Seeking Rents – The Podcast

In this episode: The data center-backing billionaires behind ChaptGPT and a prominent right-wing tech investor are trying to tilt swing elections for seats in the Florida Legislature. So, too, are developers and real-estate investors behind some of the most sprawl-inducing bills to come through Tallahassee in recent years. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier claim vindication following an election-eve appellate court decision on the misappropriation of $10 million. But the Hope Florida ruling is not the absolution they say it is.

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

For more information on the Oct. 10 recording of WSLR’s “Talk of the Town” in Sarasota, click here.

For more information on the Oct. 10 “Florida’s Resource Grab” forum in Sarasota hosted by the Social Justice Alliance of the Florida Suncoast, click here.

For more information on the Oct. 14 town hall on Amendment 3 in Tallahassee hosted by the Askew School of Public Policy, click here.

For more information on the Oct. 15 town hall on Amendment 3 in Clermont hosted by Braver Angels, click here.

For more information on the Oct. 16 “Environmental Advocacy Symposium” in Orlando hosted by Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s podcast:

Data center donors have spent more than $20 million in Florida ahead of the 2026 elections

The investors behind the “Blue Ribbon Projects” bill are pouring money into state Senate races

In the race for Florida governor, the fate of two sprawl-inducing state laws hangs in the balance

Developer lobbyists secretly sought to maintain a law handcuffing local communities on growth

Court erases Hope Florida grand jury report after shutting out anyone who would defend it

Governor’s office paid a second law firm $111,000 as Hope Florida grand jury report was fought in secret

Hidden consultants and hurried payments: Records reveal details of DeSantis’ campaign against abortion and marijuana amendments

Blaise Ingoglia is spending millions in taxpayer money on advertising as he runs for election

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: In June 2025, just a few hours before Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature finalized a new state budget, GOP leaders in Tallahassee slipped a sentence into the spending plan authorizing state officials to acquire a piece of property in the Panhandle through a popular land-preservation program. Three months later, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet used that little line in the budget to spend $83.3 million in taxpayer money on a tiny spit of vacant land owned by a prominent real-estate developer and Republican Party donor. Here’s the story of how Florida politicians pulled off a land deal that one longtime conservation leader called “a sham.” (Note: This is an update of a podcast that initially aired in November 2025. The three Cabinet members who voted to approve the $83 million land deal — Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson — are all now running for re-election.)

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

Florida lawmakers took instructions from a landowner’s lobbyist. Now Florida taxpayers will pay $83 million for four acres.

Transcript of the Sept. 30, 2025, meeting of the Florida Cabinet

Blaise Ingoglia is spending millions in taxpayer money on advertising as he runs for election

Florida politicians may give Big Sugar legal power to go after activists and silence critics

They said they wanted to help farmers. They really wanted to hurt environmentalists.

Conflicting testimony and foggy memories: How the Hope Florida grand jury found wrongdoing but no wrongdoers

The bipartisan plot to take out Florida’s best senator (update)

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: The Ron DeSantis administration has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to hide the Ron DeSantis administration’s misspending of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. The governor and his allies have also been handing out promotions, appointments and contracts to people who played roles in what is now widely known as the Hope Florida scandal.

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

Exclusive: Taxpayers paid nearly $200,000 in legal fees for a witness the Hope Florida grand jury found “not credible”

DeSantis staff quietly rehired jilted lawyers who helped secure the Hope Florida settlement

Where are they now? Key actors in Hope Florida scandal got promoted

Hidden consultants and hurried payments: Records reveal details of DeSantis’ campaign against abortion and marijuana amendments

This story didn’t come up during the podcast, but it is an absolute must-read about an important — under-reported — aspect of the entire Hope Florida morass:

How Hope Florida quietly hollowed out Florida’s safety net

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: A new investigation reveals that Florida was secretly confining immigrants in cages the size of phone booths inside its infamous prison camp in the middle of the Florida Everglades. Meanwhile, the state attorney general and politically ambitious judges are colluding to weaponize family-law courtrooms and use them as fronts in their crusades against women’s healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights. Plus: A new developer-backed law out of Tallahassee is roiling local communities by unleashing more suburban sprawl. At the same time, cities, counties and towns are bracing for a property tax ballot measure that would open up huge deficits in local government budgets. They may sound like separate issues. But agricultural enclaves and Amendment 3 are two sides of the same coin.

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

To watch the First Coast Connect discussion on Amendment 3, click here.

To watch the Talking Central Florida discussion on Hope Florida, click here.

For more information about the Urban Land Institute Central Florida’s Oct. 1 panel on Amendment 3, click here.

To reserve tickets to the Oct. 10 recording of WSLR News’ “Talk of the Town” roundtable about the influence of PACs and dark money in local elections, click here.

