Newcomers Michael Anderson, Jessica Baker face off for Florida House District 17 seat

Voters in Jacksonville's Southside will choose between two political newcomers when they cast ballots for Florida House District 17.

Democratic candidate Michael Anderson is a substitute teacher and political organizer. Jessica Baker, the Republican candidate, is a prosecutor and former member of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry's staff. Neither has previously held elected office.

The district covers the southernmost parts of Duval County, including the University of North Florida campus and much of the Southside. Cyndi Stevenson has represented District 17 since 2015 but lines were redrawn for this election and she is running to represent House District 18, which now covers most of northern St. Johns County.

Baker easily outpolled author and Florida National Guard member Christina Meredith for the GOP nomination in the August primary, collecting more than 64 percent of votes cast. Anderson was unopposed in the primary.

Anderson graduated from UNF with a degree in sociology and a minor in religious studies. Following graduation, he worked with Habitat for Humanity, a faith-based education organization and several churches in South Florida. He works as a substitute teacher and describes himself as "a fierce advocate for political change" on his campaign website. He is single and has no children.

He cites equity in medical care, education, infrastructure, elections, jobs and public safety as the most important issues in the campaign.

His campaign is endorsed by the National Organization for Women-Jacksonville, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, Florida Planned Parenthood and the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus.

Baker, a graduate of the Florida State College of Law, is a prosecutor with the 7th Judicial Circuit, working out of St. Augustine. She previously served on Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry's first term staff, as deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, and as a government affairs consultant with lobbying and public relations firm Ballard Partners in the company's Jacksonville office. She has two children and is married to political consultant Tim Baker.

She cites balanced budgets, lower taxes, expanding school choices and more funding for public safety as important campaign issues.

Baker is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters, the Northeast Florida Builders Association, Curry and Jacksonville City Council members Aaron Bowman, Kevin Carrico, Rory Diamond, Nick Howland, Randy White, Terrance Freeman and Ron Salem.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida House District 17: Michael Anderson vs. Jessica Baker