Florida
Here are the top 10 political stories from Southwest Florida in 2025
Local voters weighed in. City Councils pushed back. School boards flipped. Yet, in Southwest Florida, 2025 proved that political gravity still pulls hard toward Tallahassee.
From airport governance fights and higher education shakeups to school board drama and rare recall elections, the year was defined by clashes over who holds power.
Florida Politics has curated the top stories that capture the moments that shaped local government and education across Southwest Florida in 2025. Familiar figures returned, institutions were reshaped, and community pushback met an increasingly centralized political reality.
Together, they tell the story of a region grappling with state influence, voter intent and the limits of local control.
New College expansion plans unsettle Sarasota’s higher education landscape
New College of Florida spent much of 2025 at the center of a high-stakes tug-of-war over control of Sarasota’s cultural and academic institutions, with support from DeSantis, who repeatedly floated proposals that would dramatically expand the school’s footprint.
The year opened with a DeSantis proposal to strip Florida State University of control over The Ringling Museum complex and place the internationally recognized cultural assets under New College’s management. Lawmakers ultimately shelved that plan in the Spring, along with a separate concept that would have placed New College in charge of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.
But the issue resurfaced late this year in far more concrete form. DeSantis’ December budget proposal revived the push by directing a wholesale transfer of all USF Sarasota-Manatee campus facilities to New College. Around a week later, New College Trustees approved a new comprehensive plan that showcases plans for rapid expansion if certain political hurdles are cleared. And New College continues to hold out hope for a land purchase from the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
The renewed proposal underscores the DeSantis administration’s commitment to reshaping New College into a larger, more influential institution in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Naples Airport Authority overhaul ignites home rule fight
A push by Collier County lawmakers to overhaul governance of the Naples Airport Authority became one of Southwest Florida’s most contentious political storylines of 2025, exposing deep rifts between state legislators, city officials and aviation stakeholders.
The effort, led by Rep. Adam Botana, aims to replace the long-standing structure of the city-appointed Naples Airport Authority with an elected board. Supporters argue the airport serves the broader region and should be accountable to all Collier County voters, while critics warn the move would dilute Naples’ control over its own destiny and undermine home rule.
Tensions escalated after the Airport Authority rejected millions in federal aviation grants and Naples City Council attempted, but later abandoned the effort, to expand its oversight of airport development. Those decisions fueled frustration among pilots, tenants and some lawmakers, who questioned the board’s composition and its dependence on city politics.
The dispute spilled into public view through sharply worded exchanges between city and state leaders, highlighting broader friction over local authority, taxation and the Legislature’s growing role in municipal affairs. Despite vocal opposition from the City of Naples, Botana’s proposal advanced steadily, winning unanimous support from the Collier legislative delegation and clearing its first House committee without debate.
The bill is positioned to place all five Airport Authority seats on the 2026 ballot if approved by the Legislature in the new year.
Karen Rose, Bridget Ziegler and Sarasota education politics come full circle
Sarasota County’s education politics in 2025 were defined by reversals, returns and unresolved controversy, as familiar figures cycled back into power despite voter pushback and lingering scandal.
The year began with fallout from the 2024 election, when voters rejected several conservative Sarasota County School Board candidates aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis, including incumbent Karen Rose. But DeSantis remedied that months later by appointing Rose back onto the School Board months later to fill a vacancy, effectively restoring her to office despite her recent electoral defeat.
The dance did not stop there. Rose’s return placed her once again alongside Bridget Ziegler, whose influence on the School Board has persisted despite national scrutiny. Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, remained on the board after a 2023 sex scandal involving her husband, former Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, made headlines and fractured political circles. That dispute continued in 2025, when the Ziegler’s sued the City of Sarasota and police detectives alleging constitutional violations stemming from an investigation that ultimately produced no criminal charges.
Although Rose once called for Ziegler’s resignation in the early days of the scandal, the two women reemerged in leadership roles by year’s end. Once re-installed by DeSantis, Rose helped return Ziegler to the School Board Chairmanship. Simultaneously Rose herself advanced through confirmation to a powerful regional post on the State College of Florida Board of Trustees, another DeSantis appointment.
