{"id":184818,"date":"2026-03-09T22:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/184818\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T22:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:33:40","slug":"pinellas-congressional-candidate-brandt-robinson-says-hell-use-ice-funds-to-hire-and-train-more-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/184818\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinellas congressional candidate Brandt Robinson says he’ll use ICE funds to hire and train more teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BrandtBrandt Robinson Credit: Brandt Robinson \/ Campaign Handout<\/a><\/p>\n

Timothy \u201cBrandt\u201d Robinson<\/a>, history teacher at Pinellas High Innovation, said his campaign has raised $30,000, all from individual contributors. He told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he refuses funding from PACs.<\/p>\n

Robinson, 56, said he was inspired to run after he and his wife joined the North Pinellas chapter of Indivisible.<\/p>\n

He one of nine candidates in the Democratic primary where candidates hope to replace Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.<\/p>\n

Indivisible is a national civic movement that was born in response to President Donald J. Trump\u2019s first election win. According to Robinson, the movement made one thing clear: President Trump wouldn\u2019t have been elected if older Americans were more civically engaged in the past few decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His campaign mainly aims for comprehensive federal reforms and programs. For one, he wants to establish a federal government program to increase access to affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Robinson also believes the U.S. needs a new Voting Rights Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur electoral system is the safest and the most effective in the world, despite all of the lies that Donald Trump has managed to foment over the years about the 2020 election being stolen,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cAnd what we ought to do is call for a new Voting Rights Act to make voting even easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson said that includes allowing same-day voting registration and establishing a federal holiday for all national elections, a model he said has worked well for voter turnout in other countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson also said the federal government should take the lead in addressing climate change and informing the public about climate issues and sciences. That also comes with national efforts to re-follow climate conventions that President Trump pulled away from, such as the Paris Climate Accords<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like Ford, Robinson wants to add on \u201csimple gun control measures that have vast public support.\u201d This includes universal background checks, red-flag laws and bans on certain assault weapons.<\/p>\n

Robinson also said what sets his campaign apart is public education. His campaign largely aims for teacher retention, especially after attacks on teachers and on \u201cthe teaching of history in its entirety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson himself has faced backlash regarding his course material. In 2021, he defended<\/a> his African American History class and critical race theory at a Pinellas County School Board meeting and was accused of \u201cMarxist indoctrination.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an educator of 29 years, Robinson said he wants to protect teachers and students from limits and hardships in the academic sphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur public schools are the foundation of our democracy,\u201d Robinson told CL. \u201cPublic education will continue to be a major priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in order to fund costly investments toward hiring and training teachers, Robinson told CL he wants to pull from ICE\u2019s budget\u2014especially since he believes that \u201call this discussion about ICE and Trump\u2019s immigration policy is built on a policy itself that\u2019s rooted in blatant lies and exaggerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson also said most law enforcement agents he\u2019s interviewed across the country are \u201cdeeply disturbed by what ICE agents have been engaged in.\u201d He does not want law enforcement acting on ICE\u2019s behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson believes ICE\u2019s agenda wounds police and deputies as they are normally proud of their service, and that comes from them being trained officers of the law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means you don\u2019t see people violating our constitutional rights or violating due process rights of human beings, or racial profiling, or wearing masks,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cICE agents engage in all those behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an opponent to Rep. Luna, Robinson said both political parties in the county want someone new.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most people agree\u2014even most of my Republican friends agree\u2014that from the beginning of Donald Trump\u2019s second term, most Republicans pledged their undivided loyalty to him,\u201d Robinson told CL. \u201cAnd as a result, here we are a year later. They find themselves incredibly vulnerable because, let\u2019s be frank, they have not been talking about the things that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson dislikes that Rep. Luna has not attended district town hall meetings, and he said she \u201chas not even put herself in a position to dignify her constituents by asking them their concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This article appears in Mar. 05 \u2013 11, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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