Deep Something

Corporate Welfare in Overalls: The Rural Shell Game of Florida Amendment 2

September 22, 2026September 22, 2026 B. John 52 Views 0 Comments Home Rule, agricultural tax exemption, corporate agribusiness, Hillsborough County, tax shift, Property Taxes, Florida Amendment 2

This entry is in the series Florida Amendments and Referenda-2026

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

The television commercials for Florida Amendment 2 are almost entirely self-written. All you have to do is play the acoustic guitar, show the video of a dusty tractor, and then tell the heartwarming tale of a fourth-generation family farmer who is struggling. Although the story is touching, the sentimental presentation covers up a costly performance by the corporation.

Florida businesses currently have a standard exemption of $25,000 for tangible personal property, which covers a significant portion of the equipment needed by genuine small-scale growers. The main benefit of Amendment 2, however, goes to industrial agribusiness syndicates, huge commercial packing houses, and luxury agritourism event venues that operate fleets of machinery costing six figures.

When Tallahassee eliminates equipment taxes on commercial agricultural land, those multi-ton transport trucks do not stop chewing up county roads. The bill simply shifts. County commissions are left to either gut local services or force residential homeowners to make up the difference. Read the full breakdown of how Amendment 2 puts corporate welfare in overalls and leaves local taxpayers holding the tab.

Featured Politics Election Legislature

Rainy Days and Blue Tarps: Why Hoarding Billions in Tallahassee Won’t Protect Hillsborough

September 22, 2026September 22, 2026 B. John 49 Views 0 Comments Budget Stabilization Fund, rainy day fund, Hillsborough County, state budget, Tallahassee preemption, Florida Amendment 1

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Amendments and Referenda-2026

Tallahassee politicians often present Florida Amendment 1 as basic common sense. After all, who would argue with saving for a rainy day? But there’s a big difference between keeping an umbrella handy and locking away billions while your ceiling is falling in.

If you drive through Hillsborough County, you’ll see blue tarps still on roofs from storms years ago. Homeowners are struggling with high insurance costs, classrooms have broken air conditioners, and stormwater ditches need repairs. Yet Amendment 1 would require up to $750 million a year to be set aside in Tallahassee until the fund reaches 25 percent of general revenue.

Florida already has a fully funded emergency reserve at 10 percent. Forcing billions more into storage isn’t smart budgeting; it’s a way to cut local spending now so politicians can brag about a big balance later. Read the full essay to see why we should fix our roofs before Tallahassee builds another vault.

Featured Politics Election Legislature

Whose Voice in the Committee Room? Michael Owen, Insurance Cash, and the Squeeze on District 70

September 20, 2026September 20, 2026 B. John 82 Views 0 Comments HB 4027, HB 4029, Hillsborough County, Property Insurance, Campaign Finance, Michael Owen

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Michael Owen sits where Florida’s property insurance laws are shaped: the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee. His campaign finance reports also show substantial support from insurance companies, insurance political committees, agents’ groups, and lobbyists. The article examines that money alongside the choices he has made in office.

Owen has shown no shortage of legislative ambition when Hillsborough County government is involved. He sponsored HB 4027, which puts an elected school superintendent before Hillsborough voters, and HB 4029, which would substantially restructure the County Commission. Both measures passed the Legislature and require local voter approval.

That leaves a harder question. With homeowners still confronting steep insurance bills, what has Owen used his seat on Insurance & Banking to do for them? The campaign money does not answer that question by itself, but it makes his legislative record worth examining closely.

This article follows the money, looks at where Owen has chosen to spend his political capital, and asks what those priorities tell District 70 voters about whose concerns are getting attention in Tallahassee.

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Ambition, Attendance, and the Race for HCSB District 2

August 31, 2026 B. John 191 Views 0 Comments Brittany Lyssy, Local Governance, Public Education, Hillsborough County, Tampa Politics, Hillsborough School Board, District 2

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.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature

When Tallahassee Called, Josie Tomkow Answered

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026 B. John 211 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.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature

Who Governs Tampa?

August 3, 2026 B. John 266 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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The Price of Political Playacting: Michael Owen’s Assault on Hillsborough Schools

July 9, 2026September 16, 2026 B. John 318 Views 0 Comments Public Education, Hillsborough County, Culture Wars, Local Governance, school referendum, state preemption, Michael Owen, political overreach

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Education

Hillsborough County Public Schools, the seventh-largest district in the nation, is facing a top-down assault disguised as “local accountability.” State Representative Michael Owen’s House Bill 4027 calls for a referendum to eliminate our professionally appointed superintendent in favor of a partisan elected office. The schools are already governed by an elected board of education. This change is not about transparency; it is a calculated effort to force a toxic culture-war agenda into our local classrooms and strip our school system of seasoned, professional leadership.

