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State Senator, District 22

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Martin Hyde

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Position on major issues

Artificial intelligence

Preparing the Next Generation The world our children are inheriting is changing at a pace none of us has lived through before. Artificial intelligence, shifting industries, a global economy in flux — the only way we prepare students for what's coming is to take public education seriously again. That means strong neighborhood schools, well-paid teachers, modern curricula, and a serious conversation about what kids actually need to learn to thrive in the world they're walking into. It means treating public education as the foundation of Florida's future, not as a political football. I want every child in District 22 — whether they go on to Embry-Riddle, USF, a trade, or directly into work — to leave our schools with a real foundation.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Education

Preparing the Next Generation The world our children are inheriting is changing at a pace none of us has lived through before. Artificial intelligence, shifting industries, a global economy in flux — the only way we prepare students for what's coming is to take public education seriously again. That means strong neighborhood schools, well-paid teachers, modern curricula, and a serious conversation about what kids actually need to learn to thrive in the world they're walking into. It means treating public education as the foundation of Florida's future, not as a political football. I want every child in District 22 — whether they go on to Embry-Riddle, USF, a trade, or directly into work — to leave our schools with a real foundation.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Elections and voting

If I'm elected, I will hold regular, in-person town halls across both Sarasota and Manatee counties. I will be reachable — not through layers of staff, but directly. And I will explain my votes, especially the ones you disagree with, because that's what accountability actually looks like.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

District 22 has been treated as a guaranteed seat by one party for so long that the people who live here have effectively stopped being part of the conversation. The primary is the only real election. The party picks the candidate. The candidate goes to Tallahassee. And the voters — the actual voters — are an afterthought.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

He voted twice against letting the residents of Siesta Key even hold a referendum on their own future. He's been a reliable vote for the laws that strip planning and zoning authority away from our cities and counties.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Environment and climate

Local people deserve local control. As your state senator, I will fight every preemption of home rule that puts developer profits ahead of community character, environmental protection, and the will of local voters.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Storm management, water quality, water availability, and the preservation of natural habitats are not optional priorities. They are the priorities. And they require a state government willing to accept the science, plan for the long term, and stand up to the development pressures that, left unchecked, will ruin what makes this state worth living in. Clean water and clean air aren't partisan issues. They're survival issues. I'll treat them that way.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Government reform

District 22 has been treated as a guaranteed seat by one party for so long that the people who live here have effectively stopped being part of the conversation. The primary is the only real election. The party picks the candidate. The candidate goes to Tallahassee. And the voters — the actual voters — are an afterthought.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Healthcare

Caring for Those Who Cared for Us My father passed away from dementia. My mother is in my home today with 24/7 care. I know — not from a briefing book, but from daily experience — how difficult, expensive, and emotionally heavy elder care can be on Florida families. Florida has one of the largest populations of seniors in the country, and the state's policies on long-term care, memory care, and family caregiver support are not what they should be. As your senator, I will make elder care a priority — because it should be one, and because we owe it to the generation that built the lives we now live.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Housing

For years, the Florida Legislature has steadily stripped cities and counties of their authority to plan their own communities. Bills like the Live Local Act (SB 102, expanded by SB 328 and SB 1730) have allowed Tallahassee to override local zoning, density, and height restrictions in favor of developers — even when those decisions conflict with the comprehensive plans our local governments spent years building.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Local people deserve local control. As your state senator, I will fight every preemption of home rule that puts developer profits ahead of community character, environmental protection, and the will of local voters.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

The Live Local Act and its expansions (SB 102, SB 328, SB 1730) have systematically transferred planning and zoning authority from local governments to Tallahassee — in many cases overriding the comprehensive plans our cities and counties spent years developing.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Local control

He voted twice against letting the residents of Siesta Key even hold a referendum on their own future. He's been a reliable vote for the laws that strip planning and zoning authority away from our cities and counties.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Taxes and government spending

At both the state and local level, government has grown accustomed to spending without serious oversight. Budgets balloon, line items become permanent, and "essential" programs accumulate that no one can fully explain. The result is upward pressure on every kind of tax — property, sales, fees — that working families and retirees feel most. I'll bring 40 years of business experience to the State Senate. I know how to read a budget. I know how to ask uncomfortable questions about whether a dollar is being spent well or just spent. And I believe taxpayers deserve a senator who treats public money like their own — because it is.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

Technology and privacy

Preparing the Next Generation The world our children are inheriting is changing at a pace none of us has lived through before. Artificial intelligence, shifting industries, a global economy in flux — the only way we prepare students for what's coming is to take public education seriously again. That means strong neighborhood schools, well-paid teachers, modern curricula, and a serious conversation about what kids actually need to learn to thrive in the world they're walking into. It means treating public education as the foundation of Florida's future, not as a political football. I want every child in District 22 — whether they go on to Embry-Riddle, USF, a trade, or directly into work — to leave our schools with a real foundation.

martinhydeforsenate.com ·

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