Age
70
Education
BA - The Catholic University of America (Political Science and Spanish); Masters in Public Administration - Indiana University (Received two year Lilly endowment fellowship)
Hometown
Sarasota
County
Florida
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/MontavonforCongress/
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-montavon
Campaign Phone
941-203-9245
Our immigration system under Trump is cruel, inhumane and hurts our economy. People with civil violations are having their families ripped apart and are placed in abhorrent concentration camps.
We need to drastically reform ICE because of its brutal treatment, and if it cannot be reformed, then abolish it and start over. Agents should be properly trained, must identify themselves, not use masks, and not use violence.
We should offer green cards to long term residents who have built families here and have contributed to our communities and our economy. DACA recipients should be given a path to citizenship. We need a much more robust naturalization process and immigration reform. We can have a more secure border but also recognize the international right to asylum.
Our current policy is extremely wasteful, now over $200 billion, the only purpose being racism and cruelty. Those immigrants being imprisoned and thrown out are contributing to our economy, paying taxes and social security.
Absolutely! We see this damage especially in our vulnerable state of Florida with increased drought, flooding and hurricanes. It is happening all over the country and will be an incredible health and financial burden. This will also affect our farm economy and habitats. There is a huge financial cost in adaptation and mitigation.
We need to move as quickly as possible to renewable energy, as the rest of the world is doing. Renewables is a growth industry that we are abandoning to our competitors, especially China. It is also now the cheapest form of energy.
Continued concentration on fossil fuels and their impact on climate change is extremely dumb and self-destructive.
1. Affordability
Food, housing and healthcare are basic needs that are becoming too expensive for many Americans. We need to encourage more affordable housing with subsidies and grants and move toward universal healthcare step by step.
We need to restore safety net programs such as SNAP, Medicaid and ACA subsidies.
2. Restoration of our Constitutional Democracy
Congress needs to reclaim its Constitutional power to be a check on the Executive. We should investigate the corruption and incompetence of the current Administration, censor or punish the offenders, and legislate curbs on future abuses.
The Constitutional right to freedom of speech means that the government, or any government official, cannot prohibit a person from expressing his or her views, even if those views are critical of the government. The only speech that can be legally limited is speech that creates a public danger (yelling “Fire! In a theater) or hateful speech that encourages violence.
Freedom of speech is the foundation of the other principles in the first amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom to petition. It and the others are the founding principle of our democracy and the people's right to demand accountability.
Voting is an extension of those principles. The people's have the right to choose their leaders and the direction of policy. To me obstacles to voting are an infringement on freedom of speech and the freedom to petition.
The President runs the agencies, but Congress has the oversight responsibility. Congress questions the actions of the agencies, brings agency heads to Congress to testify, and insists that the agencies carry out their mandate. It should also look to root out corruption and abuse of office, and in extreme cases could impeach agency personnel.
It would be important for those concerned about this issue to work with concerned organizations, such as the LWV, to provide financial support, counseling, and guidance to help them find a path to register to vote.
Should it become clear that there is a particular common obstacle to registering, then national legislation will be required to alleviate that obstacle. For instance, a federal office could be set up to help applicants seeking documentation from multiple state offices or across states.
Voting by eligible citizens should be encouraged, not discouraged.
Education is generally driven at the state and local levels. The federal government's role is to support education where there are gaps, such as in the need for special education, application of non-discriminatory policies, and inclusiveness. Federal funds need to support special programs and underserved communities. Federal funds to support loans for college education is also a much-needed activity.
Age
43
Education
B.A. Economics from the University of South Florida
Hometown
Babcock Ranch
County
Charlotte
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/allenspencefl/
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/allen-spence-for-congress/
Campaign Phone
941-206-9405
Undocumented immigrants living peacefully in our communities deserve protection, not deportation. I support a five-year safe harbor period during which no non-violent undocumented person would be apprehended. During that window, they can apply for permanent residency. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, the parents of children in our schools. Violent criminals are the priority for immigration enforcement, full stop. Everyone else should be documented, not terrorized. Federal Immigration agents must be identifiable at all times which means no masks, no unmarked vehicles, no refusing to show a badge, no refusing to state their name or agency. That is not law enforcement, that is intimidation. CBP belongs at the border doing its actual job, not conducting workplace raids in our communities. Redirecting CBP to the borders is how we restore real order and stop cartel exploitation. A smart, accountable immigration system protects everyone, citizens and immigrants alike.
