Passing of Congressional District 17 Candidate April Freeman:

FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement on the sudden passing of Congressional District 17 Candidate April Freeman: "We are incredibly saddened by the sudden death of April Freeman. April put her heart and soul into her community - and was dedicated to making a better future for all Floridians. "Just last night she was in the office, making calls and working to get out the vote. Her work ethic and passion was an inspiration to all of us. It is a tremendous loss to the Democratic Party and to all who knew her. "Our hearts break for her family and loved ones, who are grieving her loss."

Wasserman Schultz on Arrests of Child Immigrant Sponsors

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) released the following statement in response to reports that the Trump Administration arrests undocumented immigrants who come forward to take in children held at immigration detention centers:

“The Trump Administration's shameful use of an overwhelmed immigrant child welfare system as a tool for mass deportation is beyond heartless. While visiting a ‘tender age’ immigration facility this summer in South Florida, I specifically asked and was told that potential sponsors were not asked about their immigration status. This is simply unacceptable. Actively arresting potential child sponsors for children held in federal custody does not make our country safer. Instead it ensures that hundreds if not thousands of children who are fleeing dangerous circumstances will languish for longer periods in overly-crowded detention facilities. The penchant for child cruelty of Donald Trump and his Republican enablers is repulsive and antithetical to American moral leadership.”

Trump Will Be Texting The Entire Country Next Week

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) next week will test the Emergency Alert System, which allows the President to address Americans via text message in the event of a national emergency.

The test alert, which will be sent at 2:18 p.m. ET on Sept. 20, will note that it’s a test of the system. At that time, all cell phone within the range of a cell tower will receive the message.

Basically, this is a reminder that in the event of a national emergency, President Trump will be able to reach all of us via text message.

http://footprintsstrategies.com

How To Engage Millennial's

One of the most critical constituencies for Democrats in the 2018 elections will be the youth vote. The challenge, however, is getting them out to the polls.

Those under the age of 54 - Generation X, Millennials and the post-Millennial generation comprise 59% of eligible voters in the United States but, according to Pew Research, "if past midterm election turnout patterns hold true, they are unlikely to cast the majority of votes this November."

Since 2014, the number of voting-eligible Gen Xers, Millennials and post-Millennials has increased by 18 million, while there are now 10 million fewer eligible voters among the Boomer and older generations.

In the 2014 midterm election, only 39% of Gen Xers who were eligible turned out to vote, and only 22% of Millennials-those born between 1981 and 1996 - cast their ballots.  The question remains, then:

How Do We Engage Millennials?

NewFounders, a group of politically motivated, tech-driven groups and leaders, conducted an extensive focus group among it, millennial thinkers, to produce an in-depth action paper on the subject.

The document is aimed at aiding candidates, politicians, state parties and political organizations on how to engage the 22 to 37-year-old demographic.

Contributors include voices from Goodwerk, Gather,  DoSomething.org, ChangeBetter.org, Swing Left and a host of innovative young minds.

The paper examines, at length, the personalities and motivations of Millennials, and the do's and don'ts of political engagement and communication.

The Generations Defined          

Generation	Years Born	2018 Age
Post-Millennials	1997-after	18-21
Millennials	1981-1996	22-37
Generation X	1965-1980	38-53
Baby Boomer Generation	1946-1964	54-72
The Silent Generation	1928-1945	73-90
The Greatest Generation	1901-1927	91 & Older

Check it out: How To Engage Millennials

Learn More about New Founders

Covering Florida ACA Navigator Program Receives Funding Award Notice from CMS

Jodi Ray, Director of Florida Covering Kids & Families, (FL-CKF) a community and consumer-focused nonprofit initiative of The Chiles Center, based in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, announced today that her organization has received a $1.25 million dollar award from the US Health and Human Service (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  for a sixth year of Affordable Care Act enrollment and outreach programs, for the current project year beginning September 13, 2018. 

On September 12, 2018, CMS released the funding announcement for the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace Navigators for 2018-2019, which reduced national funding to $10 million, and Florida’s funding to $1.25 million.  This represents a 75% reduction for the FL-CKF statewide project from last year’s funding amount. The funding reduction has resulted in the elimination of a number of longstanding partners in the consortium and Navigators across the state. Additional online and telephonic assistance will hopefully allow the Covering Florida consortium to cover the anticipated demand for enrollment services. Research and experience shows that consumers are twice as likely to successfully enroll having in-person assistance as those who have attempted online without help. In addition, historically underserved communities have relied more on in-person assistance. Covering Florida is now the only CMS funded Navigator organization in the entire state of Florida. 

