Brooke Lytton
Hunter Manning
Mattie McLaney
Morgan Salmon
Perfect Attendance
Sophia Jones
Brooke Lytton
Fifth Grade Special Recognition
Presidential Awards-Citizenship
Emma Benson
Gabriella Burklund
Blakely Campbell
Alysia Enfinger
Jericha Finlay
Olivia Franks
Kaylen Fore
Rhianne Gayagoy
Tyler Gilmore
Noah Goslee
Megan Houston
Aubree Jordan
Kristopher Kelley
Joshua Kennedy
Brooke Lytton
Logan Madden
Mattie McLaney
Emma Nigam
Morgan Salmon
Lacey Sapp
Logan Shoffner
Madison Smotherman
Gabriel Staneart
Brooklyn Summerlin
Brooke Wilson
Daughters/Sons of the American Revolution (citizenship)
Logan Shoffner
Jericha Finlay
Noah Goslee
Rhianne Gayagoy
Aiden Harris
Mattie McLaney
Student of the Year
Morgan Salmon
Shining Star
Madison Smotherman
Hero Award
Olivia Franks
Spelling Bee Winner
Logan Shoffner
Sunshine Math Awards Participation (Trophy & Certificate):
Abbie Bertran
Kameron Cole
Kristopher Kelley
Naoki Rogers
Brooklyn Summerlin
Cayenne Thompson
Sunshine Math Team (Medal):
Joshua Kennedy
Logan Shoffner
Mattie McLaney
Kathleen Jackson
Madison Smotherman
Alysia Enfinger
Jercha Finlay
Most Sunshine Math Points:
Brooklyn Summerlin
Science Olympiad:
Joshua Kennedy
Kristopher Kelley
Alysia Enfinger
Logan Shoffner
Tyler Gilmore
Blakely Campbell
EREA/FREA Essay Contest Participation:
Alysia Enfinger
Kaylen Fore
Noah Goslee
Most Accelerated Reader points
Logan Madden (123.9)
Hunter Manning (105.3)
Kathleen Jackson (164.7)
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Shuckers Beat The Wahoos
June 6, 2018
The Wahoos were not able to capitalize on the momentum of last night’s win and fell to the Shuckers 6-3 Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The two teams combined for six errors and 28 strikeouts
Keury Mella (L, 4-3) had a rough outing in his 12th start for Pensacola. Mella started off with one-two-three in the first inning. However, Mella allowed six runs over the next three innings before being taken out. Mella pitched 3.2 innings and along with the six runs, two walks, six hits, and seven strikeouts.
Starter Zack Brown (W, 5-0) pitched a solid game for Biloxi. Brown had a season-high 11 strikeouts in the ballgame, along with one walk, and four hits in six innings. Shuckers are 11-1 in Brown’s starts. Nate Griep (S, 20) was called to close out the game and retired three of the last four Wahoos batters to get him his 20th save of the season and give the Shuckers the series lead.
The Wahoos scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nick Longhi scored on a wild pitch by Brown to get the Wahoos on the board. Daniel Sweet delivered a pinch-hit single which scored Luis Gonzalez and Brian O’Grady to cut the Wahoos deficit to 6-3. All four Wahoos hits for the game came in the fourth inning. Pensacola didn’t get another runner past second base for the rest of the night.
The Shuckers earned the win despite committing four errors. Pensacola’s bullpen was solid with Juan Martinez, Jesus Reyes and Brennan Bernardino combining for 5.1 scoreless innings. Wahoos pitching combined for 12 strikeouts of Shucker batters.
The series continues Wednesday night as right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez (1-8, 6.75) will pitch for the Wahoos against Biloxi southpaw Kodi Medeiros (4-2, 3.99)
Six Local Students Win National Merit Scholarships
June 6, 2018
Six area students have won college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships.:
National Merit University of Florida Scholarships (and probable career field):
- Lucas S. Liseth – Cantonment, Pensacola High School (Computer Science)
- Brett T. Winter – Gulf Breeze, Pensacola High School (Medicine)
- Kareem M. Bataineh – Pensacola, Pensacola High School (Biology)
- Liana N. Patterson – Pensacola, Pensacola High School (Undecided)
- James T. Riggins -Pensacola, Pensacola High School (Mechanical Engineering)
National Merit Florida State University Scholarship (and probable career field):
- George C. Hester Pensacola, Pensacola High School (International Business)
Five West Florida Jaguars Baseball Players Sign To Play College Ball
June 6, 2018
Five West Florida High School baseball players have signed to play at the next level.
