Democrat Patricia Sigman enters SD 9 race

A fifth Democrat, Longwood labor lawyer Patricia Sigman, has filed to try to take on Republican candidate Jason Brodeur in the Senate District 9 election this year.

Sigman, 52, has twice been name Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law by Orlando Magazine and is a frequent lecturer on employment law, including delivering a TEDx speech in Boca Raton, according to her biography posted on the website of her law firm, Sigman & Sigman.

She joins a field that includes Democrats Guerdy Remy of Altamonte Springs, Alexis Carter of Altamonte Springs, Rick Ashby of Oviedo and H. Alexander Duncan of Geneva, all hoping for a shot to flip SD 9, a district that has been trending from deep red to purple in recent years, representing Seminole County and southern Volusia County.

“For too long, the agenda in Tallahassee has been set by the well-connected insiders who fund the campaigns of the politicians they know will do their bidding. I’m running to change that because our future depends on ending the grip of the special interests in Tallahassee,” Sigman stated in a news release Monday.

“It’s time we focus on the values we share to come together and unite for change in our state government. We need leaders loyal to the people and leaders who understand that ‘public service’ means serving the public, not serving themselves,” she continued.”I will always put our working families, our people, and our small business owners first because Central Floridians deserve a State Senator whose priorities are fully funding public education, protecting and preserving our environmental treasures for generations to come, instituting commonsense gun violence prevention reforms like universal background checks, and making healthcare more affordable.”

The campaign will receive support from the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, better known as the Senate Victory Political Committee, the political and fundraising organization of the Senate Democratic caucus that is dedicated to winning campaigns in Florida.

“Patricia Sigman has spent her career standing up to the most powerful interests Florida,” Senate Democratic Leader Designate Gary Farmer stated in the release. “In the Senate, I know that Patricia’s unflinching dedication to upholding the values of fairness and equality mean that she will always put the needs of working families first. I’m proud to support her campaign and look forward to welcoming her to the caucus in 2020!”

That backing drew an expression of frustration from Remy last week, who criticized the Senate Victory committee for amounts to an early endorsement of a candidate in contested Democratic primary.

Sigman’s legal career has included the speciality of counseling clients who have been fired. That was the topic of her 2016 talk with TEDx in Boca Raton, which produces independent TED talks. She also represents people who have been subjected to sexual abuse or who have been taken advantage of by pastors, clergymen, counselors and others in the “power” position in professional relationships, according to her law firm’s bio.

SD 9 has been represented for the past two terms by state Sen. David Simmons, and two terms before that by Lee Constantine.

Brodeur, president of the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce and a former state Representative for House District 28 in Seminole County.