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Our community is at the front lines of climate change. The vast majority of District 100 residents live in a FEMA flood zone, and residents are already experiencing the detrimental environmental, economic, and health impacts of stronger storms and rising sea levels. We need a sense of urgency in our efforts to achieve climate resiliency across South Florida and our state, so that our homes, businesses, environment, and communities can thrive now and for years to come.
Evan is the only candidate in this race for House District 100 with direct renewable energy and infrastructure experience. In Tallahassee, he will translate his knowledge and experience with public private partnerships into climate resiliency results, through targeted infrastructure investments, clean energy initiatives to help lower our insurance premiums, and the preservation of precious natural resources right here in our backyard: Biscayne Bay and our public parks, greenspace and beaches.
Census data shows us that nearly a third of adults aged 18-64 in our area live each day without healthcare insurance, and Florida’s consistently ranked at the bottom in insurance enrollment. Further, many senior citizens within our district live on a fixed retirement income, uncertain of how to pay the next healthcare bill. No one should have to choose between getting the care they need and putting food on the table, and every Floridian deserves the right to accessible and affordable healthcare options.
As State Representative, Evan will support common sense reforms to sharply improve our healthcare access in the State House, including the acceptance of federal Medicaid expansion dollars by our State, investments in local institutions supporting our low-income seniors, and supporting our doctors and frontline healthcare workers. Through venture capital, Evan has helped uplift breakthrough medical technology with the potential to save lives and innovate our healthcare system. We need that same ingenuity in Tallahassee.
The necessary shift to virtual education through the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted many of our students, families, teachers and staff, amplifying existing fault lines in our public school system. Further, more than 22,000 kids in our district attend public schools. It is about time that our State actually prioritizes our kids in our annual budget, and fully funds their education. Our livelihood, our economy, and our future depends on it.
Evan is the only public school teacher running to represent our community in the Florida State House. This experience gives him the unique perspective it takes to ensure the State Legislature has the backs of our schools and invests in college and career readiness for all of our students. It is time for any student, regardless of where they live, to get the education they want, need, and deserve.
Workforce housing is not only essential for families at all income levels in our district. It is vital to the future of our district’s economic development, affordability, and viability. In 2021, the Florida Chamber of Commerce found that fully funding affordable housing in our state would have a $5 billion positive economic impact. Yet, every year the State Legislature guts earmarked money for affordable housing to plug budget holes caused by irresponsible spending.
Across his real estate career, Evan has invested more than $2.5 billion directly into affordable housing, including $500 million right here in Florida, helping house 22,000 low-income seniors and families across the nation. He knows from experience that high quality workforce housing not only allows for equitable, safe and diverse communities, but also improves public health outcomes, preserves our existing home values and boosts our local economy. We deserve a champion to represent our district that cares deeply about investing in our communities’ dreams for the future.
Our diverse, intracoastal community in House District 100 is building back after some of the toughest moments in our lives. However, instead of providing economic and public health relief to our State and our community when we needed it the most, the State Legislature put power over people in the 2021 legislative session. This translated into passed laws designed to suppress our right to vote, silence our freedom of speech, and limit our civil rights. Further, these actions have emboldened anti-Semitism and racist actions that pull apart the fabric of our very democracy.
Evan grew up in Birmingham, Alabama as a child of the Civil Rights Movement, with the deep belief that the soul of our democracy is worth fighting for. Becoming our next Florida State Representative for District 100 does not just provide Evan a chance to repeal bad and unjust laws. It provides our community the platform and the movement we need to write better laws that protect our constitutional rights and our right to achieve the American Dream.