Politics
Nathaniel Lautier: A profile in courage — and bad decisions
A sitting Congressman, a former Miss America, and a restraining order. At this point, only one mechanism remains to hold him accountable: the voters of his own district. The question is whether they will use it.
Rep. Cory Mills is a case study in how misconduct can persist in plain sight when the political and media environment is overwhelmed by chaos. His controversies are serious, numerous, and ongoing. Yet they have struggled to break through a news cycle saturated by Trump-era spectacle, real-time scandals, and selective outrage.
This is what falls through the cracks when everything is breaking news.
So why is no one paying attention?
The answer is not a lack of substance. It is a fundamental shift in how attention works in the modern media ecosystem. When there is a Watergate every day, none of them feels like Watergate anymore. Stories unfold live, social media sets the agenda minute by minute, and newsrooms are forced into constant triage. What once would have dominated front pages and cable panels for weeks is now lucky to survive a single editorial meeting.
Distance matters, too. As time passes without immediate consequences, sustaining public interest becomes harder. In the past, national media needed stories to fill airtime and column inches. Today, the news cycle generates itself endlessly. As a result, stories like Mills’ are quietly deprioritized, condensed, or shelved altogether.
That reality raises an uncomfortable political question: If a congressional seat is safely red, does Republican leadership care who occupies it? Based on the response — or lack thereof — to Mills’ conduct, the answer appears to be no.
On paper, Mills was once a strong candidate. A decorated military veteran with national security credentials, he entered the race for Florida’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the 2022 Midterms with a résumé Republicans typically celebrate. But since taking office, he has accumulated a pattern of controversies that raise serious questions about his judgment, personal conduct, and fitness for office.
Mills served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2003 and was deployed to Iraq, earning a Bronze Star. After leaving the military, he worked as a defense contractor and later co-founded PACEM, an arms manufacturing company that claimed to support U.S. allies abroad. The company later faced regulatory and financial trouble, including actions by the Florida Department of Financial Services that led to the closure of two facilities.
Despite those issues, Mills was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020 to the Defense Business Board, a Pentagon advisory group that President Joe Biden later dismantled. Mills announced his congressional run shortly afterward and won election in 2022 after redistricting transformed the district from blue to solidly red. He was re-elected in November 2024.
It is after that victory that Mills’ tenure began to unravel more publicly. Reports of domestic incidents involving multiple women — none of whom are his wife — began to surface. These include an alleged domestic disturbance involving Sarah Raviani and separate allegations by former Miss America Lindsey Langston, who accused Mills of misconduct, including revenge porn. Mills has repeatedly appeared in headlines for reasons unrelated to legislation or policy.
In August 2025, Langston filed for a restraining order against Mills, disclosing a recent romantic relationship. Mills remains legally married to Rana Al Saadi, though reports suggest the couple has been separated for several years.
Even before the domestic allegations escalated, Mills was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over whether he improperly profited from defense contracts while serving in Congress. The investigation, announced in August 2024, carried into the 119th Congress. Efforts to censure him have stalled without reaching the House floor.
The situation escalated further on February 21, 2025, when Washington, D.C., police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Mills’ residence. An arrest warrant was prepared but never signed. Under ordinary circumstances, that decision alone would have triggered sustained scrutiny.
Instead, it barely registered.
Fifteen years ago, this record would likely have generated weeks of national attention. Today, it competes with a political environment defined by a nonstop crisis. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried has argued that Mills is shielded by what she calls a corruption blanket created by Trump’s return to power. After the warrant went unsigned, Fried said in a February press release, “It’s obscene but not surprising to think that Cory Mills may get away with domestic assault because he’s one of the President’s loyal soldiers.”
Where this leaves Mills is politically precarious but institutionally safe, for now.
The ethics investigation remains unresolved. The Justice Department declined to act. Republican leadership has shown no appetite for intervention, and Trump has remained silent.
At this point, accountability rests in one place only. The voters. If Mills faces consequences, it will not be because of an Ethics Committee, a prosecutor, or party leadership.
It will be because the people of Florida’s 7th Congressional District decide that chaos is no excuse, distraction is not absolution, and silence is not innocence.
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Nathaniel Lautier is a political journalist based in Florida. He is currently completing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Flagler College in St. Augustine. As a veteran of the United States Air Force, Nathaniel previously served as an intelligence analyst before pursuing a career in journalism.
The post Nathaniel Lautier: A profile in courage — and bad decisions appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
The appointment, Kevin Mason, is an alumnus of University of West Florida.
The University of West Florida (UWF) Board of Trustees is getting a new member while another is returning to the panel for continued service.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this month that he’s appointed Kevin Mason to the panel that oversees policy for UWF. DeSantis also reappointed Paul Bailey to the Board of Trustees for the campus located in Florida’s Panhandle.
