Columns

Both major party candidates for governor of Florida--Democrat Andrew Gillum, and Republican former Congressman Ron DeSantis, who are 39 and 40 years of age respectively--are not qualified nor experienced to lead the state of Florida, and it is not because of their ages.  

Sunday night’s debate between Republican candidate for governor of Florida Congressman Ron DeSantis and his Far-Left Democratic opponent Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum had plenty of fireworks, and in our view one clear winner: Ron DeSantis.

Sure, the legendary Wall Street misanthrope Gordon Gekko is more chiseled and less rumpled than Tampa wheeler dealer Jeff Vinik but there is no argument the duo share many characteristics.

Andrew Gillum might have started out a money underdog in the race for the Florida governor's mansion, but the Tallahassee mayor has become the darling of progressive out-of-state billionaires and with less than three weeks in the campaign, has money to burn.

As a veterinarian, I’ve spent my entire career caring for the health and wellness of animals. I’ve seen firsthand how farmers, horse breeders and pet owners care for their animals. I’ve also seen firsthand the impact of neglect and abuse on animals. This November, I plan to vote no on Amendment 13.

There is one group in Hillsborough County Jeff Vinik can’t buy.

Could House Minority Leader Janet Cruz’s insults to African-American voters cut any deeper than bragging about endorsements from Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, an unapologetic racial profiler, and the Tampa Bay Times which took many not-so-subtle racist jabs at Andrew Gillum during the Democratic primary?

Just a few weeks ago, analysts thought that control of the U.S. Senate was in play this November and that momentum was shifting to the Democrats. Thanks to their brutal campaign of character assassination against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, those chances appear to be slipping away.

Six months ago no National Football League team would be caught dead involving itself in a state election.  But now look: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins have sunk $500,000 apiece into a committee to defeat Amendment 3, the 2018 ballot measure that would give voters the power to reject any expansion of casino gambling.

James Madison Institute's just-released analysis of the two main governor candidates' economic platforms could wither a cactus. 

The devastation in the Florida panhandle left in Hurricane Michael's wake has been heartbreaking. Lives are in chaos, and any help that can be sent is needed and welcome. That's why questioning what's behind Sen. Bill Nelson’s motives to drive donations to the area has been difficult for me. Nobody, least of all myself, would want to curtail dollars sent in to help the storm victims of the panhandle.

When my husband, Lubek, moved from communist Poland to America many years ago, he thought he had left behind Kafkaesque tribunals where government officials suppressed speech under vague or non-existent laws. But that was before we had the wall outside our house in Mount Dora painted with a mural in the style of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.”

If Monday's Supreme Court decision doesn't light a fire under Florida's conservative base, I have no idea what will.

More Americans would go to the polls if somebody would just entertain them when they get there. Sad, but apparently true. There's research to prove it. Throw a parade, a picnic, a barbecue, a block party in enough cities and Florida polling places could lure 4 percent of the otherwise lazy and disengaged.

When the Democratic Progressive Caucus issued its endorsements this week, one prominent name was omitted: Janet Cruz.