Coming in September:

The Dirty Money Project

On the heels of the recent “Parksgate” fiasco — the attempt to build golf courses and massive hotels in Florida state parks — you may be cynical about our political leadership. You may think elected officials are on the take.

You’d be right. And we’ve got the receipts.

This month VoteWater will unveil our Dirty Money Project, which tracks political donations from polluting special interests to elected officials in eight south Florida counties at the federal, state and county commission level. Big Sugar, big agriculture, the phosphate mining industry, the state’s biggest utilities, the sprawl/development industry and polluter PACs (political action committees) give millions every year — and that means dirtier water for the rest of us.

Would you believe, for example, that Gov. Ron DeSantis got more than $5 million in dirty money over the past six years? After "Parksgate" — you probably would.

There’s lots more where that came from. So look for our launch soon; and thanks for helping us make dirty money so toxic even dirty politicians won’t take it.

'Parksgate' demands an investigation

By now you know the name of James Gaddis, the Florida DEP whistleblower who leaked the proposal to develop Florida’s state parks. Gaddis was fired by FDEP for revealing the plan, which Gov. DeSantis called “half-baked.”

What we don’t yet know is how “Parksgate” happened — that is, the mechanism by which this “half-baked” plan was hatched by half-baked politicians.

This is important because "Parksgate" will rear it’s ugly head again in 2025 — DeSantis said so. And whatever process was used to expedite this bad plan could be used in new attempts to sneak dubious proposals past an unsuspecting public.

Our state government is deceiving us, and we need to know how and why. So it's time for Gov. DeSantis to level with the public — for once.

For much more, click the button below.

Why must we fight our own government for clean water and a healthy environment?

One thing the "Parksgate" fiasco proves — yet again — is that your state government and you aren't on the same page.

You may want clean water, you may want to protect wild Florida. But the priority in Florida, always, is whatever the special interests want.

We are fighting to change that. And with your support we can hasten the day when Florida stops battling its own citizens and listens to the people. For once.