Dirty Money

Vote as if your water depends on it – because it does

May 11, 2022

This commentary was first published in late April, by Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council – no relation to VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart – as a depressing post-mortem on this year’s legislative session: Going into the 2022 legislative…

DeSantis endorsement of Simpson not a good sign for clean water

April 26, 2022

It looked like there was a real wedge between the two most powerful Republicans in Florida – Gov. Ron DeSantis and current Senate President Wilton Simpson, who’s running for state Agriculture Commissioner. But they’ve kissed and made up. And that…

Is Gov. DeSantis taking backdoor sugar money?

April 6, 2022

Call this a master class in how politics really works in Florida. And yet another reason we should all Vote Water. On Substack, Jason Garcia’s “Seeking Rents” takes a look at “Associated Industries of Florida,” a lobbying group whose name…

Sweet deal: Big Sugar’s campaign cash fuels Wilton Simpson’s ambitions

March 10, 2022

Wilton Simpson has more clout than virtually any other elected official in Florida. And Big Sugar has greased the skids in his ascent to power. Simpson, often referred to as “a Trilby egg farmer” (in truth he runs a multi-million…

TCPalm columnist rips Florida senators for being full of sugar

February 11, 2022

TCPalm outdoor columnist Ed Killer has penned a dead-on piece lambasting the Florida senators who voted in favor of notorious Senate Bill 2508 as being little but shills for Big Sugar, and determined to advance the industry’s priorities over clean…

In the communities south of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, ash falls on houses and cars, the children call it black snow.

Investigation shows how Big Sugar money influences local elections and beyond

February 3, 2022

In a blockbuster Feb. 3 story, the Palm Beach Post and ProPublica laid out exactly how the sugar industry manages to capture local politicians, and indeed local communities, which then helps them stave off change at the state level –…

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