Rick Scott Campaign Bus Tour. First Stop Donut Hole SRB Sunday

[Teresa]

Rick Scott starts campaign bus tour Sunday — but how will it go?

Locals say Scott will visit a favorite Panhandle doughnut shop, but his campaign didn't note it in a media advisory.



SANTA ROSA BEACH — Gov. Rick Scott kicks off a 10-day statewide bus tour Sunday as he begins the critical stretch run of his U.S. Senate campaign.

Where's the first stop?

Scott's campaign sent out a press advisory Saturday saying the "Make Washington Work Bus Tour" would open at Captain Anderson's, a seafood restaurant in Panama City Beach owned by the family of Jimmy Patronis, Scott's appointee to the Cabinet post of chief financial officer.

Not exactly.

Multiple reports said Scott planned a visit at 11 a.m. Central time Sunday at one of his favorite campaign haunts, The Donut Hole at 6745 U.S. Highway 98 in Santa Rosa Beach. A woman who answered the phone at the business Saturday and who checked with a co-worker said Scott would be there "at about 11" Sunday.

But Scott's campaign didn't tell the Florida media about that stop and only confirmed it after the Times/Herald asked about it.

It just might have something to do with the fact that Santa Rosa Beach is in Walton County, a battleground for a very intense fight over public access to beaches.

Scott is drawing fire from some residents for signing HB 631, which places new restrictions on cities and counties that want to pass local laws ensuring public beach access and is highly controversial in Walton, a reliably Republican county that passed a "customary use" law in 2017.

Public reaction to the bill ran 8-to-1 in support of a veto, but Scott signed it.

"No trespassing" and "private beach" signs have been popping up on the area's famous beaches. More than 800 people attended a meeting on Saturday called by the county to begin the process of adopting a new ordinance allowing public access.

Scott's opponent, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, criticized the law and urged Scott to call a special legislative session to repeal it immediately.

As the controversy over the law raged in July, Scott took the unusual step of issuing an executive order, directing state agencies to not enforce the very law he signed.

READ MORE: New law Scott signed makes beach access harder to establish

Scott's a doughnut maker from way back. He got his start in business by buying two small doughnut shops in Missouri, and it was a staple of his profile in both races for governor.

If enough Walton County residents know that Scott is appearing at a local business, some may show up to protest or to urge repeal of HB 631– not the photo-op the governor's campaign necessarily wants in a battle that polls show is extremely close with Nelson.

Scott's campaign confirmed his visit to the doughnut shop, after initially not saying so.

Tampa Bay Times 9/8/2018
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/09/08/rick-scott-starts-campaign-bus-tour-sunday-with-a-mystery/

 

[jodiFL]

I just might have to find an appropriate tshirt and show up there on my lunch hour (I work in that area). Oh wait...that is tomorrow and I dont have time to find the shirt.... guess I will just have to shake his hand as I tell him what I think of him.

 

[jodiFL]

Can you post this on FB so I can share?
Nevermind I just posted the link .....Does any one else think he is already in the area and had people sitting in on the meeting today?

 

[Jenksy]

Waltonians are dumb enough to vote for the orange nincompoop they will vote Scott.

 

[Teresa]

Wow. Rick Scott pulled a last minute no show after learning about Customary Use protestor waiting for him at the Donut Hole Santa Rosa Beach. While his bus was at that spot he headed over to the Inlet Beach Donut Hole instead.

Hey Guv .. When you tuck tail and run, you show your true colors. You stiffed Walton County once again.

Rick Scott skips campaign stop, avoids beach access law critics
A protester said Florida's governor 'is scared of little old ladies in tennis shoes.'

A small group of Walton County Democrats and beach access advocates waited in vain for Gov. Rick Scott Sunday in Santa Rosa Beach [Special to the Times]

By Steve Bousquet
25 minutes ago

after the Times/Herald reported on the scheduled event, which Scott's campaign confirmed, local Democrats quickly organized a show of opposition to HB 631, a law that will require Walton County to take additional steps to safeguard public access to beaches.

READ MORE: Hundreds pack meeting on beach access in Florida Panhandle

Scott's campaign did not respond to questions about why he suddenly changed his schedule.

His big blue motor coach was seen on the city's streets Sunday morning and an advance team was at the doughnut shop handing out "Let's Get to Work" campaign signs. A special sound system was installed for the event.

Scott is usually very punctual. Customers immediately sensed that something was amiss when he wasn't there soon after 11 a.m., the time his campaign provided.

Patti Tate of Sandestin, who wore a red and blue Rick Scott for Senate sticker, said she received an email from the Walton County Republican Party urging that she join other Scott supporters at the doughnut shop. She said she supports the governor's Senate bid, and that "I really don't blame him" for avoiding the protesters.

Jim Anders, a long-time local Republican activist, waited in vain for Scott to arrive. So did Bill Hackmeyer, a local condo association leader who strongly supports Scott. So did Daniel Uhlfelder, a Santa Rosa Beach lawyer who's a critic of Scott's decision to sign HB 631 and who brought his wife and two children to breakfast.

Margie Jordan, chairman of the local Democratic Party, handed out flyers that said: "Rick Scott, we won't forget that you gave away our Walton County beaches."

"I can't believe Rick Scott is scared of a bunch of little old ladies in tennis shoes," said Lynn Nesmith, a local architecture writer who held a hand-lettered "Repeal HB 631" placard. "We're here because we love our beaches."

Others took to social media to express their outrage at Scott's evasive maneuver.

Local Republicans waited for at least 90 minutes before concluding that the governor wouldn't show. Scott tweeted his visit to another Donut Hole, in nearby Inlet Beach.

 

[Garner]

I was there, finally gave up at 12:20 on his showing up. What a wimp - deciding to go to a different donut hole because of the danger that our motley crew posed!

 

[Teresa]

 

[Teresa]

Scott a no-show in Walton

HIDE CAPTION
A majority of the people who gathered outside the Donut Hole were protesting HB 631 and Gov. Scott signing it into law. [NATHAN COBB/THE SUN]

By Nathan Cobb | 315-4432 | @WaltonSunNate | nathan@waltonsun.com
Posted at 6:06 PMUpdated at 7:39 PM

SANTA ROSA BEACH — Gov. Rick Scott, campaigning to unseat incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson this fall, cancelled at the last moment a campaign stop at a local business.

Sunday’s event, which was to be held at the Donut Hole, attracted customers hoping to meet the governor who cannot run for reelection due to term limits. Outside, the planned stop drew both supporters and protesters of his signature of HB 631, which restricts public access to beaches owned by private citizens.

“I think (HB 631) is a travesty,” said Pete Foley, who owns a home in Santa Rosa Beach. “People have been coming to these beaches for years.”

A few, like Charlotte Flynt, said they approved of the new state law that allows private property owners to enforce no trespassing on their beachfront property.

However, the vast majority of the nearly 30 people outside the business were there to protest HB 631. Garner Chandler, a Grayton Beach resident, said that HB 631 has been “devastating to the Walton County community as a whole.” She added that while beachfront owners are paying taxes on the residence and the land included with the residence, they aren’t paying taxes on the land between the toe of the dune and the Gulf.

At the gathering, protesters brought affidavits opposing the new law to fill out. A total of 10 were completed, according to protesters.

While Scott skipped Santa Rosa Beach, he did make a campaign stop in Panama City Beach later in the day, according to Scott’s Facebook page. Mark Franks, chairman of the Okaloosa County Republican Executive Committee, said he was unsure why Scott cancelled his Walton County visit.

Santa Rosa Beach resident Lynn Nesmith said she and others would continue fighting HB 631.