Mason is an alumnus of UWF where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the school. Mason is also steeped in business.
Mason is the CEO and Co-Founder of Acentria Insurance which is based in Destin. The company now has offices and services throughout the Southeast United States and has grown to about 50 locations. Mason was also a Producer and Managing Partner of the North Florida Operations for the Insurance Office of America.
Bailey will return to the board following the reappointment. Bailey is a lawyer for Welton Law Firm. Welton is based in Crestview and provides multiple legal services.
Bailey is also a registered firearms instructor with the National Rifle Association. He’s also an Adjunct Professor at Pensacola Christian College. Bailey earned his pre-law bachelor’s degree from that school and went on to get his law degree from Regent University.
The UWF Board of Trustees has 13 members that sit on the panel.The board is the governing body for the institution. Florida’s Governor appoints six of those members while the board itself votes on appointments for the other five members.
The President of the Faculty Senate occupies one of those seats while another is held by the President of the Student Government Association.
The UWF campus had a student enrollment of nearly 16,000 as of Fall Semester.
The appointment and reappointment named by DeSantis still have to get final approval by the Florida Senate.
When people think about the economic engines of Sarasota and Bradenton, they often point to tourism, health care, construction, or the arts. Each sector is essential to the region’s identity and prosperity. But another driver of economic vitality exists — one that is stable, scalable, and compounding year after year — sitting on Sarasota Bay.
That driver is New College of Florida.
As Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance and Administration, my role requires evaluating how public investment translates into real outcomes for students, families, employers, and communities. From that vantage point, New College’s economic trajectory in recent years is notable not only for its growth but for the clarity of its return.
According to a recent independent economic impact analysis, New College’s direct economic impact grew from $61.2 million in fiscal year 2023 to $104.5 million in 2025, a 71% increase in just two years. With responsible enrollment growth and continued strategic investment, direct impact is projected to reach $159.6 million by 2027–2028 and $270.9 million by 2033–2034 — more than 400% growth over a decade.
Those numbers are significant, but they tell only part of the story.
When indirect and induced effects are included — local spending by students, employees, visitors, and vendors — the regional impact becomes even more compelling. In 2024–2025, New College generated a total economic impact of $209.1 million. That figure is projected to rise to $319.2 million by 2027–2028 and to approximately $542 million annually by 2033–2034.
This growth reflects deliberate choices: strengthening academic programs, investing in campus infrastructure, and aligning the college’s mission with Florida’s workforce and civic priorities. Today, New College educates more students, attracts more talent, and draws more families, visitors, and investment into the Sarasota–Bradenton region than at any point in its history.
Universities also provide something increasingly rare in a volatile economy: permanence. They do not relocate when markets fluctuate. They create long-term jobs, attract research funding, and generate consistent demand for housing, services, and cultural amenities. Every student who chooses New College represents years of local economic participation, often followed by long-term residency and workforce contribution. More than 1,100 New College alumni live in Sarasota today, reinforcing the institution’s lasting imprint on the region.
Higher education remains one of the most reliable vehicles for public return on investment. Independent analysis shows New College delivers substantial returns on a relatively modest public investment. That is not theoretical. It is measurable, repeatable, and already underway.
Geography amplifies that impact. Situated between Sarasota and Bradenton, New College functions as a connective institution and a key driver of cross-county collaboration, supporting a truly regional economy. Students live, work, intern, and volunteer throughout both communities. Faculty and staff serve on nonprofit boards, contribute to civic leadership, and support local businesses across Sarasota and Manatee counties.
This is where investment matters most.
Institutions either capitalize on momentum or allow it to stall. Every additional dollar invested in New College does not simply preserve what exists; it multiplies regional return. Enrollment growth drives housing demand. Academic programs strengthen workforce pipelines. Campus development supports local contractors and suppliers. A thriving public liberal arts college enhances the region’s ability to attract employers who value talent, innovation, and quality of life.
Communities that transformed their economic futures — Austin, Pittsburgh, Raleigh — did not do so by accident. They made sustained, disciplined commitments to higher education as a cornerstone of growth. Sarasota and Bradenton face that same choice today.
From my seat overseeing budgets, strategy, and long-term planning, one conclusion is clear: New College of Florida is not a cost center. It is a growth engine. The returns are visible in the data, evident in neighborhoods, and reflected in the people who choose to live, work, and build their futures here.
When Florida invests in New College and regional leaders align on its continued growth, the result is not incremental benefit but compounding value. The impact is durable. The returns are shared. The opportunity is substantial.
That is not optimism.
That is strategy.
___
Christie Fitz-Patrick is Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance and Administration at New College of Florida.
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