A freshman is described by Webster’s dictionary as a newcomer, a beginner and a first-year student.
On November 6th, the voters of Orange County selected a number of new lawmakers to send to Tallahassee to do something different. The status quo wasn’t good enough for those voters, so they decided to go with new politicians.
Well, that and redistricting allowed this to happen.
Three of those new legislators have a great opportunity to make a grand impact on Orange County. For the focus of this article, I’ll concentrate on Representative-elect Joe Saunders, Linda Stewart, and Randolph Bracy.
LGBT activist Joe Saunders will represent the 49th district in the Florida House after defeating Republican Marco Pena. Saunders bested Pena by collecting a near 60 percent of the vote, something that Saunders can be proud of as he was a first time candidate.
Former Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart beat Republican Bob Brooks by gathering almost 41,000 votes, and Democrat Randolph Bracy skated to victory with 69 percent of the vote in Florida House District 45.
But what should we expect from these three freshmen legislators? There are a number of issues facing Florida, and here are three that should top of all three legislators list.
Jobs
Yeah, I know, it sounds really cliché. But jobs are truly needed for the working class in Orange County. For Mr. Bracy, he represents a district that has a heavy minority population. Forty-two percent of his constituents are black and 17 percent are Hispanic.
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, the projected black unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2012 will be 16.1%, ahead of New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
With Governor Rick Scott starting to shift his focus to re-election in two years, Democrats may see a slight glimmer of daylight with Scott in compromising. Scott has shown that he may be willing to give a little by reversing his stance on enforcing the Affordable Healthcare Act in Florida.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on Scott comprising much, but there is still a chance.
In regards to jobs, Bracy should push for stringent job training legislation, something that he said that he will do when he gets to Tallahassee.
For Stewart, she has a record of economic development as a county commissioner. As she’s mentioned, she was instrumental in bringing the Burnham Institute to Lake Nona and is a serious advocate for green jobs.
How far that experience will go in Tallahassee is yet to be seen, but more than anything, her ability to compromise and work across party lines may be her best way for new job creation.
Saunders is the rock star of the group. He raised campaign cash by the truckload and his face was all over the place during campaign season.
For Mr. Saunders, I believe the question is, how smartly will he govern and how big will he go? Saunders ran a very large, loud, and smart campaign to propel him to Tallahassee, so can the legislation keep up with the scale of the campaign?
Education
Yeah, we know, Rick Scott has become the education governor. He instructed his Republican buddies to slash $1 billion from education his first year in office, told them to add it back a year later, and embarked on a “listening tour” of educators around the state to aid him in improving education.
This may be an area where Saunders can use his district and status effectively. The University of Central Florida sits in the heart of District 49 and is made up of young voters. In fact, almost 20% of those in Saunders’ district are between the ages of 20 and 24.
He leaned heavily on young voters during his campaign and should do the same to get across his platform regarding education.
Stewart has promised to fight against cuts to education put forth by Republicans, something that most, if not all, Democrats say they will do. Not saying that Stewart will flake, but her flight on this issue may not be as high as Saunders.
Bracy created a program titled the three “E’s” during his bid for the Florida House. Focusing on education, economic development and education; he wants to place an emphasis on trade and vocational schools.
Funding for these types of programs and schools will be vital to new economic growth down the road for the people of District 45 and the surrounding areas. How he goes about attaining the dollars needed for these programs will be vital.
Leadership and New Politics
There are other issues facing the people of Florida, like a reform of our voting process and poverty in our inner cities. I believe that these issues must be and will be addressed by the three mentioned in this article, but there is something else that many will watch over the next two years.
Just how will these newly minted legislators lead and deal with Orange County’s new found political reality?
For those who haven’t given much attention to what happened to Orange County politically last week, the county was turned solid blue. When I say solid blue, I mean a near 100,000 advantage in voters over Republicans in the county solid blue.
Can Democrats, and these three legislators, capitalize on this newly found advantage? While the Orange County Democratic delegation may have strong footing in Tallahassee, the concern of some is that there may be an attempt to push a liberal agenda over brawny legislation.
Because Republicans still hold a majority, Democrats will still have to work with Republicans to pass legislation that will aid their districts.
Mr. Bracy will have to battle to scrap the label of being a young representative acting on behalf of black interest, Saunders has the stigma of fighting only for the LGBT community in some circles, and Stewart is seen as fanatical by some.
Can all three beat back these labels by working smartly in a town dominated by GOP interest?
We’ll soon find out as session starts in March, but in the interim, Democratic voters are still celebrating victory.
Note: There are more Democratic lawmakers headed to Tallahassee than just the three mentioned in this article. All new, or newly re-elected legislators, are listed below.
State Senate 12: Geraldine Thompson
State Senate 14: Darren Soto
State House 30: Karen Castor Dentel
State House 46: Bruce Antone
State House 48: Victor Torres
