Joe York, president for AT&T Florida and the Caribbean and a Jacksonville area resident, is one of 22 government, elected and business leaders named to the Re-Open Florida Task Force.
Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced the task force executive committee members April 20 during an organizational conference call.
The group will advise DeSantis on policies to reopen Florida after more than a month of increasing state and local social distancing COVID-19 mandates led to a statewide safer-at-home executive order, stopping many parts of the economy.
Members comprise:
• Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez
• Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
• Attorney General Ashley Moody
• Sen. President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton
• House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes
• Sen. President-designate Wilton Simpson, R-Spring Hill
• House Speaker-designate Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor
• Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran
• Enterprise Florida President and CEO Jamal Sowell
• Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez
• Broward County Mayor Dale Holness
• Palm Beach County Mayor David Kerner
• Tampa General Hospital President and CEO John Couris
• Walt Disney World Resort President Josh D’Amaro
• Publix Super Markets CEO Todd Jones
• Board of Governors for the State University System Chairman Syd Kitson
• Raymond James Financial Chairman and CEO Paul Reilly
• Florida Bankers Association President and CEO Alex Sanchez
• Florida Power & Light Co. President and CEO Eric Silagy
• Universal Orlando Resort CEO John Sprouls
• Lockheed Martin Corp. Global Supply Chain Vice President Patrick Sunderlin
• AT&T Florida and Caribbean President Joe York
York served as the regional director of corporate and external affairs for BellSouth of Central Florida from 2002-05. Before joining BellSouth, he was a partner in Arnall & York, a Jacksonville-based firm specializing in governmental affairs. He has served as chief aide in the Florida Legislature.
York was a member of the Jacksonville Port Authority Board from January 2010 to March 2018, appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist.
The task force will meet in a working group beginning this week and start to deliver recommendations to DeSantis by the end of the week.
Fried disappointed
One name not on the list is State Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried. The only Florida Democrat serving in statewide elected office, Fried issued a statement April 20 expressing her disappointment in not being named to the task force.
“I wasn’t asked to serve alongside my fellow Cabinet members on the COVID-19 task force, which has no voice on membership representing Florida’s $137 billion agriculture industry,” Fried wrote on the official commissioner Twitter account.
Florida Chamber data
Before DeSantis introduced the Re-Open Florida Task Force executive members, Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson and Chief Economist Jerry Parrish said Florida’s gross domestic product loss because the coronavirus is difficult to predict.
The Florida Chamber estimates the GDP loss could range from a drop of 2.3% to 8.9%, returning to precrisis levels as soon as the fourth quarter this year or as late as second quarter 2024.
Wilson and Parrish also showed a ranking of 22 Florida industries and 800 occupations by COVID-19 risk factors, including proximity to other employees and the public.
According to the chamber, 913,000 jobs in accommodations and food — tourism — were vulnerable, followed by 736,000 retail jobs.
Construction was third with 279,000 jobs holding risk factors and real estate was fourth with 117,000 vulnerable jobs.
The state’s agriculture sector ranked last.
