The Florida Roundup - 2026 Florida Governor's race, Floridians consider leaving over rising costs, federal shutdown and more

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

This week on The Florida Roundup, we spoke with two of the prominent candidates in Florida’s 2026 Governor’s race. First, we heard from Democrat David Jolly, former Republican Congressman representing Florida’s 13th district (02:02). Then, we spoke with Republican candidate Paul Renner, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (10:40). Plus, we heard from listeners about affordability issues facing Floridians (20:30). Next, we looked at spending at New College of Florida and the state of free speech on campus with Amy Reid of PEN America (28:14). And later, we share news from around the state including the impacts of the federal shutdown in Florida and local food drive efforts (37:48) as well as a story about Lakeland’s famed royal swans (47:02).

Support for Florida Roundup comes from the Everglades Foundation, working to restore and protect Florida's $1 trillion asset that helps to bring clean water to Floridians. Learn more at Everglades Foundation.org. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by Covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813-9115 or coveringflora.org.

This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Great to have you along this week. We should know who will be the next governor of Florida one year from now. Yeah, Election Day, 2026 is now just one year away. We know the economy plays a central role for voters, more specifically the cost of living, and even more specifically, the price of groceries and electricity, the price of health care and homes. The price of life here in Florida has about half of those asked in a recent survey, considering leaving the Sunshine State. Now, we want to talk about that coming up in just a little bit. We want to hear from you. So send us an email now. Have you considered moving out of Florida? Where would you go? Why?

Are you here to stay? And what makes you stay? You know, about 900 people a day on average move to Florida. 900 a day. What do you want them to know about your Florida? Email us now. Radio at the Florida Roundup.org. Radio at the Florida Roundup.org.

First, politics, people, and policies. The clock is ticking on that next election. So what will decide your vote? Is it about political party, personality, or policies? Let us know. 305-995-1800. 305-9-5-1800. We extended invitations to the four major candidates

who have entered the race for governor so far, Republicans, Byron Donalds, and Paul Rinner, and Democrats David Jolly and Jerry Demings. Demings made his candidacy official just this week. We spoke with two of the four candidates this week. David Jolly was the first to accept our invitation. We'll hear from Republican Paul Renner in a few minutes. Jolly is a former Republican congressman from St. Petersburg who left the GOP in 2017 to become a political independent.

He registered as a Democrat this past spring before he launched his campaign to be governor. David, welcome back to the program. Let me just start with the race itself. What's your reaction this week to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings getting into the Democratic primary. Look, I have great respect for Jerry. His decision is inconsequential to the task before me. I got into this race five months ago with the mission of meeting every voter with a message that I think is right to address the affordability crisis that is gripping the state and frankly the culture wars that have exhausted all of us. And so I welcome Jerry to the race,

but it does not change the task before me. I need to reach every voter from Pensacola to Miami, from Jacksonville to Tampa and everywhere in between. I'll ask about issues here in one quick moment, but August is the primary for the Democratic Party. Will you support the eventual Democratic candidate for governor after that primary, regardless of who it is? Of course. This election cycle is about change versus more of the same. And I say this respectfully to my Republican friends in leadership in Tallahassee, they have contributed the affordability or they have created the affordability crisis in Florida. to housing is too expensive because they will not pursue what it will take to reduce insurance costs and reduce rents. Healthcare is out of reach for too many because they won't expand

Medicaid. Our utility rates are going because they won't bring in clean and renewable energies. This is a contrast next November between what are essentially Democratic values but are bigger than the Democratic Party. Are we going to be a state that tackles the urgent affordability crisis or not? I think my Republican friends have had their shot. I think we need Democratic leadership. Governor DeSantis has declared a priority to have voters decide a constitutional amendment that would reduce or maybe eliminate some property taxes. Do you support efforts to reduce or eliminate some property taxes in Florida? Certainly, but the math has to work, and we have to make sure we have critical services still funded. So let's see what Republicans ultimately put in front of

voters. And I say this to my Democratic friends, and I would ask my Republican friends to consider the same think. We shouldn't reflexively oppose any idea that the other side of the aisle comes up with, but we should demand that it makes sense. And so let's see what Republicans come up with. I think we need generational property tax relief for first-time homebuyers, right? We have save our homes and portability for longtime homeowners. It's good public policy. But today we have the inverted problem that we had 20 years ago. You know, in the 2000s, the run-up and values of homes were pushing people out of their homes. Now we have save our homes and portability, but first-time Homebuyers, if they buy a property from a 20-year homesteader, their property tax could jump 200, 300, 400% in that second-year tax bill.

