Pattern: $178,000 in IRS Tax Debt and a Failed Business Didn’t Stop the Orlando Sentinel from Endorsing Jennifer “Rita” Harris

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Florida State Representative Daisy Morales‘s re-election campaign called out the Orlando Sentinel’s most recent commentary by editorial writer Scott Maxwell criticizing her in her bid for House District 44.

Rep. Morales issued a long and scathing statement in response, presenting what appears to be an ongoing feud with the newspaper.

She pointed out details in the article she dubbed “inaccurate” or “mistakes.”  

“Scott Maxwell, however, makes a blatantly inaccurate statement in his commentary. Appraiser Amy Mercado, who was State Representative in 2020, did not publicly support my candidacy when I ran for her seat that year. She had chosen to endorse my Democratic primary opponent at that time, Samuel Vilchez Santiago, just as the Orlando Sentinel did. Honesty and transparency are just not in Maxwell’s vocabulary.”

Morales Fires Back on Finances

Rep. Morales continued firing barbs at the Orlando Sentinel while trying to clarify its claims about her. In Maxwell’s commentary, he wondered about her financial disclosure and where she got the recent $50,000 to loan her campaign, mentioning that he asked her about a home that she is listed as an owner for that wasn’t listed on her campaign financial disclosure. “Morales said she’d made a mistake on her disclosure and that someone else made a mistake by putting her name on the title,” Maxwell wrote. “That sounded like a lot of mistakes.”

Morales didn’t hold back in her press statement.

“As for my financial documentation, if Maxwell considers two mistakes a lot, then what does he call the Orlando Sentinel’s endorsements of its candidates who lost? The Orlando Sentinel endorsed both of my opponents in 2020: Santiago in the primary, and Republican Jesus Martinez in the general election. Both lost. And that’s just the two I faced. Should we say that’s a lot of mistakes on the Orlando Sentinel’s part? How many other candidates have they been wrong about?

“The Orlando Sentinel has a record of endorsing candidates with a history of failed businesses, debt, and other crises. They endorsed Martinez (which is atypical for them—they don’t normally endorse Republicans), a man who touted himself as business savvy since he was in real estate. It turned out that Martinez had several failed businesses, foreclosures and bankruptcies–both in Orlando and Puerto Rico. But the Orlando Sentinel hates me so much, they didn’t even care to do their proper research on him to find that out. What news outlet fails to do that?

“Now they’ve endorsed my opponent Jennifer “Rita” Harris, who is also listed as the CEO of a failed business and owes the IRS $178,000 in tax debt. I find it interesting that the Orlando Sentinel wants to focus on my fundraising, but failed to mention her six-figure federal tax debt. I repeat: $178,000. As for my finances, what Maxwell failed to mention in his article is that I have filed an amendment to my campaign financial disclosure, resolving that issue.”

On Corporate Donors

In her campaign press release, Morales also had a rebuttal to Maxwell highlighting the corporations and organizations that have donated to her campaign.

“To Maxwell’s commentary on corporate donors, it’s important to note that some of the ones he listed are in District 44. It makes sense for any candidate to foster their support.

“The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association had endorsed Santiago’s campaign in the 2020 primary, as did the Florida Realtors. The Orlando Sentinel didn’t seem to have a problem with that when they endorsed him, but for whatever reason it’s an issue now.”

“Maxwell touts 20-plus endorsements for my opponent in this race when Samuel Vilchez Santiago had nearly 30 in 2020, most of which are from the same prominent Democrats and organizations. Santiago had great advantages going for him: he’s Hispanic and he’s bilingual, which allows him to clearly communicate with both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking voters in the district, and he was always camera-ready. My current opponent isn’t.

“I suppose the Orlando Sentinel is good bedfellows with candidates with debt because they’re in it themselves. Florida Politics reported that they were sued for falling behind on their lease, allegedly owing millions. The Orlando Sentinel wants to ridicule me, but filing paperwork incorrectly is one thing–it can be corrected. Frequently failing to pay a debt is another, much bigger problem. The Orlando Sentinel took a nosedive in their print circulation, cutting staff and losing their printer, their newsroom, and eventually their 18-acre headquarters. They are now leasing from UCF.”

FNN News reached out to Rep. Morales to get clarification on what she meant by “their printer”. “I meant their printing division,” she said. “They eventually lost their ability to print copies of the paper onsite.”

Morales’s Voting Record

Morales made more clarifications on her voting record in her campaign press statement, based on Maxwell’s assumption that one reason many prominent Democrats want her gone is her voting record. In a previous campaign press release, Morales noted that Progress Florida and Florida Watch, independent progressive organizations, gave her an A+ (97 percent) grade based on her voting record, putting her in the same realm as State Reps. Carlos G. Smith (100 percent), Anna Eskamani (100 percent), and Travaris McCurdy (97 percent).

“Since they’re talking about my voting record, it’s interesting how the Orlando Sentinel would never mention the fact that I co-sponsored a $4 million appropriation project for UCF for the construction of their Nursing Building coming to Lake Nona. By the way, another inaccuracy—or mistake–in Maxwell’s commentary: the organization is called Progress Florida with the People First Report Card, not “Progress First,” as is stated in the article. See? He makes mistakes too.

“Also, on two out of three of the bills Maxwell said I voted yes on— the 2021 tax bill and the Farming Operations bill (the one “shielding sugar farmers from lawsuits”), the Democrats largely voted yes. More than half of House Democrats voted yes on the 2021 tax bill, including Rep. McCurdy; and Senators Pizzo and Torres, all of whom endorsed Harris, also voted yes.

“For the Farming Operations bill (CS/CS/CS/SB 88), eight other Democrats and myself cosponsored the original House Bill 1601, only a handful of House Democrats voted against it, and every Democratic Senator voted for it except one. This includes the same trio that has endorsed Harris. Not sure how those two voting examples would count as Democrats having “beef” with me.”

Parting Shots

Morales closed out her campaign press statement with two sharp shots for Maxwell and the Orlando Sentinel.

“That whole article is just another tantrum. Tantrums are for toddlers, not for real journalists.

“I’ll say again, the public deserves to have a news outlet that is accurate, transparent and trustworthy.”