Climate Resilience Is Affordability

Environmental advocates, families facing flooding and insurance costs, workers in the clean energy economy, homeowners, renters, seniors, students, public-health advocates, conservation leaders, and communities affected by pollution often ask candidates where they stand on climate resilience, clean water, stormwater, clean energy, conservation, environmental justice, and affordability. Voters deserve the same transparency. Here is where I stand.

Why This Matters

In Florida, climate change is not abstract. It shows up in flooding, stormwater needs, homeowners insurance costs, water quality challenges, public health risks, extreme heat, and threats to coastal and inland communities.

Environmental policy is also economic policy because families pay the price when leaders ignore the costs of inaction.

Flooding damages homes, roads, schools, local businesses, public infrastructure, and family budgets. Poor water quality affects public health, tourism, fishing, recreation, and the quality of life that makes Florida special. Insurance costs can turn climate risk into a monthly household affordability crisis.

The question is not whether Florida should prepare. The question is whether leaders will act early enough, invest wisely enough, and protect communities fairly enough to reduce long-term harm.

Why This Matters to Me

My background in agriculture and resource economics shaped how I think about land, water, growth, conservation, and long-term planning.

As a former Hillsborough County Commissioner, I worked on flooding, stormwater, environmental protection, growth management, transportation, housing affordability, and resilience. I learned that environmental decisions affect household budgets, public health, infrastructure costs, and the future of local communities.

I believe climate policy should be practical, local, science-based, and tied to the real impacts families experience every day.

The goal is not slogans. The goal is protecting families, lowering long-term costs, protecting water and wildlife, and investing in infrastructure that works.

My Record

As Hillsborough County Commissioner, I worked on flooding, environmental protection, stormwater needs, growth management, transportation, and resilience.

I have been a consistent advocate for protecting Florida’s Wildlife Corridor and the long-term conservation value it represents for wildlife habitat, ecosystem connectivity, water protection, and responsible growth.

I also led efforts with USF environmental students and professors to formally recognize and protect the USF Forest Preserve as a historic and conservation resource after it had been overlooked for decades and remained vulnerable to development pressure.

The USF Forest Preserve is not simply open land. Public sources describe it as a 500-acre wetland and sandhill habitat, a living laboratory used by students and faculty, and a site containing some of the last sandhill habitat in Hillsborough County and some of the only remaining wetlands and uplands in Tampa’s metropolitan area.

Protecting that kind of resource matters because conservation, education, flood mitigation, biodiversity, and quality of life are connected.

My Position

I support climate action, clean energy investment, clean air and water protections, public transit, stormwater and resilience infrastructure, environmental justice for frontline communities, land conservation, Florida Wildlife Corridor protection, and responsible enforcement of environmental standards.

I support a just transition that creates good-paying jobs and ensures workers are not left behind as the economy changes.

I support policies that protect families from the costs of flooding, pollution, insurance instability, poor planning, and delayed infrastructure investment.

Climate Resilience Is Affordability

Climate resilience is affordability.

When communities fail to invest in drainage, stormwater, flood mitigation, water infrastructure, conservation, and resilient development, families pay through higher insurance costs, repair bills, lost wages, health impacts, and public infrastructure costs.

A homeowner facing repeated flooding may not only face cleanup costs, but also higher premiums, uncertainty about future coverage, and lost property value.

A renter may experience displacement after a storm even if they do not own the damaged property. A small business may lose customers, inventory, or operating days because roads flood or utilities fail.

Resilience investments are not optional extras. They are cost-of-living protections.

Flooding, Stormwater, and Infrastructure

Hillsborough and Pasco residents know that flooding can happen far from the shoreline. Heavy rain, poor drainage, undersized stormwater systems, development in low-lying areas, and storm surge can affect neighborhoods, roads, schools, businesses, and public facilities.

Hillsborough County directs residents to FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps and explains that high-risk areas have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. The county also notes that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.

Pasco County provides a flood-zone lookup that displays flood zone, base flood elevation, and related information for specific addresses or parcels.

The City of Tampa’s 2025 Vulnerability Assessment states that Tampa will experience flooding risks from the combined effects of sea-level rise, extreme rainfall, and storm surge and that extreme rainfall is one of the most frequent and consistent threats.

