One of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most reliable backers over the years is enthusing over the Democratic Mayor-elect of Miami, saying her pragmatism will serve the city ahead.

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said on Bloomberg Open Interest that Eileen Higgins would “deliver on the promises that she made to the voters of Miami,” contrasting her favorably to Zohran Mamdani of New York.

“She has a long history of being pragmatic with respect to policy choices that will improve the lives of the people who live in Miami,” Griffin said during an interview at Conference de Paris.

“She very much wants to accelerate the permitting process for builders, to create more housing stock. She wants to help release lands into the private market to help increase available housing. She wants to address the issue of housing affordability with thoughtful, time-tested and proven policies, rather than the fantasy that’s being espoused by the Mayor-elect for New York City.”

Griffin has given tens of millions of dollars over the years to DeSantis and various initiatives he backed, including spending $12 million to help defeat a recreational pot amendment last year. More recently, Griffin invested $50 million into charter schools with the Governor’s blessing, as he seeks to expand his Success Academy model through the state’s “Schools of Hope.”

But when it comes to a Democrat taking over the mayoralty of his adopted city, Griffin sees a way to do business.

Higgins, a former Miami-Dade Commissioner, said her voters came out in part to respond to “trickle-down hatred, where our immigrant population is not only insulted but also really afraid of the federal government.”

“To me, this anti-immigrant fervor, it’s gone too far. It’s inhumane. It’s cruel. I’m Catholic, so I think it’s a sin. And it’s bad for the economy,” she said on MSNOW earlier this month. “They’re going after everybody, rich and poor, and it’s really changing how people think about who they want to speak up for and stick up for them in local government.”

For his part, DeSantis sat on his hands as Republicans lost the Mayor’s Office, a move perhaps contextualized by Griffin’s position.

“I did an endorsement in the original scrum, and then once it advanced to the runoff, it just wasn’t something I was involved in. So I don’t know what the issues were or any of that,” DeSantis said, professing a surprising ignorance of local concerns in the state’s most important city.

Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore has qualified for the Apopka Mayor’s race as she prepares to resign her County Commission seat this Spring.

Moore’s four-year term on the Orange County Commission expires December 2026, but Moore has set her sights on the Apopka Mayor race on the March 10 ballot.

“Win or lose, I’m out,” Moore said as she plans to resign from the Orange County Commission, effective April 27. Whoever wins the Apopka Mayor race would be sworn in on April 28.

To become Apopka’s first-ever female Mayor, Moore will need to defeat incumbent Mayor Bryan Nelson, who is seeking a third term.

So far, no one else besides Moore and Nelson have qualified for the race. The deadline is noon on Dec. 19, according to the City Clerk’s Office.

Moore’s upcoming departure from the Orange County Commission would set up Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint her replacement to fulfill the final months of her term in one of the state’s bluest counties.

The relationship between DeSantis and Orange County government has been tense this year. State officials and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who is running for Governor, traded barbs publicly on everything from government spending to immigration enforcement.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, a DeSantis appointee, threatened to get county officials thrown from office if they did not approve an immigration deal with the federal government.

When asked if she was concerned about DeSantis appointing someone who would cause chaos on the County Commission, Moore declined to say much. “I can’t control what he does.”

Moore said she is running for Mayor to fix various problems she sees, such as the city’s blighted downtown, parks missing shade and fences, and poor land planning.

“By nature, I’m a fixer. I just really wanted a shot to get some of these things right. The people are really struggling with a lot of issues up here,” Moore said. “It just feels like every single project just sails through without appropriate oversight and people don’t understand it as well as I do, comprehensive plans and planning documents and future land use maps.”

Moore is a Republican, though the Mayor position is nonpartisan.

Moore vowed to help whomever finishes her County Commission term. She said her senior aide working with constituent issues would offer to stay to help transition the newly appointed Commissioner. Moore also has been keeping a list of unfinished business to pass along.

On the County Commission, Moore was first elected in 2018 and became the first woman to serve District 2, which includes Apopka. Moore previously served on the Orange County School Board from 2008-18.

Asked what she was most proud of from her tenure as a County Commissioner, Moore pointed to a $125 million septic-to-sewer conversion program.

“We’re on our way to retrofit over 2,000 homes from septic to sewer to protect our spring,” Moore said.