So how do we give homestead exemption or additional relief to first-time homebuyers? We should have property tax relief. My fear is Republicans are willing to starve critically needed services in the name of tax relief. And the truth is, we need the math to work. Republicans have to show us their math. Florida Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Governor DeSantis. last week asking him to declare a state of emergency over the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Do you think Florida isn't a state of emergency because of the reduction in SNAP food subsidies? I do. I think my Democratic colleagues in Tallahassee are doing the right thing. So would you support expending Florida state government resources during this federal government shutdown? 100%. I also think we need to consider whether or not to spend direct state resources on making health care available in communities that are losing it, that are becoming rural health care deserts, if you will,

as a result of the cuts to Medicaid into rural hospitals. I don't like the fact that we're in a moment in Florida history where we have to look at how to spend state revenue. But we do. We do. It is not enough to just attack government and leave people behind and leave people without food and health care. This isn't left versus right.

It's just right versus wrong. This race is a contrast of values and a view of government in our lives. And people across Florida are screaming for change. The level of economic anxiety is real. The affordability crisis is hitting people, and Tallahassee is ignoring them. The state's income statement in the years ahead for the next governor are challenging to say the least as we look at them now in late 2025. The state is forecast to face a $6.5 billion budget deficit in three years. How would you address that if elected?

Yeah, you know, too many politicians run and just have an outlook of two years or four years. We really have to study what does Florida's economy look like over the next 20 years? And what does that mean on the revenue side? I do think that we will need to look at what is the main economic driver in the state of Florida over the next 20 years. Our main drivers are tourism, agriculture, and construction. Should we look at tourist development tax dollars and say, are we using it to fund education, to fund health care, to fund much needed services? I think there's an opportunity to continue economic growth while also evaluating where our revenue comes from. I'll also tell you this, we're giving away too much to industry and to special interests.

You know, insurance companies today in Florida get to ship their profits out at state and keep their losses here. If we required what's called combined reporting of insurance companies, other companies in Florida, we'd raise two and a half to $3 billion a year. If we look at rental car fees currently or hotel taxes, people don't stop coming to Florida because, because of a rental car tax. They stop coming because of culture wars and gun violence and they feel unwelcome. I think there's a way to continue economic growth but assess where does our revenue come from. Look, that's just an adult conversation. Math is math. And I know the cheap politics around talking about revenue. My Republican friends will like to say, oh, Jolly's talking about revenue. Yes, I am because we don't have enough services in Florida where we need it. And we're going to do it responsibly. But Florida's voters are going to have to decide what our economy looks like over the next couple decades. We asked listeners what they want to hear from gubernatorial candidates. Camille's email included just two words, David, property insurance. You mentioned property insurance. What is your priority for property insurance reform if elected?

I love this conversation. The property insurance market in Florida, homeowners insurance has collapsed and it's not coming back. There is not an affordable way to cover natural disaster risks and hurricanes. There might be a market-based way to do it, but there's not an affordable way for Florida's homeowners. I think we need a state catastrophic fund that fully removes hurricane coverage from the private market. It will reduce your property insurance by 60 to 70%. So we do have a catastrophic fund existing here in Florida. It backstops citizens.

It backstops citizens. It backstops insurance companies. I'm talking about fully removing natural disaster apparel. I think the private market has collapsed and is not capable of providing affordable homeowners insurance, but math is math, right? So what does that look like? we currently have about $8 billion in a hurricane fund that my Republican friends started about 20 years ago. If we can build that north of $30 billion, we essentially create a sovereign wealth fund in the state of Florida that invest in out-of-state assets, takes out reinsurance on the world market, but can fully cover homeowners losses due to hurricanes. It ultimately reduces your insurance by 60 or 70 percent.

How we fund it? My Republican friends call it socialism. I just call it cheaper insurance. David, we also received a few questions about the environment. J.P. emailed. My question for the next candidate is, will our public state lands be protected from sell-offs to private entities and imminent domain issues? Under my administration, they will.

I'm not sure my opponent could answer that the same way. Look, we need to put additional lands in preservation in the state of Florida. We need to say, no, golf courses and developers, you don't get to have access to our public lands. David, we appreciate your time today. Thanks for spending it with us. Good to be with you. David Jolly is a Democratic candidate for Florida governor. So how is affordability shaping your vote?

What do you want to hear from a candidate to earn your vote? 305-955-1800. Terry H grew up a Republican in Orlando, but he's leaning the other way politically. I haven't changed that much, but I feel like the party has and, you know, kind of the party abandoned me. Well, Paul Renner hopes to bring voters like Terry back to the GOP. Renner wants to return to Tallahassee. He spent almost eight years. in the House as a Republican lawmaker, the last two, as Speaker of the House.

