2022 Election candidate profiles: Eric Engelhart and Tiffany Esposito, House District 77

Immigration. Abortion. Hurricane Ian recovery. Gun rights. The rising cost of homeowners insurance.

Those are some of the biggest issues facing Florida House District 77— and the rest of Florida, too.

Both Democrat Eric Engelhart and Republican Tiffany Esposito hope to tackle those issues and more as state representative for the newly redrawn district. But first they have to triumph over their opponent in the Nov. 8 general election.

The district was redrawn this year as part of Florida’s once-a-decade redistricting process. It now contains Lehigh Acres, Three Oaks, San Carlos Park, Alva, Buckingham and some other parts of unincorporated Lee County (including Southwest Florida International Airport).

Esposito won the Republican primary nomination in August with 71% of the vote, according to Lee County Elections. Engelhart ran unopposed in his party.

We interviewed both candidates about their top priorities and their thoughts on some of the biggest political issues of 2022. Interviews have been condensed for brevity and clarity.

Primary winners: Esposito wins Republican nomination for House District 77, faces Engelhart in November

House District 77: Lehigh Acres gets new voice in Tallahassee with new district

Eric Engelhart

RUNNING FOR: Florida House District 77

POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat

AGE: 58

OCCUPATION: Chauffeur for Washington, D.C.-based company Carey International.

RESIDENCE: Lehigh Acres

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and law from Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire

FAMILY: Wife Heidi Engelhart, father Carl Engelhart, son Thomas Engelhart

PREVIOUS OFFICES HELD: None

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: He’s a political activist, president of the Democratic Women’s Club of East District Lehigh, and a member of Kiwanis Club of Lehigh Acres

MORE ABOUT ERIC ENGELHART: voteforericengelhart.com

What are the biggest issues facing Southwest Florida, and what would you do to address them?

Homeowner’s insurance and renter’s insurance are the biggest catastrophes that we’ve got going right now. And I just figured out something this morning: The first thing would be that we force the big insurance companies — the top 5 insurance companies —  (and say) “you are going to insure homeowners and renters.”

But one of the other things that people have forgotten about with the insurance industry that we must do is flood insurance. … Citizens Insurance is looking to make it mandatory in Florida that if you’re a Citizens client, you will carry flood insurance or you will not have us as your carrier. That’s the fix on that.

Anything else?

The big one, the next one, would be school districts. It’s very, very concerning to me that we still in Lehigh Acres, [have] trailers and things like that [for students]. …

And one of the other things I would deal with would be making certain that building codes are enforced to at least a Category 6 hurricane. We’re not building straw houses anymore.

Category 6? Is there a category 6?

There is not category 6, but if you want to make it so you can’t blow it over…

Hurricane Ian was the biggest natural disaster in Southwest Florida history and probably Florida. What lessons can we learn from how we handled it, and what can we do to better prepare for the next one?

First thing we can do is people need to listen when public officials say it’s going to be bad.

The second thing is we cannot allow this situation, as in the previous situation with Irma — people should not be allowed to come back into the (disaster) area. Even though they own a secondary home here, they should not be allowed back in here for a period of time to allow the homeless people and everybody else to recover.

In Irma, we opened the airport up, everybody came. The problems got worse. There’s no place to stay.

Gov. DeSantis signed a bill this year banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Do you support or oppose a complete ban on all abortions, with no exceptions? With exceptions in cases of rape or incest or if the mother’s health is at stake? Or once a heartbeat is detected?

I’m pro-choice, so my goal is allowing people to make decisions. ... I’m absolutely pro-choice.

Gov. DeSantis this year signed a bill into law that prohibits school districts from encouraging discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3, or in a way that is age or developmentally inappropriate. Proponents say the law promotes parental rights and transparency. Critics say the law discriminates against LGBTQ+ students. Do you oppose or support repealing the law? Why or why not?

The way I was taught …  sex ed was taught in the 9th grade. There’s a time and a place. If it worked for me, it works. It works.

With LGBTQ, I’m not opposed to what they do. I’m not. I’m not for it, I’m not against it. I don’t think that third graders need to talk about sex ed. … Parents should have rights.

Former President Trump has contested the results of the 2020 election through legal challenges in various states and the Supreme Court. Trump and his team of attorneys filed more than 60 lawsuits in courts around the country claiming fraud or manipulation of voting systems. All failed because Trump’s legal team and backers didn’t prove any of the allegations. Do you believe the 2020 election that resulted in Joe Biden winning the presidency was accurate or inaccurate? And should it be decertified?

