Annette Taddeo, a Democrat, is running for Florida chief financial officer in the Nov. 3 general election against Republican 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." She added: "Florida needs a CFO who is a watchdog, not a lapdog."

Candidate information

Party: Democrat

Residence: Miami

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."

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."

Background: Taddeo was born April 7, 1967, in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, according to Wikipedia. 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."

Experience and public service

Business: 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 has been 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."

Key accomplishments: Asked what past accomplishments show she can handle the job, Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "I fought for the state to fund a study of insurer 'affiliates.' That report, hidden for four years, found insurers claiming losses while their affiliates made big profits. And I helped bring to justice one of the largest HOA frauds in American history, at the Hammocks in my district … The result: guilty pleas in an $11 million theft and a new state law for homeowners."

On the issues

Property insurance: Asked what she would do about insurance costs and claims, Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "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. Every company, by name." She said she would also "send storm strike teams from my department into hit communities within 3 to 5 days to help families push stalled claims."

Government transparency: Asked for one specific change she would make, Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "Every state contract posted in the public FACTS database, as Florida law already requires. No exceptions, no hiding." She said "hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency contracts, including no-bid deals, are still missing from it." She pledged to "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."

Differences from opponent: Taddeo said in our questionnaire: "My opponent was appointed and has never been elected to this office. He has taken a quarter million dollars from insurance interests and voted for a $3 billion tax handout to insurance companies while Floridians pay the highest rates in the nation."