Stormwater infrastructure is one of the most practical places for government to act. Projects that improve drainage, replace failing culverts, restore coastal habitat, and modernize water systems can reduce risk and protect families.

Tampa Bay Water Quality and Clean Water Infrastructure

Clean water is fundamental to public health, economic growth, tourism, recreation, fisheries, and quality of life.

Tampa Bay Water’s capital planning documents describe regional cooperation to ensure adequate and sustainable drinking water to support the region’s economy, environment, and way of life.

Water quality also depends on stormwater systems, wastewater infrastructure, land conservation, wetlands, and responsible growth decisions.

When stormwater systems fail, polluted runoff can carry nutrients, chemicals, debris, and bacteria into waterways. When wastewater systems are overwhelmed, communities face public-health and environmental risks.

Federal policy should support clean water infrastructure, stormwater modernization, watershed protection, and long-term regional planning.

Insurance Affordability and Climate Risk

Homeowners insurance and flood insurance are increasingly part of the climate conversation in Florida.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation publishes a Property Insurance Stability Report, and state officials announced Citizens Property Insurance rate relief in 2026, including an 8.7% statewide average reduction for Citizens policyholders.

At the same time, families across Florida continue to experience property insurance as a major household cost. Even when some rates stabilize or decline, the long-term affordability challenge remains tied to storm risk, rebuilding costs, reinsurance markets, litigation, flood exposure, and climate resilience.

The surest long-term insurance strategy is not pretending risk does not exist. It is reducing risk through stronger infrastructure, better planning, conservation, resilient construction, flood mitigation, and accountability in insurance markets.

Florida Wildlife Corridor and Land Conservation

Protecting land is not separate from protecting families.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor helps connect habitat, preserve biodiversity, protect water resources, support agriculture, and reduce fragmentation caused by development.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection describes the corridor as more than 18 million acres, including 10 million acres of protected conservation lands. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation describes the corridor as 18 million acres, with 10 million acres protected and 8 million acres of opportunity areas.

Conservation is not only about wildlife. It is also about water quality, flood protection, outdoor recreation, rural economies, agriculture, and Florida’s long-term identity.

I will continue supporting conservation policies that protect wildlife corridors, wetlands, uplands, aquifer recharge areas, and natural lands that help communities remain resilient.

USF Forest Preserve, Research, and Local Conservation

The USF Forest Preserve is a local example of why vigilance matters.

USF describes the Preserve as a living laboratory supporting student and faculty research, with more than 70 peer-reviewed research papers and more than 20 master’s theses and PhD dissertations connected to the site.

USF Libraries and related public sources describe the Preserve as 500 acres of wetland and sandhill habitat, including some of the last sandhill habitat in Hillsborough County and some of the only remaining wetlands and uplands in Tampa’s metropolitan area that help mitigate flooding.

Public sources also describe how USF issued a request for information in 2021 to assess development options for lands including the USF Forest Preserve and the Claw Golf Course, and how students and faculty mobilized to protect the site.

My work with USF environmental students and professors to help secure formal recognition and protection for the Preserve fits within a larger belief: places that provide research, education, wildlife habitat, flood mitigation, and conservation value should not be overlooked until they are at risk.

Extreme Heat, Public Health, and Workers

Extreme heat is a public-health issue, a worker-safety issue, and an affordability issue.

Outdoor workers in construction, agriculture, landscaping, transportation, public works, and emergency response can face serious health risks when temperatures rise.

Seniors, children, people with disabilities, people without reliable air conditioning, and people with chronic health conditions may also face higher risks during extreme heat events.

Climate policy should include heat resilience, worker protections, tree canopy, cooling centers, public-health planning, and energy affordability.

Environmental Justice

Environmental harm is not always evenly distributed.

Some neighborhoods face greater flooding risk, older infrastructure, fewer trees, more pollution exposure, less access to transportation alternatives, and fewer resources for preparation and recovery.

Environmental justice means ensuring that resilience investments, clean water protections, pollution enforcement, disaster recovery, and infrastructure funding reach communities that have been historically overlooked or overburdened.

Every family deserves clean air, clean water, safe housing, reliable infrastructure, and a fair chance to recover after disaster.

