Politics

Florida Realtors back Anthony Bonna for HD 85

Published

2 months ago

October 24, 2025

Bonna has ‘insights few can match of the needs of its residents,’ the group said.

Port St. Lucie Councilmember Anthony Bonna just closed a major deal in his House bid by earning an endorsement from the Florida Realtors PAC.

Bonna is seeking the House District 85 seat to succeed term-limited Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf.

Marilyn Pearson-Adams, Chair of the Florida Realtors PAC Trustees, praised Bonna in a news release from the organization announcing the endorsement.

“Councilman Anthony Bonna Sr. is a true servant to his community and would be an outstanding state representative for the citizens of Florida,” Pearson-Adams said. “He has deep roots in the Port St. Lucie area, and his work as a REALTOR® and a small business owner have given him insights few can match of the needs of its residents. We are honored and proud to support him in his candidacy for HD 85.”

The Florida Realtors PAC is the statewide political arm of the Florida Realtors organization.

Bonna currently represents District 3 on the Port St. Lucie City Council and was elected to the Council in 2021. Former Gov. Rick Scott previously appointed Bonna to the St. Lucie County Commission in 2018. Bonna earned a finance degree from Georgetown University and has held roles on regional planning, public safety and education boards.

Bonna’s campaign materials emphasize fiscal restraint, public safety and support for local businesses as central themes in his bid for the Legislature.

Bonna launched his campaign for HD 85 earlier this year. He so far faces Thomas Colter in the Republican Primary. Colter is challenged by a giant resource gap. He has raised just $1,000 in outside donations while adding a $1,000 candidate loan.

Meanwhile, Bonna has raised more than $86,000 via his candidate account and still holds nearly $78,000 of that. He also chairs a political committee, Treasure Coast Leadership Fund, that maintains more than $84,000. Those numbers are current as of Sept. 30.

HD 85 spans Martin and St. Lucie counties from Palm City to Port St. Lucie.

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Politics

Byron Donalds supports ban on stock trading for Congress — except through a broker

Published

12 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds will support a stock trading ban for members of Congress, but still wants to keep his broker.

The Naples Republican, who is running for Governor, discussed the issue with the Fox News radio affiliate in his district, 92.5 FM WFSX. The topic came up as U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, presses for a floor vote on a stock trading ban through a discharge petition.

“Luna and I talked about this, actually, yesterday on the (House) floor. But when it comes up for a vote, I’m voting for it,” Donalds said. “I have always been opposed to members trading positions.”

But notably, he put conditions that aren’t included in the legislation Luna favors right now. Donalds, a former private wealth manager before his election to Congress, said members should still be allowed to own stocks, just not to direct trades.

“Let me just get it out there because I know people say, ‘Well, Byron, you own stocks.’ I do, but my stocks are traded by my financial advisor, Tom Moran, in Naples. They’ve been my financial advisor since I got to Congress. I actually worked there before I got to Congress. I do not initiate trades. That is done by my broker, (and) he has third-party authorization to trade on my behalf. We have no contact about this stuff,” Donalds said.

“The only thing with what I told Anna was, I think you do have to make an allowance for members who give third-party authorization to a financial professional because then the financial professional is the one that’s doing the trading, not the member of Congress. I have always been opposed to members trading. I’ve never supported it because you do have access to information that could be manipulated.”

Donalds has regularly reported stock trades, most recently a series of trades done between Oct. 9 and Nov. 1, with all trades handled in a Moran Wealth IRA.

The website Quiver Quantitative, which flags reported congressional trading, pegs Donalds’ net worth at $4.38 million, with about $456,000 of that tied to stocks and $84,000 as cash in his IRA, with another $33,000 in pensions.

The majority of his worth comes from stake in OptimaEd, the online learning company run by his wife, Erika Donalds, not in stocks.

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Politics

Add new Coast Guard training center in Florida

Published

43 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

Moody points out there are already some two dozen military installations in Florida and a Coast Guard training facility would be natural addition.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody wants to build upon Florida’s quiver of military installations by adding a new U.S. Coast Guard facility.