Open Enrollment begins on November 1^st this year and continues until December 15^th for those needing coverage beginning January 1^st, 2019. The 2019 Open Enrollment window will again be limited this year to six-weeks, so consumers need to be made aware of the earlier deadline. 

Ray stated “Our network of Navigators is recognized nationally for the service they provide to the communities across the state of Florida, for their high-quality work and for the amazing number of consumers who have been helped in gaining coverage for the last several years. Our Navigators make an impactful difference in the lives of Floridians, and rest assured, we will continue our hard work and make best efforts on informing the public and helping them gain the coverage they deserve and access to the healthcare they need.” 

Ray continued, “Our Navigators not only do outreach and sign-ups, but we help consumers update their accounts, resolve data matching issues, understand their coverage options and how to use the coverage, file appeals and exemptions, inform them on the impact of unpaid premiums, and refer them to health care providers and community resources. Because of the decreased resources for outreach and marketing we will need more help from the communities and from the media to make sure the Open Enrollment window and deadlines are widely shared and publicized.”

FL-CKF and its consortium partners have been providing Navigator services throughout the state of Florida since the first Open Enrollment period in 2013. The following partners comprise the 2018-2019 USF statewide consortium and are collectively known as "Covering Florida":

• Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida– Serving Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties
• Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida– Serving Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Sarasota, Highlands, Hardee, and Manatee counties
• Primary Care Access Network– Serving Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Lake counties
• Epilepsy Florida– Serving Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties
• Family Healthcare Foundation – Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties
• University of South Florida Navigators– Serving Madison, Taylor, Jefferson, Gadsden, Wakulla, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Jackson, Washington, Calhoun, Gulf, Bay, Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union counties

Covering Florida is frequently called upon as an expert in health insurance coverage and health literacy for its ability to reach out to diverse audiences and educate consumers about health insurance coverage and utilization including options under the Affordable Care Act, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicaid. Covering Florida reaches consumers through partner organizations and collaborates with hundreds of organizations, many of which provide direct service to thousands of health care consumers. The organization focuses largely on advocating for and increasing access to care and services via enrollment for individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals with disabilities, populations underserved in the current private health insurance market, and vulnerable populations by employing multi-lingual Navigators, producing brochures in multiple languages, conducting workshops, and providing interviews in various languages. 

Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich Endorses Mitch Rosenwald

“As a Professor of Social Work and past Doctoral  Program Director at Barry University, Mitch has a background of helping people. He will use his outstanding professional experience to provide leadership on the City Commission, and to help build a strong and caring community for all the residents of Oakland Park.”

Nan Rich, Broward County Commissioner

More on Ron DeSantis's affiliation with Hate Groups

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis "spoke four times at conferences organized by a conservative activist who has said that African-Americans owe their freedom to white people and that the country's 'only serious race war' is against whites." Indeed, video recording shows DeSantis praising the organization behind the conferences in 2015, and other featured speakers include infamous white nationalists like Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Milo Yiannopoulos.

In just the two weeks since DeSantis won the GOP primary to face Democrat Andrew Gillum, he had already sparked outcry over using plainly audible racist dog-whistles in saying his African-American opponent was "articulate," yet would "monkey [things] up" if elected. Furthermore, a Democratic opposition research group revealed that DeSantis was a moderator of a hate-filled Facebook group trafficking in conspiracy theories and racist attacks.

In a surprising move, DeSantis announced he was resigning immediatelyon Monday. However, the reason was, unsurprisingly, to focus on his campaign this fall, not because of the growing signs of his problems with racism in his campaign against a Democrat who could become Florida's first black governor. Consequently, DeSantis' House seat will remain vacant until the next Congress is sworn in, since federal law mandates ballots be mailed out to military and overseas voters no later than 45 days before Election Day, a deadline that's less than two weeks away.

