Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, Florida Legislature
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez
Representing District 39, Florida Legislature
Contact Information:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s39?pref=full
This is a transcript from The Floridaville podcast. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence so it may not be an accurate account of what was recorded.
Rosanna Catalano 00:33
This is the Floridaville get to know the people behind the Florida names you know, I'm your host Rosanna Catalano. On this episode we get to know Senator Anna Maria Rodriguez, a state legislator newly elected to district 39. She has spent her career advocating on behalf of the people of South Florida, both as a professional and as a public servant. We are recording remotely. today. I'm in my home in Tallahassee, and Senator Rodriguez is speaking to us from her home in South Florida where I believe her children are also home from school. Welcome to the show, Senator.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 01:09
Thank you so much, Rosanna for inviting me. I really appreciate it.
Rosanna Catalano 01:12
You represent district 39 in the Florida Senate, can you share with us represent?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 01:20
Yes, Senate District 39 is probably one of the largest senate districts geographically. It goes all the way from Doral, which is on the northern side of the district and encompasses most of Western Miami Dade County. And that includes some unincorporated portions of Miami Dade like Westchester, out and out in the Redlands as well as the city of Sweetwater. And then it picks up South dade all of the South dade area with other unincorporated areas like Miranda, and pyridine. And Gould's and then has the city of homestead, City of Florida city, and then all of Monroe County, which has various municipalities as well, going all the way down to Key West. So it is it is quite interesting to drive throughout the district, seeing the different aspects, the diversity of Senate District 39. And again, it is just such an honor and a privilege to serve in this new capacity in the state legislature.
Rosanna Catalano 02:28
We are so excited to have you. So we have new leadership in the House and Senate this year. What committees will you be serving on for the 2021 session and tell us the types of issues that you'll be dealing with in each committee?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 02:42
Well, just this week, Senate President Wilson Simpson announced all the new chairman ships and vice chairman ships for all the committees. I'm honored to be serving as the chairman of the finance and tax committee. And I am also serving as the vice chairman of the healthcare Appropriations Committee. Both are very significant, very important. And and to be quite honest, as a freshman Senator, I could not believe my eyes when I saw the appointments that I received. So I am just completely surprised and but also up for the task. So I, I look forward to meeting with the committee staff members in the near future just to learn more about some of these topics. Although I'm I feel like I'm pretty familiar with both. But this does not include the additional committees that I'll be serving on. So those appointments will be coming out in the next few weeks. And I look forward to receiving that those announcements when they come out.
Rosanna Catalano 03:39
I can't wait to just can't wait to be working with you is I'm so excited. So like our listeners unfamiliar with your story. Take us back back to the very beginning. You know, tell us about where you were born and what your family was like growing up?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 03:53
Sure. So my family is actually from Cuba. My my parents and grandparents immigrated? Well, they're actually political refugees, they, they left Cuba fleeing communism, like many families in South Florida and throughout the country, Cubans are now all over the place. We're not just limited to Miami. And I think you know, it when you grow up listening to this to the story over and over about how, you know, your family had everything in Cuba. And when they got here, when they left their homeland, they literally had to leave everything behind. That really sticks with you and and it's something that, you know, resonates throughout your life. So I grew up listening to this throughout throughout again since I was born. So it made a big impact in my work ethic and the fact that I was born in this country, but I don't take it for granted. I have a great appreciation for what my parents and grandparents did leaving their homeland to come to a free country. And I always felt that it was in it was one of my responsibilities. And it was incumbent upon me to give back to my community. Not necessarily as an elected official, it wasn't something I always thought of doing or even, you know, imagined that I would do as a younger person. But I always like to give back by, by serving on boards and doing volunteer work. And so when the opportunity presented itself, actually 10 years ago, in 2010, I ran for city council in the city of Doral, which is where I've lived for the last 15 years. And so, when the opportunity came, I actually declined it a few times, the mayor of the city, at the time, his name is JC Bermudez asked me, and I said, JC I don't want to give up my privacy. I don't you know, I know it's a very big commitment to to be, you know, an elected official, you know, it has a lot of, I thought it had more negatives than positives. But after a few, a few requests I gave in to the to the ask, and I be, you know, I ran for city council and and I won my election. And then four years later, in 2014, I ran for re election, and I was unopposed. To my surprise, I thought, wow, this is, you know, incredible. You know, I didn't I didn't expect to be unopposed. And then my last year on the city council, which was 2018, I served as the vice mayor of my city, but now that's the same year that I ran for, for state representative. And that was a seat that was vacated by now Ambassador Carlos Trujillo. So he, he went on to do great things. And we're all very proud of him here in South Florida. And so I ran in his seat. And then in 2019, after I served my first session, I got a call from our lieutenant governor Janette Nunez, who is a dear friend, and I've known her for many, many years back in the day when she was an aide to a senator. And she said, Anna, I think you should consider running for senator floor as a seat. And I said, Well, you know, I'm not really at all my mind is not anywhere near you know, running for the Senate. I just got elected to the Florida house. And she said, You know, I think this is a great opportunity for you. I'm sorry, about yamana. Um, give me a few minutes. And so any rate, so sorry about that. So, so I talked to my husband, I talked to my family, and, you know, we all agreed that, you know, this was a good a good chance to, to serve in higher office and, and so that's what we did. I filed my paperwork. And I really didn't talk much about my personal life except for my my parents coming from Cuba, but throughout the course of all those years, I went to school in Miami, I went to St. Theresa Catholic school, from kindergarten through eighth grade. And then I went to Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, which is an all girls Catholic High School. So I was raised like in a very, you know, traditional, you know, Catholic upbringing. And then I went to I did my undergraduate studies at Florida International University. And then my, my master's is from Nova Southeastern University in Davie. And then a few years later, I met my husband, we got married, we've been married for nine plus years. And we have two small boys. edos is eight years old and Aramis is going to be seven. So as you can imagine, my hands are quite full these days. And I also have two stepchildren JC and Nina, those are. So in total, we have four, four beautiful children that
Rosanna Catalano 08:30
are the light of our lives, but also keeping you very busy as we can hear, you know, they're home like the rest of us, we're home with our families, which can be trying at times, I'm sure you've experienced some of the same to work and, and, and to have your children right nearby. So I understand I've done a little bit of research on you that your abuela was very important to you growing up Can you tell us a little bit about her because my children live four houses away from their Abba, Lita, they call her I believe they call her Abby. So tell us a little bit about your abuela.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 09:03
So my my, my kids actually call my mom, Abby, and, my dad, and my grandmother, I had obviously two grandmothers, my dad's mom and my mom's mom. And I was close to both of them. But my mom's mom lived in our house with us, like so my whole life, she, I would get home from school and she would, you know, make me do my homework and practice piano because I took piano lessons forever. So, you know, it was like the routine, you know, your media ENDA, which is a snack in Spanish. And then do your homework, practice piano, take a bath, go to sleep, you know, like, are you dinner in that order? And, you know, it was just she brought a lot of just warmth, and and discipline. You know, my parents both worked. And to this day, you know, my dad still works and he's in his 70s. My mom retired this year. She's in her 60s. So there, that's the example I've always seen is just You know, give back work hard, you know, nothing's given to you, you know, you're not entitled to anything. You know, and, and so that's just, and my grandmother when she came from Cuba, she didn't have, I think more than, like a sixth or seventh grade education. So, you know, when she, when she was here, and the issue came from Cuba, she didn't have the opportunity to have like, high level executive positions, she always worked like in a factory, or worked as a waitress. So she had to, like, work hard for her tips, and her and all the money that she earned, just to put food on the table. So, you know, seeing that example of, you know, humble, you know, beginnings humble upbringing, you know, it really gave me a great appreciation for for money for, you know, earning a living. I started working when I was 16. And I think it had a lot to do with my grandmother. And of course, my parents influence but my grandmother was always a big supporter of, Oh, you know, Anna Maria, you know, once something, I'll let her get a job, like, you know, let her go out and make, and my parents were like, you know, okay, you know, she's 16. Like, she's really young. But it was great, because it taught me how to multitask, which has helped me now. As you know, I'm a state senator, and, um, you know, like, in a different stage of life. But having that work ethic from an early age really helps you become a successful professional, as an adult. So I think that's important for everybody to try to have somebody like that, whether it's your grandmother or an older mentor, an aunt, uncle, or somebody you know, in your family, or just a friend of the family, but somebody that can help you just find that right path from an early age.
Rosanna Catalano 11:42
That's lovely. So, you know, you talked about growing up in South Florida now, you've continued to live and work there. How would your old friends describe the anamaria? They knew in high school?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 11:53
Well, I guess in high school, I was a little bit nerdy. I was the president of the library Club, which I think is pretty nerdy. But, you know, it was pretty telling for, you know, kind of, like, where I was going, and, you know, I wasn't, I mean, listen, I love cheerleading. I think cheerleaders are great. We all need cheerleaders to prep to Pep us up, right? But I wasn't a cheerleader. I wasn't really into sports. I was really, Oh, I got an A plus, like, I got the award in my class for public speaking, which I think also is kind of foreshadowing of my future. I, I was always a little bit to myself, I was never cliquish. I was never like into like, Oh, I have to be with this group or that group. I was friends with everybody, but not part of a group. I was always like, like a lone wolf. And I think that kind of has set and I think I'm still that way today, where I've maintained friendships since elementary school, but but with all the all the groups, you know, all the different cliques. So that's, that's who I am. And I think, you know, again, I'm still the same way.
Rosanna Catalano 13:02
You talked about, you know, graduating from Florida International University with your degree. And we know that you went to graduate school, did you go to graduate school right away, or did you work?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 13:15
I actually worked for several years. When I graduated from NYU. My career path actually started in Tallahassee, when I worked for Bob Levy, the late Bob Levy, he was a great mentor and friend, and a great lobbyist. He, he actually his firm is still in existence with Jose Diaz, who's running his firm, Robert M. Levy and Associates. And so that gave me the, the groundwork and the basically, I didn't really have a lot of knowledge of, you know, what, you know, the different levels of government even though I obviously learned about it in high school and, and whatnot, but it wasn't something that that I really took a big interest in when I was a university student.
Rosanna Catalano 13:57
13:57
Rosanna Catalano 13:57
Rosanna Catalano 14:47
So why did you decide to go back to school after working for a bit?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 15:18
Well, part of the reason why I decided to go back to school is because I was after I left, Robert M. Levy and Associates, I went to work for one of our clients, which is Baptist Health. I worked with Phyllis odors for six years. And one of the benefits of working at Baptist was having the tuition reimbursement. And so we had a group of employees from Baptists who decided to pursue our master's degree, our it was actually a master's in leadership. And so about 20 of us got together. And we, we all went to Nova together and and they literally paid for most of my master's degree, which is very unusual. I know a lot of companies talk about doing things like that. But Baptist Health actually did it, like they actually reimbursed us for the vast majority of our of our tuition costs. And so that that was a big impetus behind my decision to go back to school, the fact that I had my employer being so gracious and paying for the vast majority of my tuition.
Rosanna Catalano 16:19
That's amazing to have that kind of support. So you talked about, you know, going into politics, was there a moment or an experience that really solidified for you, hey, I want to focus on this and do this for a living. Was there a moment for you that that happened?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 16:36
I think it was when I met Bob, I had, again, my career up until that point, had been really just going to school because I was I was a student at NYU. But I was also working at Delta Airlines. So I actually considered a career with Delta Airlines after graduating from NYU, which would have required me to move to Atlanta and just relocate my entire life. So my career path really changed dramatically when I met him, because that made me want to stay in Florida, and really just get more involved in government affairs. And then again, from that point, I'd never thought I was going to run for office it was more you know, how can I help people how can I make a difference as an advocate for causes that I believe in and for clients that that I believe are you know are worth helping with certain issues and, and whatnot, so that that's really where it all started in the year 2001 to be exact.
Rosanna Catalano 17:34
Let's take a quick commercial break and when we come back, we will get some election advice from you.
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Rosanna Catalano 18:48
Welcome back. Our guest today is senator Anna Maria Rodriguez, a Florida legislator representing parts of Miami Dade County and Monroe County. So after working on the Doral City Council, I know that was your first elected position. What prompted you to run for the Florida House of Representatives? You talked about doing it in 2018? Was there something that sort of nudged you in that direction?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 19:13
Well, actually, the incumbent at the time, which is Ambassador Trujillo, he was a friend and a colleague who I had a tremendous appreciation for, and no one else at up until that point had decided that they wanted to throw their hat in the ring. And so I was like approaching the end of my term as a council member. And I thought, well, you know, do I want to keep doing this, you know, and not only public service, but the fact that I would have to go to Tallahassee and be away from my children and from my husband and my, my work responsibilities. I I do work professionally, full time with the Miami Association of Realtors. And so, you know, that was a decision that I had to consult with. You know, with my employer, with my family, and they were all 100% on board, just like the decision to run for the Senate, it was it was the same thing everybody's like, but of course, you should do it, you're a natural your love serving gives you life, it gives you energy. And so everybody that I consulted with, you know, in my inner circle, agreed that it was the right thing to do. And I really can't do it without their support, I just want to reiterate that because, you know, we all have a village that kind of carries us and helps us, you know, get through all these different moments. And so I, I couldn't do it without them. So I needed to be sure that my home front was in good hands, before making that leap to, to run for office. And so that's that's kind of how it all you know, happened.
Rosanna Catalano 20:46
You've successfully run for various elected positions, what advice would you give to someone, especially women, sitting on the sidelines, considering a run for office?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 21:00
Well, my advice to any woman or any person who wants to run is try to always remain focused on your message and what you want your voters to hear, which is, you know, what you're going to accomplish for them. And at the end of the day, that's really what voters want to know. And I think people will vote for you based on your effort to get to get that message to them and not attack your opponent. I know that sometimes people think, Oh, well, you know, politics is always negative. And, you know, it's always going to be, you know, like a, you know, food fight. And I don't disagree, it gets pretty, you know, it's a contact sport. But as a candidate, you have a choice to either engage in that type of behavior or have a different type of campaign. And I think a lot of it is based on your personality. And so when I met with the different folks from senate campaigns, and you know, my own campaign team, we had a meeting about a year and a half ago. And just to kind of like, set the lay of the land and what was ahead of us. And one of the first things I told them was, I don't want to go negative on my opponent. And they were like, What do you mean? And I said, I don't want to go negative on my opponent, they said, that's like, you have to you know, you, it's going to happen at some point. I said, okay, but let's wait as long as possible. Because I don't want that to be what permeates the the environment of my race, I want my race to be about what I'm going to accomplish my track record as a council member, and as a state representative, all the great things that I got done for my community, that's what I want to stand out. And sure enough, I have received countless compliments from people who not only live in my district, but those who don't live in my district, cuz my commercials were on network TV, a lot of people saw my my my messaging. And they all said the same thing. They all said, and we're so proud of the way you your your campaign was managed. And the fact that you, you kept it positive. And so that that would be my advice to a future candidate is don't feel like you have to be like every other candidate. That is not true. Be yourself. And that will shine through and people will see who you really are. As long as you're authentic and just be genuine when you're conveying your messaging.
Rosanna Catalano 23:23
Some great advice there. So for our listeners that have never held elected office, can you share with us, what you find is the most fun part of your job as an elected official.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 23:35
I think the funnest part is just all the people that want to talk to you and meet with you. And I love people like you have I think being a people person going back to your previous question about running for office. And I think you have to like you have to enjoy people and and serving people and have a servant's heart. So I think for me, the best part is when I can help somebody actually get something resolved. Whether it's an appropriation request, which is obviously a big lift nowadays, I think particularly next session is going to be very hard to get appropriations over the finish line. But just when you're in a position to help people and you can actually get results and say, Oh, look, we actually got this thing taken care of that. To me, that's the greatest satisfaction.
Rosanna Catalano 24:22
You will be serving as senator for the first time this session, but you've served in the Florida Legislature for a number of years now. You know, many of the same issues pop up year after year. Are there any issues that just cause you heartburn, that the mere mention of the issue just makes you tense or fires you up?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 24:44
Well, there's a lot of issues that caused that sensation. Just I think particularly when we hear about issues, for example, that I've had to vote on, like the sanctuary City bill. You know, when I hear about, you know, people that want to create safe spaces for criminals in our state, and safe spaces for people and listen, it's To me, it's, I think you could be pro immigrant, but also pro Floridians and pro US citizens. I don't think it's a binary choice. But I think when when people put you in a position to vote on things, that, that they, they try to create an impression that you're something that you're not, is very, very unpleasant. And so for me, as a child of Cubans, and my husband's from Colombia, so it's not like we're foreign to, you know, immigrants in our family, it makes, it's very heartbreaking when people try to paint me as anti immigrant because the truth of the matter is, I just want safety in our state, I want people to feel like they can live here in a, in a free and safe environment and not worry about, oh, you know, if somebody tries to kill me, or tries to, you know, rape me or hurt my family, you know, they're going to just walk the streets free. That, to me is unacceptable. And those are just those are topics that I'm not willing to budge on. And so, you know, we're constantly being put in very awkward and very difficult positions because of certain agendas by certain people. But I think when you run for office, and you're lucky enough to get elected by your constituents, you have to have the moral fiber to make tough decisions. And just, you know, just let the chips fall where they may, but you have to be a person of character, when you are in these situations when you have to vote on difficult topics.
Rosanna Catalano 26:38
Now, I know you have two young children at home and a husband, we can hear your kids for a little bit of this podcast, tell us about them.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 26:46
So my husband is as I mentioned, he's from Columbia, his name is Clemente, and he is a just a terrific man. We've been married for almost 10 years. And together we have our four kids. And our two small ones are in first grade and second grade. it'll send Irma's and they are just wonderful boys. We're adjusting to virtual classes today, because yesterday, we found out that one of my son's classmates tested positive for COVID. So everybody in the classroom was required to go home. And here we are, we're all home, just working and going to school and multitasking. So it's, it's been quite interesting to say the least, we already experienced this obviously, in March, when when session ended, and our children basically were sent home for the last two months of school. And then during the beginning portion of this school year, we experienced it in August and part of September. But it's really difficult. And I want to say you know, for people who, you know, can't work from home, there are a lot of people out there who are, you know, working, you know, in their jobs and their employer does not let them get they don't have that flexibility where you know, if they're in customer service, or you know, certain positions that require you to be physically present at your workplace, it makes it very difficult for Floridians to you know, find childcare, like who's gonna homeschool your child if the school sends them home and like, you don't have a parent or a relative that can help you with that. So I sympathize with a lot of people right now who are going through this, again, I'm blessed that I can actually work from home. And and, you know, also help them with their classes. But it's not a lot of people that can do that. So I think we're actually chartering through very interesting waters right now and hope that we get through this very quickly and that a vaccine is released in the near future.
Rosanna Catalano 28:49
Amen to that we're experiencing some of the same issues here in my house with children being sent home, and now we're just having to quarantine while we wait. So anyway, this summer, during the pandemic, I noticed that you posted lots of pictures on your social media regarding food banks, you were often in these photos working in the Florida hot sun and passing out food to families in need. What did you learn from that experience?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 29:19
It was a very interesting experience. And we're actually still doing food distributions. I did one actually last week. I did I did several last week. One of the things is that a lot of people may have returned to work, but there are a lot of other people who are underemployed where they're not working the same number of hours that they were working before the pandemic, for example, we have a lot of people in the restaurant industry or in the hotel industry. Miami, particularly has lots of tourism. That's one of the main, you know, aspects of our economy. And so you know, when you hear about people who are just working like 20 hours instead of 40 hours, that's half of your income is sloshed. And, you know, those people need to put food on their tables. And so when you're, you know, faced with, okay, I have to pay my rent, I have to buy food, I have to make a car payment, I have to put gas in my car, like, you start to like, look at all your priorities. And, you know, if there's one thing we could take off your plate, sort of speak, you know, and just help you out with with that. We try to do that. And again, we're doing it up until this day, we are still out there in the community helping with food distributions. And, you know, I post them on my social media, like you said, so if anybody in South Florida is still needing food assistance, please, please follow my my social media pages, I post them every day. And we there's also a website with that feeding South Florida farm share, and truly local cares. There's there's various food distribution organizations that that are out there to help out.
Rosanna Catalano 30:54
What are you hoping to accomplish for the constituent constituents in your district this year?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 31:00
Well, it's that's a great question. Every part of my district has a different concern or, you know, or issue in the keys right now what what I'm hearing a lot is regarding sea level rise. And you know, when the king tide comes, you know, you've got cars that, you know, have difficulty, they can't even drive through this salt water, because it, you know, causes problems for their vehicles. So the fact that we have areas in Monroe County that are suffering, every time there's a king tide occurrence, that is disturbing, and that's something that I would like to help get some funding, to, to elevate roads, to create pump stations to help extract the water, you know, when these things happen. So that that's going to be one of my priorities. And then, of course, affordable housing is a tremendous challenge, you know, in the Florida Keys. So that's something I would like to focus focus on as well. We were very fortunate last session, where we actually got full funding for sadowski, which is the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. And that's something that hasn't happened in a very long time. But then lo and behold, you know, we ended up having COVID. But But thankfully, you know, I want to say, you know, if there's anything I'd like to continue seeing in the next session is full funding for sadowski. As I believe that that's something that will has a tremendous impact on our affordable housing in our state.
Rosanna Catalano 32:23
We like to end our show with a little fun by asking all of our guests the same seven questions. What would people be surprised to know about you?
32:30
Okay,
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 32:32
I was a miss Florida contestant. When I was much younger, much younger I was, it was about 22 years ago, I was in the Miss Florida pageant. I wasn't a runner up, I wasn't a finalist, I was just a contestant. But it was a great experience for me because pageantry for as you know, some people may think it's, you know, it's not a serious endeavor to to endure in your in your life. I think pageantry gives you a lot of discipline, and it gives you poise and, and the proper, you know, posture to, to present yourself to speak, to just talk and obviously, you know how to dress for all occasions, you know, you try to, you know, be appropriate for the event. And so I think that's good, like, pageantry gave me a good, a good footing in a lot of different aspects of my life.
Rosanna Catalano 33:24
I did not know that about you.
33:25
Yeah, there you go. When
Rosanna Catalano 33:28
you have guests in town, where's your favorite place to take them.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 33:32
So my husband loves to cook. And so he prepares the most extravagant meals you'll ever imagine, just even something simple could become really elaborate, because he just has a great imagination. So we usually don't go out to dinner that much. We even when we have guests in town, we prepare a nice meal for them and make sure that the my thing I don't cook, so I like to put lots of pretty linens and crystal and silver. And I have a very nice table setting so that that's something I enjoy, you know, preparing for our guests.
Rosanna Catalano 34:04
You guys make a great team. Yes, we do. What is the name of a book you recently read that you could not put down or the name of a show you enjoy binge watching.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 34:14
So I'm actually reading a book right now called the compound effect. And it's funny because it literally talks about how I live how I've lived my entire life, which is just, it's not. Success isn't about one big action that you take in your life. It's about small, incremental steps that you do on a daily basis. And it's just about living your life a certain way. So that over it uses a 27 month period as the timeline to see change. But in my life, I'm 43 years old, and I feel like my entire life has been leading up to where I am now. And I think it's about one of the tips that I use from the book which I have already implemented in my life is writing things down writing everything down that you want to do like on a given day. Setting goals on paper so that those things manifest themselves because if you don't write things down, it's like, it's just an idea. It's not something that you actually make happen. So my advice from the compound effect, that book that I'm reading to those that are watching this podcast is to just write down your goals and the things that you want to do, even if it's just on a daily basis, but at least it'll help you get to where you need to go.
Rosanna Catalano 35:25
among your close family and friends, what are you best known for?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 35:30
What am I best known for? I don't know, I guess. I guess being laser focused. Like that's, I think my family knows me as being just like, when I when I want to do something, I just laser focus. And that's, that's it. Like you can't get me off something. Once I'm once my head is made up. I'm, I'm on my way.
Rosanna Catalano 35:54
If you have a nickname, I gave it to you.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 35:59
I have a nickname. When I was a kid, my brother called me Anna banana, just because it rhymes. And but I don't really think anybody calls me that like in my adult life, obviously, because that's weird. But But yeah, that was a banana.
Rosanna Catalano 36:19
If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 36:23
I, I don't think I can fail. I mean, I know that sounds I don't want to sound arrogant, but I feel like anything you put your mind to and that you really try hard that you can achieve. So I don't think there's anything I can't do. I just have to really set my mind to it and figure out the game plan. So I think the sky's the limit.
Rosanna Catalano 36:43
I agree with mindset. Last question, what are the top three things you love about living in Florida?
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 36:52
The top three things are our tax structure. I think the fact that you know, we don't pay income tax is just wonderful and needs to be preserved. So as the chair of the finance and tax committee, I plan to keep things in that vein. The other thing I love about Florida's our weather even though we have hurricanes, I know. But at least you can plan when a hurricane is coming. You know, it's coming. If you lived in another state, where was earthquakes, you can't plan earthquakes. So I'd rather know what's coming and planned for it then not. And then the other thing I love about Florida is the coastlines, the beaches, just you know, so many states in our country are landlocked. And we have so much coast, some such long coastlines that I feel sometimes we take it for granted, and we shouldn't because not every state has as much of that as we do. So.
Rosanna Catalano 37:49
Well, Senator Rodriguez, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been an absolute pleasure.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 37:56
Likewise, thank you rose on I really appreciate it. And I wish everyone a wonderful day and my office is open to anyone that wants to come speak with me about any issue and in any way I can help them as well.
Rosanna Catalano 38:07
I'm really looking forward to working with you this session.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez 38:10
Me too. Thank you.
Rosanna Catalano 38:13
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