State House District 94: Rick Roth faces challenge from former Riviera official Terence Davis
Terence Davis, a former Riviera Beach City Council member, is seeking to unseat incumbent state Rep. Rick Roth, who is vying for his fourth term in office, in the Nov. 8 general election.
The winner will serve a four-year term in the Florida House representing District 94. Its newly drawn borders cover nearly all of rural Palm Beach County, from Lake Okeechobee through the Glades and east to Jupiter Farms, The Acreage, Royal Palm Beach and the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Davis and Roth ran unopposed in the Aug. 23 Democratic and Republican primary elections, respectively. Roth has a significant financial advantage over Davis at $225,067 to $9,290 as of Oct. 17.
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Davis answered a questionnaire from The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board and sat for an endorsement interview. Roth declined to return the questionnaire or be interviewed.
The Post performed a criminal background check on every candidate, including the incumbents. The Post is reporting any criminal charges filed and the outcome of the cases since January 2012, even when they did not result in a conviction.
The candidates for state House District 94 are listed below in alphabetical order, using the names as they are expected to appear on the ballot.
District 94 candidate: Terence Davis
Age and residence: Terence Davis, 46, lives in Palm Beach Gardens. His family is from Belle Glade.
Platform: His top campaign priorities are increasing pay for school board members, reducing homeowner insurance rates, making schools safer and protecting women's reproductive rights.
"I am interested in making sure the overturning of Roe vs. Wade never happens again," wrote Davis to The Palm Beach Post, "(that) school teachers are paid enough to pay mortgages without having to work a second job, and making sure that all our cities are prepared for all major storms."
Professional history: He has worked as a disaster recovery specialist for the Regency Disaster Response Team, a disaster clean-up provider based in West Palm Beach. He also owns Tamryn Enterprises Group LLC, a construction consulting firm.
He served on the Riviera Beach City Council from 2013 to 2017.
Education: Davis holds a master’s degree in education from Florida A&M University.
Social media presence: Davis is on a variety of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where he mostly posts information on Riviera Beach area.
Criminal history: None.
Notable media coverage: Davis was involved in several high-profile issues during his four years on the Riviera Beach City Council, including the ouster of its city manager and the city's compliance with public records and employment disclosure laws.
Endorsements: Davis told The Post that he obtained a number of endorsements from individual municipal leaders, including Democratic state Senators Lori Berman and Tina Polsky; Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard; former Palm Beach County Election Supervisor Susan Booker; Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto; and Katherine Waldron, the Democratic nominee for state representative in House District 93.
He also garnered endorsements from the Palm Beach County Democratic Club, the Western Communities of West Palm Beach Democratic Club, The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, the Florida Leadership Council, The Sierra Club and The Palm Beach/Treasure Coast AFL-CIO.
Finances: Campaign finance reports as of May 31 show Davis has raised $9,290 and spent $3,587. Davis has spent the majority of the money on processing fees, camping signs and photos.
His campaign contributions include $1,000 donations from the Green Florida Pac, G & I Associates Corp., the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association and $500 donations from PSA Construction, International workers of Iron and Local Union 1652.
District 94 candidate: Rick Roth
Age and residence: Rick Roth, 69, lives in Loxahatchee.
Platform: His priorities include increasing affordable and workforce housing in the district, aiding the economic recovery of farmers and supporting legislation to secure funding for land conservation programs.
Professional history: He was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2016. Roth is president of Roth Farms, which he founded in 1973. He is a member of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau.
Education: Roth holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Emory University.
Social media presence: Roth’s social media use is limited to Facebook, where he posts mostly on district news and his campaign.
Criminal history: None.
Notable media coverage: Roth has taken a special interest in the district's agricultural economy, helping farmers recover their production.
Last year, he made remarks connecting the spike in COVID-19 cases nationwide to the surge of migrants on the U.S.-Mexican border sparking outrage from local groups.
Endorsements: Roth has not listed endorsements on his campaign website or his social media accounts.
Finances: Campaign finance reports as of May 31 show Roth has raised $225,067 and spent $97,078.
His campaign donations include at least $70,000 from the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, about $30,000 from the Republican Party of Florida and at least $1,000 from the U.S. Sugar Corp.
Roth has spent the majority of the money on direct response campaigns, signs and contracting ADSKINZ, a marketing agency for geo-targeted advertising.
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rick Roth faces challenge from Terence Davis in State House District 94
