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WATCH • HOME RULE AND DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Local Control: Who Decides What Happens in Your Community?

David Jolly for Florida Published: 2026-05-21 Last updated: 2026-05-21
David Jolly on local control and home rule in Florida

Key moments

0:00

"Government closest to the people knows best."

1:35

"Local communities can be trusted to serve their own communities."

2:15

"The party I signed up for believed in less government and local control."

What this covers

This is about one question. Who decides what happens in your community. In this video, David Jolly makes the case for local control, and against the pattern of Tallahassee overriding what local voters have already decided.[1]

What's said

The argument is simple. Government closest to the people knows best. Watch the chapter at 1:35 for the line that anchors it, and see the full plan on the Home Rule and Direct Democracy hub.

Transcript

Verified transcript of the video above.

0:00 Look, let's just go to an old school Republican principle. Government closest to the people knows best. In a state where Tallahassee has started preempting and taking power from local communities and local voters, whether it is in Key West, they voted to limit the size of cruise ships to further protect the environment and protect the density of their downtown corridor, or in communities around Sarasota County where they voted.
0:30 I believe it was for ranked choice voting or open primaries just for their municipal elections. Tallahassee swoops in and says, no, we're not going to let you do that. They attack kind of direct democracy. But then the more high profile cases or communities like Saint Petersburg that might paint a Black Lives Matter mural, or in communities across the state that paint rainbow crosswalks to honor and celebrate the LGBTQ plus community.
1:00 And oh, by the way, in many cases improve safety because of the visual prompt of crosswalks, you know, for Tallahassee to step in and say, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to paint over them. Sure. I think it's a confrontation of values that reflects poorly on Tallahassee, but it's also an abandonment of local control.
1:35 Local communities can be trusted to serve their own communities, I often say on the trail. If a local community wants to paint a mural to Black Lives Matter or to the LGBTQ plus community, God bless you. I'll buy you a can of paint. I'll come down and help you. If that's what local people want, then let's do it.
1:55 That is not only a celebration of diversity, but it's a celebration of some old school Republican principles that I thought I signed up for. But today are celebrated in the Democratic Party. I, you know, sometimes politics feels less like a left right spectrum and more like a circle. I have no idea where this is, where our politics are in the circle today.
2:15 But I know the party I signed up for that believed in less government and local control. Keeping government out of your doctor's office, your bedroom, out of your community. That's just not the Republican Party in Tallahassee, I see. But I think there are enough Republicans across the state who also understand that in this moment.

Related questions

What is David Jolly's position on home rule?

Jolly proposes that Florida respect home rule and support the implementation of successful voter initiatives in communities across the state. This pushes back against the pattern of Tallahassee preempting local ordinances. Recent examples include HB 433 (2024), which preempted local minimum wages and heat protections.[2] The framing is direct. Local communities know what they need, and Tallahassee should not override local democracy on local matters. See the video at 1:00 for his full take.

What are examples of Tallahassee overriding local decisions?

Florida uses state preemption as the structural mechanism to override local democracy. Florida law preempts the entire field of firearm regulation and lets courts fine local officials up to $5,000 personally for passing local gun ordinances.[3] State law also bars cities and counties from setting a local minimum wage above the state rate.[4] Jolly cites Key West, where voters approved limits on cruise ship size, as an example of local decisions being reversed from Tallahassee. See the video at 0:00.

Why does Jolly frame local control as a Republican principle?

Jolly served in Congress as a Republican from Pinellas County before changing his party affiliation ahead of his 2026 run. He argues the party he signed up for believed in less government and local control, keeping government out of your doctor's office, your bedroom, and out of your community. He says that is not the Republican Party he sees in Tallahassee today, and that there are enough Republicans across the state who understand this. See the video at 2:15.

More on this topic

OverviewHome Rule and Direct Democracy In depthVoices on the Trail: Rene Flowers: Legislators Know Better But Pass Laws That Hurt Families In depthWhy does Florida's state legislature pass laws that hurt local communities? In depthWhat should Florida's next governor do to support families instead of hurting them? In depthWhy is Tallahassee overriding what local communities vote for?

Sources

  1. David Jolly, Local Control (video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyYeaVTukY · 2026-05-21
  2. Florida Senate, HB 433 (2024) , https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/433 · 2024-04-11
  3. Florida Statutes section 790.33 , https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799%2F0790%2FSections%2F0790.33.html · 2025-01-01
  4. Florida Statutes section 218.077 , https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/0218.077 · 2024-01-01

This isn't about a mural or a crosswalk. It's about who gets to decide.

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