Source Dailykos

"GOP candidate for Fla. governor spoke at racially charged events

"GOP candidate for Fla. governor spoke at racially charged events," by WaPo's Beth Reinhard and Emma Brown: "Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a gubernatorial nominee who recently was accused of using racially tinged language, spoke four times at conferences organized by a conservative activist who has said that African Americans owe their freedom to white people and that the country's 'only serious race war' is against whites.

"DeSantis, elected to represent north-central Florida in 2012 , appeared at the David Horowitz Freedom Center conferences in Palm Beach, Fla., and Charleston, S.C., in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, said Michael Finch, president of the organization.

"At the group's annual Restoration Weekend conferences,hundreds of people gather to hear right-wing provocateurs such as Stephen K. Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos and Sebastian Gorka sound off on multiculturalism, radical Islam, free speech on college campuses and other issues. 'I just want to say what an honor it's been to be here to speak,' DeSantis said in a 27-minute speech at the 2015 event in Charleston, a video shows.

"'David has done such great work and I've been an admirer. I've been to these conferences in the past but I've been a big admirer of an organization that shoots straight, tells the American people the truth and is standing up for the right thing.'" WaPo

New Update 

BSO ROLLS OUT YEARLY PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY CAMPAIGN For the fifth year in a row, the Broward Sheriff’s Office is participating in the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” campaign, a high- visibility enforcement initiative to target pedestrian and bicycle safety. For the fifth year in a row, the Broward Sheriff’s Office is participating in the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” campaign, a high- visibility enforcement initiative to target pedestrian and bicycle safety. Through the FDOT grant received by the University of North Florida’s Institute of Police Technology and Management, BSO has been awarded $150,000 to educate people and enforce safe pedestrian, bicyclist and driver behaviors in Broward County. The main objective of this effort is to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities involving pedestrians and bicyclists through the use of traffic education, warnings and enforcement operations.      Deputies throughout BSO jurisdictions will be conducting on-street education by talking to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians traversing our roadways.  They will also be enforcing Florida Statutes by issuing warnings and citations when appropriate.  The campaign runs until April 2019. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes are more likely to result in fatal or serious injuries than other types of crashes. BSO reminds the community of the following safety tips:   • Pedestrians should always walk on the sidewalk.  If no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic. • Pedestrians and bicyclists should not wear headphones or talk on their cell phones. • Only cross streets at marked crosswalks or intersections, when possible, and obey all traffic signals.

Dems plan detailed 2019 agenda

Dems plan detailed 2019 agenda

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios Like the quiet planning by presidential candidates for their hoped-for transition to office, House Democrats are already choreographing their opening moves if — as looks likely — they get the gavel back in the midterm elections. The strategy is being driven by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, the likely speaker if her party regains the majority. The first three legislative packages will cover health-care costs, $1 trillion in federal infrastructure investment, and ethics and lobbying reform. "We're ready from Day 1 to fight for the people," said an aide involved in the planning. "These priorities took months and months of conversation with members to boil down." The top Democrats on House committees are prepping to launch oversight hearings and investigations of the Trump administration, and have begun the initial steps of coordinating their opening topics to avoid conflicts and overlaps. Democrats are playing down talk of impeachment. But depending on the contents of Robert Mueller's report, that could well become a transcendent issue for the new Congress. Democratic leaders claim impeachment won't happen unless it's bipartisan — that Mueller's findings are definitive, and Republicans voice support. The three legislative packages are also centerpieces of House Democrats' "For the People" national campaign theme, distilled from the larger "A Better Deal" platform. Dems say these are all issues where Trump has promised action and failed to deliver. (Remember "drain the swamp"?) Polls show that health care and wages are voters' top concerns: Health care would be divided into two buckets: cost containment, including reining in premiums, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. The $1 trillion in infrastructure spending would be sold as a way to boost jobs and wages. The reform package would include efforts at "voter empowerment," including voting rights and campaign ethics. Democrats promise sweeping lobbying reform, rivaling changes made in 2007, when they last took back the majority. House Dems also plan to change some of their in-house rules. Per Pelosi, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts is soliciting ideas from members. And Pelosi, despite opposition from some progressives, is committed to reviving the "pay-go" (or pay as you go) rule she had during her previous run as speaker, requiring that new spending be paid for by budget cuts or revenue offsets. Source Axios.com