This week, we take a look at maneuverings and forged political alliances at the local, state and national level, each reminding us of a GoT character.
Lisa Montelione
Last week, this second-term Tampa City Councilwoman announced a run for the State House District 63 seat. There’s also another Democrat in the race, Mike Reedy. So that makes another race in Hillsborough in which there are multiple Democrats all shooting for the same seat. Montelione has said she’s seeking the seat because her experience uniquely equips her to serve in that capacity, and it shouldn’t matter if another Democrat is in the race. But still, primaries suck, and the Democratic candidate bench isn’t deep enough to waste time and money on all these primary fights.
That’s some admirable ambition, not necessarily the wisest trajectory, sorta like Arya Stark.
Ted Cruz
If Ned Flanders and Count Chocula had an illegitimate son and never let him have any pets — or read anything that wasn’t Leviticus — you’d pretty much have Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is somehow seeing an upward trajectory in the polls and has been raising the most money. His audience? People who think discrimination is cool and are outraged that the president is a little more taupe than they’d prefer. Cruz wants to take away marriage equality and believes abortion is part of a “war on women.” Some observers warn that Cruz could end up a frontrunner come January.
Completely cuckoo yet absolutely terrifying? High Sparrow, he is.
Jeff Brandes
The State Senator from St. Petersburg has a bit of a maverick streak, and has vocally gone against his party in supporting issues like expanded solar power. On Monday, he filed a bill that would legalize medical marijuana — something nearly half of the states already do. Last year he filed a similar bill, in part to avoid a ballot initiative voters could approve in 2016 (a similar one failed narrowly in 2014). The idea is that the legislature would have more control of how the law is written. If his colleagues buy in (spoiler: they won’t) that means we’d have legal medical marijuana as early as next summer because what year is it?
What an act of basic decency! He gets Tyrion Lannister this week.
Bob Buckhorn
Enterprise Florida uses taxpayer and corporate funds to wine and dine bigwigs in other states, who ideally will then come here and make jobs. But a recent investigation into the agency’s finances by Fox 13 shed light on some very unnecessary expenditures. (The agency says the thousands spent on custom office furniture and the like were actually paid for out of coporate funds.) Regardless, Governor Rick Scott thinks the agency should have even more money, and Buckhorn, ostensibly as champion for economic development in Tampa, agrees. If you agree with Rick Scott on something, you may want to reexamine your priorities.
Since he may want to rethink his alliances, let’s go with Stannis Boratheon.
