Scott Powers
Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Chris Anderson has filed to run as a Republican in Florida House District 28, bringing an tough but achieving life story into a primary for the open seat serving northeast Seminole County.
Anderson, 35, enters the race professing an unusual background for a house candidate in Seminole. As a child raised by a single father who abused drugs and died of AIDS, Anderson graduated high school, joined the U.S. Army, served in Afghanistan, and then came home to start a family and serve in the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
“There’s every reason why I should have been in the back seat of a police car, rather than as a deputy sheriff in the front seat today,” Anderson stated in a news release issued by his campaign. “I attribute the difference to faith, hard work and the belief that we live in a country where anyone can achieve the American Dream if we set our minds to it and never give up.”
He’s facing Winter Springs businessman David Smith for the Republican nomination. Lee Mangold, chief executive officer and co-founder of GoldSky Security, is running for the Democrats, for a seat being vacated by term-limited Republican state Rep. Jason Brodeur.
Having grown up with a single parent who struggled with life altering substance abuse, Anderson expressed understanding of and pledged to tackle “dinner table” issues that face families.
In the news release, Anderson recalled times of bathing with toilet water, doing homework by candle light and going to bed hungry. He also recalled, as a teenager, intervening in one of two times his father attempted suicide, after his father grew deeply depressed after learning he had contracted AIDS.
After his Army enlistment, he retired as a disabled combat veteran and became a deputy sheriff. He and his high school sweet heart Ebony Anderson have been married 15 years, and have a son and two daughters.
His law enforcement background has included human resources background investigations, major case management in death investigations, tactical fugitive apprehension operations, criminal investigations, crisis negotiations, law enforcement training programs and criminal street gang investigations and training.
“I am committed to working hard for the future of all Floridians and their families and tackling the dinner table issues that affect us all – helping families put food on the table, saving money for our children’s education, and keeping our communities safe,” Anderson stated. “By promoting and defending our conservative principles of low taxes, limited government, more freedom and the Constitution – including our Second Amendment rights – we can build a more prosperous Florida for all.”
