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Florida's government is supposed to work for the people who pay for it. Yet too often, it seems to work best for the special interests, political insiders and well-connected donors who have learned how to navigate Tallahassee.
Floridians are paying the price.
Homeowners face some of the highest insurance costs in the country. Families are struggling with rising utility bills and grocery prices. Small businesses are competing against an increasingly difficult economic environment, while farmers and rural communities face pressures that threaten their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, questions about public spending, political favoritism and accountability continue to undermine confidence in state government.
The problem is not that Florida lacks resources, talent or opportunity. The problem is that those entrusted with managing the state's institutions have too frequently treated public service as an extension of partisan politics.
The three offices considered here are particularly important. Florida's Chief Financial Officer oversees the state's finances and insurance consumer services. The Attorney General serves as the state's chief legal officer and prosecutor. The Commissioner of Agriculture oversees an agency whose responsibilities reach far beyond farming, touching consumer protection, food safety and agricultural policy.
These are positions with real power over people's everyday lives.
For these offices, The County believes Floridians have three compelling choices: Annette Taddeo, Jose Javier Rodriguez and Joey Mendoza Atkins.
The Chief Financial Officer should be one of the most consequential offices in Florida government. It is responsible for safeguarding public money, overseeing important financial operations and ensuring that consumers have an advocate when powerful institutions fail them.
Yet the office has increasingly become another platform for political messaging.
Annette Taddeo understands the difference between holding an office and actually using it.
A former state senator, Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair and longtime small-business owner, Taddeo brings experience in both public service and the private sector. She understands the pressures facing employers, working families and homeowners because she has spent decades operating a business and meeting payroll.
Her campaign has put affordability, accountability and anti-corruption at the center of its agenda. That is precisely where the conversation should be.
Florida homeowners need an insurance regulator and financial watchdog willing to challenge an industry that has become increasingly difficult for consumers to navigate. Taddeo's proposal to publicly grade insurance companies based on claims handling, delays, denials and financial transparency is a practical starting point.
Her commitment to deploying consumer assistance teams into hurricane-affected communities, auditing questionable state contracts and returning unclaimed property to its rightful owners demonstrates an understanding of the office's existing responsibilities.
We are particularly encouraged by her emphasis on transparency in state spending. Florida taxpayers should not have to wonder where their money went, who received government contracts or whether political relationships influenced public decisions.
Taddeo has also raised important questions about the state's handling of emergency spending and the need for independent scrutiny of major public expenditures.
There is a distinction between promising to lower costs and identifying the specific government powers that can help accomplish that objective. Taddeo has made a convincing effort to demonstrate how she intends to use the authority of the CFO's office rather than simply campaign on problems outside its jurisdiction.
Her opponent, incumbent Blaise Ingoglia, has become associated with an administration that too often treats oversight as a political inconvenience. Floridians deserve a financial watchdog whose first responsibility is to the public, not to the political establishment.
Taddeo's experience, independence and consumer-focused agenda make her the stronger choice.
The County endorses Annette Taddeo for Chief Financial Officer.
The Attorney General of Florida should be an independent legal officer, not an extension of the governor's political operation.
That distinction has become increasingly important.
The office carries enormous responsibility. It must protect consumers, prosecute criminal activity, defend Floridians against fraud and ensure that the state's laws are enforced fairly. It should also be willing to investigate misconduct within government itself, regardless of who might be embarrassed by the findings.
Jose Javier Rodriguez offers a compelling vision for restoring that independence.
A former state senator and state representative from Miami, Rodriguez brings legislative experience and a background in law to an office that requires both legal judgment and an understanding of how state government operates.
His campaign has appropriately centered on three priorities: crime, costs and corruption.
On public safety, Rodriguez has emphasized combating organized criminal networks, protecting children from exploitation, addressing elder abuse and strengthening enforcement against fraud targeting homeowners and renters.
But his understanding of public safety extends beyond conventional law enforcement talking points. Protecting Floridians also means protecting them from predatory contractors, deed theft, wage theft and corporations that exploit consumers.
