By Sean David Hartman Before I begin, let me state for full transparency that I am a friend and supporter of Byron Donalds. Byron Donalds’ first Congressional campaign was my first time in the arena. He believed in an 18-year-old autistic nobody and he is the reason why I am so involved today in politics, fighting for our neurodiverse community here in Lee County. But I also want to be clear that I liked and respected Dr. Banyai up until recently. I had what I thought were productive conversations with her on LinkedIn, and I spoke to Anna Eskamani about endorsing her. Anna, for those who don’t know, is an Orlando State Representative and a progressive firebrand who, to put it bluntly, is the biggest threat to Governor DeSantis’ reelection campaign. I wanted Dr. Banyai to win her primary against Dr. Holden, and was honestly considering voting for her if …
Over the past six months, sales at our family-owned restaurant, Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon, have dropped by double digits because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, if Ballot Amendment 2 passes in November with a $15 mandatory minimum wage hike, it could put my employees out of work and me out of business for good. This disastrous ballot amendment will only stall our economic recovery in Southwest Florida, and all across our state. Employees at restaurants like mine will be paid $15 an hour, from part-time students at FGCU to folks who have decades of experience in the industry. Most small businesses of any kind cannot support this kind of hit. I know mine can’t because we’ve already done the math. In the first year, it would cost my business an additional $86,000 to change the pay of our workers. Each year after, the costs would continue ballooning, and in five …
AMENDMENT 3 WILL HELP REPUBLICANS Recently, I had the opportunity to get into a bit of a debate with local party leadership concerning Amendment 3, known as the All Voters Vote amendment. It was engaging and respectful, which is rare these days, but it made me realize that Republicans have misguided concerns that I wish to address. Amendment 3, for those unaware, would create a blanket primary for state elections. This would mean that Democrats and Republicans would be placed on the same primary ballot, and the top two vote getters will succeed to the general election, regardless of party. Republicans have legitimate concerns. In Southwest Florida, the Republican nominee is virtually guaranteed a victory, meaning that in the Republican primary we can choose the most conservative candidate for the job. A blanket primary would theoretically open up elections to RINOs. It could also create a general election situation to …
