Once-fringe ideas now sail through GOP-controlled Hillsborough commission

• But the GOP supermajority, once out of step, now moves as a bloc — and those ideas have resurfaced and passed with little resistance.

Flashback: Wostal tried to stop adding fluoride to Hillsborough County's drinking water in February, an idea that sailed through other cities and counties under GOP control.

• But even with one of the board's two Democrats absent, Wostal couldn't find the votes; he took to X afterward to question whether those who voted against him were even Republicans.
• Then, in March, GOP Commissioners Ken Hagan and Christine Miller broke ranks to defeat another one of Wostal's resolutions — this one inviting a state DOGE audit.

Driving the news: Miller later brought forward her own resolution, which committed the county to work with the state DOGE and created a local review panel to examine its spending. Her motion passed.

• Then, last week, commissioners scrapped the HOPE trust fund, a Democratic-era affordable housing program that Republicans had long opposed but hadn't managed to kill until now.

What's next: Commissioner Chris Boles (R) is set to follow through with another one of Wostal's priorities: slashing funds for nonprofits.

• He plans to present a motion soon to begin winding down funding for "legacy nonprofits," some of which have received money from the county for over three decades.
• Though not yet introduced, the motion has already gained support from Republicans on the board.