Hunkering Down With Peter Schorsch

Hunkering Down With Peter Schorsch

By Peter SchorschNewsPolitics
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Hunkering Down With Peter Schorsch episodes

  • Jennifer Green

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with lobbyist Jennifer Green, president and owner of Liberty Partners of Tallahassee.

    Liberty Partners of Tallahassee represents Expedia Group, which owns Vrbo and Home Away, two major vacation rental companies. Peter and Jennifer discuss Phase One reopening, and why vacation rentals are treated differently than hotels by the state of Florida.

    Green expresses the frustration of her clients in interpreting the latest reopening orders, why vacation rentals should be opened, particularly in places with few hotels like the Panhandle, and why she believes vacation rentals may actually be more cleanly than hotels.

    Peter and Jennifer debate whether Floridians on the whole are pushing for the state to reopen faster or not ready to end social distancing. Peter says this is because the louder, more visible voices are those defying reopening orders.

    They discuss stress of all workers right now, from unemployed service workers, to information workers able to work from home, and essential employees. Peter says information workers like him should tread lightly when speaking with those who are serving them (like bartenders, hair stylists and servers) during reopening.

    Green shares that coronavirus got real for her when her niece, a NICU nurse in New York, explained that she had just one mask to wear for a week.

    Peter explains why he and his family will continue to social distance for the upcoming weeks, thanks to "aggressively flippant attitudes" of people who are not willing to follow CDC guidelines for social distancing.

    Green shares her recommendations for entertainment at home.

    Special Guest: Jennifer Green.

    51 min
  • Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with a whole delegation of Miami legislators for a virtual legislative wrap-up hosted by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

    He poses questions to a panel of legislators, featuring:

    Rep. Vance Aloupis (District 115),
    Rep. Nicholas X. Duran (District 112),
    Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin (District 119)
    Sen. Anitere Flores (District 39),
    Rep. Dotie Joseph (District 108), and
    Sen. Jason W. B. Pizzo (District 38).

    Peter begins by posing his typical Hunkering Down questions, including: "When did coronavirus get real for you?" and "What was your last normal day like?"

    He then moves on to policy-focused questions for each of the legislators, on topics like teacher raises; VPK and early learning; the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund; Fernandez-Barquin's domestic violence bill; Duran's "Keep our graduates working" bill; and an update from Pizzo on the state's struggling unemployment system.

    Peter then takes audience questions ranging from teacher pay to higher education, reskilling and reemployment.

    He closes with a lighting round asking each legislator to highlighting member projects that they believe should stay funded within the current budget; give a letter-grade for Gov. Ron DeSantis' response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and will there be a Special Session before July 1?

    Special Guest: Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

    1 hr 4 min
  • Jason Pizzo

    Peter Scorsch talks with Sen. Jason Pizzo, as the South Florida Senator spends his quarantine hunkered down in Tallahassee, waging a battle against the broken unemployment system.



    In this important episode, Pizzo says he's "a little tired and very angry" after weeks of emails, calls and Facebook messages from Floridians in need, whose frustration is turning to desperation. Thousands of applications have sat in limbo for months. It's not about the blame game at this point, Pizzo says, it's about an executive function that isn't functioning.


    Through the initial weeks of the pandemic, Pizzo volunteered to work through claims manually, to work in the mail room, or to help in any other way possible to get the system functioning. Pizzo suggested that the 160 legislators, along with each of their 2-3 staff people, process claims each day. He says his offer was declined by Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Ken Lawson. He says it was declined again by Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter when he took over the unemployment system.


    At this point, Pizzo says the unemployment system is the "definiton of insanity." It's so fundamentally broken, he says, that Florida taxpayers are wasting money to support 72 extra servers and 2000 call center employees, because the employees have no ability to help. In fact, Pizzo received a tip from a call center employee that the "submit" button in their system was not available, and therefore they could not fix any claims.


    Pizzo says one major problem is the lack of coordination between government and the businesses that have laid off their employees. As of last count, Pizzo explains, 138,000 people were waiting just for employer wage verification, even as thousands of those claim came from large employers like Disney.


