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Daniela Simic Has Been Preparing for This Job for Years
Daniela Simic’s campaign is built around something school board races could use more of: deep experience with schools themselves. She has spent about 25 years in education, from the classroom to district leadership, with years of PTA and community work layered on top of it.
Her fundraising tells its own story. Simic and Brittany Lyssy have raised roughly the same amount from outside donors, but Simic reached that total through far more contribution transactions, a lower median donation, and broader support from individuals, educators, labor groups, and community organizations.
The race gives District 2 voters a clear factual comparison in background, donor base, and connection to Hillsborough’s schools. The full piece looks at Simic’s record, the people backing her, and the experience she brings to one of the largest school systems in the country.
Politics
All the hot-button topics about government, state, local, and federal the courts, and the election.
When Tallahassee Called, Josie Tomkow Answered
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.
Science
This includes discussions on scientific topics that include the environment, weather, medicine, and space.
Society
We lump a lot under this category including crime, corruption, education and hate groups. This category runs the gamut.
Culture
Posts on cultural activities such as theater, art, holidays, and music.
Religion
This is our section for articles related to religion, especially Methodism, and the Evangelical movement.
What Are We Going to Do Now?
Essay 3 of a series examining where we are at 250 years
That question is easy to ask but far more difficult to answer. It is tempting to surrender to cynicism, retreat into anger, or simply conclude that one person’s voice no longer matters. Yet history tells a different story. Every major step toward a more just America began because ordinary people refused to believe that tomorrow had to look exactly like yesterday.
This concluding essay in my 250th Fourth of July trilogy is not about despair. It is about responsibility. It is a personal reflection on the kind of citizen I have decided to be, regardless of the political climate, and an invitation for each of us to consider the role we will play in writing America’s next chapter. Because history will move forward. The only question is whether we will help hold the pen.
Technology
Discussions on software, hardware, apps, and gadgets.
LGBT Issues
Here we discuss the politics of the LGBT movement, stories of events in the community, and anything else related to the LGBT community.
Fun Stuff
This is a bit of a collection of stories about family, food, friends, and travel.
The Economy
Here are topics on the economy, trade, and business.
When Justice Outruns Wisdom
“I told her I was ready to give up. I wasn’t. I was frustrated.”
What began as a communication bottleneck in a church office became a lesson in leadership. When drafts moved without review and a public link went live incorrectly, urgency surged. The concern was legitimate. The tone was not. Justice rose quickly. Wisdom lagged behind. Where has urgency outrun wisdom in your week?
In this new essay, I contemplate what the Stoics understood about anger, discipline, and leadership—and why the same dynamic I saw in myself is evident at the highest levels of national leadership. Anger is a signal. It is not a strategy. Wisdom must organize justice, or institutions begin to fray.
Read: When Justice Outruns Wisdom.
Steel-Toed Integrity
When something breaks in the real world, you don’t call a politician to give a speech; you call someone with a toolbox to fix it. That is the leadership Brian Nathan offers Senate District 14. A Navy veteran and IBEW electrician who chose Tampa as his home during the Great Recession, Brian brings a craftsman’s perspective to a political system that is deeply broken.
Read about Brian’s vision for “steel-toed integrity”—a philosophy born on the job site that prioritizes practical solutions for working families over political theater. He is running to fight for affordable housing, good-paying local jobs, and quality education.
The High Price of “Nice”: What Karen Gonzalez Pittman is Actually Costing South Tampa
Is your State Rep costing you money?
On paper, Representative Karen Gonzalez Pittman fits South Tampa perfectly. She’s polished, presentable, and active in the community. If you met her at a Palma Ceia mixer, you’d think, “Now, there’s a reasonable person.” But for the wealthy and aspirational residents of District 65, voting for Pittman has become an expensive illusion. You think you’re voting for stability, but you’re actually paying a premium for a representative who consistently prioritizes Tallahassee’s culture war performance art over your bank account.
The most glaring receipt is your property insurance bill. For years, the Republican supermajority, of which Pittman is a loyal member, has promised that if we protected insurance companies from lawsuits, rates would trickle down. Pittman voted for every one of those protections. Yet, while your premiums have doubled, she and her colleagues have spent the legislative session banning books and policing bathrooms rather than fixing the financial crisis that is actually threatening our property values.
There’s a high cost to the “anti-woke” agenda, and South Tampa homeowners are paying it. This is a clear example of Patrimonialism: the state is run for insiders, while regular people get worse service and pay more. It’s time to see what her “nice” image is really costing you.
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Here we talk about topics specific to Tampa, Kings Mountain, and other places I've lived or visited.
