Politics This Week

 Politics this week. He said that Binyamin Netanyahu's opponents reached an agreement ending his 12-year term as Israeli Prime Minister. Under the deal, National Party leader Naftali Bennett becomes prime minister and will serve for two years before being handed over to centrist and secularist Yair Rafid. Knesset still has to pass the vote of trust in a new coalition that includes an Arab-Israeli party. That leaves time for Netanyahu to try to elect right-wing supporters. The African Union has suspended Mali's membership and threatened to impose sanctions if a civilian-led government is not restored. Last month, Mali's troops staged a coup, the second in less than a year.

Margaret Good Opens a New Political Committee

Margaret good opens a new political committee. What’s up with that? Let's speculate wildly. Sarasota Democrat Margaret Goode hasn't been in the spotlight since her loss to Congress last fall. But the formation of a new state commission means a re-entry into politics. On May 10, Good formed a new committee, Build Local Power Inc., which at this time had vague political scope. The organization's report will focus on "candidate and voting issues, statewide, legislative, multidistrict, county and local elections," and says the commission is "civil" in nature.

A former state legislator chairs the committee. Fort Lauderdale attorney Jason Blank has been chairman of the Good-affiliated committee for many years and serves as treasurer for the new organization. Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board member David Lapovsky was recently appointed Deputy Treasurer. However, the formation of other groups raises questions. Will Good run for state again? Will she support local political activities in the city of Sarasota or the surrounding area? Is this part of the Democrats' statewide effort to improve election performance?

Now, no one knows what to say. Sarasota County Democratic Chairman JoAnne DeVries is unsure what the committee is and has only described the committee's composition as "interesting". Several sources close to Good did not respond to requests for comment. Perhaps the answer will become clear soon. Good did not reply to Florida politics on this topic. However, there are several directions the committee could go in. The clearest thing the committee's composition signals is the return to the ballot for goodwill.

She first entered Florida politics four years ago and came to national attention after the embarrassment in the February 2018 state House special election. In an area where Republicans had 13,000 more Democrats than Democrats, they beat Republican James Buchanan, the son of longtime Republican Vern Buchanan in the United States, who was a Republican by 7 percentage points. She took a narrow seat against Senator Ray Pilon later that same year. But two years later, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee asked Good to run against Bern Buchanan. Things didn't go well and in November they lost double digits as Buchanan entered the eighth term.

Can I run again? At least the composition of the state committees seems to suggest that Good's interest has once again shifted to state or local politics rather than to parliament. Her federal campaign committee has not reported any activity since late last year. Good, the prolific fundraiser raised nearly $3.5 million regardless of the match against Elder Buchanan, but as of the end of 2020, it had only $4,080 in cash. Can I run for the State House of Representatives again? Republican Congressman Fiona McFarland now holds her old House District 72 seat, so she can get Good back. But McFarland surpassed expectations in November and she scored nearly 10 percentage points in a year that turned out to be a good year for Florida Republicans.

The Republican legislature looks set to make the Republican seat as safe as possible ahead of the 2022 midterm exams. Still, Good is the only Democrat to win the district in the current line, and she's done it twice. But one curiosity is that Good didn't shut down New Day Florida. In fact, the commission holds more cash than Good's federal account at around $5,728, despite not raising a dime since last February. So, why would a new committee be formed? There is speculation among Democrats in local circles that she may be interested in a new political effort.

Despite Democrats doing well enough to reclaim the White House and Senate from Florida in 2020, in April, State Representative Ben Diamond is set to take on a seven-member streak to help shape and improve strategy ahead of the 2022 campaign cycle. I made up a panel. Good is one of the more prominent members. One obvious way Democrats can improve performance is by building local power. Could this new committee be part of a broader strategy for the Florida Democrats and their supporters to revert from the humiliating losses of 2020 in a state known for a generation known as America's biggest swinging nation?

That's a strong possibility. Sarasota Mayor Hagen Brody, a close political ally of Good, emphasized that he does not know the purpose of the commission. However, he said in her conversation with Good a few weeks ago that she had expressed interest in her voter registration and community involvement. "It's nice to see her continue to participate," Brody said.

Of course, Good may want a new commission if she focuses on her running for City Hall. Sarasota, which recently moved the elections to the November cycle, won seats on two large city councils next year. One of them is held by Brody, who has yet to run for re-election, and the other is held by fellow Democrat Jennifer Ahearn-Koch. For the record, the Sarasota Board of Elections Commissioner confirmed that Good was registered to vote within the city limits of County 2. Another Democrat, Liz Alpert, secured a seat in the constituency for the 2024 election.

Sara Sota provided Good's greatest political support in her last run for public office. The Democratic City remains a rare blue fort in southwest Florida, an area dominated by Republicans in an almost monolithic way. Although there are currently no Democrats and no lawmakers residing in Sarasota County (or nearby counties), city voters favored Joe Biden last November. Most Democratic districts in the county are within city boundaries. A more distant possibility? Sarasota's Charter Review Board is set to convene again soon, and some hope to see the subject elect the entire mayor when it appears on the ballot again soon. With names like Build Local Power, committees can support strong mayor efforts within an elected mayor or city of Sarasota.

For decades, there have been local efforts to change the city charter and allow the mayor to be directly elected from the entire city, instead of having a city council appoint one of its members to a post for a year. According to several sources, elected mayor advocates have attempted to recruit Good to the cause. But it may be a hopeful idea. She has refused to participate in her re-election campaign and prior efforts to amend the charter, including avoiding the side of the date change bill passed in 2018 displayed on the same ballot.

Good has so far not responded to her request for what the committee is going to do at Florida Politics. After the 2020 defeat, Good stepped back from her public discourse in Florida. However, in January, she served as honorary co-chair of the federal PAC, founded by US Congressman Eric Swalwell, who supported a successful effort to overturn two seats in the Georgia Senate. For now, politicians can only speculate. But 2022 is beckoning and the questions will be answered soon.