Age: 53
Party: Democrat
Running mate: Gwen Graham
Campaign website: davidjolly.com
Education: Undergraduate: Emory University B.A. in History, 1994; Law School: George Mason University J.D. cum laude, 2001
Occupation: Attorney
Hometown: Indian Rocks Beach
Candidate Q&A: The questions below are based on voter questions and expressed priorities. Each of the candidates within a race were asked the same questions and given the same amount of time to respond. The candidates’ answers were fact checked, checked for spelling and grammar but otherwise unedited.
If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?
My top priorities are housing, healthcare, and education. I will lower homeowners’ insurance costs by creating a state catastrophic fund and investing in workforce and affordable housing. I will expand Medicaid and access to primary care through community health clinics, nonprofits, and federally qualified health centers. I will lead a 10-year renaissance in public education by raising teacher pay and ensuring that all publicly funded choice schools meet the same academic and service standards.
Stance on voting rights
Florida has demonstrated that it can administer elections efficiently while also making voting accessible. We should build on that success by ensuring eligible voters have reasonable access to registration, early voting, vote-by-mail, and fair election administration. The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act seeks to strengthen protections against discrimination, modernize voter registration, and restore voting access that has been narrowed in recent years following changes to federal voting rights protections.
As governor, I would support policies that protect every eligible citizen’s right to vote while preserving strong safeguards against fraud, maintaining accurate voter rolls, and ensuring transparency throughout the election process. Democracy works best when every eligible voter can participate freely and every voter has confidence in the integrity of the outcome.
Stance on home rule
Although the Florida Constitution grants municipalities broad authority, the Legislature has increasingly used state preemption to override local decision-making. This preemption effects areas including but not limited to: education, labor and employment, public safety, and housing and zoning
While the constitutional framework still recognizes broad Home Rule powers, the scope is increasingly narrowing as the state preempts local needs. As a result, Florida has seen a decrease in local autonomy over the past few years. I believe local governments are the closest to the people that they serve. Local governments and municipalities deserve the opportunity to implement initiatives that reflect community values and address specific community needs. In office, we will work to restore Home Rule.
Stance on Tourism Development Taxes
My priorities include the economy with an emphasis on housing, healthcare and education. Our administration would follow Florida law, work with our legislature and review the best use of TDT funds. If it becomes necessary to access TDT funds we will conduct a needs assessment and take into consideration the overall impact before taking any action.
Stance on Hope Florida
I will enforce accountability and aggressively pursue the recovery of disputed funds. The David Jolly Administration would re-open the Hope Florida Investigation and use the full extent of state law to address any findings and hold those responsible for harming our most vulnerable population.
Stance on public school closures
We need to let our teachers know we value them and re-establish trust as leaders. Central to any state or community are its schools, and the State of Florida is currently suffering a crisis in its education system, with student performance, public investment, and teacher pay all ranking among the lowest in the nation. To address this critical lack of resources and inadequate standards, I will enact a ten year renaissance on education to reinvigorate Florida schools and promote academic excellence across all levels, focusing on boosting teacher salaries and job security, increasing regulations on the state’s school choice voucher program, investing heavily in schools K-12 and beyond, reworking the current curriculum to better reflect and serve the needs of students.
Parents are concerned about safety, educational standards, culture wars within curriculum and overall teacher fatigue. We would address the education system by: (1) investing in education. The David Jolly Administration will specifically: increase teacher salaries, support retention efforts and provide overall curriculum support; (2) require accountability and transparency in Choice. Public and Private options will have the same standards; (3) Address change from the top with leaders with true educational experience.
Our administration will create a bi-partisan task force with subject matter experts in all areas to provide recommendations on what best practices look like and how we re-imagine our education system.
Stance on private school scholarships
Choice works for some families, however accountability is necessary for balance. I will enforce accountability in Florida’s Choice programs by creating standards for choice that align with interests of the public school system. To address transparency we would require semi-annual reporting to school districts to certify compliance; remove barriers to transparency to educate parents on the various options available and provide administrative review of how public education dollars are allocated and monitored across sectors and enforce the administration of state standards on any school which accepts Florida Choice funds to ensure fair comparisons in student evaluations and accountability for private school disparities with public schools.