He now wants to be governor. Paul, thank you again for joining us. Let's start with property taxes here. Do you support the governor's goal of a constitutional amendment to reduce or eliminate some local property taxes? Well, yes, I support the reduction of property taxes. The governor's not come out with a proposal or plan yet, but I think we have to talk about it in two steps because if we have a larger reform of eliminating, let's say, homestead property

taxes. That would get on the ballot end of next year, wouldn't be effective until 2027 and possibly the end of 2027 when property tax bills go out. And people need some relief right now. So I want to see this in two phases. One is some material relief, like in this session, the legislature can do legislatively. But as I said, you can't get to a total repeal and replace kind of deal with property taxes without going on the ballot, getting 60% of the vote, which is difficult. And that won't come for another couple years, and so we need to get people of relief now. Is the idea of a full repeal of a traditional homestead property tax, something that you would get behind?

Look, I'm going to propose a plan that can go before the voters, and the governor's presumably going to come out with a plan. He'll put it before the voters, and if they pass it, then it's been passed. But if it doesn't pass, when I'm governor, I will certainly give the voters an opportunity to find a different mechanism to fund public safety, first responders, schools, our infrastructure, those core functions of government. In surveys, home insurance ranks higher than property taxes as a concern for Floridians. You were Speaker of the House passing some of those property insurance reforms. What are your priorities regarding property insurance if elected

governor? Well, to continue to lean in. This was something that people said would not be done. We focused on the mission and we focused on consumers to make sure that we're holding both insurers accountable as well as getting rid of some of the litigation gamesmanship, the litigation abuse and it's working. So we see homeowners stabilizing. We see auto insurance, another component of affordability, is going down in Florida. You saw a state farm just come out and announce after they'd already reduced six or eight percent. They're coming in with another 10 percent reduction. So the reforms are working, and this is a very powerful piece of what will be my affordability agenda, but there's more to do. We need to invest, continue to invest in home

hardening, Tom, is another thing we need to do to make sure that people that may don't have the means we have a partnership with the state up to $10,000 to get new windows, roof tie downs, things of that nature. Let's talk about the fiscal forecast for the state of Florida because it shows that the next governor is going to face budget deficits fairly quickly and building fast by, I think it was $2027, $6.5 billion of red ink given the current level and pace of spending. What are your priorities to address that shortfall if elected? In times like that, you have to cut back.

I can tell you there's a lot of member projects, you know, that members run that had really escalated during the COVID years, and I was trying to pull those back a little bit with some success, but not as much success as I would like. And so there's money to be had in lean times. You have to have lean spending and adjust, and that's what we need to do. And if we do that, those long-term budget imbalances can be fairly quickly corrected. So I'm not worried about it being unfixable. I know how to fix it. I've done it. I balanced two budgets. We had record tax relief, even paid down debt early. And in fact, the Florida government is required to have a balanced budget, as a matter of fact, unlike the federal government.

That's right. Let's move from fiscal health to personal health. You announced this week a Florida Health Freedom and Wellness Initiative, including ending medical mandates for vaccines. Now, Paul, is that for all vaccines for everyone in Florida? Yeah, I don't believe in mandates. The vaccine piece, you're saying no vaccines required to go to public schools in Florida. Yeah.

Yes. No, no mandates. I want a parent and a pediatrician to have that conversation and make a decision. And I think you'll see when that happens, much like in countries in Europe that don't have mandates, many people will get the vaccine. In my own case, for those illnesses that are very, very serious, my kids have been vaccinated. I got vaccinated. But we want to let people make that decision and give them control over that, not based on what the CDC or the Department of Health tells them they must do. Your initiative also includes removing harmful additives from school meals.

Would that include all schools in Florida, including charter and private schools, K through 12? Well, look, again, I don't believe in mandates, but I want to make sure we're making recommendations and we see things that have been banned in Europe for many, many years and that are not, you know, these artificial dyes and ultra-processed foods and things that are being shown to cause harm to our metabolic health and our kids cannot afford to have garbage food. Are you talking about banning certain additives in that food for school children? Well, I think we want to come out and, you know, and work with, with nutritional experts to identify. those things that are harmful, make recommendations. And my expectation is that school districts would respond to that. Food is one area where the federal government shutdown is being felt with the pause and now reduction in food subsidies, the SNAP benefits. Should the state of Florida spend state dollars to fill any gap? No. I mean, I think the easy, obviously, the obvious and easy thing to do