Clean Energy Jobs and a Just Transition

Climate action should create opportunity.

Clean energy, energy efficiency, resilient construction, grid modernization, water infrastructure, transit, conservation, and stormwater projects can create good-paying jobs while lowering long-term costs.

A just transition means workers are not left behind as technology, energy systems, and infrastructure needs change.

Federal policy should support workforce training, apprenticeships, union jobs, small-business participation, and career pathways in clean energy and resilience industries.

What Voters in FL-12 Are Experiencing

Families throughout Pasco and Hillsborough Counties are experiencing environmental issues through everyday costs and risks: insurance premiums, flooding, stormwater problems, hurricane recovery, road closures, water quality concerns, extreme heat, and rising infrastructure needs.

A homeowner may face higher insurance costs because of hurricane and flood risk. A renter may deal with displacement after a storm. A small business may lose income because roads flood or customers cannot safely travel. An outdoor worker may face dangerous heat. A community near aging infrastructure may face repeated drainage problems.

These are not abstract environmental debates. They are household budget issues, public-health issues, and community-safety issues.

Detailed FL-12 Examples

A retired homeowner may see insurance costs rise faster than retirement income, forcing difficult choices between coverage, repairs, healthcare, and daily expenses.

A family experiencing repeated street flooding may face vehicle damage, home repairs, missed work, mold concerns, and uncertainty about future insurance costs.

A renter may not own the property but may still be displaced when flooding damages an apartment, when roads become impassable, or when cleanup takes weeks.

A small business may lose revenue when repeated flooding keeps customers away or damages inventory and equipment.

A community relying on safe drinking water benefits from investments in water infrastructure, aquifer protection, stormwater upgrades, and land conservation.

An outdoor worker in construction, agriculture, landscaping, road work, or public works may face greater health risks from extreme heat.

A family purchasing a home may face higher insurance requirements, flood-zone questions, mitigation costs, and uncertainty about long-term affordability.

A student or researcher at USF may depend on protected natural lands like the USF Forest Preserve for fieldwork, environmental education, and conservation research.

These examples show why climate, clean water, resilience, conservation, insurance affordability, and infrastructure policy must be addressed together.

Evidence-Based Climate and Environmental Policy

Just as healthcare policy, housing policy, transportation policy, education policy, veterans policy, criminal justice policy, and foreign policy should be evaluated using evidence and measurable outcomes, environmental policy should also be evaluated based on facts and results.

Good climate and environmental policy should be measured by flood reduction, stormwater performance, water quality improvements, infrastructure reliability, insurance affordability impacts, public-health outcomes, heat-risk reduction, conservation outcomes, disaster recovery effectiveness, clean-energy job creation, and protections for overburdened communities.

Policy should be guided by science, data, public engagement, transparency, and accountability.

The goal should be protecting families, lowering long-term costs, improving quality of life, and preserving Florida’s natural resources for future generations.

How I Would Lead in Congress

I will fight for federal investment in climate resilience, stormwater management, clean water, flood mitigation, environmental justice, public transit, clean energy jobs, conservation, and infrastructure modernization.

I will support policies that protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor, preserve critical natural lands, strengthen water infrastructure, and help communities prepare for flooding, storms, heat, and long-term climate risks.

I will support accountability so public resources deliver public benefit and protect the communities most affected by pollution and climate-related harm.

Leadership means listening to scientists, residents, workers, students, local governments, and affected communities, then turning evidence into action.

Why This Matters in FL-12

Families in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties deserve clean water, safe neighborhoods, reliable infrastructure, affordable insurance, and protection from preventable environmental harm.

Climate and environmental policy affect household budgets, public health, insurance costs, transportation, housing, jobs, schools, small businesses, and the natural places that make Florida worth protecting.

Florida’s 12th Congressional District deserves a representative who understands our communities because she has lived, worked, and served here. The challenges facing families in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties are not abstract policy debates. They are the rising cost of living, the affordability of healthcare, the security of Social Security and Medicare, the strength of our local economy, and the opportunities available to the next generation.

I am running for Congress because I believe effective government can help solve these challenges when leaders are willing to listen, work across differences, and focus on results. That is the leadership I have provided throughout my public service, and it is the leadership I will bring to Washington.

Leadership Matters.

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