The Herald recommends
Miami Herald, The (FL) - Friday, October 8, 2010
Author: Miami Herald Staff Report
Abstract: OUR OPINION: For Florida House Districts 115, 116 and 117
Because of term limits, many veteran members of the South Florida legislative delegation won't be heading back to Tallahassee next year. This gives voters who are tired of incumbents a great opportunity to turn the page and select a new crop of lawmakers who can find sensible ways to deal with the many tough challenges -- principally budget, growth and education issues -- that Florida faces. All three of the recommendations we make today involve districts where the incumbent is retiring due to term limits.District 115
This rectangularly-shaped central district stretching from Doral in the north to Cutler Bay on the southeast has been represented by J.C. Planas, who was first elected in 2002. The principal contenders are Republican Jose Felix Diaz and Democrat Jeffrey "Doc" Solomon. Christopher Blau is a Tea Party candidate.
Dr. Solomon, 50, has a practice as a mobile chiropractor and describes himself as a progressive on social issues. He believes the Legislature's "first job" should be to make the hard choices necessary to fix what he calls Florida's "outdated, backward and ineffective" tax policy.
Our choice in this race, as it was in the GOP primary, is for Mr. Diaz, a 30-year-old attorney making his first run for public office. Mr. Diaz has a firm grasp of the issues and believes all sales tax loopholes should be reconsidered and closed.
He said he did not support the vetoed Senate Bill 6 that played such a large role in this year's legislative session, but he well understands the need for improvements in the state's education system, including state colleges and universities. "I cannot understand how the fourth largest state in this country does not have a university that is ranked higher than the top 45 by our most noteworthy ranking systems," he told the Miami Herald's editorial board.
For Florida House, District 115, The Miami Herald recommends JOSE FELIX DIAZ.
District 116 Carlos Trujillo, 27, emerged victorious in a nasty, hard-fought Republican primary to replace term-limited Marcelo Llorente to represent this J-shaped district that runs from the Doral area to the Hammocks in southwestern Dade. He has a write-in opponent.
Mr. Trujillo is also making his first run for office, but he has a good grasp of the issues and the difficulty of coming up with credible and sensible solutions.
A prosecutor with the state attorney's office, he says Medicaid fraud must be controlled before it destroys the state budget. He opposes off-shore oil drilling, supports the state's Department of Community Affairs, which the last Legislature left in the lurch, and says he would reluctantly use state trust funds to support the general revenue budget in an emergency -- provided the Legislature commits to repaying the funds.
For Florida House, District 116, The Miami Herald recommends CARLOS TRUJILLO. District 117 Julio Robaina, first elected to the Florida House in 2002, is retiring after an unsuccessful run for the state Senate. Vying to replace him are Democrat Lisa Lesperance and Republican Michael Bileca. There are no third-party or write-in candidates in the race.
Mr. Robaina, a moderate Republican, showed during his tenure that he was not afraid to buck his own party when he felt it necessary. Ms. Lesperance, an attorney and one-time candidate for the bench, is best suited to represent constituents in this central-southeast district that includes parts of South Miami, Coral Gables and Cutler Bay.
Ms. Lesperance says state priorities are out of order, as reflected in the state budget. She says she would like Democrats and Republicans to have an "adult conversation" about the state's needs and how to go about balancing the budget.
She opposes off-shore drilling and says the Legislature's failure to reauthorize the Department of Community Affairs -- which plays a vital role in growth management -- was "short-sighted and childish."
For Florida House, District 117, The Miami Herald recommends LISA LESPERANCE.
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