is simply fund the government. This is not, you know, a shortfall where the federal government's run out of money or the program expired, you know, by its terms. It's simply a fail. of political leadership. And it's very disappointing that politicians in D.C. And the blame can go around to both Republicans and Democrats over the years just can't seem to function. And as you did point out, that we have a balanced budget requirement, but we still have to balance it. And that's not always easy because you have to say no to people. And so I'm very disappointed in Congress not being able to deliver a budget that takes care of people that are in very, very legitimate need. You're a Navy veteran. And thank you for your service to our country. Did you ever miss a

paycheck because of a government shut down? No, I didn't. And it really, it's just unconscionable. And, you know, this is a situation where there's got to be some point at which the two parties can just agree on, on basic things and carve out their differences and fight over those differences rather than holding, you know, vulnerable groups or military hostage. And that's exactly what's happening here. And so, again, I'm hopeful that they'll do the right thing. I never face that. And that's, That's what leaders do. And I will say this, is I pushed when I was in the House a speaker for a balanced budget amendment and also term limits to the U.S. Constitution. I haven't seen even my Republican colleagues really lift the finger to do that.

And that's very disappointing to me. And so we need fiscal sanity. We've done that here in Florida. They need to do it in D.C. this week. We asked our listeners if they had questions for the gubernatorial candidates. And Peggy in North Central Florida sent us this question, Paul. She asks, what are your plans to preserve and protect the public lands, the natural beauty, and unique features of our state? Great question. And so I was one of the champions, along with my counterpart, Kathleen Pasademo, to fund at a record historic level, the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which is not just good for the animals, but also good for our environment.

This is about engaging in conservation easements with farmers and ranchers and protecting some of our wild lands. And it's good to recharge our aquifer. It's good to make sure we're not having rain that just runs off and good. goes to see and really just taking care of our environment. And that matters a lot to me. I'll make sure that we do not develop commercially our state parks. That will be a no-go non-negotiable for me as governor. And I will continue to invest in the Everglades. I want to see the Everglades restored to its natural beauty. And we're going to continue to do a lot of things on the environmental front and water treatment, water quality, and water supply. Paul Renner, a Republican candidate for governor here in the state of Florida, former speaker of the

Florida House of Representatives. Paul, thanks so much. Nice to have you on the program again. Great to be with Tom. So there are two of the major party candidates buying for governor. We hope to speak with Democrat Jerry Demings and Republican Byronnman Donald's in the coming weeks. We have been in contact with their campaigns to get a date on their schedules. Registered Republicans, registered Democrats, we want to hear from you. It's the same phone number here on the Florida roundup. What do you think about the candidates you have to choose from thus far? Has your politics changed? Has your political party changed? Have you changed political parties? 305-9-9-5-1800.

305-9-5-18-00. Your call's coming up in just two minutes. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio station. Support for Florida Roundup comes from the Everglades Foundation, working to restore and protect Florida's $1 trillion asset that helps to bring clean water to Floridians.

Learn more at Everglades Foundation.org. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by, Covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813-915 or coveringflora.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Great to have you here this week.

Next week on this program, we're going to be talking about the death penalty. It is a record year of death row executions in Florida. 15 people have been executed this year, including two per month since May. Two are scheduled to be carried out this month. We'll speak with one woman whose father was executed for killing her mother. Governor Ronda Santis says he's bringing justice to the victim's families by signing these death warrants. The capital punishment is the law here in Florida, so what do you think about how it's being carried out? You can email your thoughts to Radio at the Florida Roundup.org.

at the Florida roundup.org. That's next week. Today, now politics, policies, and people, less than a year before the voting begins for 2026. The economy has always loomed large as an important issue. Sometimes that's inflation, sometimes it's jobs, sometimes it's just the overall cost of living. Now, a poll released this week finds over half of Floridians consider leaving the Sunshine State in search of cheaper living. Eric Levy is the assistant director for Florida Atlantic University's

Business and Economic Polling Initiative. It looks like people are considering leaving the state. People are not really believing in the American dream as much as they used to. But that's not the way I read that survey results. I look at it like there are three

short-term problems that people are seeing and experiencing intensely. All right. So he's kind of a glass half full guy. You can probably guess what those three issues are that have people frustrated with the cost of living. We are concerned about inflation. We're concerned about housing. We're concerned about health care, right, but not so much that we don't believe that things are going to get better. Well, so that's true because the survey found almost eight out of 10 are at least

somewhat confident their household finances will get better in the next five years. So how about you? How are your finances influencing what you want to hear from people running for public office? 305-995-1800? Are you considering leaving Florida? Should you stay or should you go? Terry and Melbourne writes, only two things have caused me to think about leaving. One is the governor whom I do not like because of his right-wing policies.