Billy Kaser (outfield), JJ Pease (pitcher) and Quint Rayburn (pitcher)signed with Coastal Alabama Community College. Dylan Pitts (short stop) signed with Southern Union State Community College, and Dalton Wise (catcher) signed with Bishop State Community College.
The Jaguars were District 6A champions.
Pictured above: (L-R) Dalton Wise, JJ Pease, Quint Rayburn, Billy Kaser and Dylan Pitts, (back L-R) Jaguar varsity coaches Joe Rieland, Marc Conti and Mike Wallace. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
County To File Lien For Cleanup Of Alger Sullivan Property, Fines Continue To Add Up
June 5, 2018
Escambia County will file a lien against the former Alger Sullivan Lumber Mill property in Century to pay for a recent cleanup, and daily code violation fines are continuing to accumulate, according to Escambia County.
The 38-acre industrial property was heavily damaged and sat untouched since 150 mph tornado winds the afternoon of February 15, 2016.
Escambia County crews entered the property and performed some cutting and trimming, cleaned around a concrete ditch, removed four 30-yard dumpsters of debris and replaced 80-feet of chain link fence that was down. The Mosquito Control Division was also on site to inspect and treat any areas that were favorable for mosquito breeding. The cleanup area was concentrated on the portion of the property behind residences on Front Street.
The cleanup cost assessed by the county was $5,450 — $2,589.29 for 150 hours of labor, $2,613.75 in equipment costs and $246.96 in material costs.
The property owners — listed in county records as DMT Holdings LLC in Navarre and DMT Holdings LLC in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada — were cited by Escambia County Code Enforcement. The county provides code enforcement services under contract within the town limits of Century.
With no response from the owners. a special magistrate for Escambia County issued an order against the property at One Lumber Road on October 4, 2016, giving the owners until November 1, 2016, to clean up the property. Failing to comply, the property owners were assessed costs of $1,100, and fines of $50 per day have been accruing ever since. To date, the property owners have accrued fines in excess of $30,000.
Escambia County received three bids for the demolition and cleanup of the mill, but the low bid was $800,000 — far in excess of the county’s entire cleanup budget. Last fiscal year, Escambia County spent $435,000 abate properties. This fiscal year, the budget is up to $463,425. Property records show the entire property is assessed at a value of $802,189.
Seizing the property under legal channels has also been problematic due to an outstanding mortgage and back taxes.
NorthEscambia.com and courtesy file photos, click to enlarge.
North Escambia Residents Recount Trip Near Guatemala’s Fuego Volcano
June 5, 2018
For several North Escambia residents, there’s a personal connection to a deadly volcano that erupted Sunday in Guatemala — mission trips within sight of Volcan de Fuego – “The Volcano of Fire”.
Members of Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in McDavid visited Guatemala about a year an a half ago on a mission trip to an orphanage in San Juan Sacatepequez, about 20 miles away from the volcano. They stayed at the Hotel Soleil in Antigua less than eight miles from Fuego.
From the hotel, Ray’s Chapel member Ramona Preston photographed Fuego spewing and flowing lava. She said it was not a scary sight, and she feels for the victims of Sunday’s eruption.
“The people don’t have things like we do,” Preston said. “They have a great need for basics like food, malnutrition is prevalent there.”
“It is heart breaking but so rewarding to serve there,” she said. “And here is another difference… the people are happy.”
Highland Baptist Church Pastor Bryan Calhoun also expressed his concerns for the people in the area around Fuego. He said many children are left at the orphanage by the parents simply because they can’t afford their basis needs.
“If you can’t find work, you won’t be eating,” Calhoun, who last visited the area about three years ago, said.
“The parents will go visit their children on the weekends,” he said. “Sometimes they will find a job and go back when they have enough money to get their children from the orphanage.”
Reports from the orphanage indicate they received ash but major damage from the eruption.
“The children and staff at the center and the team members in Antigua are all safe. Everything is okay; we just have a lot of ash,” a translator said in a message from Guatemala. “We covet your prayers for the people in areas near the volcano. Nature can be amazing and very powerful. Thank you for your prayers.”
The Guatemalan hotel used by the Ray’s Chapel members is serving as a relief center, collecting supplies for those in need.
At least report, 69 people died in Sunday’s eruption.
Pictured: The Fuego volcano in Guatemala as seen in late 2017 in a photograph by McDavid resident Ramona Preston. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate’s Cora Andrews Is Candidate For State FFA Officer
June 5, 2018
Cora Andrews, of the J.M. Tate High School FFA Chapter, has been selected as a Florida FFA state officer candidate.
