Florida Strong now going after Dana Young in new mailer

Florida Strong, the independent advocacy organization, is going after South Tampa House Republican Dana Young, alleging that she is more aligned with her campaign contributors than her constituents.

“Dana Young has shown she works for her campaign contributors, not the people of Florida,” reads the front page of a mailer being sent residents who live in her House District 60 seat, which includes South Tampa, much of south Hillsborough County, and Town N Country.

The mailers from Florida Strong are part of an ongoing “Got Ethics?” campaign that the group started earlier this year that calls for ethics reform and illuminates lawmakers’ ties to special interests.

The back page of the mailer cites two specific issues that Florida Strong says shows her hypocrisy.

The first item references the gambling bill that she sponsored in 2015 that ultimately failed to pass in the Legislature. That flier says that gambling companies and the gaming industry “have contributed thousands of dollars to Young’s campaign.”

The mailer also references when agricultural giant Alico gave Young a helicopter ride and financial contributions at the same time that the company was seeking millions of dollars in tax support for water farming. Young was criticized by the Tampa Bay Times editorial page for failing to disclose the ride as a contribution on his campaign finance report. Young said she was told by a House attorney that the tour was not a gift and that no reporting was required.

Charly Norton, executive director of Florida Strong, criticized Young for failing to pass “real” ethics reform legislation this past year. “Instead, Young has kept open the loopholes that allow for her kind of pay-to-play politics to be the norm. It’s past time for Rep. Young to take action and address the rampant corruption and cronyism here in Florida.”