The other factor is severe climate change that could destabilize our home here. Terry says, I stay because I love the climate and it's beauty. When I'm in the Midwest and late October, I know I belong in Florida because I'm cold. Also, the rural Midwest is red, so there is no political advantage in being there. Being retired here, I have made it. Terry is a fellow Midwesterner, and Terry, I'll say that I was in the Midwest this week. Yes, red, orange, yellow. Those are all the leave colors, by the way, that we saw this week when we were up in the Midwest. So great to hear from you, Terry, in Melbourne. You can send us a note, radio at the florida roundup.org. What do you want to hear from political

candidates to earn your vote. Let's go to the phones where Saffron has been patient listening from Merritt Island. Go ahead, Safran. You are on the radio. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking my call. I have to say that I just became American in 2010, and I feel like I'm living the American dream. I've raised four very successful children in the public school system right here in Merritt Island, and I love a governor who supports the Space Center. It was my first chance to hear the gentleman Paul talking and he sounded rather brilliant. Unfortunately, I have to comply by the mandates with vaccines from my school kids because they were in public schools.

And they are very successful kids. They would love to be able to be first-time home buyers. My oldest son is a pilot. My daughter is an engineer space program. My youngest son is working on a degree to become an accountant and he has a young child himself and I would love to see I have a governor who will take away property taxes especially myself I'd love to retire and I just turned 57 on Sunday and there's a good chance I'm going to have to always work if I have to pay these outrageous exorbitant property taxes but more

importantly I love what the gentleman Paul said about not mandating the vaccines I used to have to go to the health board every year to get a little blue card that said you know My children had religious exemptions. And I see so much as a mental health counselor, I see so many vaccine injuries. Saffron, let me ask you, you're clearly a proud parent of public school children in Florida. And you also want lower, if not to eliminate your property taxes. Are you willing to pay any property taxes for public schools in Merritt Island? Yes, absolutely because I'm an immigrant and I've seen my children thrive in public schools.

So I would love to make sure that everybody has a chance to have an education. Well, it's great to hear from you, Saffron, and happy belated birthday. Thank you so much for being part of the conversation here on the Florida Roundup. Gary in Tampa has been listening, and Gary, it's your turn on the radio. Go ahead. Well, thank you for having me. Contrary to the previous caller, I'm concerned about former Speaker Renner saying no mandates and he doesn't like mandates. I've raised three children into public schools myself as well. And does he no long, Does he not want to mandate safety belts and cars? Does he not want to mandate car seat for babies?

Does he have a, you know, we've got rid of measles. Measles will come back. Do we want polio? Do we want all these diseases to come back and affect our children? I mean, it's just crazy. Gary, you put a voice to some really important questions there about the principles behind the former speaker and his. desire to end vaccine mandates. How far does that go? Next time we have them on the program,

we'll have to ask those questions. So we appreciate that, Gary. Thanks for some of those ideas. And Lehigh Acres, Elizabeth, has been listening in. Go ahead, Elizabeth. It's your turn on the radio. Yes, hello. Thank you for taking my call. I am a Democrat, but I have great respect for the Republican Party. I have loved the way that we've been able to run politics years ago. Now it's changed. What my question is, why is the Republican Party not able to make decisions and scared of President Trump? Why can't they focus on trying to help Florida and say, you know what, I want to make my own decisions. I want to help the people in Florida.

Elizabeth, give me an example of what you mean. What kind of decision would you like to see Florida Republicans make different from the president? I would love to be able to help with housing. I would love to be able to help with not taking the vaccines. I am a nurse in an emergency room, and I'm scared to see that children are going to be sick. They all stick together with the idea that President Trump has. It seems like they're scared, and I have great respect to them, but I think what's going to happen is the Democrats are going to win Florida, and I'm excited.

All right, Elizabeth, thank you for lending your voice to the conversation. In Orange Park, Jacqueline, is next? Jacqueline or Jacqueline? Either one. It's Jackie. Jackie. Fair enough. You go for Jackie.

Wonderful. Go ahead. It's your turn on the radio. My, I guess, question and concern is that if the state of Florida says that no one has to do vaccine, then how are people from other states and countries they don't want to come to Florida that virtually no one's vaccinated. And we do tourism.

Indeed we do, yeah, to the tune of more than 100 million visitors a year. Jackie, really interesting question. Again, we'll have to put that back to the former House speaker when we get them on the program in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you for contributing your voice. If we didn't get to your call or your email, we do get to them, and we do read all of them. Radio at the Florida Roundup.org.

