Deep Something

What We Owe the Worker

September 7, 2026 B. John 232 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, justice, labor rights, common good, unions, Labor Day, dignity of work, Workers

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

People often see Labor Day as just the end of summer, but its history asks us to remember something more. The day began with workers fighting for safer workplaces, better pay, reasonable hours, and the right to organize. Those fights were never only about economics. They were about dignity.

The Stoics didn’t write about labor rights as we know them, but they believed strongly in justice, cooperation, and the common good. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself that people are meant to work together, and that harm to the community eventually harms everyone. This idea matters now, when many workers still have little control over their pay, safety, schedules, or ability to organize.

This Labor Day, let’s consider what Stoicism can still teach us about work, the value of workers, and what we owe each other in a society that says it honors labor.

Education Gay Issues County Commission Featured Places Tampa Politics Election Society

A Polite Version of Josh Wostal Is Still Too Much

September 3, 2026 B. John 256 Views 0 Comments developer contributions, Wostal, Ron DeSantis, Hillsborough County Commission, Hillsborough School Board, Campaign Finance, Stacy Hahn, Neil Manimala

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Stacy Hahn doesn’t sound much like Josh Postal. She’s thoughtful, qualified, and generally pleasant. But votes count the same whether they come with a scowl or a smile, and Hahn’s eight years on the Hillsborough County School Board show a record that’s much more conservative than her polished image suggests.

Hahn opposed letting voters decide on more funding for teacher pay, voted against defending that referendum when Postal and the County Commission tried to block it, rejected a Pride Month proclamation, and publicly aligned herself with Ron DeSantis’s political group. There are some exceptions in her record, but when it comes to taxes, LGBTQ recognition, sexual-health education, and DeSantis-era politics, the pattern is clear.

Now Hahn is running for the County Commission with a campaign mostly funded by construction, development, real estate, and government-relations groups—including businesses that have worked with Hillsborough County. These contributions don’t prove improper influence, but voters have a right to look at who is supporting a candidate and what choices that candidate might make in office. Dr. Hahn may be a more pleasant version of Josh Postal, but the real question is whether Hillsborough County needs another version at all.

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Ambition, Attendance, and the Race for HCSB District 2

August 31, 2026 B. John 237 Views 0 Comments Hillsborough County, Tampa Politics, Hillsborough School Board, District 2, Brittany Lyssy, Local Governance, Public Education

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

When someone wants to lead a multi-billion-dollar school district, authenticity comes first. Brittany Lyssy’s campaign for Hillsborough School Board District 2 asks voters to believe that a family of five lives in a 680-square-foot, one-bedroom condo while also keeping a homesteaded home in Manatee County. From barely attending advisory board meetings to repeating national talking points, District 2 voters deserve real community representation, not a staged political act.

Tampa Politics Legislature Featured Places

When Tallahassee Called, Josie Tomkow Answered

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026 B. John 255 Views 0 Comments Senate District 14, Josie Tomkow, Tampa Politics, Home Rule, local control, Hillsborough County, Tallahassee preemption, party leadership

When Josie Tomkow had the chance to support local communities, she chose Tallahassee instead. This pattern appears throughout her House voting record: tenant protections, land use, infill development, vacation rentals, civilian oversight, worker rules, and school-board governance all go the same way.

This matters because Tomkow now wants to represent Senate District 14, which includes Tampa and Hillsborough County. But her record comes from somewhere else, and it raises an important question for voters here: when local needs clash with party leadership, whose side will she choose?

Her votes seem to answer. Even when another Hillsborough Republican voted no on a major preemption bill, Tomkow voted yes. So the question is not whether she can learn Tampa’s concerns. The question is whether she has already shown us who gets her vote when Tallahassee comes calling.

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Trump Wants the Midterms to Be About Trump

August 26, 2026 B. John 218 Views 0 Comments Cost of Living, 2026 midterms, Republican incumbents, MAGA Inc., campaign advertising, voter accountability, Democratic politics, Donald Trump

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Donald Trump has looked at a 34 percent approval rating and reached a comforting conclusion: Americans have not seen enough Donald Trump. His super PAC is preparing midterm ads built around his record, his speeches, and clips of Trump praising Trump. Apparently, the nation has suffered from a shortage.

The ads will tout stock-market highs, factory output, falling overdose deaths, and other signs of the “Golden Age.” Families will still see grocery bills that keep climbing, gasoline near $4.09 a gallon, and a job market that lost ground in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has yet to buy anyone’s groceries.

Trump wants voters to treat the midterms as though his name appears on every ballot. They should accept the invitation. Then they should ask every Republican incumbent whether Trump’s record belongs to them too, which votes lowered costs back home, and why the greatest economy in history remains so difficult for most people to find.

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Before We Choose Together

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 B. John 296 Views 0 Comments political access, community leadership, special interests, representative government, Civic Engagement, Tampa Politics, Campaign Finance, political power, Democracy, voter influence

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

We like to tell ourselves a comforting story about democracy: everyone gets one vote. The developer who can spend thousands on campaigns gets one. The teacher gets one. The restaurant worker gets one. The college student voting for the first time gets one. On Election Day, at least, the arithmetic is wonderfully simple.

