Watermark’s 2014 General Election recommendations for Central Florida

Governor: Charlie Crist (D)

Attorney General: George Sheldon (D)

CFO: Jeff Atwater (R)

Commissioner of Agriculture: Adam Putnam (R)

US REPRESENTATIVE
District 7: Wes Neuman (D)
District 8: Gabriel Rothblatt (D)
District 9: Alan Grayson (D) has been a long-time supporter of the LGBT community and has consistently made equality a major part of his platform. His equality stances are so strong, in fact, that challengers have tried to label him as one of the most “anti-Christian” lawmakers in Florida, which just isn’t true. Grayson is Jewish. He told The Huffington Post that because of his religion, he has “had to deal with religious innuendo from opponents since the beginning.”
District 10: Michael McKenna (D)
District 15: Corrine Brown (D)

STATE HOUSE
District 25: Noel Bickford (D)
District 26: Dwayne Taylor (D)
District 27: Bob Garcia (D)
District 30: Karen Castor-Dentel (D)
District 31: Eric Eisnaugle (R)
District 46: Bruce Artone (D)
District 47: Linda Stewart (D) tried in 2013 to get HB 438 in front of her co-workers. That bill would have given same-sex partners the ability to make educational decisions for children, healthcare visitation rights to partners and much more. The statewide domestic partnership registry never gained much traction, but proved that Stewart, a former vice mayor of Orange County, continues to keep equality in the forefront of her political work.
District 49: Joe Saunders (D) is a relative newcomer to politics. After securing his seat in his newly created district in 2012, he became one of two openly gay members in the Florida legislature. As a former field director with Equality Florida, he has a knack for finding equality measures and he has began changing minds in Tallahassee when it comes to LGBT issues.

STATE SENATOR
District 6: Kathleen Trued (D)
District 10: David Simmons (R)
District 12: Geraldine Thompson (D)
District 14: Darren Soto (D)

ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD
Chair: Gene Hair
District 3: Regina Hellinger

ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSION
District 2: Alvin Moore
District 6: Derrick Wallace

ORANGE COUNTY SOIL AND WATER
District 4: Eric Rollings is an associate supervisor for the State of Florida and is running for Orange County Soil and Water’s District 4 seat. What makes this race so intriguing is that both Rollings and candidate Brian Fenn are both openly gay. Rollings seems to have a bit more experience when it comes to environmental issues and Fenn, while his intentions are good, doesn’t have quite the resume as Rollings. This non-partisan race, which would normally fly under the radar, has gained the attention of mainstream press, mostly because of the uniqueness of the candidates.

VOLUSIA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD
District 1: Don Sarro
District 3: Linda Cuthbert

DAYTONA BEACH CITY COMMISION
Zone 1: Ruth Trager
Zone 3: Kelly White
Zone 5: Patrick Henry

VOLUSIA COUNTY COUNCIL
At large: Joyce Cusack
District 1: Andy Kelly
District 3: David Machuga
District 5: Rich Gailey

FLORIDA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Yes on Amendment 1
Yes on Amendment 2
No on Amendment 3

More in News

See More