The transformation of New College of Florida has been expensive for the state. This transformation of a public university from a reputation as a center for progressive liberal arts education to a state government constructed center for conservatism has almost doubled the school's spending. A State Department of Government Efficiency Report on university spending was released this week, and it showed a sharp jump in spending at New College as Governor Ron DeSantis and allies changed over the school's leadership, kick-starting the effort to remake

the school. $22,000 per year is the average operating expenses across the dozen universities in the state. New College spent $83,000 per student last year, almost twice what the University of Florida spent, and almost seven times what the University of

Central Florida spent. New College sent us a statement that reads in part, quote, today's report reflects the failed enrollment of previous administrations. That statement ends with this quote as enrollment growth continues to skyrocket cost per student and cost per graduate metrics will be one of the lowest of all top liberal art schools in the country now paul renner who you heard from earlier as he's running for the republican nomination for governor is a member of

the group overseeing all public universities in the state and so far he's willing to give the new new college some time and their defense is it is effectively become a bit of a startup that that doesn't work forever i will say that too and and at some point that per student spending has to come down. It has to be in line with other universities, and I do agree with that, but I think there's some grace period. Now, the school has said it is ready to sign an agreement with colleges and universities from the Trump administration, the so-called higher education compact.

If so, it would likely be one of the first in the nation. We want to be the number one university and the country for fighting for civil discourse, academic freedom, and free speech. end of story that's Richard Corcoran he's the president of New College she made that statement last week Amy Reid taught at the school

for about 30 years she was a French professor and was the first director of the gender studies program that program was eliminated two years ago as the school transformed Amy thank you for joining us given your long history

with New College Florida what's your reaction to the school stating that it will happily be the first college in America to formally embrace and sign President Trump's vision for higher education. I think that we need to see this jump to sign the compact as a reflection of just how outside of academic traditions new colleges at the moment. When the compact was offered up as a coercive bargain to nine of the premier research institutions across the country, most of them have said no, because they understand the compact as a coercive document that will limit academic freedom, their ability to serve their students, their faculty's ability to research and to provide a robust education to the students. It's now up to a dozen schools that have rejected that first draft of the compact from the Trump administration.

And the administration has said it's taking that feedback. Some of the requirements of the first draft of the compact include caps on international students, adopting definitions of gender that are, quote, according to reproductive function and biological processes, you're shaking your head to even that requirement under this compact. Explain why, Amy. There are a lot of very restrictive provisions proposed in this coercive compact, including, as you note, restrictions on the number of international students that a school can admit. And then ideological restrictions, such as accepting a very limited understanding of sex and gender that is not upheld by the standards of American science or math. medical research. I think we need to be clear that this compact is not really offering universities

anything, but it is seeking to impose a number of restrictions that will make American higher education less able to do what it has done so well for many years, which is uplift generations of American students and uplift the position of American values. an education in the international sphere. As the current new college administration has been quick to embrace the compact, what impact might it have on the academic standing of the school if the compact, as it's now currently understood, stands and New College happily signs it, as the President Richard Corcoran says that they would?

It's a little strange for New College to be jumping into this because New College is not a premier research institution. So the type of research funds that have been held hostage by the administration do not flow in great amounts to new college. This is really another bit of theatrics, I'd say, on the part of the administration. I don't think it does anything to enhance new college's traditional mission as a public liberal arts college that serves the the students and communities of Florida. Let me ask you about that mission. Today, New College describes itself online using this sentence.

Quote, founded in 1960, New College of Florida is the state's designated public honors college. Amy, that's the same language that the school used at least 10 years ago. Yet clearly the management and the curriculum has significantly changed just in the past few years, including at the end of your tenure there. Can both new colleges be effective universities, both the 1960 version of new college as the state's designated public honors college and the 2025 version of new college as the state's designated honors college? New college was founded in the 60s as a private institution, and it was in the 70s that it was folded into the state university system. And it was in around 2001 that it became an independent institution within the Florida, S-U-S, and was designated as the state's honors college. S-U-S-U-S-S is the state university system.

Yes. I would love to see that vision of new college continue, but I think a lot of data suggests that new college is struggling at the moment. If you look at the rankings, which I know the administration at New College has decried because they reflect a free fall in terms of educational quality, which is really disappointing, I hope that New College can become itself again. I suppose some of those that have supported the transformation of New College from that original vision into what it is today would counter that they think that it is. is providing that value today as a more, they would argue, independent and ideologically neutral institution. But I suspect that you would disagree with that point. I'll leave that up to the listeners to decide. You can look at the types of press releases the administration has put out recently, where they stand on various issues of the day, how they are undermining academic freedom and freedom of expression on their campuses, despite their protestations to the

contrary, and frankly, the price tag. I think Florida citizens need to look at that and consider whether the college is providing the value it should to Florida. Amy Reid taught at New College for about 30 years. She was a French professor and the first director of the Gender Studies Program. She is no longer with the school. Still to come on our program, we'll be talking about the impacts of the ongoing federal government shutdown off into unknown territory here, a record government shutdown. We'll talk about it across the state and also provide you with a seasonal Florida Swan story.

