Party: Democrat
Campaign website: annettetaddeo.com
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.
Why do you deserve to elected in this race?
As a small business owner who has paid Florida’s skyrocketing insurance premiums for more than 30 years and served five years on the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, I understand the challenges Florida families and businesses face every day. In the Florida Senate, I earned a reputation for working across the aisle, holding our government accountable, and fighting for consumers when Floridians needed help, including during the collapse of Florida’s unemployment system during the pandemic. I will bring that same independent leadership to the Department of Financial Services as a watchdog for taxpayers and consumers.
If elected, what are the most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?
Florida’s regulations should protect consumers, not powerful interests. That starts with stronger oversight of the insurance industry to ensure homeowners are treated fairly, claims are handled promptly, and insurance companies are held accountable for their actions. As new technologies like artificial intelligence become more common, we also need safeguards to ensure important decisions aren’t made by algorithms without meaningful human review and a clear appeals process.
Just as importantly, Florida needs stronger accountability in government. The Department of Financial Services’ F.A.C.T.S. database was created so taxpayers can see how their money is being spent, yet too often contracts — including no-bid contracts — are kept out of public view by being classified as purchase orders. That’s not transparency. As CFO, I’ll enforce the law, ensure contracts are publicly accessible as intended, and shine a light on how taxpayer dollars are spent because accountability is the best safeguard against waste and corruption.”
How would you go about educating Floridians?
Floridians deserve to know they’re not on their own. The Department of Financial Services should empower people with clear, practical information about their insurance coverage, their financial rights, and where to turn if they need help. Too often, consumers feel like they’re fighting insurance companies or navigating government on their own. The CFO’s office should be their advocate.
My priorities are affordability, accountability, and anti-corruption. That means giving consumers the tools they need to make informed decisions, ensuring insurance companies play by the rules, and making government more transparent. Taxpayers should be able to easily see how their money is being spent through resources like the Department’s F.A.C.T.S. database, and there should be no hiding contracts or taxpayer spending behind loopholes. An informed public is one of the strongest safeguards against waste, abuse, and corruption.
How would you go about rooting out fraud?
Florida needs stronger oversight at the state level, especially when it comes to no-bid contracts and the misuse of taxpayer dollars. Too often, politically connected companies receive lucrative contracts with little public scrutiny, while required audits go undone and transparency laws are ignored. Taxpayers deserve to know who is receiving government contracts, how those contracts are awarded, and whether public dollars are being spent responsibly.
The diversion of Hope Florida funds and the billion dollars spent on Alligator Alcatraz underscore why independent oversight matters. As Chief Financial Officer, I will follow the money, enforce transparency through the Department’s F.A.C.T.S. database, conduct the audits required by law, and ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent in the best interest of Floridians — not political insiders.
This Voters 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.