His economic agenda is particularly relevant to the challenges facing South Florida. Rodriguez has called for investigations into excessive utility rates, insurance practices, corporate landlord pricing schemes and arrangements that shift the costs of large data-center developments onto ordinary ratepayers.
These are issues that deserve an Attorney General willing to use the full investigative and enforcement authority of the office.
We are especially interested in Rodriguez's commitment to investigating the Hope Florida controversy and pursuing the recovery of public money if wrongdoing is established. The allegations surrounding the movement of $10 million in Medicaid settlement funds through political organizations demand serious scrutiny. Public money must never become an instrument of political financing.
Rodriguez has also opposed the Republican-led mid-decade redistricting effort, recognizing that the integrity of Florida's electoral system and the constitutional protections afforded to voters must be taken seriously.
There is a broader question here about the independence of the Attorney General's office. When the state's chief legal officer is too closely aligned with the political interests of the governor, Floridians have reason to question whether investigations will follow the evidence wherever it leads.
James Uthmeier's close association with the DeSantis administration, including his previous service as governor's chief of staff, makes that concern particularly relevant. The public deserves an Attorney General whose first loyalty is to the law and the Constitution, not to the administration that helped put him in power.
Rodriguez will have to demonstrate that his campaign's promises translate into independent, evenhanded enforcement. He should be held to the same standard regardless of which party is implicated.
But his background and stated priorities make him the stronger candidate.
The County endorses Jose Javier Rodriguez for Florida Attorney General.
The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of the most misunderstood positions in Florida's Cabinet.
Many voters hear the title and assume the office concerns little more than farming regulations and agricultural inspections. In reality, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services touches some of the most consequential issues facing Florida families: food safety, consumer protection, agricultural land, rural economic development and the state's natural resources.
It is an office that should be fighting for the people who grow our food and the people who buy it.
Joey Mendoza Atkins understands the importance of that responsibility.
His campaign has centered on an issue that increasingly connects rural Florida with the state's largest metropolitan communities: affordability.
Food prices, gas prices and utility bills are not isolated economic concerns. They are connected to the decisions government makes about agriculture, land use, development and consumer protection.
Atkins has challenged the influence of powerful corporate interests in Florida's agricultural economy, arguing that family farms and independent producers are being pushed aside while politically connected developers benefit from decisions made in Tallahassee.
His opposition to the conversion of agricultural land for large-scale data-center development is particularly noteworthy.
Florida cannot continue treating its farmland as an expendable resource. Agricultural land supports local economies, food production, rural communities and the state's long-term economic resilience. Once it is lost to development, recovering it is extraordinarily difficult.
Atkins has proposed a statewide moratorium on new data-center development and stronger protections for family farms. Those proposals deserve serious consideration, particularly as Florida confronts growing demands on its electricity, water and land.
He has also made lowering food and fuel costs a priority, including a proposal to suspend the state gas tax and strengthen enforcement against price gouging.
We recognize that the Commissioner of Agriculture cannot independently control every component of food and fuel prices. Nor can the office unilaterally resolve Florida's broader housing and utility crises. Atkins must be realistic about the statutory authority of the department and work with other Cabinet members and legislators to achieve his objectives.
But that is precisely why the office needs someone willing to think beyond the traditional boundaries of agricultural politics.
His opponent, incumbent Wilton Simpson, has considerable political and financial influence. But experience and political connections should not automatically entitle an incumbent to another term. Voters should examine whose interests have benefited from the decisions made under his leadership.
Atkins is offering a different approach: one that places family farms, consumers, independent businesses and Florida's long-term agricultural future at the center of the department's mission.
His campaign also raises important questions about the expansion of surveillance technology and the responsibility of state government to protect civil liberties while maintaining public safety.
We believe Florida would benefit from a Commissioner of Agriculture who views the position as a consumer-protection and economic-development office, rather than simply another political seat in the Cabinet.
Atkins has the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to an institution that directly affects millions of Floridians.
The County endorses Joey Mendoza Atkins for Commissioner of Agriculture.
For the Florida Cabinet, which consists of Chief Financial Officer, Attorney General, and Agriculture Commissioner, The County Editorial Board ENDORSES Annette Taddeo, Jose Javier Rodriguez, and Joey Mendoza Atkins, respectively.