Andrews is seeking the position of the Area 1 state vice president.
Andres and 32 other high school seniors from around the state participated in the rigorous interview process at the Florida FFA Leadership Training Center in Haines City. Over the course of two days, Andrews and the others were challenged with a personal interview, written exam, individual problem-solving exercise, advocacy stand and deliver practicum, state degree interview, agricultural education interview and a conversational exercise.
State officer election will take during the 90th Florida FFA State Convention & Expo, June 11-15 in Orlando, Florida
All-Star Baseball, Softball Games Thursday, Includes Century Little League Equipment Drive
June 5, 2018
The 2017-18 Subway High School All-Star Series concludes Thursday, June 7 with the baseball and softball games at UWF’s Jim Spooner Field and Softball Complex in Pensacola.
New at this year’s event, Pensacola Sports is holding an equipment drive. Fans are encouraged to bring used / new baseball and softball equipment to be donated to the Century Little League. Recently, the Pensacola Sports Foundation donated $3,000 to the league (pictured above).
Donations can include balls, bats, gloves, bags, cleats, catchers gear, trainings aids, etc. Century Little League officials will be on-site collecting the equipment.
Century Little League will also gladly accept donations of monetary value.
Everyone who donates will receive a $10 Academy Sports and Outdoors Coupon.
“We are looking forward to seeing the response we get from the community in our effort to help the Century Little League,” said Pensacola Sports President Ray Palmer. “Our intent is to make this a component of all our all-star games moving forward and will find deserving leagues and organizations to be the benefactor.”
The head coaches for the west teams, comprised of Escambia County schools, are West Florida Tech’s Mike Kent coaching softball and Sonny Reedy of Catholic High School coaching baseball.
Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County Schools make up the east team. John Carlisle of Baker High School will lead the east softball team while Laurel Hill’s Catfish Hill will coach the east baseball team.
West Softball
Catholic — Donovan Whibbs — 2B
Catholic — Griffin Reedy — Pitcher
Catholic — Cole Moore — C/P/OF
Catholic — Hunter Chipman — P
Catholic — Gabe Faucheaux — OF
Catholic — Trey Whitehead — 1B/LHP/OF
Catholic — Evan Dominguez — P/OF
Escambia — Dominick Miller — LHP/1B/OF
Escambia — Bryce Keever — LHP
Northview — John Chivington — 3B/SS
PCA — David Mundt — CF
Pensacola — Damyis Olds — 3B/P
Pine Forest — Kyler Hultgren — C
Tate — Reid Halfacre — OF
Tate — Jesse Sherrill — 2B/SS
Tate — Trent Jeffcoat — 3B/SS
Tate — Blake Anderson — 1B
Washington — Jaxson Messer — C
Washington — Josh Stanton — OF/2B
West FL Tech — Billy Kaser — OF
West FL Tech — Bryant Johnecheck — OF
West FL Tech — Dalton Wise — C
West FL Tech — John Pease — RHP
West FL Tech — Wyatt Whyner — 1B
West FL Tech — Quint Rayburn — RHP
Head Coach: Sonny Reedy, Catholic High School
East Softball
Baker — Lane Boone — OF
Central — Chrystian Westfall — OF, IF
Choctaw — Drew Mercier — SS/2B
Choctaw — Kyle Johnson — C
Choctaw — Zach Nash — 1B
Crestview — Blake Vann — OF/C
FWB — Tobias Ward-Boulden — RHP/SS
FWB — Waylon Steele — CF/3B
Gulf Breeze — Brandon Schrepf — CF/P
Gulf Breeze — Carson Reeder — P/1B
Gulf Breeze — Stephen Halstead — P/SS
Jay — Reid Kelley — OF
Laurel Hill — Bryan Pursley — C/IF/P
Laurel Hill — Justin Rosen — IF/P
Milton — Caleb Mincks — P/2B/OF
Milton — Zach McKnight — 3B/2B/P
Navarre — Cade Taylor — 1B/2B
Navarre — Ryan Cocker — 3B/SS/P
Niceville — Chance Huff — P/OF
Niceville — Noah Bailey — LF/P/3B
Pace — Bennett Shell — CF
Pace — Blake Cordova — SS/2B
Pace — Dalton Childs — C
Pace — Izzy Ham — 1B
Rocky Bayou — Jack Wolgast — P/OF
Head Coach: Catfish Hill, Laurel Hill
West Soft
Catholic — Savanna Nobles — P/1B/3B
Catholic — Kayla Carrell — SS/P
Escambia — Skye Lanham — OF
Escambia — Aleka Anglin — 2B/OF
Escambia — Madeline McCollum — C
Escambia — Peyton Anglin — CF
Milton — Kelsey Hodges — 1B/3B
Pace — Brooke Shelby — CF/P
Pace — Autumn Dunlap — C
Pine Forest — Cierra Morits — 3B/2B
Pine Forest — Halee Nagem — 1B
Tate — Belle Wolfden — C/SS
Tate — Hannah Brown — P/OF
Tate — Sydni Solliday — RF
Tate — Deazia Nickerson — LF
Tate — Taylor Hedgepath — 2B
Tate — Madisen Nelson — 1B
Washington — Brennah Coffin — P/2B
West Fla Tech — Keyana Norman — OF
Head Coach: Mike Kent, West Florida Tech
East Softball