It's all ahead. You're listening to the Florida Rundup from your Florida Public Radio Station. Support for Florida Roundup comes from the Everglades Foundation, working to restore and protect Florida's $1 trillion asset that helps to bring clean water to Floridians. Learn more at Everglades Foundation.org. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by covering Florida Navigator program,

providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813915. or covering Florida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. We entered uncharted territory. This is now the longest federal shutdown in history, stretching into six weeks with no sign of compromise.

And this is the first full week without federal money for food benefits or for a program to help low-income children and families get ready for kindergarten. Head Start programs are closing down. As the government shutdown, into its second month. This is Eileen Kelly. 80% of Head Start funding comes from the federal government. The private sector kicks in the remaining 20%, which has kept some of these programs afloat. How long remains to be seen as grant funding runs out. More than a dozen across Florida no longer have funds to care for, teach, or feed poor children. So far, that has left

more than 2,400 children and families in the lurch. Another eight centers serving 300 and 70 children and their families could close if funding is not restored by November's end. The reality of these shuttered programs can be devastating to families, says Wanda Minnick. She's the executive director of the Florida Head Start Association. The Head Start serves as a lifeline for, you know, in the state of Florida for over 40,000 families. And if Congress can't come to a resolution and programs are forced to close their doors, they're leaving children and families to make some tough decisions. Funding for Head Start programs are staggered throughout the year depending on the program.

And the longer the government remains closed, the more children and families will be impacted. When Congress can't come to a resolution on restoring this funding, it puts a lot of children and families at risk. So Congress needs to get to work. Head Start enrollment is based on income, so it is highly likely that many of the families, children in Head Start are also seeing a reduction in their federal government-funded food assistance known as SNAP. Potentially leaving children without safe and nurturing environments, without nutrition, because we know that kids come to the Head Start program. This may be the only hot meal that they receive throughout their day. Head Start programs have already closed in Charlotte, Sarasota,

Manatee, Hardy, Polk, Jefferson, and Franklin counties. Programs at risk of closing, by the end of November are in Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, and Swanee. That was reporter Eileen Kelly with our partner station WGCU in Fort Myers. Now, food drives and food banks all over the state have been busy. Hundreds of cars queued up in a Tallahassee parking lot Thursday as second harvest of the Big Bend was handing out food. Dozens of people showed up to help too, including Brian Moss and some of his Omega sci-fi fraternity brothers from Florida A&M University. We came out to support the community. We know that it's a very hard time right now,

especially everything that's going on with the government. So we saw that, you know, the community was in need of our help. One of those was Melanie. She walked to the parking lot, pulling a wagon behind her. They were able to give us a little something for people who walk. I walked an hour here. I just moved here. It is rough, yeah.

With the SNAP benefits being cut off and we're hungry. In central Florida, neighborhood center of South Lake is a food pantry serving South Lake County. CEO Patricia Cry says they served more people last Saturday than they have any other weekend. For us to see 150 families in three and a half hours is just really pushing it. It's going to stretch out, you know, instead of three hours, it'll be four or five hours. Another consequence of the ongoing government shutdown will be a lot more flight delays and cancellations just weeks before Thanksgiving in the beginning of Florida's tourist season. The FAA has ordered to reduce air traffic by 10% at 40 major airports, including four in Florida, Orlando,

Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Miami. Danielle Levine Caba is the mayor of Miami-Dade County, which runs the airport. This decision could have significant repercussions for our region's economy, connectivity, and our workforce. Together, these four Florida airports handle almost 3,300 planes a day. Now, these airports can issue IOUs to help pay for improvements. Interest is paid by fees generated by the airports. Cities and counties do the same thing to pay for libraries, storm water drains, and arts centers, and they use local property taxes to pay back the loans. Property tax base is kind of the key revenue source that's driving a significant amount of the revenue that they're pledging to repay in a timely and in full their debt obligations. That's Tom Zidemis. He's a director

at the credit rating agency S&P Global. Now importantly, local governments pledge future property taxes to pay for all types of projects today. But the future of property taxes is up for debate in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis has made it a priority for the upcoming legislative session to reduce or eliminate some local property taxes. Now only voters can do that, and the governor wants one proposed constitutional amendment to appear on next year's ballot. What that proposal will be is up in the air, and that uncertainty makes it impossible to figure out how any changes to property taxes could impact local government bonds. Jennifer Garza is a director with S&P. Property taxes historically are a more stable type and predictable type of revenue stream,