To see how your elected representatives in Tallahassee voted on the agricultural enclaves bill, click here for the vote sheet from the House of Representatives and click here for the vote sheet from the Senate.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees were held in cages the size of a phone booth

Florida AG Candidate Jose Javier Rodríguez wants probe of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ after DHS findings

Surrogacy is akin to slavery, Florida AG says, with big implications for families

Florida judge who questioned surrogacy appointed to appeals court by DeSantis

Florida AG made sweeping claims in confidential abortion case

St. Johns County denies 4,462-acre Davis agricultural enclave

New law has developers poised to build on thousands of acres of farmland around Florida

Tallahassee wants total power to decide who pays taxes in Florida — and who gets a free ride

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: Earlier this year, Ron DeSantis and state legislators enacted a new law forcing Florida’s public nonprofit insurance company to set up a program pushing condo owners into higher-priced private insurance. The law was written in part by lobbyists for an insurance brokerage led by a billionaire megadonor that wanted to make money managing the new program on the state’s behalf. But that company just missed out on the contract for the job. Plus: Lobbyists for real estate agents are bankrolling a ballot measure that could drive up home prices (and agent commissions). And the Hope Florida scandal continues to shake up Florida’s November elections, as Attorney General James Uthmeier and U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody try desperately to dodge question about their roles in the $10 million scheme.

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

An insurance company led by a billionaire megadonor wrote a law pushing Florida condo owners into higher-priced property insurance

Amendment 3 could increase home prices across Florida — and real estate agents love it

Real estate agents just put $10 million into campaign to pass property tax amendment

The net tightens around key figures in the Hope Florida scandal

Conflicting testimony and foggy memories: How the Hope Florida grand jury found wrongdoing but no wrongdoers

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: Newspapers across Florida have been pulling back the curtain on schemes orchestrated by political consultants working on behalf of a small number of big corporate clients, including utility giant Florida Power & Light. Many of their plans focused on one target in particular: José Javier Rodriguez, a Cuban-American Democrat from Miami who was once seen as a future candidate for governor — but is now out of office thanks to a ghost. (This is an update of a podcast that initially aired in July 2022. The story has become newly relevant now that the guy many people know simply as “JJR” is running for attorney general — against James Uthmeier, the politician at the center of the Hope Florida scandal.)

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

For more information about the Urban Land Institute Central Florida’s Oct. 1 panel on Amendment 3, click here.

The webinar with Welcome to Florida cohost and candidate for Florida House District 15 Chadd Charland about the importance of state government will be held Wednesday evening (Sept. 9), starting at 8 pm. To join the Zoom conversation, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

Operatives working with FPL plotted primary challenge for Miami senator

Powerbrokers: How FPL secretly took over a Florida news site and used it to bash critics

Firm working for FPL took control of news site, let execs influence coverage, records show

‘Unsettling,’ ‘un-American’: FPL consultant obtained personal information, surveillance photo of journalist Nate Monroe

Dark power: How FPL, other utilities neutralize opponents, grow profits

Conflicting testimony and foggy memories: How the Hope Florida grand jury found wrongdoing but no wrongdoers

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

In this episode: The release of a bombshell grand jury report into the $10 million “Hope Florida” affair has rocked the state’s political landscape two months before the election. James Uthmeier, the former Ron DeSantis chief of staff at the center of the scandal who the governor then promoted to attorney general, threatened a television reporter simply for asking him a question about it. Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate to become DeSantis’ successor, initially dismissed the issue but is now trying to reassure voters that he will demand reform. And pollsters are scurrying to figure out who Floridians ultimately blame for what the grand jury called “a sophisticated scheme” to spend taxpayer money on political campaigns. Plus: Updates on the state-altering property tax proposal that will appear on the November ballot and a developer-backed law that continues to cause chaos in local communities around the state.

Show notes

For more information about the Urban Land Institute Central Florida’s Oct. 1 panel on Amendment 3, click here.

The webinar with Welcome to Florida cohost and candidate for Florida House District 15 Chadd Charland about the importance of state government will be held the evening of Sept. 9, starting at 8 pm. You will be able to join the Zoom conversation at this link.

To watch the Florida Center for Government Accountability’s Aug. 26 webinar on Hope Florida, click here.

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

Conflicting testimony and foggy memories: How the Hope Florida grand jury found wrongdoing but no wrongdoers

‘Are you trying to solicit a crime?’: Florida attorney general launches into tirade when questioned about Hope Florida

Florida AG says he wasn’t a grand jury target. So why didn’t he testify?

