IS THERE A FRIEND IN THE HOUSE?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published June 18, 2012

It's been a while since I felt strong about a particular political candidate.  The two party system has simply destroyed the opportunity for any candidate to do anything other than toe his party's platform.  If he or she deviates from the platform, the party casts them to the wind until another robot comes along and follows their party's script, word for word.  It has inhibited candidates from promoting the best ideas of both parties and prevented reasonable solutions from being implemented and simply has resulted in and has even encouraged gridlock.  Worse yet,  you simply can't find a candidate with enough courage to even suggest that their party's stance on a given issue may need to be re-evaluated or should be open to further discussion.  That is until yesterday…..

Republican Randy Johnson is running for Florida 's House of Representatives in District 55, which encompasses parts of four different counties on Florida 's west coast.  Randy  was raised in a military family in Central Florida .  He graduated from the University of Florida in 1981 with a B.A. in Economics.  After graduation, he entered the navy where he served as an Officer and carrier pilot for nine years.  He flew over 200 missions aboard the United States Aircraft Carriers, USS Saratoga, Theodore Roosevelt and Independence .  In 1998, Randy moved his family to Osceola County and successfully ran for, and was elected to, the Florida House of Representatives. He served 4 terms and, upon his departure, was considered one of the most conservative members of the House.

Notwithstanding the fact that Randy was considered one of the most conservative members of the House, yesterday on Condo Craze and HOAs, Randy took some positions that no doubt will create a stir with members of his own party.  Randy came out in favor of expanding the jurisdiction of the DBPR to also oversee homeowner associations, came out in support of having HOA board members get certified just like condo board members, and came out in support of holding the banks more financially responsible to community associations.  When I made it clear that Republicans considered this an expansion of government and that his line of thinking certainly is not reflective of Republican thought to date on these issues, Randy's answer was great.  He said that the Republicans care about family values, seeing families prosper in Florida , and all of these proposals he supports only enhances family values and give Florida families a chance to enjoy and keep their homes.

By the way…….I don't remember a Democrat coming to the aid of Florida community association members either in recent memory.  

In fact, both parties overwhelmingly supported removing developer warranties in an HOA community.  Right now it's simply hard to find a friend of Florida community association members in either party.

No doubt that by sticking his neck out and daring to say what he actually believes is best for Florida homeowners, Randy will now be crucified by certain members of his own party.  I'm guessing though that in light of Randy's military record, he's fought tougher enemies than fellow politicians who can simply read the cue cards prepared by their party's leaders.  To find out more, and to lend Randy support, please visit www.electrandyjohnson.com.