ONE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL TOWN HALL!
We need to both thank all who made tonight’s mesmerizing, energizing and emotional town hall, but also each of you who continue to do so much for so many in defense of the rule of law, our Constitution and democracy itself. We are so humbled and grateful.
Watch the Town Hall
Photos from the Event
A Powerful Night for North Pinellas
Over 200 community members filled the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church of Pinellas Park on November 21, 2025, to hear David Jolly speak as a candidate for Florida Governor. The energy was real, the questions were sharp, and the path forward felt within reach.
Brant Robinson opened the evening by reminding us how this movement started. After the 2017 inauguration, two congressional aides wrote a guide that any of us could use. They called it the Indivisible Guide. Within a year, over 5,000 Indivisible groups had formed across the country. One of them met in living rooms and called itself Indivisible Safety Harbor. That little group eventually became Indivisible North Pinellas. And here we are.
Introducing David Jolly
David Jolly is a fifth-generation Floridian, born right here in Pinellas County. He served in Congress representing this area as a Republican, became an independent for five or six years, and today is a proud Florida Democrat. He and his wife are raising two young children, ages six and four, in the Largo Belleair Bluffs area.
He opened with a personal story about his faith, and then drew a clear line. He grew up in a Christian household, his wife and kids still celebrate that faith, and he was unapologetic about saying so. But he was equally clear about what that means for a governor: “The personal and private faith of a governor stops at the steps of the state house. That is what the Constitution has ordained. And it does not weaken our faith to leave it at the steps of the state house. It strengthens our faith.”
The Two Crises Facing Florida
Jolly named two crises gripping the state right now. Both of them are why he is in this race.
The affordability crisis. Homeowners insurance has tripled in five years. First-time home buyers cannot get in. Renters are chasing rent increases. Families cannot afford healthcare in a state that has refused to expand Medicaid. Public education has been defunded while the choice program asks families to pay tuition on top of vouchers. He drove past a church on the way to the event and saw hundreds of cars lined up in a food line.
The culture war crisis. Florida is exhausted by them. “Culture wars have victims,” he said. “When you marginalize communities, when you promote other communities, you are creating victims of culture wars in the state. It is a moral wrong, but it is also a constitutional wrong.”
Three Core Values
Jolly returned again and again to three values he believes can tether Floridians together regardless of party.
One. The economy should work for everybody. Not just for people in pockets of Miami with finance jobs. For the homeowner wondering if they can stay in their home, the first-time home buyer who cannot enter the market, the renter chasing rent, the family trying to afford healthcare, the teacher paid dead last in the nation.
Two. Government has a responsibility in our lives. Lean and efficient, yes. But healthcare, public education, transportation, clean air, and clean water are areas where our government, paid for by our taxes, has a role to play. “When we reduce access to healthcare, we reduce healthcare outcomes. When we reduce access to quality education, we are leaving generations behind.”
Three. Everyone belongs here. “Regardless of the color of your skin, where you were born, who you love, or who you worship.” That is the value he is unapologetic about. That is the Florida he wants to build.
Specific Policy Solutions
Jolly does not talk like a politician who is afraid to be specific. He talks like someone who has studied the math.
On insurance. Build a state catastrophic fund that removes hurricane coverage from the private market entirely. His estimate: homeowners insurance drops by 60 to 70 percent. Fund it through combined corporate tax reporting, a stamp tax on real estate transactions, and tourist development dollars.
On property taxes. A first-time home buyer exemption of 150 to 200 thousand. A three to five year step-up in tax basis. An across-the-board homestead exemption of 200 to 250 thousand that helps everyone but disproportionately helps people who own less valuable properties.
On renters. Get Tallahassee out of local control. Trust local municipalities to determine how to pursue affordable and workforce housing in their own communities.
On utilities. Accept that climate change and climate science are real. Appoint new commissioners to the Public Service Commission. Invest in clean and renewable energy. Disrupt the most corrupt campaign finance system in the country.
