Florida House 43: Six Democratic candidates seeks Osceola County seat
Incumbent Democrat John Cortes is leaving his seat in House District 43, a heavily Hispanic and Democratic district, to run for Osceola County clerk of courts.
So six Democrats have filed to replace him in the district, which includes Kissimmee, Buenaventura Lakes, Campbell and Poinciana.
The one who gets the most votes in the Aug. 18 primary will win, as there are no Republicans or write-in candidates for the seat.
Who they are
Kristen Arrington, of Kissimmee, a marketing and consulting firm owner.
Alex Barrio, 35, of Kissimmee, the Hispanic Outreach Political Director for Alianza for Progress. He was also a 2016 Democratic candidate for district 48.
Carlos Irizarry, 64, of Kissimmee, a former Kissimmee City Commission member.
Andrew Jeng, 57, of Kissimmee, a businessman and a former Kissimmee City Commission candidate.
Tamika Lyles, 44, of Kissimmee, president of the Osceola County Democratic Black Caucus and vice president of the Osceola County Democratic Veteran’s Caucus.
Ricardo Rangel, of Kissimmee, the former House member from district 43 from 2012 to 2014.
Where they stand
According to Arrington’s website, one of her most important issues is “revitalizing teaching so that it is once again a sought-after occupation.”
Arrington contends that Osceola County currently receives far less money than other school districts around the state. To improve this system, Arrington said she would start by addressing the issues created by the school funding model, then she would recruit and retain the best teachers and keep them educating the kids.
Barrio said his number one objective was helping the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m running because I want to address the issues that we are dealing with in Osceola County, that we have been dealing with for years — all the issues that have become exponentially worse during the coronavirus crisis,” Barrio said during an interview with the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board.
A common issue raised by the candidates is the need to improve the roads and transportation infrastructure. Arrington, Irizarry and Jeng have all voiced this among their most important issues.
Arrington and Jeng are both in favor of reducing Osceola’s carbon footprint by enhancing the SunRail system. Arrington is in favor of expanding the SunRail to nights and weekends, with the state paying for it. She also supports the expansion of high-speed Rail from Miami to Orlando and then on to Tampa.
“Our traffic infrastructure still sticks to the old style, old time design,” Jeng said. “We need to have a more modern design, more computerized, and we need to involve artificial intelligence in our designing.”
After losing her brother in 2018 due to a health care issue and serving in the medical division of the Air Force, Lyles states that her most important issue is giving access to affordable health care. Lyles’ brother did not have enough insurance to cover a medical device he needed and he was released from the hospital without it. In the Air Force, she worked as a paramedic.
“We need to understand that whether you are rich, or whether you are poor, at some point in your life you are going to need health care,” Lyles said. “It doesn’t matter about your race or ethnicity, and it doesn’t matter what you do every day, this is an issue across the board.”
One of Rangel’s priorities is to expand Medicaid as well as fighting for living wages “because many hard-working Floridians struggle to make ends meet despite working multiple jobs.”
Rangel, a veteran of the U.S. Army, wants to fight for common sense gun laws as well as banning assault weapons, closing gun show loopholes and revising the Stand Your Ground law.
Where they differ
Lyles said her advocacy and her involvement in the community is what separates her from her other five opponents.
“No other opponent can compare to the advocacy that I’ve done throughout the years,” Lyles said.
But Irizarry also said those are his greatest strengths, too, as a former Kissimmee City Comission member.
As a former legislative aide and through his work with U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, Barrio said he is the most qualified to represent District 43. Barrio received endorsements from both Soto and State Sen. Victor Torres.
After owning and running a business for 25 years, Jeng said his professional background in technology sets him aside from his opponents.
“We need to be united together to resolve the issues and to make it better rather than just focus on some particular issue and then go nowhere,” Jeng said.
Both Rangel and Arrington did not respond to interview requests and did not participate in the interviews conducted by the Sentinel Editorial Board.
erosen@orlandosentinel.com
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