Annette Taddeo, a Miami Democrat and former state senator, is running for Florida chief financial officer in the Nov. 3 general election against Republican incumbent Blaise Ingoglia.

Asked why she is running, Taddeo said in our candidate questionnaire: "Florida families are paying more for everything while Tallahassee looks the other way. As a small business owner and a mother, I pay Florida's rising costs too. Homeowners are being crushed by the highest insurance rates in the nation, while insiders get billion-dollar no-bid contracts that have never been audited."

Taddeo won the Democratic primary on Aug. 18, defeating Earle Ford, according to Florida Politics.

Candidate information

Party: Democrat

Family: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "My husband, Eric, and I live in Miami with my mom, Elizabeth, and our dogs, Snow and Mocha. Our daughter, Sofia, is away at university in Boston."

Background: Taddeo was born in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, according to her Wikipedia biography. She said in our questionnaire: "When I was 17, my father, an American fighter pilot, was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas in Colombia. That experience brought me to the United States. I moved to Florida in 1992, built my business here, and raised my family."

Education: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "I worked as a waitress to put myself through the University of North Alabama, where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Commercial Spanish/Business Administration. I later earned two executive education scholarships to the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, where I completed an Executive Education program and an Advanced Executive Education program."

Experience and public service

Occupation: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "For more than 30 years, I have run LanguageSpeak, a Florida language services company, creating jobs and meeting a payroll." The company was recognized as one of Florida's Top 100 Small Businesses, according to Sparker's Soapbox.

Elected office: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "I was elected to the Florida Senate in a 2017 special election, flipping a Republican-held seat, and was reelected to a full four-year term in 2018 by six points. I was the first Latina Democrat ever elected to the Florida Senate. I served five years on the Banking and Insurance Committee, where I fought for the state to fund a study of the 'affiliate' companies insurers use to move profits, and fought the insurance bailout bills."

She also chaired the Miami-Dade Democratic Party in 2012 and was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014, according to her Wikipedia biography.

On the issues

Property insurance: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "Florida homeowners pay the highest insurance rates in the nation, and too many wait months on a lowballed claim. As CFO, I will publish a report card grading every insurance company within my first 100 days: how fast it pays claims, how often it delays or denies, how much of your premium goes to its own affiliates, and how financially sound it is."

She added: "After a hurricane, I will send storm strike teams from my department into hit communities within 3 to 5 days to help families push stalled claims."

Government transparency: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "Every state contract posted in the public FACTS database, as Florida law already requires. No exceptions, no hiding. FACTS is run by the CFO's own department, yet hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency contracts, including no-bid deals, are still missing from it."

She said she would "audit emergency spending starting with the $1.2 billion spent on Alligator Alcatraz, publish what I find in plain language, and refer fraud or abuse for prosecution."

Key endorsements claimed by the endorsers include the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 75, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, the AFL-CIO, Equality Florida Action PAC and Ruth's List Florida, according to Florida Politics and BallotReady.