He Said, She Said: A Debut

Key Insights

• Welcome to He Said, She Said, a podcast by Florida Politics, about Florida Politics.
• Founder of Florida Politics (formerly SaintPetersBlog) Peter Schorsch and his wife (and political heavyweight) Michelle Todd Schorsch speak on wide-ranging issues from politics to parenting to pop culture.
• They talk politics, blurring political lines, and Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as Michelle's uncanny ability to pick winners in Florida elections.
• Peter on Governor Ron DeSantis: "If Charlie Crist had been policy focused, this is what it would have looked like."
• Michelle on DeSantis: "I've told a few people, Ron DeSantis is the first politician who has made me want to come out of retirement, I really like what he is doing."
• Peter on Rick Scott: "I voted for Rick Scott, he was my politician of the year last year." Michelle: "I didn't vote for Rick Scott for Senate ... DeSantis yes, Scott no."
• Hear why it's so important to log out of your Netflix account when you leave a hotel.
• Michelle says she will never watch the Academy awards again. Peter and Michelle talk A Star Is Born and singing "Shallow" to each other.
• He Said, She Said's welcome their first guest, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who will be terming out of office in June, following the election of his successor in March.
• Buckhorn shares his plans after leaving office: He'll spend time in Montana and Ireland, traveling with his daughter as she prepares to go off to college in the fall.
• On legacy: Buckhorn's favorite part of his tenure is not brick & mortar (though there has been much of that), but watching Tampa believe in itself again, seeing the city get back on its feet after the Great Recession.
• Peter asks: Is Buckhorn jealous of Buddy Dyer? Dyer, the mayor of Orlando since 2003, is now running for his fifth full term in office. Buckhorn's response? "I would, and I wake up every day jealous of Buddy Dyer, who will be mayor for life in Orlando, as well he should."
• On being mayor: "I think this is the best job in American politics. It's not about fighting political battles, it's not about the partisanship, it's about building cities. And I love to build cities."
• "I think most mayors who even move on to the Senate or the governorship, will tell you that their favorite job was to be the mayor. You can actually get stuff done."
• "If you run for office to do and not just to be, be a mayor. A mayor can have a dramatic impact on the course of a city, the direction of a city, the life of a city, the people of city."
• Who does Buckhorn favor to replace him? Will he speak out? "I do care a lot and I'm not going to remain silent. I will weigh in at some point, because I think people want to know what I think and they can factor that in to all of the other things they go through in making a decision."
• Job of Mayor: Continue to build momentum. Don't need to change the narrative, but gotta get up every day to compete and to be the voice for the region.
• Buckhorn talks Jane Castor: "Jane Castor worked for me for six years, I love her to death. I have watched her in some really difficult circumstances and taken a measure of her. She has measured up on every occasion."
• Most important leadership quality for the next mayor of Tampa: "Get up every day and be Tampa's biggest cheerleader, first and foremost, and do it in a substantive way. Continue to drive this community forward recognizing that momentum is fleeting. And that there are dozens of other cities who are fighting for the same thing we are."
• Would Buckhorn consider running for office again in 4 or 8 years? No. "I'd rather go out in the top of my game. I'm going out at a good time, much to my chagrin, they will have to pry my cold dead fingers off of that desk."
• Buckhorn on political futures and ambition: "I will tell you candidly, there are some days I wake up and say, I should have run for governor. But there are other days I wake up and say look, I got to spend the last year with my daughter as we searched colleges and drove all over the country and spent daddy-daughter time. At the end of it, ambition is fine, but you only get one shot at being a dad.