Deep Something

Jackie Toledo and the Curious Case of Local Control

October 1, 2026 B. John 176 Views 0 Comments Home Rule, Hillsborough County Commission, local control, state preemption, Jackie Toledo, Impact Fees, Occupational Licensing

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Jackie Toledo is now seeking a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission, where local officials decide on growth, infrastructure, public safety, and county policy. This makes her time in Tallahassee especially interesting, because she repeatedly supported laws that limited what counties and cities could decide for themselves.

Toledo supported state intervention in areas like impact fees, occupational licensing, utility policy, and even local police budgets; Toledo backed state intervention in matters normally handled close to home. In one case, Tallahassee could even review and overturn a local decision about a police budget.

There is a certain irony in spending years helping state government restrict local author

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The Price of Political Playacting: Michael Owen’s Assault on Hillsborough Schools

July 9, 2026September 16, 2026 B. John 398 Views 0 Comments Hillsborough County, Culture Wars, Local Governance, school referendum, state preemption, Michael Owen, political overreach, Public Education

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.