Stance on vaccines
Where do you stand on maintaining vaccine mandates for public/private school entry? I believe in science. Under my administration I will appoint a qualified, experienced, Florida Surgeon General and follow the guidance from the appointed leader. School requirements are how Florida makes sure the last vaccine doses actually get given, and they protect the children who cannot be vaccinated, including kids with vulnerable immune systems, cancer and transplants. School vaccine requirements help every child stay safe in the classroom.
Do you believe that vaccines cause autism? No
Do you believe that the number of vaccinations a newborn/infant receives is a contributor to autism? No
Stance rural boundaries
Yes. Rural Boundaries is a significant issue for our local governments. The problem is the erosion of local control. State mandates on everything from zoning to permitting taxation often override the nuanced needs of rural counties. There is no one-size-fits-all rule.
The David Jolly Administration would support greater flexibility for rural counties in land use, streamlined permitting for economic development projects, and revenue-sharing formulas that recognize the outsized role rural areas play in agriculture, energy, and conservation without adequate state support. Home rule should mean something real for our smallest counties. We would support Fiscally constrained communities and listen to their needs as we strengthen our policy.
According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say housing affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue?
Florida’s affordability crisis starts with housing. I’ll work to lower homeowners’ insurance costs by creating a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market, reducing premiums. I’ll fully fund the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund to expand workforce and affordable housing, remove unnecessary barriers to increasing supply, and invest in smart growth so working families, seniors, veterans, and young Floridians can afford a place to call home.
Will you vote YES or NO on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes, and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions?
The current ballot language of the proposed property tax elimination amendment is under court consideration. I am concerned that the current effort is rushed and puts critical services and rural counties at risk, while likely shifting the tax burden to renters. We do need property tax relief. As Governor, I would propose moving to greater local control of property taxes, exemptions, and spending, recognizing and better addressing the financial disparity between urban and rural communities.
Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond?
Florida should place an immediate moratorium on new data centers until regulations address their impacts on electricity demand, water resources, and utility costs. Families should not subsidize massive commercial energy users. I support capping regulated utility profits at the national average to lower bills while maintaining reliable service. We must also accelerate clean, renewable energy to reduce costs and protect Florida’s environment.
What is the single biggest issue the government should address when it comes to public education in Florida?
Florida needs a ten-year renaissance in public education using tourist tax dollars. We need more community public schools, in more neighborhoods, with more teachers who are paid more. Florida should lead the world in public education. A ten-year funding model would move teacher pay into the top-half nationally, recover failing properties, and invest in secondary services like food security and mental health counseling.
Do you agree with the current federal and state governments’ approaches to immigration enforcement? Why or why not?
I support strong, responsible border security and cooperation with the federal government. However, I oppose Florida’s use of 287(g) agreements and detention policies that undermine due process and erode trust in our communities. Law enforcement should focus on those who commit violent or property crimes, regardless of where they were born. I support a pathway to legal work status for law-abiding undocumented immigrants and protections for refugees and legitimate asylum seekers.
Do you believe abortion restrictions in Florida should be more strict, less strict or stay the same?
I support the protections of reproductive freedom as historically provided by Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood. I would work to strengthen Florida’s protection of individuals to make their own healthcare decisions without the interference of government, including introducing the language of the 2024 Florida constitutional amendment providing for reproductive freedom that garnered the support of 57% of Floridians.
What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in Florida?
Florida must address water pollution and quality throughout the state, continue Everglades restoration, address contamination north of Lake Okeechobee that contributes to unhealthy discharges, protect springs, wetlands, and beaches from overdevelopment, and maintain a ban on offshore oil drilling. We must also strengthen resilient infrastructure to address sea level rise, flooding, and stronger storms while expanding clean energy and smart growth to protect our environment and economy.
This Voter Guide was produced by the News Collaborative of Central Florida, a collective of independent local news outlets and aligned partners working toward a more informed and engaged Central Florida. Questions for the candidates were created by members of the collaborative and shared with candidates to answer. Attempts were made to contact all candidates to answer our questions – many responded but some did not. If a candidate did not respond, we have done our best to provide answers to our questions based on candidates’ websites, social media posts or public comments. For more information about the News Collaborative of Central Florida, click here.