Jacob Ogles
A prominent Lee County Chamber leader will run for state House in a newly drawn open district.
Tiffany Esposito, president and CEO of SWFL Inc., will run in proposed House District 77. The San Carlos Park Republican has been active in South Lee business groups for years, regularly appearing on “40 under 40” lists for local media and the Association of Chamber Executives. She launched her campaign on Thursday.
“This district is my home — it is where I was born and raised, where my parents grew their small business, and where my husband and I call home. I have devoted my professional career to growing our economy and helping local businesses succeed,” she said. “Now, I’m ready to take on that charge in an even greater capacity and create meaningful policies that will pave the way for new economic opportunities for all of Lee County and the State of Florida.”
A political opportunity opened up when the Florida Legislature approved a new House map as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process. That map (H 8013) remains under review by the Florida Supreme Court, but if it passes muster there it will be in place for the 2022 election cycle.
Under the new map, House District 77 now covers southeast Lee County, including Briarcliff, Buckingham, Gateway, Lehigh Acres and San Carlos Park. She lives in the district now with husband, Daniel Kittinger.
There’s no incumbent living in the district. While the Division of Elections still lists Rep. Mike Giallombardo as the incumbent in HD 77, a district analogous to his current district is renumbered as House District 79 on the new map.
Esposito aligned her political platform closely with that of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seeking re-election this year.
“Florida has become the beacon of freedom in America, and I intend to build upon that foundation,” she said.
That includes resisting any calls in the future for pandemic-related mandates or business shutdowns. She also promised to fight and defend constitutional liberties.
A partisan performance analysis of redistricting drafts by MCI Maps shows 56.01% of voters in proposed HD 77 voted for Republican Donald Trump in the last presidential election, and 55.11% voted for DeSantis when he was elected Governor in 2018.
Esposito described herself as a “proud conservative and understands that more government is never the solution.”
The Lee County native earned a master’s degree in business administration from Florida Gulf Coast University, which also lies in the House district.
