Adam Hattersley – Florida – Chief Financial Officer
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
Adam Hattersley is a Navy veteran and author focused on improving the lives of those in his community through public service. He believes the only way forward in this country is to put politics aside and send people to Tallahassee who will work for their communities instead of themselves, their political parties or their big donors.
Adam spent eight years as a nuclear submarine officer in the United States Navy protecting our country at home and abroad. Thinking of his father who volunteered to fight in Vietnam, Adam volunteered during the height of the Iraq War to deploy on the ground with a U.S. Army unit. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.
Adam completed his Navy service as an electrical engineering instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. He moved to Riverview, Florida in 2009 where he worked for a Fortune 500 company for seven years relying on his background to lead a team responsible for training and managing hundreds of skilled technicians all over the world. In 2016, Adam and his wife opened a small business helping other small businesses promote themselves.
Adam has spent his life serving with honor and integrity and always putting country before party — and believes our leaders in public office should be held to that same standard. In 2018, after more than a decade as a registered independent, Adam sought and won a seat in the Florida Legislature as a Democrat. Focusing on the issues that matter to people across our communities, Adam served in the Florida House of Representatives where he was committed to lowering health care costs, honoring the service that veterans have made to our country and protecting public education.
Why are you running for office?
Service has been the main focus of my professional life (from nearly a decade in the US Navy to serving in the Florida House of Representatives), and the CFO’s office hasn’t had a true public servant occupying the position since Alex Sink finished her term in Jan. 2011 (CFO Sink has already endorsed my campaign). Florida’s citizen’s need a watchdog on the Cabinet that is going to look out for their interests instead of the political interest of the CFO’s party.
What are the three biggest issues facing your community?
1) Property Insurance
2) Lack of accountability
3) Infrastructure
How do you propose to solve those problems?
1) Insurance (a major part of the office I’m seeking): closing loopholes and lowing property insurance costs for consumers is vital to Florida’s growth. High property insurance has also become the biggest barrier to new home ownership in FL, which is disproportionally affecting younger generations.
2) Investigations and Accountability: using the position of State Auditor to hold government accountable and increase transparency for citizens.
3) Infrastructure: advocating for long-term investment in coastal hardening and sustainability infrastructure, which will have the additional benefit of reducing risk for homeowners and insurance companies, leading to lower cost of living for everyone
What is your stance on environmental and climate concerns that are facing your community?
We must follow the science. Sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion are weakening our coastal communities and infrastructure, increasing property risk and ultimately affecting every Floridian. Investing in coastal resiliency and pushing toward more renewable energy are important long-term issues that we need to address to ease costs and burdens in the future. Additionally, we must use all environmental support funds as they are intended instead of sweeping money from them for alternate uses.
What commonsense gun safety measures would have the most impact on your community?
Universal background checks – which the vast majority of Floridians support – can be the most effective and immediate way to increase gun safety, by simply keeping guns out of the hands of those that have violent criminal histories. As the only combat veteran running statewide in Florida, I have a much greater understanding of these issues than any of the other candidates.
How would criminal justice reforms impact your community?
We must look at what has been successful in other states (and regions of our own state) to improve our criminal justice system. Keeping kids out of the school-to-prison pipeline and finding alternative reform methods (similar to the Juvenile Diversion Court programs that have shown positive results) can be a bedrock to build further reforms upon.
How would you work to protect a woman’s reproductive health?
There is no greater individual liberty than being in control of one’s own healthcare. While in the state legislature, I fought (and voted) against unconstitutional reproductive health restrictions, and will continue to do so in any office I am elected to. Working with state elected officials and liaising with our Federal elected officials to codify privacy and reproductive health protections is vital to maintaining individual freedoms.
What measures would you advocate to ensure that your constituents have the right to vote?
Working to expand early voting locations and availability, vote by mail, and same-day voter registration (similar to Colorado and Washington State) are all important. Like in many aspects of law, we must look at what other states have done to be successful, and then incorporate those best practices into our own (CO and WA have some of the safest and highest turnout elections in the country). We must ensure ALL Floridians have easy access to vote.
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