    The most frustrating component of this systemic failure, Pizzo says, is the way Gov. Ron DeSantis has spoken about it. In one press conference, he told Floridians, that if they filed their unemployment claim in March and haven’t got paid yet, either the filer made a mistake or they’re not eligible. Pizzo took six stories of unemployed women who did not get unemployment assistance directly to the governor and while not all claims have been processed, but six of the 10 have all qualified for unemployment.


    And these failures will have dire consequences for Floridians, Pizzo explains. Default car loans, evictions and the future consequences of plummeting credit scores will haunt Florida for years.


    Finally, Peter and Pizzo discuss the political implications of this failure and what it could mean for upcoming Florida elections.

    Special Guest: Jason Pizzo.

    27 min
  • Kelly Mallette

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with  Kelly Mallette, Director of Government Affairs at Ronald L. Book, P.A.

    Mallette, a native of Biscayne Park neighborhood between North Miami and Miami Shores, lives just three blocks from her childhood home today. She shares a recap of her Mother's Day and tells listeners about her family, including her two children ages 12 and 9.

    Mallette gets into the nitty gritty of why lobbyists were so busy at the beginning of the pandemic, reading and intepretating state, county and city orders for industry closures and the requirements for essential businesses, and then communicating those orders to clients. She also reminds listeners that the government is essential, and never stopped working during this crisis. She says lobbyists continue at a break neck pace as reopening orders roll in and clients begin to get back to work.

    Mallette talks about the economic consequences of the pandemic, and explains why her firm continues to work with clients who are feeling the brunt of closures and the economic downturn. It's not about the next eight weeks, she says, but the next eight years.

    Peter asks Mallette what it's like to work for the legendary Ron Book - and the answer might surprise you.

    Peter finishes off the podcast asking his typical Hunkering Down questions, including, "What are you reading, listening to and watching?" And, "When did the pandemic get real for you?" Mallette says the seriousness of COVID-19 got real when Disney World closed its doors.

    Special Guest: Kelly Mallette.

    40 min
  • Kaleo Partners

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with Glenn Kirkland, Jon Menendez and Heath Beach of Kaleo Partners, a Tampa and Tallahassee-based tech policy and government advocacy firm specializing in technology policy, budget and procurement.

    Kirkland, a Tallahassee native, served as Chief Legislative Aide to then-Rep. John Legg and later became special assistant to House Speaker Dean Cannon, before transitioning to Deputy Chief of Staff of the House Majority office under Cannon.

    Menendez worked as an analyst in the Florida House Majority Office under Speaker Cannon and House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Beach held several high-profile positions in city, county, and state government, including working for Hillsborough County

    The three share their entrance into politics, including through work with Cannon. In the midst, Peter spills the beans on how he coaxes former Speakers to open up. If anyone’s listening, his trick might not work anymore.

    The three also discuss how the government often lags behind the private sector in technology and how to remedy that issue.

    The discussion also touches on new ways of campaigning in the era of COVID-19 and how new strategies could become permanent. And it’s not just politics, the three envision technology being used in day to day business as well as companies decide work from home models can be successful.

    Peter also asks the group about one of the state’s biggest issues right now — it’s $77 million clunker of an employment website.

    The three discuss how the state could have wound up with an over-priced site that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.

    Special Guest: Kaleo Partners.

    43 min
  • Will Weatherford

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with former House Speaker Will Weatherford who is now the managing partner of Weatherford Capital, a family-owned private investment firm based in Tampa.

    In a silver lining to the pandemic and related social distancing requirements, the two share their mutual gratitude for the chance to squeeze just a bit more time with their kids who, of a certain age, begin to drift away from their parents into independence.

    Weatherford discusses the Chamber of Commerce’s role in the coronavirus response, which the pro-business organization could have taken a hands-off approach on, but instead rose to support struggling businesses as statewide closures plagued their bottom line.

    Ever wonder what the social dynamic is like in the Florida House? Weatherford shares insight into the different personalities and how they work together despite differences in style, even if the majority are all Republicans.

    Listen also as the two discuss the stock market and economy in the age of coronavirus. It isn’t all bad news and, as Weatherford explains, that doesn’t necessarily make sense.

    Peter also discusses the diverging opinions on stay-at-home orders as some embrace them as a public health necessity and others feel the brunt of the economic hardship it breeds.