Together, their political resurgence underscores a broader theme that defined Sarasota’s education landscape in 2025. Voter backlash did not translate to lasting change, and controversies that once seemed career-ending have become ammo in court.
Schools of Hope expansion triggers backlash in Sarasota and across the state
Florida’s Schools of Hope program emerged as one of the most volatile education fights of 2025, with Sarasota County becoming an early focal point for the growing backlash against a state mandate that allows charter schools to claim space in public school buildings.
Budget language approved for the 2025–26 fiscal year dramatically broadened the program, allowing “Hope operators” to claim space inside any public school deemed underused, regardless of academic performance or local approval. Because every school district contains an opportunity zone, the change effectively opened thousands of campuses statewide to potential charter incursions.
In Sarasota County, Miami-based charter networks quickly signaled interest in occupying space inside campuses with strong academic track records. The letters of intent stoked fears that successful public schools could be forced to share classrooms, cafeterias and playgrounds with outside operators with no ties to the community, and without compensation for use of space and resources.
DeSantis defended the policy as a targeted intervention aimed at struggling communities, insisting most Floridians would never notice the schools being created. But data shows the program’s reach extends well beyond traditionally underserved areas. By Fall, bipartisan frustration had spilled into the Legislature. A bill filed by Sen. Darryl Rouson aims to repeal the co-location requirement entirely, arguing the policy amounted to an unfunded mandate that forced districts to subsidize private operators.
Sarasota’s experience is one of many similar tales in communities across the state, forcing communities to scramble to either respond or fight to protect classrooms from what many view as forced takeovers. Rouson’s SB 424 will be one to watch during the 2026 Legislative Session.
Fort Myers immigration vote triggers Uthmeier
In Fort Myers, a split City Council vote rejected an agreement with federal immigration authorities triggered a rapid response from state leaders. Attorney General James Uthmeier warned the city risked being labeled a “sanctuary” jurisdiction and suggested Council members could face removal from office. The standoff highlighted how little room local governments had to maneuver on immigration policy once Tallahassee drew a hard line.
Florida land purchase ends in court dispute over contaminated land
In Collier County, pushback took a more personal note. Parker Collier, matriarch of a powerful real estate family, sued a former adviser for defamation after allegations surfaced that contaminated land had been sold to the state as part of a major conservation deal. The case opened a bitter dispute that blends environmental concerns, political influence and the limit of public accountability on high-dollar land deals.
Fort Myers Beach voters force the recall of two Council members
On Fort Myers Beach, voters delivered one of the rarest rebukes in local politics: A successful recall. Residents ousted Town Council members Karen Woodson and John King — although King’s case is tied up in court — over support for a controversial high-rise redevelopment at the site of the Red Coconut RV Park after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. The vote marked the county’s first successful recall in decades.
Enos resignation opens door for Karen Rose
Board Chair Tim Enos resigned mid-year to return to his former role as chief of the Sarasota County Schools Police Department. His departure reopened questions about continuity and control, temporarily leaving the board evenly split and handing Gov. DeSantis another appointment to tilt the board’s direction. He used that appointment on Rose.
Sarasota school board debates anti-discrimination policy
Board members also reconsidered the district’s long-standing anti-discrimination policy, weighing whether to replace explicit protections for specific groups with language more in line with federal guidance under President Donald Trump. Critics warned the change could weaken safeguards for vulnerable students and staff, while supporters framed it as compliance amid legal and political uncertainty.
Tension over Tom Edwards support for inclusion
Political tensions sparked again when local Republicans called for openly gay Board member Tom Edwards to resign after he accepted a leadership role with a nonprofit focused on inclusion. Edwards brushed off the demand as partisan noise, but the episode reflected how school governance in Sarasota remains entangled in culture-war politics.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse awoke at 6:30 a.m. He declined a last meal and has remained compliant throughout the day, corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference. Kearse met with a spiritual adviser during the day but had no other visitors.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s final appeals Tuesday afternoon without comment.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Gray Reid has spent most of his career in basketball and sports media. He began as a student manager for the Nevada men’s basketball team, then went on to coach overseas in China and later joined the LC State men’s basketball program as a graduate assistant. After coaching, Gray joined SBLive Sports as a videographer and video editor, eventually moving into his current role as Regional Marketing Director.
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