On education. A 10-year renaissance in public education. Pay teachers 30 percent more, not 3 percent. Invest in failing infrastructure. Reform school choice so that voucher schools have to teach kids to read, accept students with disabilities, offer the same academics as public schools, and cannot charge tuition on top of the voucher.
On gun safety. Universal and comprehensive background checks. Take firearms away from domestic violence perpetrators. Hold parents accountable when a child accesses an unsecured weapon. “Every mass shooting, every school shooting has a failure of public policy.”
On ICE and immigration. Repeal the executive order that forced ICE agreements onto local municipalities without individual due process protections. “If somebody engages in a violent crime in the state of Florida, it does not matter where they come from. They should be arrested and prosecuted. But the person who simply is here without documentation, contributing every day to our economy and our culture, should be celebrated, not condemned.” Tall walls, wide gates.
“There are not enough registered Democratic voters in the state of Florida to elect a Democratic governor by ourselves. So we need to convince independents and Republicans to vote for Democrats. That is what we need to do.”
David Jolly
How We Win
Jolly was blunt about the math. There are roughly a million more registered Republicans in Florida than registered Democrats. We are not closing that gap by November. We do not have to.
“We need to convince independents and Republicans to vote for Democrats. That is what we need to do.”
And it is already working. Earlier this year, two congressional special elections saw Democratic candidates outperform November 2024 turnout by 15 to 16 points. Two state legislative districts swung Democratic by 15 to 21 points. In Miami, an eight-year Republican incumbent mayor is being replaced by a Democrat on December 9. The coalition is forming.
A Story About His Daughter
Near the end of the night, Jolly told a story that quieted the room.
He was reading to his six-year-old daughter Cece at bedtime. She started crying. “Dad, I do not want you to run for governor.” She meant it.
Two things happened in that moment, he told us. First, he felt the indictment of what it means about our country that a six-year-old looks at politics and sees something so toxic that she begs her father not to participate. Then he found the words to answer her.
“Sweetheart, when you have a chance to change the world, you take it. You take it.”
Q&A Highlights
Audience questions ranged across veterans services, faith and politics, the state catastrophic fund details, ICE enforcement, and the Sinclair-dominated media landscape. A few moments stood out.
On veterans. A retired Army colonel asked how Jolly plans to bring veterans on board. He laid out a plan to spend state resources filling gaps that federal Doge cuts will leave behind. State-funded social security navigators. State funding for veteran mental health services. State VA support where federal services have been gutted.
On faith. A woman of faith thanked him for distinguishing real Christian values from what too many people calling themselves Christians are practicing right now. Jolly: “It is not just a corruption of our politics. It is a corruption of our faith. And there is a reason that people are leaving the church.”
On the media landscape. When asked how to counter Sinclair-owned local stations and the Trump narrative machine, Jolly was direct. “The way we fix it is we win. When we win, we get to set the narrative. When we win in the state of Florida, it will be the death knell of much of the MAGA infrastructure.”
The Ask
Jolly closed with a simple request. Not money. Not even time, though both help.
“What I am going to ask you to do is simply believe. Believe as my wife and I do. We believe that in this moment we can win. We believe in this moment we can make a difference. And here is the good news. You already do. Because if you did not, you would be home Googling Portugal.”
The room laughed. Then everyone got up and kept the conversation going on the way to their cars.
Watch the Full Town Hall
Want to watch the full hour and a half? The video is at the top of this post. Pastor McLar opened the evening. Brant Robinson welcomed us. David Jolly delivered. And our community showed up.
Thank you to everyone who made this night possible. To the United Methodist Church of Pinellas Park for welcoming us. To Pastor Britney McLar. To our safety team. To the volunteers at the merch table. To every single person who registered, drove, parked, sat, listened, asked a question, and stayed for the conversation in the parking lot. We are so humbled and grateful.
