Ryan Ray
Orange County classroom teacher Sean Ashby announced his intention to seek the House District 50 seat in east central Florida to be vacated by Rep. Tom Goodson, who is switching districts.
Ashby will face current HD 49 Rep. Rene Plasencia, who has filed for the Republican-leaning seat to avoid being bounced after one term, like his 2014 opponent former Democratic Rep. Joe Saunders in that mercurial northeastern Orlando seat.
Ashby, who previously sought the HD 50 seat in 2012, said in an announcement Thursday he intends to fight for the proverbial “little guy” if elected to the House, presumably against a Republican majority that ignores them.
“Floridians deserve elected officials who prioritize the interests of their constituents over the interests of the powerful,” Ashby said.
“As the representative for House District 50, I will strive to push for equality of all people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and wealth; join those who work to protect women’s rights, and ensure affordable healthcare for all Floridians.”
The last note stands in contrast to the House’s stance on health care during the latest Regular Legislative Session, when Speaker Steve Crisafulli abruptly adjourned the chamber three days early following remarks by budget chairman Rep. Richard Corcoran that the body is “not going to dance,” i.e. negotiate, when it comes to expanding Medicaid, a position favored by the Senate.
Ashby would bring a public school teacher’s perspective to the region for the first time since Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, beloved by Florida Democrats, was shown the door in GOP-leaning nearby HD 30 by Republican Rep. Bob Cortes, who ousted her by a margin of 57 percent to 43 last year.
HD 50 takes in Titusville — Brevard County’s “Space City USA,” as it was dubbed by boosters in the 1960s — and Orlando’s Lake Nona district in Orange County. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney took about 52 percent of the vote there in 2012; Gov. Rick Scott garned 57.2 percent against the moderate Alex Sink in 2010’s Republican “wave” midterm elections.
As with many districts in the Seminole-Osceola-Orange region as well as the Brevard-based “Space Coast,” shifts in Hispanic immigration to the region could be decisive in establishing new electoral lines, however. Some observers expect that trend to bolster Democratic performance in the region, but outside of President Obama‘s winning coalitions in 2008 and 2012, it remains to be seen.