But political power starts working long before Election Day. Candidates need money, introductions, endorsements, volunteers, organizations to support them, and people who can get them into the rooms where political relationships are built. By the time most voters start paying attention, a much smaller group may have already spent months deciding which candidates have the money, visibility, and standing to be taken seriously.

That raises a question I hadn’t fully considered when I wrote What We Choose Together: What needs to happen before the word “together” is really true? In Before We Choose Together, I look at money, access, community ties, and the kind of public officials who still answer the phone and talk with regular people. Our vote matters, but so does our ability to be heard before we cast it.

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Mike Suarez Knows Insurance. That’s Why I Have Questions.

August 7, 2026August 7, 2026 B. John 349 Views 0 Comments PACs, Mike Suarez, Campaign Finance, Insurance, Florida House District 64, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, Luis Salazar

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

Mike Suarez says his 30 years in insurance make him the best candidate to tackle Florida’s insurance crisis. With what homeowners and drivers are paying, that sounds like valuable experience. But his campaign finance reports show something else voters should think about: insurance-related interests are also the largest industry group I identified among his contributors.

That doesn’t mean anyone bought Mike Suarez’s vote. But it does mean voters have every right to ask a tougher question. If you’ve worked in an industry for decades and people connected to it give a lot to your campaign, whose interests will matter most when insurers and policyholders want different things?

Suarez wants voters to see his insurance career as a reason to elect him. That’s fair. But his professional and financial ties to that same industry deserve scrutiny too. Florida families don’t need another explanation for high insurance costs. They need someone in Tallahassee who will tell them exactly how their homeowners and auto insurance bills will go down.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature

Who Governs Tampa?

August 3, 2026 B. John 313 Views 0 Comments Home Rule, Hillsborough County, Preemption, Florida Legislature, Local Government, Tallahassee, school boards, Karen Gonzalez Pittman, Tampa Politics

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Most people assume that when they elect a City Council member, County Commissioner, or School Board member, those officials have the authority to govern. In Florida, that’s becoming less true every year. Through a growing list of preemption laws, Tallahassee has steadily taken power away from local communities, often replacing local judgment with statewide mandates.

Representative Karen Gonzalez-Pittman’s voting record shows she has consistently supported that shift. From housing and neighborhood development to public schools and worker protections, her votes raise a fundamental question for District 65: should decisions about Tampa be made by the people who live here, or by politicians in Tallahassee? This first installment examines one of the most significant, and least discussed, changes in Florida government.

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Would This Resume Get the Job?

August 1, 2026August 1, 2026 B. John 363 Views 0 Comments education policy, Brittany Lyssy, Campaign Finance, Hillsborough County School Board, Hillsborough County Public Schools, School Board Election, Leadership Experience, Local Politics

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Would this resume get the job? That’s the question every voter should ask before electing someone to help govern the seventh-largest school district in the nation. Hillsborough County Public Schools oversees more than 218,000 students, employs over 23,000 people, and manages a budget exceeding $4 billion. If this were a private company, would this résumé earn a seat in the boardroom?

This article examines Brittany Lyssy’s publicly presented qualifications alongside her campaign finance reports, which show that, excluding a personal loan to her campaign, nearly four out of every ten identifiable donor dollars came from outside Hillsborough County. It’s not a partisan argument. It’s a hiring question. Before entrusting someone with one of the most consequential governing positions in our community, voters deserve to ask whether the experience matches the responsibility.

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Seven Checks. One Address. Nothing to See Here… Probably.

July 30, 2026 B. John 262 Views 0 Comments Hillsborough County Commission, Donna Cameron-Cepeda, Campaign Finance, campaign contributions, public transparency, development interests, local elections

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

What if the most interesting story isn’t who gave to one candidate—but who keeps showing up in multiple County Commission races? That’s exactly what caught my attention while reviewing Donna Cameron Cepeda’s latest campaign finance report. One connected business network accounted for more than one-quarter of her campaign’s monetary contributions, and the same network also appears in Josh Wostal’s filings. There’s nothing illegal about that. In fact, businesses have every right to support the candidates they believe will best serve the community.

But campaign finance reports exist for a reason. They allow voters to see who is investing in our elections and to ask informed questions before casting a ballot. This article doesn’t accuse anyone of wrongdoing. Instead, it examines one business network’s unusually strong financial interest in Hillsborough County Commission races, and asks the question every voter should ask: Why are these races important enough to attract that level of investment?

Featured Places Tampa Politics County Commission

What a Real Hillsborough County Efficiency Review Would Look Like

July 28, 2026 B. John 320 Views 0 Comments audit standards, budget transparency, transaction testing, program outcomes, cost shifting, public accountability, Hillsborough County DOGE, county spending, government efficiency

This entry is in the series Hillsborough DOGE Report Analysis

The Hillsborough County DOGE report raised important questions. However, a true efficiency review must go beyond highlighting large figures. It should test transactions, compare costs, assess workloads, evaluate results, and consider the impact of service reductions.

This final essay outlines the essential elements of a comprehensive review and emphasizes that public trust relies on evidence, not headlines. The objective should be a clear, substantiated case for how each dollar will be saved, rather than the largest possible savings claim.