Jason Bellamy-Fults for Florida Senate District 6

06/17/2026

It's been a minute since I posted something from my favorite Jason. Just listened to this podcast yesterday, it's got a great breakdown of the issues surrounding the proposed property tax constitutional amendment. Shame on our legislators for passing this on to the public with so little analysis or discussion, a complete lack of due diligence!

He also has a mention in here of Gainesville, the state takeover of our utility, and how this could be a sign of things to come if more municipalities start feeling cash-strapped. Give it a listen!

Though Tallahassee is desperate to hide the ball, a new analysis reveals just how costly a proposed property tax constitutional amendment could be for Florida.

06/15/2026

I'm so honored to have the endorsement of the Florida AFL-CIO and our proud educators unions such as United Faculty of Florida at UF.

Educators and support professionals throughout our district: please help spread this message to folks in your area and let's elect a fellow educator, someone who understands our issues and will fight for us in Tallahassee.

Teachers, support professionals, and the students and families they serve deserve better!

Clay County Education Association
Alachua County Education Association
Florida Education Association (FEA)
Columbia Teachers Association
Gilchrist Employees United
United Faculty of Florida

06/13/2026

I'm a huge podcast head, but this was my first time being a guest on one! So glad that I got to spend some time with the amazing Queen Lizzie! Thank you to Amy Trask for Florida House 22 for introducing us, check out her interview with Queen Lizzie as well!

And of course, please like, subscribe, and share!

Queen Lizzie Robinson Jenkins spreads The Real Rosewood Foundation ...

06/11/2026

I'm officially on the ballot folks! Thanks so much to all of you who helped me get this far. Less than 5 months to go!

Please share, let's do this thing!!

A local civic leader, former electrical worker and educator, and working-class advocate, Jason is entering the race challenging incumbent Republican Jennifer Bradley on a platform of higher wages, lower cost of living, clean energy jobs, and an end to Tallahassee corruption and attacks on local cont

06/09/2026

We have a path forward to regain local control of OUR utility...And we can’t give up on this fight. The sustainability of our community depends on it.

One of the very first issues that I worked on after moving to Gainesville was the successful “Gainesville Loves Mountains” campaign to kick GRU off of mountaintop removal coal.

I was also in the first class of “Energy Coaches” for the Community Weatherization Coalition and have been actively involved in this group since 2009, helping thousands of our Alachua County neighbors lower their utility bills and access critical home repair.

I’ve been a solar installer, a green energy advocate, and am currently an officer for the IBEW Local Union 1205.

I was honored several years ago when folks from the local labor and environmental community asked me to serve on the City’s Utility Advisory Board, where I eventually became Vice-Chair.

Little did I know that I’d have a front row seat to one of the most heinous thefts in our community’s history. If you’re reading this, then chances are that I don’t need to recount for you the history of how GRU was stolen from the residents of Gainesville, how they used our own tax dollars to sue and lobby against us, overturning our votes, and what a poor job the GRU “Authority” (GRUA) has done (but I'd be happy to).

Instead, I want to talk about how we fire them and get back what is ours. While I welcome other ideas, these are the two paths that I can see most likely to succeed:

1) We elect new members to the Alachua County Legislative Delegation (3 Representatives and 2 Senators); people who respect our communities’ rights and will work in the legislature to overturn the GRUA.

2) We elect a better Governor, currently the only person who can appoint members to the GRUA, and replace the clowns who now occupy those seats.

In just less than 5 months, we’ll have a chance to do both of those things. Your support for my campaign, for Amy Trask for Florida House 22, and for Merrillee for Florida Water District 10’s campaign gives us a fighting chance at flipping our legislative delegation from a 4-1 majority of people who are actively hostile to our community to a 4-1 majority who will help us reclaim our local rights. But just by getting out there and contesting these races as Alachua County Democrats, talking to people and fighting hard to win votes, we boost our chances of electing a better Governor as well.

So, all that to say, supporting these local campaigns moves us forward on both paths to reclaiming GRU. I hope that we can count on your support.

In solidarity,

Jason Bellamy-Fults

06/07/2026

"Is Florida Just for Rich People Now?"

This podcast is fairly one-sided, unfortunately, in that they really only engages with Senator Rick Scott and none of the critics of Florida's economic development path.

But there are a few gems and it frames the issue correctly:

"...Florida really illustrates the national trends, you see it in an extreme version here: greater population of millionaires, greater influx of wealthy people, greater array of services aimed at the rich, and yet a real significant squeeze of working class and middle class households."

Also worth noting, of course, how this "influx of wealthy people," particularly the super-wealthy, has influenced our politics. These folks have no interest in the public good and have written big checks to our politicians to assure that our state's legislative and budgetary priorities increasingly reflect that.

Florida, once an affordable haven, is rapidly transforming into a state for the wealthy. As a result, living costs are rising and population growth is slowing overall. WSJ’s A***n Campo-Flores reports on the affordability crisis and speaks with Republican Senator Rick Scott about what the state ca...

06/05/2026

Thank you to Florida Education Association (FEA) for keeping us well-informed on this year's Florida budget and what it means for public education. We'll be posting summaries of the major budget takeaways from FEA and others on our Substack (https://workerscreateallwealth.substack.com/).

Remember folks, midterms are less than 5 months away. If you don't like what you're seeing in Tallahassee, now's the time to get involved!

And as FEA reminds us, if you have not done so already, please check your voter registration status and confirm you are registered (https://registration.dos.fl.gov/CheckVoterStatus). As a reminder, vote by mail ballot must now be requested each election cycle. You can request your vote by mail ballot from your local Supervisor of Elections office (https://dos.fl.gov/elections/for-voters/check-your-voter-status-and-polling-place/vote-by-mail-ballot-information-and-status-lookup/).

06/04/2026

As local civic leader Wes Wheeler discusses in this video, we've worked together in numerous settings over the years. I've always had a ton of respect for Wes and am honored to have his endorsement for my campaign. Thanks, Wes!

Btw, this is just a clip of Wes's full video. To watch his and other video endorsements, or to upload your own, visit: https://www.takingbackflorida.org/tell-your-story

06/01/2026

An insightful article for anyone who missed it. It puts the current declarations about growth management in the historical context of what people have actually done and where the developers are placing their gubernatorial bets.

A few fun quotes:

Fifteen years after the state repealed the Growth Management Act, our 23 million residents are coping with clogged highways, water shortages, flooding woes, and other signs of significant malfunction.

“We’ve had 15 years of anti-growth management actions by the Legislature,” Gauthier told me. “I’d be shocked to see any turnaround.”

The constant traffic tie-ups and sewage spills should be sufficient proof of the consequences, but there’s more. The demolition of our growth management system allowed builders to put a lot of people in the path of Hurricane Ian with an inadequate evacuation route.

“Florida is a classic case of captured government — government of, by and for the developer.”

Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was in high school, there was a popular song, played on the radio and even featured in the movie “All That Jazz” called “Everything Old is New Again.” “Don’t throw the past away,” singer Peter Allen warbled, “you might need it some rainy day....

05/30/2026

Thank you to Robin Frazer and the Democratic Women’s Club of the Lakes Area for inviting me to their monthly meeting this week. Another awesome group of women and their partners out here getting stuff done!

It was also a pleasure to get to share the stage with another candidate, Joshua “Flo” Florence for Putnam County District 4 commissioner. Joshua has a great story and a real spirit of public service and I'm confident he'll be a wonderful Commissioner for Putnam County.

Hope to see y'all again soon!