As any Governor in their state's time of need would do, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday sent an update on the severe weather event that affected most of his state over the weekend, bringing strong winds, dumping a lot of rain and leaving many homes and streets flooded.
But his updated ignored much of the state, including one of its most populous regions and an area that saw significant damage from the storm — the Tampa Bay region.
DeSantis' update focused on the Big Bend and the Nature Coast, noting in his email that "over 100,000 utility accounts have been restored with power, and the State Emergency Response Team stands ready to provide resources, upon request from impacted counties."
Specifically, DeSantis described how the storm "advanced toward the Florida Big Bend and Nature Coast" and he acknowledged that it brought "widespread coastal/tidal flooding, beach erosion, heavy rainfall, and strong winds nearly statewide."
But while he calls out Big Bend and the Nature Coast, as well as the Panhandle, the I-4 corridor, the Florida East Coast and the Keys — he even drills down to specific areas such as the Suwannee River Valley and Northeast Florida, the Space coast, Aucilla, St. Mary's, St. Johns, Econfina and Santa Fe River watersheds — there isn't a single mention of anywhere in the Tampa Bay region, other than to note that Florida Commerce had activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey for Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Pasco counties.
And it wasn't just DeSantis. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis also sent out an email Sunday pointing specifically to the Big Bend and Nature Coast, and not the Tampa Bay area. His update might have been an even bigger snub — it included information about how to locate resources to deal with the impacts of flooding. Patronis is independently elected, but there is no doubt he is often in lockstep with the Governor and no doubt is, to at least some degree, following the Governor's lead.
This may seem petty, but it's an unforced error the Governor cannot afford to make as he flounders for relevance amid a struggling presidential campaign that has already seen him shift much of his focus from the state he's supposed to be leading, to states that will cast early ballots in the GOP presidential primary.
Hillsborough County is home to more than 1.4 million residents, Pinellas nearly 1 million. That's a lot of constituents to basically ignore.
And make no mistake, this is not a circumstance where the region was omitted because it was spared. Quite the contrary. Numerous areas throughout the region experienced flooding, such as Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Gulfport, Madeira Beach and areas surrounding Bayshore Blvd.
In all of those areas, many property owners are still recovering from flooding they experienced during Hurricane Idalia in late August.
The Tampa Bay Times took notice. They pointed to a Madeira Beach resident who, for the second time in just a matter of a few months, was forced to haul trash bags of waterlogged belongings to her curb. They also pointed to a Shore Acres man who has been repairing his home since it flooded during Hurricane Idalia, and flooded again this weekend.
These are real lives and they are real voters. The Times didn't say anything about those residents' political leanings, and hey likely didn't ask, but the fact of the matter is, there are likely hundreds, if not thousands like them who may be planning to cast a ballot in the GOP Primary.
DeSantis should know better than most how storm response can make or break a campaign. In 2022, his response to Hurricane Ian was seen as largely positive. He even received praise from President Joe Biden, his party's political boogeyman. To some, including me, that was seen as the nail in Charlie Crist's electoral coffin in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
Maybe not everyone will notice such a subtle snub — and there are opportunities to make it right as residents impacted by this unique winter storm recover — but the bottom line is, DeSantis could have made friends and potentially earned votes. Instead he figuratively said, "Tampa Bay who?"
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