Niko's Law

Republican for Florida House District 86 · Martin County

I thought I had it all together.

Until one day I didn't.

For most of my life, I was the one people called. I was an attorney, a television host and legal anchor, and a mom who could juggle it all. I spent my entire career making people listen. I had never asked anyone for a handout.

Then my son Niko was illegally taken from me. Not by a stranger, but by someone I once trusted. And he was gone.

Niko lives with autism and Cornelia de Lange syndrome. He needs his routines, his care and his mom. I called everyone I could think of. I couldn't get help. I couldn't get anyone to listen. I was told it was "just a domestic." And here is the insanity of it: the more desperate I became, the less people listened.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. I missed Thanksgiving with him. I missed Christmas. I missed my birthday, and I watched the new year begin without my son. One hundred thirty-three days. Nobody believed me. Nobody was listening. For the first time in my life, I was helpless, and I was completely without hope.

I needed eyes on us

I knew one thing for certain: if no one would hear me as a mother, I had to find another way to be heard. So I was crowned Mrs. Florida. That crown didn't fix anything by itself, but it opened a door. For the first time, I walked into a legislator's office, and someone listened.

Within two weeks, I had my son back.

And then the right people kept showing up. Florida State Senator Gayle Harrell made sure Niko's benefits and Medicaid were put in place. When his Social Security benefits were canceled, U.S. Congressman Brian Mast's office got them restored. When his medical insurance was cut off without warning, leaving him without the care he needed, Florida State Representative John Snyder stepped in. The cancellation was an accident. I don't believe it was an accident who showed up for us.

Changing the rules

That was when I decided I was going to change the rules, so the next mother would not have to win a crown to be heard. I lobbied for a bill in Tallahassee. It didn't pass, but it taught me how the process really works and who it is supposed to serve. Now I'm taking everything I learned into Niko's Law, which I'm working to bring before the next legislative session.

God had a different plan for me than the one I had written. In May 2026, I went on to win Mrs. Universe, and I finally understood why I had been through all of it. My pain was meant to become my purpose. I was supposed to make waves for families like mine.

Today my family is stable, and I know exactly how we got here: people in government took the time to hear a mother out. Now it's my turn to pay it forward. That's why I'm running for State Representative in District 86. Every family deserves someone who picks up the phone, listens, and fights for them.

What Niko's Law would do

This is the first law I have drafted. Last year I backed a similar bill, and it did not make it through committee. I took the lesson with me. While I campaign, I am working to get Niko's Law passed — boots on the ground in Tallahassee, learning how the place really works before I ever hold office. Once this bill is in order, I will use what I learned getting it through to work for the bills that matter to Martin County and District 86.

Proposed legislation for 2027. Not yet filed or enacted. The final text may change. As drafted, the act would take effect July 1, 2027. Read the proposed bill (PDF).

  1. Require parenting plans to include notice that law enforcement help may be available to enforce clearly established custody or time-sharing rights.
  2. Allow an officer to give reasonable assistance when a parent or legal guardian presents a court order or parenting plan that is valid on its face. That help may include a welfare check, reviewing the order, accompanying the parent, and helping with the return or exchange of the child.
  3. Put the child's safety first in every response. An officer would not help transfer a child if that would place the child in imminent danger.
  4. Make clear that officers do not decide custody, interpret unclear or conflicting orders, or change a parenting plan. They may help only with rights that are clearly stated in the order.
  5. Require that each response be documented in an incident report, including whether help was provided, denied, or limited, and why.
  6. Protect officers and agencies who act in good faith, reasonably relying on an order that is valid on its face.
  7. Update the definition of a “missing child” to include a child who is being wrongfully withheld or concealed in violation of a court order or parenting plan.
  8. Require mandatory training for law enforcement officers on custodial interference, parenting plan enforcement, and this law.

I'm sharing this so we can get to know each other. Listening starts now, long before 2028.

Join the crew

I know who I'm making waves for.

  • For families who need someone to listen.
  • For neighbors who deserve someone willing to act.
  • For the coast we call home.
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