Deep Something

Stacy Hahn Helped Bring Tallahassee’s Culture War Into Hillsborough Schools

October 15, 2026 B. John 24 Views 0 Comments education culture wars, Ron DeSantis, Stacy Hahn, Hillsborough County Schools, LGBTQ Students, Parental Rights, Freedom to Read, book bans

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Stacy Hahn was not just caught up in Florida’s education culture war. She chose a side again and again. She stood with Gov. Ron DeSantis as he called book bans a “hoax,” voted to remove books even when review committees recommended keeping them, and was the only one to vote against a School Board proclamation for Pride Month.

Her record also shows the problem with the phrase “parental rights.” Parents could already limit what their own children checked out. Hahn supported something else: letting some parents decide what all families’ children could read. It seems parental rights only matter until a parent disagrees with Stacy Hahn.

This is personal for me. When I was growing up gay, I had no books to help me understand my feelings or to show me I was not alone. Somewhere in Hillsborough County, a child needs that same reassurance now. Censorship does not feel any softer to children just because it comes from someone with a doctorate and a pleasant smile.

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The Books They Don’t Want Our Children to Read

October 9, 2026October 9, 2026 B. John 117 Views 0 Comments Brittany Lyssy, Hillsborough County Schools, Banned Books Week, Florida Book Bans, Parental Rights, Freedom to Read, Moms For Liberty, Bridget Ziegler

This entry is in the series Hate Groups

This entry is in the series Deep Questions

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Growing up, I didn’t have books that helped me understand who I was. People rarely talked openly about being gay,

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Birds of a Feather

October 7, 2026 B. John 77 Views 0 Comments School Vouchers, Hillsborough County Schools, Ken Gay, LGBTQ Students, Danny Alvarez, Michael Owen

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Education

Ken Gay’s latest supporter graphic features Republican state representatives Danny Alvarez, Traci Koster and Michael Owen. Once you look at their education records, the endorsements require very little explanation. Alvarez and Koster backed Florida’s expansion of private-school scholarships and HB 1069, with its restrictions on sexual-orientation and gender-identity instruction and pronoun use. Owen has supported similar school-choice policies and legislation expanding religious expression in public schools.

The consequences of those LGBTQ-related policies are harder to shrug off as another Tallahassee culture-war hobby. Trevor Project research found that LGBTQ+ students attending schools with even one anti-LGBTQ+ policy reported higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide attempts. Its 2023 research also found lower suicide-attempt rates among students with affirming school supports, including teachers who respected transgender and nonbinary students’ pronouns. Apparently, treating children with dignity has measurable benefits. Who knew?

So “birds of a feather” seems an apt description of the policy overlap. The same group supporting Gay has repeatedly backed moving education dollars toward private alternatives while supporting restrictions that fall particularly hard on LGBTQ+ students. The question behind the endorsements is worth examining: what does that agenda mean inside a public-school system charged with educating every child who walks through its doors?

Votes-Money Infographic for Wostal Campaign

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Follow the Votes. Follow the Money.

October 5, 2026October 5, 2026 B. John 156 Views 0 Comments Hillsborough County Commission, Campaign Finance, zoning, development interests, Josh Wostal, land use, Homes by WestBay, Hillsborough growth

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Josh Wostal likes to remind people that he represents voters across Hillsborough County. Some of those voters have shown up at County Commission meetings, asking commissioners to slow development in their neighborhoods. In several cases, Wostal voted the other way, even when county planning officials recommended denial or found the proposed development inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

Then there is the money. Builders, developers, construction firms and land-use interests have contributed substantial sums to Wostal’s political operation. In at least two cases, contributors or business networks tied to his campaign also had development matters come before the commission. None of that proves why Wostal cast a particular vote. It does give voters a reason to look closely at who funds his political operation and what happens when development interests come before him.

And those residents standing at the podium asking him to listen? They are countywide voters too.

Infographic of Wostal's vote total claims

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When Four Times the Votes Doesn’t Mean Four Times the Support

October 2, 2026 B. John 120 Views 0 Comments Tampa Politics, Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County Commission, Local Government, Josh Wostal, Tampa City Council, voter turnout, District 7

This entry is in the series Daily Douche-Bag

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Josh Wostal has a unique way of measuring political influence. When people said Hillsborough County doesn’t treat Tampa fairly, he noted that he got far more votes than Tampa’s mayor and at-large City Council members. That sounds impressive until you consider the size of the electorate and voter turnout.

Wostal ran in a countywide November election where 486,230 people voted. Tampa’s at-large council members won their seats in an April runoff with only 25,913 voters. If you compare each candidate to the people who voted in their election, Wostal’s supposed advantage goes away. In fact, some of the votes he mentions came from Tampa residents. So, Hillsborough County is bigger than Tampa. Who would have thought?

