Cindy Banyai
Cindy Banyai holds a master's and Ph.D. from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan and has worked for about 20 years in community development, evaluation and nonprofit leadership in Southwest Florida and abroad. She teaches college courses, runs a consulting business, and was the Democratic nominee for Congress in Florida's 19th District in 2020 and 2022. She lives in Fort Myers with her three children.
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Positions on the major issues
Compare with opponents →Each entry describes what the candidate has said or done, and what they say they will do, in neutral terms with sources. The chip shows how that relates to the statement voters rate in the matching tool.
Property taxes Strongly disagrees· stated position
Opposes eliminating property taxes because they fund schools, police, fire and other local services; proposes a summer sales-tax holiday instead.
"I also oppose solving affordability by eliminating property taxes altogether."
Property insurance Strongly agrees· stated position
Her plan calls for state insurance for disasters, citing the Jolly plan.
"State insurance for disasters (Jolly plan)"
Housing affordability Strongly agrees· stated position
Her Fair & Free Florida plan calls for a 5 percent annual cap on rent increases and full funding of the Sadowski affordable-housing trust fund.
"5% annual rental increase cap"
Immigration Strongly disagrees· stated position
Her plan calls for ending mandatory 287(g) agreements between local police and federal immigration authorities and for public oversight of migrant detention facilities.
"End mandatory 287g agreements - public accounting of state and local costs of federal operations"
Abortion Leans agree· stated position
Her campaign home page lists 'body autonomy' among the freedoms she says have been rolled back; she does not spell out a position on the six-week law.
Health care Strongly agrees· stated position
Her plan lists Medicaid expansion.
"Medicaid expansion"
Education & school choice Strongly disagrees· stated position
Her plan calls for ending private and religious school vouchers and moving scholarship administration into the state education department.
"End private/religious school vouchers, bring step-up scholarship administration into Florida department of education"
Environment & water Strongly agrees· stated position
Her plan proposes a state fund to help local governments fix water pollution and mandatory prosecution and higher penalties for polluters; she says she takes no developer money.
"Mandate prosecutions for polluters - increase penalties for violators, hold legacy polluters accountable"
Growth & development Strongly agrees· stated position
Says the state has taken too much decision-making from local communities and would restore home rule.
"I would oppose unnecessary preemption and work to restore meaningful home rule so local governments can respond to the people they actually serve."
Elections & voting Strongly agrees· stated position
Opposes making voting harder; wants free documents and agency coordination if proof of citizenship is required.
"Voting should be secure, but security cannot become an excuse for voter suppression. My goal is to make voting easier for eligible Floridians, not harder."
Crime & policing Leans disagree· stated position
Her plan would repeal the 2021 protest law (HB 1) and bar police tracking of protesters, and she has called for the Fort Myers police chief to resign over misconduct allegations.
"Safe public assembly - repeal HB1, make hitting protesters with car illegal, make police tracking of protesters illegal"
Gender identity laws Strongly disagrees· stated position
Her plan calls for ending the classroom-instruction law she refers to as 'don't say gay' and repealing the Stop WOKE Act.
"Equality in public expression - end don't say gay"
No public position found on 6 issues
We searched campaign sites, questionnaires, interviews, votes and official actions and did not find a clear stance on: Taxes & spending, Guns, Marijuana, Energy & utilities, Trump administration, Veterans. This is reported as unknown rather than guessed from party affiliation; these issues are excluded from this candidate's match score.
Other issues this candidate has raised
- Wages and taxes — Her plan calls for a $22 minimum wage with annual cost-of-living increases, a summer sales-tax waiver for residents, universal all-day pre-K and child-care vouchers for working families.
- Ethics and home rule — Her plan centers on ending 'pay to play' contracting, restoring home rule, restoring citizen ballot initiatives and creating an elected ethics board.