Jesse Scheckner
With Democratic state Rep. David Silvers moving on to other endeavors after reaching term limits this year in House District 89, Palm Beach County voters must choose a new person to serve their interests in the Legislature.
They have two choices: Democrat Debra Tendrich, the founder and CEO of a childhood nutrition nonprofit called Eat Better Live Better; and Republican Daniel Zapata, a private school administrator who unsuccessfully challenged Silvers two years ago.
The candidates agree that improving education, addressing Florida’s many affordability issues and supporting small businesses are vital endeavors for HD 89’s next Representative.
Tendrich is also running on a promise to fight for abortion protections, tackle gun violence and criminal justice reform. She believes most people who oppose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices have been misled about what it means and hopes to extend DEI in schools and workplaces while creating training programs to teach about it. She also wants to repeal a law from 2023 that placed sweeping limits on lawsuits in Florida, which she called “anti-consumer” and “gift-wrapped for insurance companies.”
In keeping with the mission of the nonprofit she runs, Tendrich promises to address food insecurity.
Zapata, who works at Atlantic Christian Academy in West Palm Beach, has aims on fighting for federal term limits that resemble the ones in place across Florida and working more on stabilizing the state’s insurance market.
He said he “wholeheartedly” supported a 2023 bill the Legislature passed to allow more public education dollars to be spent on vouchers covering private tuition bills and vowed to continue fighting for more such accommodations.
But there’s more work on education to be done, he said, including expanding access to vocational schools.
Zapata, the son of Cuban immigrants, raised slightly more than Tendrich through early October, thanks in large part to a $50,000 contribution from the Palm Beach County GOP. Aside from that, he collected about $18,500 in donations. Just $175 came since the Primary, through which he advanced unopposed.
Tendrich, who soundly defeated one Primary opponent in August whom Silvers endorsed, raised $67,500 through a blend of personal checks and organizational donations.
One month from Election Day, Zapata enjoyed a nearly $50,000 advantage.
But Tendrich had the edge in endorsements, with nods from roughly a dozen union and advocacy groups, including Ruth’s List Florida, and several elected officials such as U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, state Sens. Tina Polsky and Vic Torres, and state Reps. Anna Eskamani and Katherine Waldron.
Zapata has announced endorsements from Hispanic Vote PBC, Mental Health Now, and a few local officials, including Palm Beach County Commissioners Michael Barnett, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sara Baxter.
He’s worked in education for five years, first as a high school teacher and now as an administrator.
Tendrich registered Eat Better Live Better with the Division of Corporations in 2016 with the goal of preventing, reducing and reversing childhood obesity and providing families with nutritional plans and healthy food.
Since then, she said it has distributed more than 2 million pounds of groceries to families across Palm Beach County. The organization’s most recent tax filing shows it received $760,413 in total revenue last year and spent $671,706, more than half of it on grants.
She reported a salary of $69,150. One other employee was paid $48,352. Charity Navigator gave Eat Better Live Better a two- out of four-star rating.
HD 89 covers a large inland portion of Palm Beach County stretching east from Greenacres to Lake Worth Beach, north from Atlantis to Cloud Lake and containing Lake Clarke Shores and Palm Springs.
The General Election is on Nov. 5.
