Republican Congressman Brian Mast and Lindsay Cross, Democratic candidate for Florida House District 60, were endorsed this week by the environmental advocacy group VoteWater.

“Brian Mast has been an absolute warrior when it comes to clean-water issues on the Treasure Coast,” said Gil Smart, Executive Director of the nonpartisan group.

“And with Lindsay Cross, we have the prospect of a bona fide conservationist in the state Legislature — something Florida desperately needs,” said Smart.

VoteWater, previously known as Bullsugar.org, issued the endorsements in advance of its 2022 General Election Voter Guide, slated to be published online in early October at VoteWater.org. Additional endorsements will be announced when the guide is released.

The group previously endorsed Mast in the District 21 August primary, and backed the Republican in 2020 and 2018 due to his strong support for ending discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie Estuary and his legislative efforts to protect constituents from the health impacts of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae.

“Floridians deserve clean water, period,” said Mast. “Water quality impacts public health, our environment and our economy. “Unfortunately, for far too long, the private profit of a few powerful companies has been prioritized over the public health of all Floridians,” said Mast. “I won’t stop fighting until we rebalance the scales and reach the ultimate goal: zero toxic discharges ever again.”

Cross, who works for Florida Conservation Voters as Director of Water and Land Policy, has led on key environmental issues, from fertilizer runoff and harmful algal blooms to conservation funding and offshore oil drilling.

She began her career with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and subsequently served as Executive Director of the Florida Wildlife Corridor before moving to LCV.

“I’m so proud to receive the endorsement of VoteWater,” said Cross. “Clean water is directly tied to our economy and our quality of life; in the Tampa Bay area, 20% of our jobs rely on a clean and healthy Tampa Bay. I’ve been fighting for clean water for two decades and I can’t wait to be Florida’s clean water champion in Tallahassee.”

VoteWater’s 2022 Voter Guide will rank and in some cases endorse candidates at the federal, state, and county commission level in Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

VoteWater staff and volunteers utilized a variety of methods to determine the rankings, including questionnaires, campaign finance data, voting records and public statements on water/environmental issues.

The guides will be available at VoteWater.org