Governor Praises Pitbull But Asks Tourism Chief to Step Down

MIAMI — One day after South Florida superstar Pitbull tweeted out his $1 million contract to promote Florida's "Sexy Beaches" and tourism efforts, Gov. Rick Scott asked tourism officials to no longer keep secret the amount they pay celebrities and called for the resignation of the tourism chief.

"I appreciate Pitbull and his devotion to our great state," the governor penned in a letter to William D. Talbert III, who chairs Visit Florida's board of directors. "His willingness to help promote tourism in Florida is a great example for other entertainers to follow."

But Scott called for tourism chief William Seccombe to step down amid the controversy surrounding the countract Visit Florida signed with Mr. Worldwide.

The governor wrote: "Will Seccombe has played a major role for many years in helping Florida attract record numbers of tourists. However, the major changes outlined above require new leadership and ideas at the agency, and I believe it would be best for the future efforts of Visit Florida for Will to step down and allow new leadership to come in at this critical time."

In a tweet titled, “FULL DISCLOSURE — FLORIDA,” Pitbull made public the terms of his million-dollar payout from Visit Florida on Thursday after state House Speaker Richard Corcoran took the South Florida superstar's production company to court demanding that the terms of the deal be publicly disclosed.

Seccombe is president and Chief Executive Officer for Visit Florida, which is not a government agency, but rather a not-for-profit corporation created as a public-private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996.

“It’s been an honor to represent Miami and the Sunshine State,” the singer tweeted. “I’ve taken Miami and Florida worldwide — way before any contract, and will do so way after.”

Pitbull, who will once again appear in a nationally televised New Year’s Eve broadcast from Miami on Fox, said that the location was not by accident.

“I love my home state," he proclaimed in his Thursday morning tweet. "When asked to take on a New Year’s show, I INSISTED it be live from Florida. #LOVEFL Since birth … and till the day I die. Dale!”
Dale is the singer's popular catchphrase that he uses regularly with fans on social media from the Spanish "go ahead."

According to the terms of the contract, Pitbull was to be paid a total of $1 million under the contract. This included $250,000 in July 2015 upon executing the agreement, $250,000 upon delivery of a video titled, "Sexy Beaches," another $100,000 upon delivering "Conquering Florida" video intro and outros, $100,000 upon delivery of the first "Pit Package" promotion and another $100,000 scheduled talent fee on New Year's Eve 2015 for promotion of "#LoveFL" during scheduled live performances.

Released in July, "Sexy Beaches" received more than 10.6 million views and helped propel the state to a tourism record this year with an estimated 85 million people visiting in the first nine months of the year.

The terms of the deal had not previously been disclosed publicly subject to a confidentiality clause. The contract ran from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 with an option to renew.

In his letter to Talbert, Scott asked that the organization:

• Publish online external reports detailing public spending;
• Publish all reports that include metrics and return on investment calculations;
• Publish employee position and salary information;
• Publish an online organizational chart;
• Publish all relevant audits, tax returns, financial reports and summaries;
• Publish all statutory required reports; and
• Publish all public expenditure details by vendor and contract with all contracts provided online.

Corcoran also took to Twitter on Thursday in response to the singer’s disclosure.

“It is unfortunate that it took litigation to lift the veil of secrecy on this particular contract,” he said. “This was a long unnecessary journey through claims of trade secrets, threats of prosecution and corporate welfare paid by taxpayers.

Released the attached statement in reaction to @pitbull releasing his @VISITFLORIDA contract. pic.twitter.com/faZxsyMkz6 — Richard Corcoran (@richardcorcoran) December 15, 2016

Corcoran added that he will not hesitate to use any tool at the “people’s disposal to protect the taxpayer and ensure transparency is the rule and not the exception in state government.”

He concluded his statement with the hope that any coverage around the issue be to foster a “larger discussion of the proper role of government in the free market and the need to end the idea that government as ‘venture capitalist’ is good for our economy.”
Photo by Eva Rinaldi via Flickr.