It was accurate. But Donald Trump forgets one thing: He won the election against Hillary Clinton.

I believe the system works, and it’s not broken.

If you lose, will you accept the election results and concede the election?

I will accept it.

The next topic is gun rights. Gov. DeSantis has pledged to sign what supporters call a "constitutional carry" bill that would allow residents to carry concealed guns without needing licenses. Do you support or oppose the passage of this bill into law? Why or why not?

I oppose it. I believe in gun rights, but I think there should be some kind of background (check). You should have some kind of documentation for concealed carry.

Carrying guns is a privilege, but I think all people should be able to have it. I don’t think people that are Baker Acted and things like that — I think there are certain circumstances. ...

Mass shootings happen all day long. But a concealed carry, at least when the officer pulls a person over and it’s linked to their driver’s license or linked to their license plate, they at least have a chance knowing that person might be carrying a gun. It’s public safety.

Gov. DeSantis recently ordered nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas flown to Martha’s Vineyard. Critics charge he’s using migrants as “political pawns.” DeSantis said his plan calls attention to what he calls Biden’s “reckless” border security policies. The cost of transporting migrants from Texas to Massachusetts is roughly $1.5 million and is paid by Florida taxpayers. Do you support or oppose the governor’s actions? Why or why not?

I opposed the governor using taxpayer money. ...  But the problem is those citizens were brought into the country illegally — they may have come here illegally, but they are given their execution papers by the United States 'til their hearings. We should never be moving individuals. I don’t believe in it.

That $14 million that he took on that (to create the program to transport migrants), as a legislator, I would oppose that. That $14 million now could be used on better sources — especially now that we are in a situation of crisis here.

And the number one thing is the people doing the work here are illegal immigrants. The people doing all the construction work, picking up — these are all people that live in my district. … There’s over 250,000 people that live in Lehigh Acres. People don’t understand. Most of them are undocumented immigrants that don’t want to be seen. That’s our workforce.

New laws signed by DeSantis make it tougher to vote by mail, limit the use of ballot drop boxes and create an Election Crimes and Security investigative force to pursue allegations of wrongdoing. Critics say the new laws are unnecessary and make it harder for Floridians to vote. Gov. DeSantis said the new laws are needed “to ensure our elections remain secure.”

Do you support or oppose the new voting laws? Why or why not?

We don’t need somebody investigating us. … I vote on voting day. I’ve always believed in that. We extended it now (because of Hurricane Ian). …

If you can’t vote, that’s on you. If your absentee ballot got blown away, you still can go down to the black Darth Vader Building (aka the Melvin Morgan Constitutional Complex in downtown Fort Myers) and get your ballot, or you can walk in and vote. So people’s rights are not being discouraged.

But I believe felons, and I believe all people, should have the right to vote. That’s a constitutional right. This is one of the few states in the country that doesn’t allow convicted felons to vote. That’s asinine.

Are you for the mail-in ballots?

Mail-in ballots help everybody, and I don’t believe that there’s corruption in it. … Prove the corruption.

If you have five bad ballots out of 500,000 registered voters, that number’s good with me. But if you’ve got 500,000 bad ballots and you’ve got 500,000 registered voters, maybe Donald Trump does have something to say. But that’s not provable.

Is there anything else you want to talk about or that we should mention?

I’m pleased to be able to do this (run for office), and I’m pleased somebody asked me to do this. It’s a privilege. … It’s a good experience.

Tiffany Esposito

RUNNING FOR: Florida House District 77

POLITICAL PARTY: Republican

AGE: 35

OCCUPATION: President and CEO of the regional chamber of commerce SWFL Inc.

RESIDENCE: San Carlos Park

EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in communications and a master’s degree in business administration from FGCU

FAMILY: Husband Danny Kittinger, parents Chris and Rick Esposito

PREVIOUS OFFICES HELD: None

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Chair of the board of directors for Hodges University, member of the Lee Health trauma advisory board and Florida’s CDBG Citizens Advisory Committee

MORE ABOUT TIFFANY ESPOSITO: tiffanyforfl.com

What are the biggest issues facing Southwest Florida? What would you do to address them?

Post hurricane, I think our housing crisis, for sure. What I think is imperative is infrastructure, bringing infrastructure specifically to east Lee County and Lehigh Acres — road repairs, road connectivity and utilities.

Any other issues?

