- December 4, 2025
As U.S. House Rep. Randy Fine continued on his goal of making 100 public appearances in five weeks in District 6, dozens of people protested his Flagler County appearances on Wednesday, Aug. 13, with dozens more showing up at his Volusia Tiger Bay appearance on Thursday, Aug. 14, in Daytona Beach.
At the Tiger Bay event, Fine said that since he was asked by others — his wife, when he decided to run for the Florida Legislature more than eight years ago, and President Donald Trump, when he decided to run for Congress — he doesn't feel any need to hold back what he says, and that leads to some people not agreeing with him.
Protesters lined up at the corner of Utility Drive and Old Kings Road in Palm Coast ahead of Fine's morning appearance at the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant 1.
They held up signs denouncing his comment on X.com pertaining to residents starving in Gaza: "Release the hostages. Until then starve away," his post said. In parentheses, he added, "This is all a lie anyway. It amazes me that the media continues to regurgitate Muslim terror propaganda."
Fine also visited Matanzas High School to tour the school's career and technical education classes, events hosted by the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, Flagler's beaches and the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County.
Fine, who doesn't live in District 6 and is not legally required to, said he had been planning to move to the district after the election, but instead he decided it was more important to spend the little time he had while not in Washington to set up district offices to be responsive to the voters. Now that Florida is considering redistricting, he decided to further delay relocating, so that he doesn't have to move again if the lines are redrawn.
Charles Gambaro, who is running against Fine for the seat, was not impressed with that logic, saying in an emailed statement that "Team Gambaro" has moved "multiple times in a one year without hesitation" as part of public service, accusing Fine of serving himself rather than the residents.
Fine's speeches at the Palm Coast chamber and Volusia Tiger Bay meetings were nearly identical, as Fine shared the story of his journey to Congress. He praised the Big, Beautiful Bill for cutting taxes for "regular people": taxes, at least in part, on overtime, tips, Social Security, and financing on American cars.
He called immigration "a huge challenge in the state of Florida," in ways that affect family budgets.
"For most of you, the largest line that have on your bill is the insurance you're paying for someone else: It's call uninsured and underinsured insurance," Fine said. "That's not insurance you're pay for, for you; that's insurance you're paying for, for someone else. Illegal immigrants can't get driver's licenses and can't buy insurance, so if one of them is in the country illegally and hits you, who has to pay for that? You do. It costs you."
Similarly, he said, immigrants who are in the country illegally end up receiving an education and health care, which costs money to American citizens.
Fine also said it was the right idea for Congress to reduce the numbers of people who will receive Medicaid. Considering the U.S. government is operating on a deficit, it's not right for the government to borrow money to pay for health insurance for able-bodied people who choose not to work, he said.
The biggest threat to America, he said, is not Iran or China — it's the national debt, which will grow by another $1.7 trillion this year, to a total of about $37 trillion. That's about $100,000 of debt for every American citizen.
"The greatest challenge that we face is our inability to spend within our means," he said. " ... That is not sustainable. ... And by the way, this isn't a Democrat problem, it's not a Republican problem — both parties contribute to it. ...
"What guides me every day is, I don't worry about the judgment of the voters. Remember, I told you, I never wanted to do this in the first place. People ask me if I'm enjoying my time in Washington, the answer is, 'No.' And that's a good thing, because I didn't go there to have a good time. But I like to fix problems. I don't worry about the judgment of the voters; I worry about the judgment of my two sons. ... You see, they'll forgive me if I lose an election. But what they won't forgive me for is if I take the time I'm spending away from them and I don't use it to solve the problems that matter to them."
