Our opinion: Voter’s guide to the Florida House District 8 race
Normally when writing about a group of four candidates, we’d talk about where each of them stands on the major issues. But in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 8, that’s difficult, because all the candidates seem to agree on all the issues.
All four candidates – Ramon Alexander, Clarence Jackson, Brad Johnson and Dianne Williams-Cox – are well-educated, informed and seem committed to District 8, which encompasses Gadsden County and parts of Leon County. All agreed that the major issues facing the district are the need to improve education – including vocational education – health care and jobs.
As Johnson put it: “We need healthy citizens who can learn and earn.”
Here’s what else they agree on:
All support the expansion of Medicaid, raises for state workers, a $15-per-hour minimum wage and medical marijuana in Florida; all oppose the state’s weakening of the water standards.
In fact, in the hour-long editorial board meeting, it was difficult to find an issue on which any of them disagreed.
So the choice really comes down to the candidates’ background and experience. Who can actually get the job done in the hostile territory that is the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature?
The winner of the primary faces no Republican opposition in the general election, just a write-in candidate, so Democratic voters are, for all practical purposes, choosing the winner in the primary.
District 8 candidates demand attention to Gadsden's needs
Taking the candidates alphabetically:
Ramon Alexander:
Of all the candidates, Alexander comes across as the most practiced politician. He has lots of catchy slogans at his fingertips – he says, for example, he’ll be serving “from the street to the seat, not the seat to the street” and that his philosophy is “no lights, no camera, just action.”
Alexander was the student body president at Florida A&M University and served on its Board of Trustees; he worked as an aide to Tallahassee Mayor John Marks; he was a legislative intern to former State Rep. Curtis Richardson (now a city commissioner), and was the North Florida regional political director for Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial campaign.
The community service he touts most frequently is the founding of Distinguished Young Gentlemen of America, an organization that fights the minority male high school dropout rate and juvenile crime in Gadsden, Jefferson and Leon counties.
Can he make a difference in the Legislature? Some heavy hitters think so. Alexander has been endorsed by the Florida Education Association and the Florida AFL-CIO.
Clarence Jackson:
Jackson calls himself the “unlikely candidate” and jokes modestly that he is proud to be “probably the most underqualified person in the race.”
We disagree with him there – he’s the candidate with the strongest track record of actual accomplishment in an elected leadership position.
As mayor of the Gadsden County city of Gretna, Jackson has been on the front lines of economic development and growth for the area. He’s spearheaded the paving of roads, building of first new gas station in Gretna in 20 years, the annexation of property for the city, and the fight with the state to establish a casino – which could be an economic development game-changer if it eventually gets approved.
He’s also spent lots of time lobbying the Legislature on behalf of the area he seeks now to represent.
His work in Gretna has been on a small scale, of course – Gretna is home to only about 2,000 people, whereas District 8 is home to nearly 100 times as many. But if he can bring what he’s done in the microcosm of Gretna to the level of the Legislature, District 8 would surely benefit.
Brad Johnson:
Johnson has the most direct experience in the sausage-making process that is lawmaking.
He worked in the Tallahassee City Manager’s office and later as aide to Mayor Marks; he was on staff at the Gadsden County Board of Commissioners as the Public Information & Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator. And he was a Congressional staff assistant and community liaison for former U.S Rep. Alan Boyd, serving the same area of Florida he seeks to now represent in the state legislature.
Johnson says “constituent services” will be his priority, and he touts his success in helping people around the region navigate the processes of government – Medicare, Social Security, immigration, the VA, the health care system, etc. He says he has experience with every level of government in the region as well as the nonprofit world (he currently works for Big Bend Hospice).
More than any other candidate, he seems to have a deep understanding of how the system works. His plan to bring dollars to the region via agency budgets resonated with us.
Dianne Williams-Cox:
Williams-Cox is the “every woman” candidate. A 19-year veteran state worker, mother and longtime resident of the district, she is all about making a difference for the individual – even her website describes her as “seeking to serve her fellow family and friends as Representative of Florida House District 8.” She says her greatest accomplishment is her ability to listen to people.
She ran against Alan Williams unsuccessfully for this seat in 2014. Politically, she has served as public relations chair for the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee and was elected and served as Precinct Committeewoman for the Indianhead-Lehigh Subdivision neighborhood.
She has experience in the inner workings of state government, including the Department of Children and Families, Department of Education, Department of Management Services and the Office of Insurance Regulation – among others – but her experience is all from the state employee side.
Conclusion
These four candidates are different paths all hoping to lead to the same goal. Probably voters can’t go terribly wrong with any of these passionate advocates, but which will be the most direct path to success is the biggest question.
From the Publisher: This is one of a series of Democrat editorials on local primary races. Candidates appeared before the editorial board and answered a series of questions. You can find complete videos of the meetings at Tallahassee.com/candidates. You will note that we will not be formally endorsing specific candidates in these editorials, for reasons explained some months ago. We will, however, assess the candidates’ performances and align with/oppose certain positions taken by the candidates. As always, we appreciate your feedback.