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Brittany Lyssy’s School-Board Training Network Deserves a Closer Look

September 21, 2026 B. John 278 Views 0 Comments Moms For Liberty, Bridget Ziegler, Brittany Lyssy, Leadership Institute, Hillsdale College, school board politics, Hillsborough County Schools

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Education

Brittany Lyssy cites her work with the Leadership Institute’s School Board Leaders Program as part of her education-policy experience. A closer look at that program shows a national conservative network built around recruiting, training, and supporting school-board candidates, with direct connections to Moms for Liberty and to policy resources from Hillsdale College and the Heritage Foundation.

One connection deserves particular attention. Bridget Ziegler, an early figure in Moms for Liberty, served in leadership of the same Leadership Institute school-board program where Lyssy worked on communications, policy analysis, ethics, and governance. Public records do not show that Lyssy belonged to Moms for Liberty or adopted every position promoted within that network, but the institutional ties are clear enough to warrant scrutiny.

The larger question is what parts of that philosophy Lyssy would bring to Hillsborough. The full article follows the connections among the Leadership Institute, Moms for Liberty, Hillsdale, Ziegler, and Lyssy’s own policy background, then asks what voters should examine before deciding how much those ties matter.

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Josie Tomkow Discovers Homeowner Rights

September 21, 2026 B. John 163 Views 0 Comments Josie Tomkow, campaign contributions, homeowners insurance, attorney fees, Florida insurance reform, Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights, Senate District 14

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Josie Tomkow says she wants to create a Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights and make sure insurance claims are fully paid. This sounds reassuring, especially in a state where rising premiums and storm losses have made things tough for homeowners. There is just one awkward detail: Florida already has a Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights. Even more, Tomkow spent years voting for laws that made it harder and more expensive for policyholders to challenge insurers when claims were denied or underpaid.

Campaign records also show ongoing support for Tomkow from insurance companies, industry groups, civil-justice organizations, and a former Florida Insurance Commissioner who now works in insurance advisory.

So is this a real change of heart, or just a shift for campaign season? Her voting record, contribution history, and new promises make it worth taking a closer look.

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Some Things Should Not Be Run for Profit

September 15, 2026 B. John 255 Views 0 Comments School Vouchers, Public Education, education policy, public good, School Choice, Florida Schools, Education Funding, Educational Equity

This entry is in the series Education

What if the biggest mistake in Florida’s education debate is assuming schools should work like ordinary businesses?

Markets reward efficiency, control costs, and give consumers choices. Public education has a different job. It has to serve every child, including the student who needs far more support, the student who needs advanced opportunities, and the student whose family could never afford to buy those services on its own.

That is why I think the debate over vouchers and school choice has to go deeper than whether competition can improve some outcomes. The real question is whether K-12 education should be organized around market incentives at all.

In this essay, I look at what happens when we confuse efficiency with public duty, and why some things may work better when the goal is not profit, but making sure everyone is served.

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When “School Choice” Stops Meaning Public Education

September 13, 2026September 13, 2026 B. John 281 Views 0 Comments Education Funding, Educational Equity, Education Vouchers, Henry Mack, Public Education, Public Schools, School Choice, Florida Schools

This entry is in the series Education

Florida’s new Education Commissioner has said the state does not need to run schools at all. That raises a question that goes well beyond vouchers: what happens when “school choice” starts replacing the idea of public education itself?

Florida’s Constitution requires a system of free public schools. Yet an $8,000 voucher does not guarantee admission, does not guarantee a free education, and means something very different to a family that can add another $30,000 than it does to one that cannot. That is why the slogan “fund the student” leaves out so much.

At our Voices of Justice: Speak Up for Students program earlier this year, USF education policy professor Dr. Bill Black asked a simple question: “What is public in public education?” With Florida moving further toward publicly funded private education, that question deserves a much closer look.

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Ambition, Attendance, and the Race for HCSB District 2

August 31, 2026 B. John 266 Views 0 Comments Public Education, Hillsborough County, Tampa Politics, Hillsborough School Board, District 2, Brittany Lyssy, Local Governance

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.

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Real Waste, Fake Waste, and Things Republicans Just Don’t Like

July 24, 2026July 25, 2026 B. John 311 Views 0 Comments DEI programs, nonprofit funding, government waste, film incentives, public accountability, Hillsborough County DOGE, political ideology, county grants

This entry is in the series Hillsborough DOGE Report Analysis

Not every proposed cut is the same. Unused software licenses, underused vehicles, vague contracts, and weak bidding rules are real places to look for waste.

But the Hillsborough County DOGE report also targets nonprofits, equity work, community outreach, and cultural programs. In this essay, I separate genuine control problems from programs that appear to have been labeled “waste” because committee members do not like their purpose.

Political opposition is fair. Calling it financial analysis is not.

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