ECONOMY & HOUSING
Florida's skyrocketing insurance rates and corporate landlords are squeezing working families out of Orange County. Nate will advocate for donating surplus county land directly to community land trusts, permanently locking in housing affordability that hedge funds cannot touch.
Nate will push to lower homeownership costs by aggressively funding local infrastructure like stormwater upgrades and grid-hardening grants. This will physically protect our neighborhoods, lowering risk profiles to force insurance costs down. By pairing these safety upgrades with better zoning, our community will create high-wage local construction jobs for families.
Only 4% of energy produced in the Sunshine State is renewable energy, lagging far behind the national average of roughly 20%. Additionally, Orlando has the 5th average highest commute time out of any metro area according to recent data. Orlando is the largest tourist destination in the United States, with over 104 million visitors as of November 2022. Out of 35 metro areas analyzed in March 2023, Orlando ranked 33 in walkability. Orlando is the least walkable city in the country and continues to foot the bill for urban sprawl.
Big developers and fossil fuel giants shouldn't write our laws. Nate will fight back using the county budget. He will work to transition all county-owned buildings to clean energy and advocate for taxing corporate developers who force urban sprawl onto taxpayers. He will stop rubber-stamping corporate handouts and invest in families by championing dedicated bike lanes, wide sidewalks, and expanded transit lines, putting our community first.
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Florida ranks 48th in the nation in teacher pay, leading to one of the largest teacher shortages. Additionally, Florida experiences the largest drop in learning between fourth and eighth grades. Moreover, Florida is on track to banning the most books in the nation. Nate will use every inch of local authority to support our students and working families.
Nate will put an end to the bleed by using county funds to build safe, walkable paths our local schools, funding robust after-school programs, and ensuring public libraries remain free from political censorship. By waiving local fees for educators and expanding affordable housing near public schools, we will make Orange County a place where public school teachers can afford to live, work, and teach.
Since Trump took office, thousands of people have been booked into orange County Jail by federal immigration enforcement, with the jail holding as many as 185 people a day for no reason other than allegedly being in the country without papers. ICE detention surged 930% in a single year. The fear has even reached our classrooms: OCPS lost 3,000 students from immigrant families, costing the district $25 million. These are our neighbors, coworkers, and students' parents.
Nate will use every tool available to limit county cooperation with ICE, ensure our libraries, parks, and health clinics are safe spaces for every resident, and fight for a legal defense fund for families facing deportation. No county dollar should be used to tear our community apart and snatch residents off our streets.