Welcome to a Wednesday edition of Progress Report.
Last night I was joined by Florida Rep.
for an hour-long conversation that touched on the best and worst things happening right now.First, we discussed the fascist blight that is Alligator Alcatraz, the tented prison camp constructed in the Everglades as a monument to cruelty and cronyism. Rep. Eskamani has visited the site on two occasions; she was blocked the first time, against state law, but not even a curated tour arranged by state authorities that greeted her second attempt could obscure the hellish conditions in the hot, swampy, mosquito-filled, and hastily constructed gulag.
It’s all a nightmare, as she describes in our chat: the emergency order that Gov. Ron DeSantis is abusing to justify this fascist camp; the half-a-billion dollars in no-bid contracts that have gone to prominent GOP donors; and the way that people are being profiled, shackled, and imprisoned against their wills inside cages that sit atop a boiling bog, even if they’re legally in the United States.
Rep. Eskamani has been contacted by the families of DACA recipients, visa-holders, green card-holders, and asylum seekers who should not be subject to arrest, much less imprisoned in a sweltering bog and put at risk of deportation. The facility denies due process rights and ships people off to other prisons without justification.
The conversation also focused on Eskamani’s run for Mayor of Orlando, which will choose its new leader in 2027: we discussed her vision for a city that prioritizes residents over tourists and provides the kinds of services — like universal pre-k — that have become rare in an era of austerity. Orlando is still a young city, she said, and it’s bursting with potential for working families.
There was also talk about New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor and what a validation it is for energetic, grassroots, constituent-oriented candidates and campaigns.
Watch the whole video at the top of this email. You can also download it as a podcast!
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