Campaign Finance

The ‘dirty money’ behind ‘Blue Ribbon Projects’ paves the way for development of rural Florida

February 26, 2026

State Rep. Lauren Melo wants you to know she loves wild Florida. Growing up, the Naples Republican used to hunt quail and learned to drive a “three on the tree” gear shifter in the wide-open spaces. As she told the…

Sprawl, powered by ‘dirty money’

January 22, 2026

State campaign finance data for the fourth quarter of 2025 has dropped, and initially we were going to write about how much Big Sugar gave last year. And in fact, we WILL write about it, right here: According to the…

Did ‘dirty money’ help win ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ contracts?

July 10, 2025

What we are witnessing, with “Alligator Alcatraz,” is a master class in how “dirty money” works. As multiple media outlets have reported, several companies involved in the construction and operation of the Everglades detention center have donated to Gov. Ron…

Here’s how much Dirty Money Big Sugar gave in Q1 2025

April 24, 2025

The state’s campaign finance data for the first quarter of 2025 dropped in recent weeks, and it shows — surprise, surprise — that Big Sugar is still giving big bucks, even in an off-election year. According to the Florida Department…

Digging into Ashley Moody’s ‘Dirty Money’

April 2, 2025

Florida’s newest U.S. Senator, Ashley Moody, was appointed in January and has never run for that seat — so she hasn’t (yet) amassed a treasure chest of federal “dirty money” contributions. But as Florida’s Attorney General from 2017-January 2025, she…

HEY DOGE, wanna cut waste? Kill the Sugar Program

March 6, 2025

As you’ve no doubt seen, the Department of Government Efficiency has been swinging the budgetary ax, cutting a wide swath in its quest to eliminate “waste.” So we have a suggestion for Elon Musk and his crew: Kill the Sugar…

Florida’s Legislature convenes March 4 – here’s what we want them to do

February 13, 2025

For weeks Florida legislators have been meeting in committee, filing and debating bills and preparing for the official start of the 2025 Legislative Session on March 4. This session VoteWater’s Gil Smart will travel to Tallahassee to lobby for clean-water…

‘Dirty Money Project’ in the headlines

October 17, 2024

VoteWater’s “Dirty Money Project” is making news across the Sunshine State. First, Executive Director Gil Smart’s Oct. 4 op-ed in the Miami Herald explained how “dirty money” to dirty politicians is a root cause of dirty water. Then, just this…

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