Politics

Tampa's next police chief is at the center of a power struggle between Mayor Jane Castor and City Council.

Why it matters: Several council members weren't happy with how Castor appointed Mary O'Connor as police chief last year. Now that O'Connor is out, they want to make sure the council has more of a say in choosing Tampa's next top cop and other city leaders.

A federal judge dismissed suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren's lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday, but he ruled that DeSantis violated Warren's free speech rights when he sent the prosecutor packing.

Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled Friday that he didn't have the power to return Warren to office, but found that DeSantis' suspension of the twice-elected Democrat violated the First Amendment and the Florida Constitution.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis says things like, "We reject this woke ideology," and, "Florida is where woke goes to die," at least one important group of voters is left scratching their heads.

What's happening: Some Florida swing voters are confused about what DeSantis means when he uses the adjective "woke," according to two Axios Engagious/Schlesinger focus groups.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six conservatives to the board of trustees of New College of Florida last week, in an effort to transform the liberal arts school into a conservative institution.

• His appointments included Christopher Rufo, an activist who helped turn critical race theory into a conservative rallying cry, and Matthew Spalding, a dean at conservative Hillsdale College in southern Michigan.

Welcome to our inaugural annual Power Players list, a chance to look back at leaders who left their marks on Tampa Bay this year.

Why it matters: These are the people you need to know. Whether you like them or not, there's no doubt these individuals (and one group) are influential.

A memo drafted by the staff of Gov. Ron DeSantis listed a "leftist prosecutor is removed from a position of power”’ as one of the “benefits” of ousting Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren.

• And DeSantis’ communications staff privately celebrated the more than $2 million in “totally free earned media” from Warren’s suspension.

Driving the news: Those and other salient facts came out in federal court in Tallahassee yesterday as suspended State Attorney Warren tried to convince U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle he was illegally removed from office.

Twice-impeached former President Donald Trump, who helped incite an armed advance on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, is the first Florida man to announce he's running for the nation's top office in 2024.

• "The pause," Trump called this period of four years several times in a speech at Mar-a-Lago.

Republicans secured several key races in the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday, serving as further proof that solidly red Florida is past its days as a swing state.

• Here's a breakdown of what happened in key races in our metro: