Randy Fine got so angry he launched a political career. What upset him? A math problem.

What made Randy Fine so mad he got into politics? A math question.

The Brevard County Republican state representative stands out among the top woke warriors in Florida. Last year, he sponsored the original legislation to punish Walt Disney World by taking away its self-governing powers. This year, he insisted that if it requires "erasing a community" — referring to the LGBTQ+ people — to protect children then "damn right, we ought to do it."

Fine has said that he's an example of an "angry" citizen who entered the political arena because he got fed up.

He said so last year speaking in Boca Raton as a warm-up act for former Vice President Mike Pence.

"I got into politics because I got angry about education," Fine said at the time. "I went and complained to my son's school … and (school officials) told me I wasn't qualified to have an opinion about my child's education. That was eight years ago. It's only gotten worse since then. So I ran for the Legislature to do something about it."

A dispute over answering a math problem so angered FAU's Randy Fine that he got into politics

So what is it that made Fine so angry he launched a political career that could morph into the presidency at Florida Atlantic University? A math problem.

That's what he told Palm Beach Post reporter Stephany Matat late last month.

Fine said that about a decade ago, his son was asked in school to add nine plus six and correctly answered 15. But Fine said the the teacher marked the answer wrong nonetheless because the boy had not shown how he got to that answer in the "common core" way, which is the nationally standardized way of public school teaching by showing how a student arrived at an answer.

You can read Stephany's story here.

Does firebrand Randy Fine want FAU job? He won't say. Others worry he's not a good fit.

Last month, Fine landed in hot water with a state ethics panel, which concluded there was probable cause to believe Fine abused his position as a state lawmaker. That followed reporting by FLORIDA TODAY, which like The Palm Beach Post is owned by Gannett Co., that Fine threatened West Melbourne City's funding for the Special Olympics.

Fine said those dollars were "at risk" because city police officials had invited a school board member to a Special Olympics fundraiser but not Fine, according to the series of texts obtained by the news organization. After the ethics panel released its findings, Fine called the commission a "kangaroo court" and said its findings were politically motivated in a text message to FLORIDA TODAY.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Why Florida top woke warrior Randy Fine got angry and into politics