Elect Haeseler to the Florida House
With Florida facing natural disasters that are made worse by human actions, our state needs elected officials who are willing to make some long-overdue changes and investments.
Major storms such as Hurricane Michael show the threat of unchecked climate change and rising sea levels. The state’s deteriorating infrastructure and over-developed coastlines are particularly vulnerable to flooding and storm surge from such extreme weather.
At the same time, Florida’s environment and economy are threatened by red tide along the coasts and algae blooms in its waterways. Fertilizer runoff, faulty septic tanks and other man-made pollution, and a failure to protect environmentally sensitive land from development, are causing these blooms to be longer lasting and more widespread.
Republicans have ruled Tallahassee for more than two decades, controlling both the Legislature and the governor’s office. A different approach is needed to better protect the environment as well as improve public health and strengthen public education.
State Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry, is a nice guy but he’s part of the problem. While Clemons has done good things for the community including his work for Santa Fe College, he votes in lockstep with the GOP majority on too many issues that are contrary to the best interests of our community and state.
His Democratic opponent in the District 21 race, Jason Haeseler, would bring valuable experience as an engineer, father and veteran to the job. One of his daughters was born with a congenital heart defect, which showed him the dangers of the state's elimination of pediatric heart surgery standards and other heath-care deregulation.
He supports expanding Medicaid in Florida, noting that states that have done so have seen better health outcomes than those that have not. He is critical of the Legislature’s diversion of state support to private and for-profit schools, calling for greater funding of public education including higher teacher salaries.
Haeseler is an Army veteran and hunter who has a concealed weapons permit, but opposes putting guns in the hands of public school employees or allowing concealed firearms to be legally carried on college campuses. He argues that these measures will cause students to be less safe by increasing the risk of accidental deaths of innocent people, rather than protecting them against school shootings.
His experience in civil engineering and as assistant director of utilities at the University of Florida have informed his call for the state to better invest in infrastructure. He notes the strain caused on roads and other infrastructure by unwise land-use decisions.
Haeseler supports spending the funding that voters approved for land conservation under Amendment 1 on its intended purpose, which the Legislature was sued over its refusal to do. He rightly recognizes the state’s need to better protect its springs and other water resources from pollution and excessive groundwater withdrawals.
For these and other reasons, The Sun endorses Haeseler as the best choice for the state House District 21 seat. We encourage voters to support him in the Nov. 6 election, during early voting or through voting by mail.