and so it's a fixed tax rate on the taxable assessed value of the entirety of the property base for that local governmental entity. The predictability of property taxes, even in hurricane prone and housing market boom and bust Florida, is what attracts investors to buy bonds of local governments. It's also what allows local governments to budget and borrow money for big projects that otherwise would be tough to pay for. Overhauling the long-established property tax structure, as the governor has talked about, is a wildcard for cities and counties, says Zidomis with S&P. Potential changes to that can be something that requires a paradigm shift for municipalities, where they may need to rethink how they're spending their money, to what extent they need to

dial back certain services or offerings at the district or city county level, if in the event that they're unable to match that with corresponding increases in the revenue sources. Opponents of wholesale changes to some property taxes in Florida have focused their criticisms on questioning how local governments would pay for services if non-school property taxes were reduced or eliminated. Now, supporters of cutting or getting rid of most non-school property taxes have concentrated their support on their philosophical opposition to property taxes for primary homes and condos and their desire to examine local government spending. Now, it's important to note what property taxes seem to be at the center of this debate here

in Florida. It is taxes that are not levied by public school districts, nor taxes used to pay for police. The primary focus is on general property taxes paid by home and condominium owners on the homes and condominiums in which they live. These taxes in many communities also have been used to issue bonds in the past. So how any changes to these taxes will affect those IOUs remains a question. Here's House Speaker Republican Daniel Perez, who has called lowering property taxes a priority. I think a lot of that is going to depend on how these local governments are able to balance their budgets and where they're able to cut in order to still have the funds necessary to make those bonds stand on their own two feet.

That would be pretty material if they decided to, okay, as of tomorrow, everything that's supported by property tax, no more. You don't have a funding source for the debt. This is Jennifer Garza again with S&P. Now, she does not anticipate Florida to make such a drastic change. A special Florida House Committee forms to lead the effort examining local property taxes has held four meetings. Local government borrowing and the potential impact on changes to the creditworthiness of local governments has not been mentioned. Yet property taxes play a key role in determining how much local governments can borrow and at what price.

Property is not the sole driver, but it is a significant contributor to the overall revenue composition for these municipalities and their ability to bond as much as and take on a lot of the extensive capital planning that they need. The credit rating of a county or city depends on a number of factors, and that credit rating, like your credit score, helps determine how much the borrowed money will cost. cost. In other words, the interest rate demanded by lenders. The better the credit rating, the lower the interest rate, the cheaper it is to borrow the money. Republican Representative Jim Mooney from the Keys worries about the impact big property changes may have on the credit ratings of local governments. And if you don't have the ratings because you don't have

the income from the property taxes and you're not bought a money. So the state's going to have to fess up more money. And the state's own finances are forecast to sour quickly to a six and a half billion dollar deficit in three years based upon current state spending trends. I'm Tom Hudson. You're listening to the Florida Ronda from your Florida Public Radio Station. Finally on the program, Lakelands Swans got their annual checkup a few weeks ago. Fifty swans were swooped up from Lake Morton near downtown Lakeland about a month ago to be examined by veterinarians. Veterinarians like Price Dixon. Weighing them checking for any infections, any wounds, any problems that we need to be

addressed. Now this group of birds isn't just any bevy of swans. Most of them have royal lineage. Yeah, they trace back to a pair of swans given to the city by Queen Elizabeth the second in 1957. The city, I mean, they are a city icon. They are, and we take very good care of them. This is Steve Williams. He's been rounding up the swans every fall for their yearly checkups for the last 20 years. Oh, I have a blast. I hurt the next day, but I have a blast. Now, this will be the first winter in Lakeland for a half-dozen swans.

They were introduced to the group just this past spring to help diversify the gene pool. Oh, and look, they came from Chicago to Florida. I did the same 15 years ago. That's our program for today. today. The Florida Rundup is produced by WLRN Public Media in Miami and WSF in Tampa by Bridget O'Brien and Denise Royal. WLRN's vice president of radio is Peter Merritts. The program's technical director is M.J. Smith, engineering help each and every week from Doug Peterson, Ernesto J. and Jackson Harp. Our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist

Aaron Libos at Aaron Libos.com. Thanks for calling, emailing, listening, and of course supporting public media on your pond in Florida. I'm Tom Hudson. Have a terrific weekend. support for Florida Roundup comes from the Everglades Foundation, working to restore and protect Florida's $1 trillion asset that helps to bring clean water to Floridians. Learn more at Everglades Foundation.org.

The Florida Roundup is sponsored by covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace, is available at 87813915 or covering florida.org