The structural fallout of this power grab is devastatingly clear. Instead of an experienced educational administrator focused on student performance, our district risks being handed over to a political partisan. Under an elected model, policy decisions on curriculum, budgeting, and student safety will inevitably bow to the need for campaign survival, turning every fourth year into a multi-million-dollar reelection spectacle. This essay shows how Owen’s legislative overreach, paired with his habit of distorting local facts for political points, threatens the shared institutions our children rely on.

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Josie Tomkow’s Record Shows Tallahassee Comes First

June 26, 2026June 26, 2026 B. John 452 Views 1 Comment Brian Nathan, Home Rule, local control, Tallahassee preemption, Public Schools, South Tampa, Senate District 14, Hillsborough County, Josie Tomkow

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

Florida Republicans love to talk about freedom, but their voting records often tell a very different story. Over and over again, Tallahassee politicians have voted to take decision-making power away from local communities, local governments, and local school boards. Josie Tomkow’s record in the Florida House is a clear example.

Tomkow is now running again against Brian Nathan in Senate District 14, asking Tampa-area voters to send her back to Tallahassee. But when she served in the House representing Polk County, she repeatedly voted for state preemption over local control, including on housing, zoning, infill redevelopment, civilian oversight, and public schools.

That matters here. Tampa and Hillsborough County deserve representation rooted in this community, not another vote for Tallahassee control. The question for voters is simple: if Tomkow voted this way in the House, why should anyone expect her to vote differently in the Senate?

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Tallahassee Keeps Telling Local Communities to Sit Down

June 23, 2026 B. John 383 Views 1 Comment Home Rule, Preemption, local democracy, Hillsborough County, worker protections, Florida Legislature, heat safety, Tallahassee, zoning

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

There is a word in Florida politics that sounds dry enough to cure insomnia but is quietly reshaping life in our communities: preemption.

Preemption is what happens when Tallahassee tells local governments they are not allowed to solve local problems. In recent years, the Legislature has used it to block local worker protections, weaken local control over zoning and development, and shift more decisions away from the people who actually live with the consequences.

My latest article examines this growing pattern, including Florida’s ban on local heat protections for outdoor workers, recent development bills that override local planning, and the legislators who keep voting to shift power away from communities and into the state’s hands. This is not just a procedural fight. It is about whether local democracy still means anything when powerful interests want it out of the way.

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When Elected Officials Skip the Phone Call and Go Straight to the Pitchfork

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026 B. John 551 Views 0 Comments education policy, Hillsborough County, DeSantis administration, ICE protest, fact-checking, school governance, Civic Engagement, Florida Politics, Student walkout

Apparently, in Florida politics, the due-diligence phase has been replaced by vibes, outrage, and a quick dash to social media. Two Hillsborough County Republican legislators worked themselves into a moral panic over students protesting ICE at a local high school — and then skipped the most basic step of governance: checking the facts. Instead of making a phone call, they fired off a letter demanding an investigation and the permanent revocation of a principal’s educator license. Because when you hear something alarming, why verify it when you can threaten someone’s career instead?

Here’s the inconvenient truth they missed: the protest happened after instructional time. Not during class. Not instead of math or English. After. That small detail didn’t stop Florida’s education commissioner — a hand-picked appointee of the governor — from piling on with a scolding warning about “diverting students from instruction.” Strong language, zero curiosity. What followed wasn’t leadership or oversight. It was performative outrage, public intimidation, and a clear message to educators and students alike: civic engagement is welcome only when it stays quiet, invisible, and politically convenient.

Featured Politics Election County Commission

2022 Election – Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners District 1

October 29, 2022October 29, 2022 B. John 1356 Views 0 Comments florida, Hillsborough County, Harry Cohen, 2022 Election, Scott Levinson

This entry is in the series 2022 Election

I had one of the most interesting candidate conversations I think I have ever had around this race. I had a long conversation with Scott D. Levinson, the Republican running for the seat. This is where it got interesting. He seems to be very socially progressive, to the point I eventually said, “Scott, you need not be telling people this. You may get kicked out of the Republican party. But the thing is, Harry gave me an appointment when he was a member of the City Council and heard me out on some contractor behavior issues we were having in the neighborhood.

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