Politics
Last Call for 9.3.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
— First Shot —
The Vote No on 3 coalition is starting to need a panoramic lens. The Yes side still has plenty of elbow room in the group photo.
The latest organizations lining up against Amendment 3 are the Florida Economic Development Council and the Orlando Economic Partnership, adding another corner of Florida’s economic development apparatus to the opposition campaign.
Their case is that property tax revenue doesn’t merely keep the lights on at City Hall — it supports the transportation, public safety, housing and quality-of-life investments used to sell businesses and workers on the Sunshine State.
Beth Cicchetti, the Council’s Executive Director, said Amendment 3 would disrupt “the balance of the private-public model that prioritizes investments in transportation infrastructure, place-making, and good jobs with sustainable wages for Florida families.”
The organization says it supports “thoughtful property tax reform that provides meaningful relief to Florida homeowners,” but made clear Amendment 3 doesn’t fit the description.
The two groups join a sprawling coalition of organizations officially opposed to the amendment, which would ratchet the state’s homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 next year and $250,000 the year after.
It includes the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Professional Firefighters and Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association, 1000 Friends of Florida, the League of Women Voters, the Florida Library Association, planners, county engineers, parks and recreation officials, fire marshals and manufactured-home owners. The Florida Democratic Party also formally opposes the measure, with 31 Democratic state lawmakers joining the No on 3 campaign’s advisory committee.
The Yes side isn’t empty. The Florida Realtors Board of Directors endorsed Amendment 3, and Republican lawmakers supplied the votes to put it before voters, though most haven’t expressed enthusiastic support in the months since. The same goes for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pushed lawmakers to put a property tax proposal on the ballot, but who only this week said he would “be involved somehow” in the Yes push.
— Evening Reads —
—“Donald Trump’s D.C. makeover projects are ‘only an idea,’ until they’re much more” via Emily Badger of The New York Times
—“Republicans fear Trump will keep super PAC money and not spend on the Midterms” via Isaac Arnsdorf and Natalie Allison of The Washington Post
—“The schism within the Trump administration on Mexico” via Kevin Sieff and Vivian Salama of The Atlantic
—“Canada doesn’t want to be the next Venezuela” via Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal
—“The Midterm wave is coming. The maps just don’t know it yet.” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—“How a GOP super PAC tricked a grieving father into appearing in a political ad” via Judd Legum and Noel Sims of Popular Information
—“GPT-6 Astra is here — and OpenAI thinks it may kick off the AGI Era” via Maxwell Zeff of WIRED
—“How Amendment 3 could teach rural Florida to stop worrying and love the data center” via Jeff Brandes for Florida Politics
—“Flock cracked these cases. Will it sway City Commission amid backlash?” via Elena Barrera of the Tallahassee Democrat
—“Flock cameras enter Senate race, as opponents Jason Brodeur, John Lowndes seek bans” via Ryan Gillespie of the Orlando Sentinel
—“Judge Sandy Sauls, who ruled in 2000 presidential recount, dies at 85” via James Call of USA Today Network-Florida
— Quote of the Day —
“There has to be a line between giving law enforcement useful tools and building a system that can track the movements of ordinary, law-abiding citizens.”
— Maitland Mayor John Lowndes, on Flock cameras.
— Put it on the Tab —
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
Send a Honey Deuce to CD 9, where internal polling shows U.S. Rep. Darren Soto tied with Republican challenger Dan Green.
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody earned an Ad Astra for committing to file a bill to bring the U.S. Space Academy home to Florida.
Florida homeowners can celebrate the $3 billion in post-tort reform home and auto policy savings with a Money in the Bank.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
College football’s Week 1 kicks off with all-Florida matchup
After a partial weekend of games opened the 2026 college football season, Week 1 kicks off with a full schedule of games, including tonight’s meeting between Bethune-Cookman and UCF (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
Bethune-Cookman is coming off a 6-6 season in which they did not lose a home game. It set a record and marked the program’s first non-losing season since 2019. Tonight, they travel roughly an hour away to face the Knights.
UCF finished last season 5-7, including losses to No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 11 BYU in the last three weeks of head coach Scott Frost’s first season of his second stint at the helm.
The Knights will lean on James Madison transfer Alonza Barnett III at quarterback. Receivers Duane Thomas Jr. and Waden Charles return, as does tight end Dylan Wade, giving the Knights plenty of experienced pass catchers.
On defense, leading tackler Lewis Carter returns to bolster the linebacker corps. No UCF player was selected to the preseason All-Big 12 squad
In two seasons in the Big 12 conference, UCF has yet to post a winning season, finishing 5-7 each year.
After facing Bethune-Cookman, the Knights travel to face Pitt before returning home against Georgia State. Big 12 play begins on Sept. 26 when TCU comes to Orlando.
Bethune-Cookman next hosts Stetson on Sept. 12.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
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