    Weatherford provides insight into the pandemic and politics surrounding it reminiscent of his leadership style from his days as House Speaker in this must-listen episode.

    Special Guest: Will Weatherford.

    34 min
  • Nick Iarossi

    Peter Scorsch hunkers down with Nick Iarossi, co-founder and owner of Capital City Consulting, as well as one of INFLUENCE Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Florida. Iarossi has represented clients in a vast range of issues including financial services, insurance, environmental, gaming, retail, education, alcohol, information technology, tobacco, and procurement.



    Iarossi talks about the economic recovery in a state still reeling from coronavirus, but finding new ways to do business.


    Iarossi also tackles the tough work Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida officials are tackling during the pandemic and the perhaps over-scrutiny applied by Tallahassee media.


    Peter doubles down on his criticism of some aspects of the Governor’s pandemic response, but also critiques the media’s treatment.


    Iarossi defends the Governor’s pushback against media. He describes a “gotcha” sort of scenario in which reporters have been relentlessly critical.


    Did you know Iarossi also races cars? He compares that to the world of political lobbying.

    Special Guest: Nick Iarossi.

    45 min
  • Kelly Cohen

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with Kelly Cohen, lobbyist, strategist and fundraiser who serves as a partner and chief marketing officer for The Southern Group. Since opening TSG’s first regional office in Orlando in 2005, Cohen has used her skills at building partnerships to drive public policy and growth throughout Central Florida, making her a key asset to the region’s businesses and a boon to its development.



    Cohen describes how Orlando is doing as a region with the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Sadly, she explains, the region is uniquely qualified to manage a crisis after navigating the fall out from the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting.


    She describes the political component in Central Florida, one that is less partisan than the state as a whole. Disney, she said, has been a great resource in the region because they not only have a team of highly qualified professionals, they also have experience navigating the virus in other ares like California.


    Cohen also talks about her company’s robust communication strategies and how that’s helping clients navigate the coronavirus crisis.


    As a statewide firm, Cohen also discusses the importance of focusing regionally on the impacts of coronavirus because different areas are facing unique challenges.

    Special Guest: Kelly Cohen.

    30 min
  • Bill Carlson

    Peter Schorch hunkers down with Bill Carlson, Tampa City Council member and Tucker/Hall communications firm president.



    Carlson, a father of three boys, talks distance learning from the perspective of a parent, finding the silver lining in the lessons it affords kids. Technology is the future of business and kids are getting a front row seat to how that works.


    Carlson, a seasoned traveler, also talks about his experiences abroad pre-coronavirus and how different cultures can be applied to solutions during the virus.


    The two also discuss poverty and its exacerbated effects during a pandemic. Even before the virus, poverty was rising as others thrived and the middle class shrunk, even if slightly, Carlson said. He talks about why he thinks the economy needs to focus on more than just the real estate market to bridge that gap.


    Carlson also envisions a new way of working in the future. Peter optimistically envisions a Pinellas County that emerges better than ever as South Florida bound travelers head to its beaches instead because it wasn’t plagued by the virus during the pandemic.


    Listen also as Carlson talks about when the virus really hit home for him and talks about what he’s missing, but also what he’s enjoying.

    25 min
  • Carol Dover

    Peter Schorsch hunkers down with Carol Dover, president and CEO of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. Before that, she served as assistant director of the Beer Industry of Florida and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Gov. Bob Martinez.



    Dover describes an industry that is broken and hurting, but recovering. There is some hope, she explains, for normalcy now that Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans for the economy to begin to start getting back to normal.


    Dover describes the new look for restaurants — staff wearing masks and gloves, hand sanitizer on the table, a more spread out environment — that blends hospitality with hospital, without looking like a hospital.

    Peter describes his efforts to support local restaurants, grabbing takeout and cocktails to-go, and being inspired by the rule-following he observes as people line up, with distance, to do the same.

    Dover talks about the importance of following the rules. If restaurants follow them, recovery will be much easier, she said.

    Dover also explains how the lodging industry will slowly plan to reopen, with an emphasis on outdoor seating and rethinking amenities.

    On employment, Dover said the industry is encouraging people to come back to work regardless of unemployment benefits that may look enticing. Those benefits are temporary, she said, while employment is not.

    Special Guest: Carol Dover.

    32 min

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