Deep Something

When Tallahassee Called, Josie Tomkow Answered

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026 B. John 25 Views 0 Comments Home Rule, local control, Hillsborough County, Tallahassee preemption, party leadership, Senate District 14, Josie Tomkow, Tampa Politics

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.

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Is Karen Gonzalez-Pittman Representing South Tampa or Tallahassee?

June 29, 2026 B. John 272 Views 0 Comments school boards, wage recovery, South Tampa, Karen Gonzalez Pittman, Home Rule, local control, Tallahassee preemption, housing policy, infill redevelopment

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Karen Gonzalez-Pittman represents South Tampa, but her voting record raises a fair question: is she representing this community, or carrying Tallahassee’s agenda back home? Again and again, she has voted for bills that take decision-making power away from local governments, local school boards, and local voters.

From housing and tenant protections to infill redevelopment, school policy, civilian oversight, and local employment standards, Gonzalez-Pittman has sided with state preemption over home rule. For South Tampa, where traffic, flooding, housing pressure, schools, and neighborhood character are intensely local concerns, that record deserves much closer scrutiny.

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Josie Tomkow’s Record Shows Tallahassee Comes First

June 26, 2026June 26, 2026 B. John 385 Views 1 Comment Senate District 14, Hillsborough County, Josie Tomkow, Brian Nathan, Home Rule, local control, Tallahassee preemption, Public Schools, South Tampa

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

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?