TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK

Lauren Book, member, Florida Senate. Campaigns are, at their essence, a contrast in ideas and values. As Florida moves into the general election, these differences will come into stark view. Voters will have to decide if they want an overarching government taking away the rights of its citizens, whether through restrictions on reproductive rights, the right to vote or the right to speak freely and be who you are. For my part, I trust that voters will see and understand this contrast and will reject the extremist anti-freedom and anti-rights agenda of the DeSantis administration, and no amount of money can change that one fact.

Larry Rein, CEO and president, ChildNet.

The Sun Sentinel reported on Monday that there has been a confirmed case of polio in this country for the first time since the disease was declared eradicated in the United States in 1979. The victim, a 20-year-old resident of Rockland County, New York, who was not immunized, is currently paralyzed. One case is shocking, but perhaps even more alarming is that according to the report, approximately 14,000 Florida kindergarten-aged children were not fully immunized in 2021. Come on. This is not COVID. This is not political, or it certainly should not be. This is about our children’s health. Please!

Nan Rich, member, Broward County Commission. The DeSantis administration has found yet another nonpartisan function of government to politicize — investment banking. Taking aim at investment funds with “environmental, social and governance” ratings (ESG), DeSantis, Moody and Patronis, who serve as trustees of the State Board of Administration, approved a resolution prohibiting pension fund managers from investing any state money in ESG funds. How ridiculous. Many ESG funds, where portfolios consider the long-term sustainability of companies, have delivered higher returns on investment than traditional funds. Unfortunately, DeSantis is more worried about “woke politics” than the sustainability of our pension funds — let alone the sustainability of Florida’s environment.

Maria Sachs, member, Palm Beach County Commission. In a quest to build more and more housing, we in the county are losing touch with a very important element — the lack of community. We in South Florida are mostly ‘expats” — that is, coming from someplace else. People seek a sense of community, a place where the deli man knows your name and how you like the corned beef sliced. We must not lose sight of creating community, which is equally as important as the number of housing units built on zero lot lines in gated communities. This is our challenge as Palm Beach County grows.

Mike Ryan, mayor, Sunrise. Investigative reporting from the Sentinel and Herald spotlights allegations that Florida Power & Light secretly spent millions on straw candidates and other conduct to undermine our elections by targeting candidates or elected officials who question FPL policies or who were pushing solar alternatives. The state is arresting individual voters who are alleged to have illegally voted. If truly concerned with election fraud, why hasn’t a statewide or federal grand jury been empaneled to determine if FPL intentionally conspired, while hiking rates on us, to influence elections through potential election fraud, campaign finance violations or other potential election crimes?

John “Jack” Seiler, former mayor, Fort Lauderdale. Throughout his career in public office, President Joe Biden has generally embraced responsible and sensible reforms in response to progressive pressure to force extreme liberal policy changes. However, Biden’s student loan ideas of extending the pause on student loan payments until the end of the year, forgiving up to $10,000 for those making less than $125,000 a year, and forgiving up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients under that income threshold are ill-conceived, misdirected, regressive, expensive and likely inflationary. This decision will provide a windfall for many who don’t need it, with American taxpayers footing the bill.

Gregory Tony, Broward Sheriff. Preventing incidents of mass violence and addressing the root cause of such incidents is the mission of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Threat Management Unit (TMU) Behavioral Health Licensed Therapist (BHLT) program. BSO’s TMU investigates persons who threaten to commit acts of mass violence and stop that from occurring. The BHLT team includes four veteran therapists who work alongside TMU detectives to investigate threats made by children and adults. The BHLT assesses these individuals for mental illness and/or substance abuse issues and links them to providers who can offer treatment.

Chad Van Horn, founding partner attorney, Van Horn Law Group, P.A. As the Sun Sentinel reported this week, more homes in South Florida are on the market, with inventory increasing by 20%, opening up more options for homebuyers. While I’m hopeful increased supply will help normalize pricing, Bankrate reports that home prices will remain stubbornly high despite an uptick in inventory. Price tags are going down a bit, but homes in Broward are still not affordable to the average citizen. I look forward to the day when more than 8% of our neighbors can afford to purchase a home.