Dirty Money
With the 2024 Florida Legislative session bearing down — it starts next week! — we figured we’d take a look at what our old friends at Big Sugar spent buying influence in 2023. While totals for the fourth quarter of…
2024 is about ready to rock and roll. And so are we. The Florida Legislature convenes Jan. 9 and session runs through March 8. Several dirty-water proposals have already been filed; more will follow. We’ll track them all, here in…
At VoteWater, we fight for better policies and better policy-makers who stand up to special interests like Big Sugar. We educate voters to make informed choices at the ballot box. And we work to preserve the natural beauty of our waterways…
Here at VoteWater we’re hip-deep in research for our “Dirty Money Project,” and we’ve noticed something interesting: Both sides — that is, Republicans and Democrats — take money from polluting special interests. But the amount they get coincides with the…
Just when you think you’re being too cynical about Florida politics, you realize you aren’t being cynical enough. Tallahassee, the Florida capital, has no shortage of hacks and flacks, would-be “journalists” who’ll print anything for a buck. So we were…
“Listen to the Science,” screamed the headline of the flyer that showed up in Martin County mailboxes (and perhaps elsewhere) last week. “SEWAGE is Killing Our Local Waterways.” The ALARMING WORDS were framed in multiple pictures of blue-green algae. Flipping…
Executive Director Gil Smart gives a preview of what we’re discovering with our “Dirty Money” research – elected officials from both parties have taken plenty of money from Big Sugar and other polluters, there’s no partisan divide on this issue.…
VoteWater’s Gil Smart makes the case in this video:
As a VoteWater supporter, you’ve long known that dirty money = dirty water. Campaign cash from polluting industries buys influence in Tallahassee, Washington, D.C., even your local county commission chambers. This results in laws that protect polluters and prevent progress…
Update: Sen. Albritton got even MORE sugar money than we realized! Below, we report on a $25,000 contribution from U.S. Sugar to Florida Sen. Ben Albritton’s campaign committee, Friends of Ben Albritton. The report is true and correct. But the…