The Sunshine State is certainly not short of any Coast Guard activity. But Moody is arguing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to add a new Coast Guard training facility in Florida.

Moody said in a press release that the new Coast Guard training base would add to the already formidable military presence in Florida and strengthen national security, as DHS has issued requests for information to states about a possible new Coast Guard training facility. DHS announced a call for requests last month.

Moody drafted a letter to the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem outlining, she said, the many benefits that adding such a Coast Guard training facility would bring to Florida. She pointed out that adding a Coast Guard training facility would be a natural progression.

“Florida already plays a substantial role in securing our country — we’re the proud home of 21 military installations and three combatant commands,” Moody said. “It just makes sense that our nation’s next U.S. Coast Guard training facility join these bases here in the Sunshine State, where we have a proven military infrastructure, available capacity, and strong interagency partnerships.”

There are already about a combined 50 Coast Guard offices, units and installations in Florida. Moody said in her letter to Noem that the state is a good fit for a training base, though she did not indicate where such a facility would be located.

“At a time when the Coast Guard is attempting to meet increasing military demands, Florida is proud to offer not only land and infrastructure, but communities that deeply value the Coast Guard’s mission,” Moody said in her letter. “The Sunshine State offers Coasties and their families the best chance for a boost in morale in their personal lives, given our lack of state income tax, military pension exemptions, numerous VA facilities, and a high appreciation rate in home values and affordability.”

The Coast Guard’s main training center has traditionally been based in Cape May, New Jersey. The Coast Guard’s website said it considers Cape May to be the service’s “hometown.”

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Politics

Meet the Florida Congressional candidate masquerading as a Democrat

Published

1 hour ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

Let me offer a lesson in unforced errors.

Some campaign blunders are harmless. Others are educational. And then, every so often, a candidate comes along who blends audacity with incompetence so seamlessly you almost have to admire the craftsmanship.

Enter congressional hopeful Mark Davis, currently running to unseat U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in Florida’s 16th Congressional District.

He has zero chance. But honestly, that’s not the interesting part, because now it looks like he has less than zero chance, if that’s even a thing.

Davis has somehow managed to build his entire campaign on a lie — and he’s been so committed to the performance he even managed to fool ActBlue, the nation’s Democratic fundraising platform. That alone deserves some kind of participation trophy for creativity.

Here’s the setup: Davis is telling Southwest Florida voters that he is a registered Democrat, as he runs in a Democratic Primary that includes repeat candidate Jan Schneider, among others. His website even spells it out for the handful of people who click: “Paid for by Mark Davis, Democrat, for US House of Representatives Florida Congressional District 16.”

Now, if we were being charitable (we’re not), we could chalk this up to a “misprint” by the website guy. But Davis removes all doubt.

Less than two months ago, Davis posted a lengthy screed on X explaining why he’s running “as a Democrat,” comparing himself to “the other Democrats in the race,” and lecturing voters that failing to choose him would mean ignoring “what the Democratic Party needs right now.”

Cute speech. Inspiring, even.

Except for one important detail. Mark Davis is not a Democrat.

Filings with both the Federal Elections Commission and Florida Supervisor of Elections show, in black and white, that Davis is registered as No Party Affiliation (NPA). In other words, he’s lying.

But Davis doesn’t stop at simple misrepresentation — he goes for the deluxe package. He’s actively raising money on ActBlue, a platform that explicitly restricts access to Democrats. ActBlue’s rules aren’t complicated: If you’re independent or undeclared, and there’s a Democrat in the race, you’re not allowed. Davis is an independent. Democrats are in the race.

Let’s be honest: Davis’s campaign was over before it began. Every cycle we see the same parade of gadflies who file paperwork, launch a website, and pretend they’re running for Congress. Normally we just smile, nod, and move on.

But Davis isn’t just blurring lines, he’s redrawing them in crayon. And when a candidate has to invent his party affiliation just to stay relevant, the campaign stops being a campaign and starts being community theater.

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