Yes. Florida's insurance crisis is climate change made financial. Major insurers use state subsidiaries to cherry-pick markets and manufacture paper losses that justify rate increases, while families in Southwest Florida are left uninsured or priced out. I will fight to end those subsidiary arrangements. Every residential property should have flood barriers, and homeowners who install them get significant insurance discounts. New construction will require them. Existing homeowners get there through tax incentives. This reduces risk, stabilizes premiums, and keeps people in their homes. At the national level, we need the kind of proactive mitigation already happening in Miami Beach and New York City, hardened infrastructure, resilient design, and investment before the disaster rather than recovery after it. Ignoring climate risk does not make it cheaper. It shifts the bill onto working families and taxpayers. That is not fiscal conservatism, it is fiscal negligence.
My first priority is saving Social Security. Under current law, anyone earning over $185,000 stops paying into Social Security for the rest of the year. Ultra wealthy effectively pay a lower Social Security rate than teachers and nurses. I will abolish the wage cap entirely. This single reform secures Social Security for generations. Without congressional action, benefits face an automatic 23% cut. Greg Steube has already shown he will let vital programs expire, just as he did with enhanced ACA subsidies.
My second priority is the national debt, now exceeding $40 trillion. I will pursue a 10 to 20% reduction in defense spending. I will close the loopholes the ultra-wealthy exploit to avoid taxes, starting with asset-backed loans. Billionaires borrow against assets instead of selling them. A fee on those transactions captures revenue that is currently invisible to the IRS. Fiscal responsibility means everyone pays taxes, not just the working class.
Freedom of speech is the foundation every other right rests on. My journey into politics began in early 2025 attending protests. Standing alongside neighbors, exercising our right to be heard, I realized democracy is not just voting every two years. It is showing up. That path led me here, as a candidate for Congress. Public spaces must remain free speech zones. The First Amendment protects citizens who gather outside their representative's office to demand accountability. I have done exactly that, rallying outside Steube's office and petitioning his staff for redress of grievances, explicitly protected under the First Amendment. When a congressman goes silent and offices go dark, citizens have not just the right but the responsibility to make themselves heard. Free speech is not a threat to government. It is how government stays honest. I will always defend that right, especially when power would prefer silence.
Congress. This is not a close constitutional question. Article One of the Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse, the authority to create federal agencies, and the responsibility to conduct oversight over the executive branch. The President executes the law. Congress writes it, funds it, and watches over it. When the executive branch dismantles agencies, redirects appropriated funds, or installs unaccountable bodies to override congressional intent, that is not efficiency. That is a constitutional violation. Oversight is not optional for members of Congress. Greg Steube has abandoned that job. He votes with the administration nearly 100% of the time, rubber-stamping executive overreach. A congressman who will not conduct oversight is not a check on power, he is an extension of it. Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties deserve a representative who understands that Congress is a coequal branch of government and acts like it.
The federal government already maintains databases establishing who is and is not a citizen. We do not need new burdens on voters; we need to use systems we already have. I support automatic voter registration for every eligible citizen, with an option to opt out. The federal government sets standards and provides funding. States run the systems. Citizenship is verified at registration automatically, eliminating documentary proof as a barrier. I also support passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which addresses discrimination, requires transparency when states change election rules, and improves access for language minorities. We also need the next generation engaged through community-based civic programs: Mock Trial, Debate, Key Club, Teen Court, and Embracing Our Differences. The system should make citizenship count, not make citizens prove it twice.
I am a product of Florida public schools and the parent of a child in a Charlotte County charter school. Seven of his nine teachers left mid-year. I know what federal disinvestment looks like in a real classroom. At the preschool level, the federal government should fund universal childcare so every child arrives at kindergarten ready to learn. At K-12, the federal role is to set standards, fund schools equitably, and support local educators. That means a $10,000 teacher retention bonus funded by redirecting dollars from ICE, CBP, and Schools of Hope. It means free school meals, streamlined IEP and 504 processes, and keeping immigration enforcement out of schools. For higher education, expand computer science and AI literacy pathways, strengthen loan forgiveness in education, healthcare, trades, and clean energy, and build employer partnerships so graduates enter careers without crushing debt. Every federal education dollar should follow accountability and transparency, not ideology.