I think talent, too. Attraction and retention is a huge issue, and that’s connected to our housing crisis.

You’re talking about employees and getting people to come work here?

Yes. Absolutely. If they can’t afford housing, they’re not going to stay here.

We had an attraction issue before, and I think we have a significant retention issue now, post hurricane, because of the extreme lack of supply. We had a supply issue before, but now it’s just been exacerbated.

So there’s nowhere for people to live because the buildings were destroyed?

Correct. And then, obviously, post hurricane — just recovery. Rebuilding and recovery is going to be our main task in the western portion of our community for the next three years.

Hurricane Ian was the biggest natural disaster in Southwest Florida history and probably Florida. What lessons can we learn from how we handled it, and what can we do to better prepare for the next one?

What we can do better in the future: You know, we’re always learning from experiences like this and I think that FPL did a phenomenal job of getting the power turned back on. And just continuing to harden our built structures so that we can withstand the storms that we know are going to continue to come.

Gov. DeSantis signed a bill this year banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Do you support or oppose a complete ban on all abortions, with no exceptions? With exceptions in cases of rape or incest or if the mother’s health is at stake? Or once a heartbeat is detected?

I am absolutely pro-life. I do not support abortions. I do support exceptions for rape or incest and in the case of the mother’s life being threatened.

What about the last question: Supporting legislation to ban abortion once a heartbeat is detected?

Yes, I do support that.

Gov. DeSantis this year signed a bill into law that prohibits school districts from encouraging discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3, or in a way that is age or developmentally inappropriate. Proponents say the law promotes parental rights and transparency. Critics say the law discriminates against LGBTQ+ students. Do you oppose or support repealing the law? Why or why not?

I oppose repealing the law. Because I think it’s a good law. We should not be having those conversations in the classroom, and my only complaint with the bill is that it didn’t go far enough.

I think that we shouldn’t be having these conversations in elementary or middle school. At all. That is up to the parents.

Former President Trump has contested the results of the 2020 election through legal challenges in various states and the Supreme Court. Trump and his team of attorneys filed more than 60 lawsuits in courts around the country claiming fraud or manipulation of voting systems. All failed because Trump’s legal team and backers didn’t prove any of the allegations. Do you believe the 2020 election that resulted in Joe Biden winning the presidency was accurate or inaccurate? Should it be decertified?

I think that Gov. DeSantis has done a phenomenal job in making sure that votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately.

But do you believe that the election results were accurate or that it should be decertified?

Like I said, I think that Gov. DeSantis has done a phenomenal job in protecting our votes in Florida, and he will continue to do so.

If you lose, will you accept the election results and concede the election?

Yes.

Gov. DeSantis has pledged to sign what supporters call a "constitutional carry" bill that would allow residents to carry concealed guns without needing licenses. Do you support or oppose the passage of this bill into law? Why or why not?

I do support it. The Constitution states our Second Amendment rights, and I believe we have to protect that.

Gov. DeSantis recently ordered nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas flown to Martha’s Vineyard. Critics charge he’s using migrants as “political pawns.” DeSantis said his plan calls attention to what he calls Biden’s “reckless” border security policies. The cost of transporting migrants from Texas to Massachusetts is roughly $1.5 million and is paid by Florida taxpayers. Do you support or oppose the governor’s actions? Why or why not?

I absolutely support the governor’s actions. Because Biden’s open border policy is destroying our country, and the 1.3 million that we paid — that taxpayers paid — would have been exorbitantly more if we were to have to take care of those who illegally crossed the border within our own state.

New laws signed by DeSantis make it tougher to vote by mail, limit the use of ballot drop boxes and create an Election Crimes and Security investigative force to pursue allegations of wrongdoing. Critics say the new laws are unnecessary and make it harder for Floridians to vote. Gov. DeSantis said the new laws are needed “to ensure our elections remain secure.” Do you support or oppose the new voting laws? Why or why not?

I support Gov. DeSantis and his voting laws. I think that we have to protect our democracy, and we do that through the voting process.

Is there anything else you want to talk about or that we should mention?

I think the biggest difference between me and my opponent is I was born and raised here. I grew up in this district. I have lived in every aspect of this district. I went to school in this district. And I have spent my career working to protect and promote our community.

And I will take that same energy to Tallahassee to make sure we not only protect and promote Southwest Florida, but we protect the entire free state of Florida.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Election 2022 profiles: Engelhart and Esposito, House District 77