Democrat Mark Caruso has withdrawn his candidacy from House District 38 in Seminole County, saying he intends to run for Mayor of Winter Springs instead.
Caruso, a former police officer, security guard, prison guard, and whistleblower, said he believes he has a better chance at the local level to impact the quality-of-life issues he set out as his platform, such as clean water, crime, and government transparency.
He also was facing a challenging Democratic Primary Election in August with several other candidates, and from there, should he have won the Primary, a likely challenging General Election against incumbent Republican Rep. David Smith of Winter Springs.
The remaining Democrats in the HD 38 Primary are Dominique Dougass, Sarah Henry, and Ed Measom. Smith faces Republican Primary Election challenges from Patrick Weingart and Drake Wuertz.
As newly redrawn, HD 38 stretches across southern Seminole, taking in most of Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Fern Park and part of Winter Springs.
“Over the course of the last year I have become increasingly concerned about the direction of my city of Winter Springs. We have had issues with our water, rising crime rates, and suffered an overall lack of transparent, ethical leadership in City Hall,” Caruso said in a statement.
“I believe Tallahassee does not have the answers we need. Instead, we need strong local leadership which does not deny its problems or attempt to shift blame, but accepts responsibility and is forthcoming with residents in pursuit of solutions to our growing challenges,” he added.
Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann is running for reelection. Currently, he is the only qualified candidate. The Winter Springs elections are not until November, so the qualifying deadline is in August.
“I have decided to run to be your next Mayor of Winter Springs because my experience in law enforcement, criminal justice and small business uniquely qualify me to restore the public trust and return my hometown to be the safe, prosperous place its residents deserve,” Caruso said in his statement.
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Scott Powers
5 comments
Watchman
July 4, 2022 at 10:58 am
So basically blaming everyone for your issues and faults qualifies you to be mayor.. You can’t even keep a job or business going for more than a couple years..I hope the resident’s don’t but their city in your hands..
Ned
July 4, 2022 at 11:09 am
That’s not a fair comment!
Erik
July 4, 2022 at 11:15 am
So it was to hard trying to play with the big Dawgs!! So you quit and now are trying to find something smaller?? Your a quitter, and frankly the city dosen’t need that!! How much money did you raise for your campaign? Very minimal right because you wanted everything handed or done for you by other people for free..
How many City Council meetings have you been to?
What do yiu stand for??
Danny
July 6, 2022 at 9:52 am
He’s got my support…he stood up to the crooks and sadists at FDOC and continues to do it.
D. Tifft
July 6, 2022 at 7:23 pm
Mark is a joke always has been and always will be and he doesn’t stand a chance in his run for Mayor. He’s a spineless quitter and a crybaby.
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