Category 2022 Elections
TFS Endorsement: Tampa Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak
The Florida Squeeze is proud to endorse Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak in Tampa’s municipal runoff elections! In an election cycle marred by Mayor Jane Castor‘s troubling plays to consolidate power, Councilwoman Hurtak has been a stable source of wise, principled and progressive governance in the Big Guava. After former House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz […]
Fort Lauderdale Terminal 5 project moves forward…but I thought they needed merger antitrust approval for JetBlue to grow?
Last month TLC Engineers released renderings of the recently-commissioned Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) Terminal 5. This is an interesting development as T5 will be used exclusively by JetBlue, the same airline constantly claiming that they need to get antitrust approval for their merger with Spirit to grow. Apparently, not. In any event these are […]
Gun Control and the Democratic Party Chair’s Race
On February 14, we soberly commemorated the 5th Anniversary of the MSD High School mass murder. Ironically enough this 5th anniversary came just two days after Nikki Fried threw her hat into the race to lead the Florida Democratic Party. Last year, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried sued the Biden Administration about an issue related to […]
Guest Column: Nikki Fried is a “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”
By Jordan Zakarin @jordanzakarin Nikki Fried, who wants to take over the Florida Democratic Party, likes to brand herself as “something new.” But what she really represents is the status quo. Actually, she’s far worse than that. Nikki Fried is a corporate lobbyist turned pliant politician, who has a long and well-documented history of siding […]
Guest Column: Ron DeSantis favorite Insurrectionist is now his hype man
By Thomas Kennedy Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the first influencer to hold statewide public office. Attention-hungry and slow on his feet, the far-right Republican has spent the past four years engaged in a one-way conversation with his base, admitting only friendly conservative and acquiescent reporters to his publicly funded press events. While using Floridians’ […]
The Early Days of the Florida Turnpike
On this past week’s Florida History Podcast, we discussed the early days of the Florida Turnpike, its conception, construction and the political fights over not only its creation but its route. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castro or Pocket Casts. Overcast, Castro, Spotify, Radio Public and Breaker have App […]
Are “DeSantis Democrats” the new “swing”voters as part of a realignment in 2023 and beyond?
Preface: I don’t know the answer, I am just posing a question here. We’ve spent a lot of time on this site talking about the death of “swing” voters and how elections are now effectively turnout wars. That remains basically true, but as we discussed last week, specific issues like student loan forgiveness can swing […]
2022 in a nutshell: Student loan debt – the GOP blind spot which exposed the party’s hypocrisy
The GOP has recently taken to fancying itself as a party of anti-elitism that appeals to the working class. This reversal of history is tinged with irony, and got blown-wide open as hypocritical thanks to one huge pet issue of progressives – student loan forgiveness and debt. Since Donald Trump was nominated for the Presidency […]
Rethinking the Turnpike – Service Plaza’s for tourist development
When I was young, Turnpike Service Plaza’s were effectively billboards for Florida. From the tall Orange Towers (photo below) to the promotion of Florida on the inside, the plaza’s had a very interesting feel. Florida does a wonderful job with its Welcome Center’s at the state line, and that concept should and could be brought […]




