We have a couple of topics to cover today, including vaccine questions that Florida’s surgeon general won’t answer.

But first let’s talk about the news that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is considering a run for governor.

It’s way too early to pick favorites. We don’t even know all the candidates yet — or even all the possibilities. I know one person contemplating a run who I really respect and hasn’t even floated their name publicly yet.

But I’ll tell you one thing about Demings I find pretty appealing: He’s not a divisive agent of chaos.

He’s calm, even keeled and generally tries to focus on common goals and shared desires. And boy, do I think our state and nation could use more of that right now.

See, regardless of whether you like or dislike Ron DeSantis — and the last two elections suggest more Floridians like him — there’s no denying the guy thrives on division. Most every week, he pops into a different community or another Fox News segment primarily to rail against a different group or entity — local leaders, Disney, public school teachers, Democratic prosecutors, LGBTQ supporters, journalists, Starbucks, you name it.

Then his staff takes to Twitter and does it on steroids, accusing those who challenge their boss of everything from telling lies to supporting pedophilia.

It’s ugly, unseemly and, frankly, exhausting.

Twitter suspends DeSantis press secretary for ‘abusive behavior’

Demings is different. Though I don’t agree with him on several things I’ve written about before, including ever-increasing subsidies for the tourism industry, I don’t think anyone can accuse him of being a divider.

He was calm during the pandemic. He is calm during commission meetings. He’s even calm when people like me disagree with him.

Demings, the son of a taxi driver and maid who spent much of his career in law enforcement, doesn’t view the world through a lens of enemies who need to be degraded or destroyed.

He views this community as a group of people who mostly want the same things, have their own life stories and deserve respect.

This used to be a more common way to engage in public discourse. And there are still a handful of politicians on both sides of the aisle who reject the politics of personal destruction. But it’s increasingly rare.

So while I don’t know which candidate I’ll end up supporting, I do know I’ll be looking for someone more interested in unity than division.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings eyes bid for governor

Ladapo’s curious silence

Three weeks ago, DeSantis and his surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, floated their plan to roll back vaccine requirements that have existed for generations.

Their proposal was roundly panned by leaders from both parties — and by most respected medical groups that said it was a recipe for bringing back deadly and debilitating diseases that have been all but eradicated.

The vast majority of readers, including many doctors, seem to agree. Several older ones remember friends or classmates crippled by polio.

To that end, one reader, Tom, said: “I would like to ask our surgeon general just one question: How many people do you know who have or have had polio?”

I thought that question was pretty poignant, especially when paired with a follow-up query I had myself: “Assuming the answer isn’t many, why do you think that is?”

See, it’s a lot easier to talk about actions when you don’t also address consequences.

And that’s what has been largely missing from the surgeon general’s chest-thumping about how he believes everyone should be able to enjoy the “freedom” of skipping vaccines — the fallout.

So I posed those two simple questions to Ladapo: How many people do you know who have polio, and, if it isn’t many or any, why do you think that is?

Ladapo did not answer either question — sent to him personally, as well as to his staff and the Department of Health’s communications office.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Ladapo also refused to answer basic questions after he finished his press conference where he compared vaccine requirements to “slavery.”

It’s pretty obvious why — because doing so would force him to address the consequences of his proposal.

See, diseases are only all-but eradicated when almost everyone takes vaccines. And some immunocompromised people, including some of those undergoing cancer treatment, can’t take them. Those folks rely on the rest of us caring as much about their lives as we do our personal freedoms.

That’s why doctors, public health experts and politicians from both parties, dating back to George Washington, have endorsed them. Even Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott challenged the notion of rolling back vaccine requirements in the name of  “freedom,” saying: “Florida already has a good system that allows families to opt out based on religious and personal beliefs…”

So it’s pretty telling that the man pushing this proposal is unwilling to address how it might actually impact children, the elderly and those who are already sick.

Remember, though: Respected medical professionals and experts who have reams of data and on their side are willing to discuss the consequences. And they generally speak in unison, echoing the statement of the American Medical Association, which said: “This unprecedented rollback would undermine decades of public health progress and place children and communities at increased risk for diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox resulting in serious illness, disability, and even death.”

That seems to be the issue Ladapo isn’t eager to address.

Maxwell: Take a look at the diseases Florida wants to bring back

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/23/ladapo-vaccine-jerry-demings-governor/