Donalds dismisses Jolly’s call for new Hope Florida investigation as ‘politics’

Donalds and Jolly call for Hope Florida reforms after scathing grand jury report

The legal loophole Florida is using to keep people locked in cages in the Everglades

Property Tax Cuts Under Amendment 3 Would Lead to Reductions in Services for Some Florida Hospitals

Senate Bill 180 strikes again

Attorney General James Uthmeier is raising hundreds of thousands from firms he hired

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: A scathing grand jury report — one that some of the most powerful politicians in Florida tried to keep hidden from voters — says that the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis “misappropriated” $10 million in taxpayer money “as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.” The grand jury broadly laid blame for the Hope Florida scandal with James Uthmeier, the former DeSantis chief of staff who since been appointed attorney general of Florida. It also exposed the hidden role in the affair played by U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody. The grand jury ultimately declined to issue any criminal indictments in part because “nobody will take responsibility” for key decisions. But Uthmeier and Moody are both on the ballot this fall — which means the final verdict now lies with Florida voters.

Show notes

Before you do anything else, read Jim DeFede’s scoop at CBS Miami, which includes the full text of the Hope Florida grand jury report:

Grand jury finds DeSantis administration "misappropriated" $10 million in taxpayer money to Hope Florida

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

To register for the Amendment 3 town hall I’ll be moderating, click here.

For more details on the Brevard County panel on all the November constitutional amendments that I’ll be participating on, click here.

Other stories discussed in today’s show:

The net tightens around key figures in the Hope Florida scandal

The attorney general has some explaining to do. Will anyone make him?

Hidden consultants and hurried payments: Records reveal details of DeSantis’ campaign against abortion and marijuana amendments

Did Florida’s attorney general break the law during a Martin Luther King Day legal stunt?

Judge finds Florida attorney general in contempt for defying court order in major immigration case

Former federal prosecutors see potential charges in Hope Florida saga

Caruso’s old sexual abuse allegations are easy to find. Why didn’t DeSantis know?

The best and worst of Florida’s 2025 session (so far)

The bills discussed in today’s show:

House Bill 1445 — Public Employees and Public Officers

Passed the Florida House of Representatives by a 97-1 vote (vote sheet) and the Florida Senate by a 37-0 vote (vote sheet)

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: A number of lavishly funded candidates fell to grassroots challengers running on shoestring budgets during this week’s primary elections, showing that Big Money can become a big liability. Then again, Facebook’s favorite legislators survived their races and the candidate with the biggest bank account of them all — Byron Donalds, the new Republican nominee for governor — won his contest with (relative) ease. Plus: A book-banning backlash continues, Donald Trump’s grip on the GOP loosens, and the development lobby scores a split decision in the two communities that are driving so much of the statewide fights over growth management and local control.

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

To register for the Amendment 3 town hall I’ll be moderating, click here.

Some post-primary reading:

The Left Notches Another Win With This Secret Weapon: Old-Fashioned Organizing

Sarasota County school board likely to have shift in political leaning as Democrats win the primary

Sarasota, Manatee voters deal a blow to grassroots candidates in primary

Slow-Growth Candidates Sweep St. Johns Commission Races Despite DeSantis Endorsements

Maxwell: Mills loses, Donalds underperforms as Trump influence wanes in Florida

Rawson downplays League of the South connection as ‘desperate’ play to win

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube

In this episode: In Tampa, Big Tech giant Meta Platforms is funding last-minute mailers on behalf of a Democratic legislator who is locked in a tough primary for an open seat in the state Senate. And in Miami, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is paying for digital ads promoting a Republican legislator who is in line to become speaker of the state House. It’s all part of a nationwide campaign by Meta to fill state Legislatures with candidates supportive of the artificial intelligence industry — and Florida is the latest front. Plus: New records reveal that lobbyists for two big homebuilders and Republican donors lobbied against legislation that would have repealed a state law that has made it much harder for cities, counties and towns across Florida to slow urban sprawl, protect the environment and manage population growth.

Show notes

To make a donation to Seeking Rents, click here.

To sign up for the Sierra Club Central Florida Group’s Aug. 19 meeting at Leu Gardens in Orlando, click here.

To register for the Florida Center for Government Accountability’s Aug. 20 Hope Florida webinar, click here.

Stories discussed in today’s show:

Facebook is meddling in Florida elections

At the last minute, Facebook tries to tilt a tight Democratic primary for a Senate seat in Tampa

Developer lobbyists secretly sought to maintain a law handcuffing local communities on growth

Judge rules against impact fee increases in Palm Coast

Manatee County in a legal fight with developers. Over $14 million is at stake

A rebellion in Florida

Will Manatee County cut wetland protections? Science and developer interests clash

Bills discussed in today’s show:

Senate Bill 180 (2025) — Emergencies

Passed the House of Representatives by a 106-0 vote (vote sheet) and the Florida Senate by a 34-1 vote (vote sheet).

Senate Bill 840 (2026) — Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters

Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected]

Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify

Watch the show: YouTube