JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Byron Donalds, Florida Representative and GOP candidate for governor, discussed several key issues shaping the state’s future during a visit Tuesday to Ponte Vedra Beach for the Florida Sheriffs Association Winter Conference.
Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, shared his thoughts on immigration enforcement, property taxes and vaccination policies, among other topics.
Recommended Videos
Immigration enforcement
Donalds emphasized the importance of law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agencies to maintain public safety in Florida.
“Gov. DeSantis has been supportive of President Trump. He’s made sure the law enforcement is cooperating with ICE,” Donalds said.
He contrasted Florida’s approach with that of Minneapolis, where he said local leaders obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
“Gov. Walz, his lieutenant governor, his Mayors... they are all obstructing ICE from doing their job,” Donalds argued. “One of the reasons why you have border patrol agents on the ground in Minneapolis is because they’re there to protect the ICE agents who are trying to actually execute their duty under federal law.”
Donalds stressed that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that Florida stands ready to assist.
Property taxes
Discussing property taxes, Donalds acknowledged the challenge of balancing tax relief with funding essential services.
“I still have deputies that have to get paid. They still have... firefighters, road construction, road maintenance, and general governmental operations, which are critical for the services that people need,” Donalds said, striking at the heart of the ongoing debate over whether Florida should eliminate property taxes.
Expressing confidence in state leadership, Donalds said, “I think they’re going to come to an agreement in Tallahassee, and I think that that agreement is something that’s going to put Florida first for a long time.”
Vaccine mandates
When asked about recent measles cases in Florida, Donalds affirmed parental rights in health decisions.
“Parental decisions about children belong to their parents, not the state of Florida, but that is just a universal principle that we’re going to maintain in our state,” he said.
He noted that vaccine mandates imposed by the Department of Health without legislative approval have been removed.
“I think that’s appropriate,” Donalds said. “Because those vaccines never went through the legislature and were never signed into law by a governor.”
Regarding vaccines like MMR, Donalds said, “That’s something where the legislature is really going to sit down, do their homework, and I think the governor’s office is going to have to do that as well.”
While acknowledging isolated measles cases, Donalds cautioned against overreaction.
“I don’t think we can take an anecdotal report of somebody testing positive for measles to have that basically try to have a chilling effect on the entire conversations about mandatory vaccines,” he said.