Baker — Makina Potter — 1B/DP/DH
Central — Kira Holley — P
Central — Alex Simmons — 2B
Central — Jackie Jernigan — CF
Crestview — Taylor Bumgardner — CF/P
Crestview — Hannah Dukes — C
FWB — Virginia Elsperman — P
Gulf Breeze — Reagan Raley — SS
Gulf Breeze — Taylor Baker — C
Gulf Breeze — Kamryn Hearn — OF
Gulf Breeze — Alyssa Lewter — 2B/OF
Jay — Kolby Bray — 3B
Jay — Haylee Watson — C
Jay — Sarah Barhill — 1B
Navarre — Britney Silver — 2B/MI/OF
Navarre — Morgan Marquis — P/1B/2B
Navarre — Emma Thomas — 3B/MI
Navarre — Nathalie Holbrook — OF/1B
Niceville — Sydney Bird — 3B/OF
Niceville — Raiven Bryant — SS
Niceville — Katelynn Inness — P
Rocky Bayou — Kaylee Orr –
Head Coach: John Carlisle, Baker High School
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Billionaire Greene Jumps Into Florida Governor’s Race
June 5, 2018
Billionaire real-estate investor Jeff Greene has filed paperwork to run as a Democrat for governor, joining a crowded field that already includes four major candidates.
Greene, 63, who lives in Palm Beach two doors down from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2010. Greene earned 31 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary but was far behind former U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who had 57.5 percent.
Greene also ran unsuccessfully in 1982 as a Republican for a congressional seat in California.
With two weeks before the start of formal qualifying for state races, Greene opened a campaign account on Friday in a primary that includes former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee, former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, Orlando-area businessman Chris King and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Christian Ulvert, a top adviser to Levine’s campaign, noted that Greene is entering the race just 50 days before the Aug. 28 primary ballots are mailed out. Levine and Graham have been the early leaders in the primary, although a large swath of Democratic voters remain undecided, public polls indicate.
Levine’s campaign has been bolstered by television ads financed by more than $15 million he has raised through May, including some $8 million in personal contributions.
But Greene, who has a net worth of $3.8 billion according to Forbes, will be able to immediately compete if he decides to self-fund his campaign like he did in 2010, when he spent nearly $24 million in his Senate bid.
While welcoming Greene to the race, Gillum said he remains the only “non-millionaire” running in the primary. “I believe Florida Democrats need a true champion for working people as their nominee,” he said in a statement.
Although his personal wealth may be an asset, Greene is likely to face questions in the Democratic primary over favorable remarks he made about Trump shortly after the president’s election in November 2016.
In an interview with Forbes, Greene said he supported Hillary Clinton in the election but urged Democrats to get behind Trump “and not think about voting him out of office,” noting his non-political background may give him an opportunity “to look at everything with fresh eyes.”
But Greene criticized Trump for allowing “previously intolerable rhetoric to become tolerable,” pointing to campaign statements about keeping Muslims out of the country and identifying Mexicans as “rapists.”
“He opened the door to bigoted and racist behavior,” Greene told Forbes. “I hope he is going to pivot away from that rhetoric.”
Greene lives with his wife, Mei Sze Chan, and three sons in Palm Beach. A native of Massachusetts, he has an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard.
Greene may not be the only late-arriving candidate in the Democratic primary for governor, with former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who represented a congressional seat in Martin, St. Lucie and Palm Beach counties, also contemplating a bid.
Murphy said he is exploring a campaign that would include former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a Pinellas County Republican, as his running mate.
Candidates for governor, Cabinet seats and legislative offices will formally qualify for the 2018 ballot from June 18 to June 22.
The winner of the Aug. 28 Democratic primary for governor will face the winner of the Republican primary, where Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis of Palm Coast are the leading candidates. Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is leaving office in January because of term limits.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida