Fine has won four elections in Florida's 53rd and 33rd House of Representatives districts. In 2016, Fine and David Kearns (Democrat) competed for the seat being vacated by John Tobia, who vacated the spot due to term limits.[14] In 2018 and 2020 Fine was the incumbent, and he was challenged by Democrat Phil Moore in both elections.[15][16] Following redistricting, Fine ran in the 33rd district in 2022, defeating Democrat Anthony Yantz.[17]
In the state house, Fine advocated for protecting the environment of the Indian River Lagoon from sewage spills, and for opposing what he saw as wasteful, lower-priority spending.[18] Fine introduced a bill in the House to provide up to $50 million per year in matching funds to upgrade sewage treatment facilities in the area of the marsh. The legislation also increased the fines for illegal sewage discharges.[19] Despite his crusade against sewage spills, in 2019 he voted for HB 829 [20] which made it illegal for local communities to ban the spreading of biosolids (dried sewage) on farmlands that drain into the St. John's River and The Indian River Lagoon.[21][22] The practice of spreading dried human feces as fertilizer on farms around the St. John's River has been linked to toxic algae blooms affecting Melbourne's drinking water supply.[23][24]
The editorial board of local newspaper Florida Today has criticized Fine's personal style. Their joint editorial observed that "Fine is obviously a hard working lawmaker who has used his watchdog skills to do good" but said that "Fine should defend what he believes in, but not by launching tirades against others as crusades on behalf of his constituents. He can look good without trying to make others look bad with personal attacks."[25] There are multiple cases of Fine using "threats to pull or withhold state funding...to strike back at political rivals and retaliate over perceived slights."[26] These include the Brevard Zoo (2023), a Palm Bay Magnet High School firefighter academy (2022), and the West Melbourne Special Olympics (2021).[27] In April 2023, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause he violated ethics rules by threatening to withhold state funding over a personal dispute and interfering in a council member's request for public records.[28] In October 2024, Judge Blaue held Fine in contempt of court for making obscene gestures during his hearing over an election paperwork dispute.[29] Fine was ordered to take a 8-hour anger management course[29]
Reedy Creek Improvement District
In 2022, Fine sponsored a bill that would dissolve any independent special district in Florida established prior to November 5, 1968, including the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). The bill passed both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate, and was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 22, 2022.[30] Many political commentators said that the potential dissolution was in retaliation for the Walt Disney Company announcing its opposition to the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay Bill" by its critics, that passed several weeks prior. In an interview, Fine said that research into the RCID and other special districts started "When Disney kicked the hornet's nest several weeks ago."[31] When the potential impact on taxes in the surrounding counties of Orange and Osceola was being discussed, Fine claimed, without providing evidence, that the taxpayers would save money, and the tax revenue would instead go to local governments. Neither county is part of Fine's district.[32]
Florida Senate
On November 5, 2024, Fine was elected to the Florida Senate from the 19th district, which includes Cape Canaveral and the majority Brevard County. He was officially sworn into office on November 19, 2024.[33]
Due to Florida's resign-to-run law, after announcing his candidacy for Congress, Fine submitted his resignation from the Florida Senate effective March 31, 2025.[34][35]
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fine asked for local leaders in Brevard County to take the pandemic more seriously.[43] Fine thought it was "a little bit crazy" that Brevard beaches were open to anybody.[43] Fine urged for people to get vaccinated.[44] He opposed making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, but he encouraged for those who are not vaccinated to follow the CDC's recommendation and wear a mask in group settings.[45] Fine recommended for parents who want mask mandates at school to use the state's school voucher system and send their child to a private school with a mask requirement.[46]
Israel and Palestine
Fine speaking during the Florida Stands With Israel conference, 2023
In 2018, Fine demanded that venues in Miami and Tampa cancel scheduled concerts with the New Zealand singer Lorde because she had previously cancelled a concert in Israel after being urged to do so by activists from the BDS movement. According to Fine, letting Lorde play would violate an anti-BDS law that the state enacted in 2016.[47] The concerts went on as scheduled.
In April 2019, Fine called Paul Halpern, a Jewish constituent of his, a "Judenrat" for supporting an event that discussed the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Halpern stated, "That's the worst thing anyone can say to me. I'm someone who’s been a victim of anti-Semitism much of my life, and there’s no worse name you can call a Jewish person than 'Judenrat.' It tells me about the character of the person who said it, especially since he doesn’t know me."[3]
In May 2021, amid the ongoing crisis in Israel and Palestine, Fine made several derogatory posts and comments on his Facebook and Twitter pages regarding Palestinians, including a celebration of the Israeli army's bombing of the Gaza Strip.[48] Regarding the deaths of Palestinian children during the 2021 conflict, he said, "I don’t personally feel bad when human shields are killed.[49]
On October 10, 2023, Fine arranged for "Regards from Randy Fine" to be written on an artillery shell to be fired on Gaza, and later arranged for messages on two more shells.[49]
In November 2023, Fine voted against a Florida House of Representatives resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war introduced by Angie Nixon, asserting that anyone who voted for the resolution was anti-Semitic and "putting every Jewish child in the state at risk."[49][52]
In May 2024, Fine called the United Nations a "terrorist organization."[49]
Fine called Ireland an "antisemitic country" after it recognized the State of Palestine in May 2024. He pledged to introduce a bill to ban Florida government entities from contracting with Irish, Norwegian, and Spanish companies, after the latter two countries also recognized Palestine.[53] When Governor Ron DeSantis visited Ireland in August 2024 to attend the Florida State–Georgia Tech football game, Fine criticized the governor, saying, "I was certainly disappointed to see not only folks go to what is clearly an antisemitic country that supports Muslim terror, but I was also disappointed that the game wasn’t cancelled, which it should have been."[54]
In December 2024, Fine introduced a bill to the Florida Senate which would ban "flags with a political viewpoint" from being flown in Florida government buildings, defined as the flag of Palestine, LGBTQ pride flags, and Black Lives Matter flags.[57] In a press release, he called Palestine a "fictional country," referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as "pro-violence," and repeatedly promoted the LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory, writing, "Supporters of Muslim terror, child mutilators, and groomers have no right to taxpayer sponsorship of their repugnant messages."[58][59]
In April 2021, Fine was one of 77 Republicans in the House to vote yes on bill CS/HB 1475 which bars transgender girls and women from playing on girls' sports teams at public schools.[67][68]
Fine has proposed a bill to ban drag performances where children might be in attendance. Opponents of the bill note would ban his own wife's "sultry performances"[69] that she says are to benefit a children's charity.[70][71]NBC News reported that video of previous years' galas, where his wife performed, confirmed that toddlers were in attendance,[70] and Business Insider reported that in previous years children performed alongside adults at the galas.[72]
Personal life
Fine married his first wife, Anne Price, in 1996.[5] They met while working for Students for an Energy Efficient Environment Inc.[73]
In 2007, with his second wife Wendy, he purchased a 4,000 square foot home in Melbourne Beach, to which they added 4,500 square feet at a cost of $1,000,000.[74] In 2023, his wife Wendy was accused of sexually suggestive dancing in the presence of children, according to a report by NBC News. The accusation occurred at a Spring Forward for Autism non-profit gala in Melbourne, Florida.[70]
Notes
^Fine submitted his resignation from his current office when he announced his campaign, which is set to become effective on March 31, 2025.
^ ab"Managing Director: Randall A. Fine". The Fine Point Group. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019. He holds both his undergraduate degree magna cum laude, and his MBA degree, with high honors, from Harvard University.
^Vasquez, Tyler (April 26, 2023). "Ethics commission finds probable cause against Randy Fine in dispute with West Melbourne". Retrieved November 26, 2024. According to the Florida Commission on Ethics findings released Wednesday, members "found probable cause to believe that [Fine] abused his position to obtain a disproportionate benefit and that he misused his position by threatening to take away State funding over a personal feud with a Brevard County School Board member, and that he interfered in a council member's response to a public records request for communications related to thedispute.
^ abParker, Alyssa (April 8, 2020). "State Rep. Randy Fine unloads on Facebook, blasts local leaders for not taking COVID-19 seriously". Capitolist. Retrieved November 26, 2024. "For whatever reason, some folks just aren't taking this whole thing seriously," Fine said early in his opening remarks. "Unfortunately, Brevard County is the only county on the east coast where our beaches are open to anybody…it's a little bit crazy."
^Vasquez, Tyler (August 4, 2021). "Florida's classroom mask mandate ban doesn't impact private schools, leading to voucher push". Florida Today. Retrieved November 26, 2024. State Rep. Randy Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, suggested Monday to parents dissatisfied with the lack of mask mandates at public schools that they utilize the state's voucher system to send their children to a private school with a mask requirement.
