The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
A recent critique of Laurel Lee’s time as Florida Secretary of State shows her history of voter suppression, but her actions in Congress are an even bigger betrayal. She has voted against jobs and insulin price caps, and taken large corporate donations while her district faces high housing costs. Lee has shown she works for special interests, not FL-15 families.
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Florida Senate District 14 is facing a choice between a local voice and a corporate transfer. Josie Tomkow, a term-limited rancher from Polk County, is attempting to buy a Senate seat in South Tampa with $3 million in special interest cash. This essay examines her record of voting against our interests—on insurance, abortion, and education—and why we need a representative who actually lives here, like Brian Nathan.
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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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While South Tampa homeowners struggle with skyrocketing premiums, Josie Tomkow voted for insurance bailouts that stripped away consumer rights without guaranteeing a single cent in rate reductions. In this special election, we have a choice between an IBEW electrician who pays his own bills and a career politician funded by the insurance lobby.
Read moreWhen 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.
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For months, we’ve watched Tallahassee treat Senate District 14 like a “GOP Arrivals Lounge”—a place where political tourists drop a carpetbag just long enough to get their voter registration stamped.
Our latest investigation into Jay Collins pulls back the curtain on a system where residency is a shell game and public service is a family business.
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