‘Generation Z is really rising up’: two are competing for Florida House District 119

The next representative of Florida House District 119 will be a Gen Z-er.

Democrat Gabriel Gonzalez, 22, and Republican Juan Carlos Porras, 25, advanced to the November ballot after surviving competitive primary races in their district — an unincorporated swath of South Miami-Dade County that encompasses parts of West Kendall, the Hammocks and Kendale Lakes.

The candidates’ ages belie their political experience.

Porras has worked for three Republican state representatives in Tallahassee: Juan Fernandez-Barquin, Alex Rizo and Spencer Roach. During his time as a political science student at Florida International University, Porras interned for his professor, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, and also led the FIU College Republicans.

“I believe I have the experience necessary, but I also have the youthful energy and ideas that this community needs or desires,” Porras said. “It’s kind of a shift politically from the ‘establishment’ candidates, like older attorneys. You have two very young guys, obviously on very opposite sides of the political spectrum. But regardless, you’re seeing fresh new faces, new ideas on both parties, which I think is very interesting and people should take a look at.”

Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University in May with a political science degree. He spent two summers interning at the U.S. Senate where he worked in the office of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat. He previously worked as a Miami-Dade County youth commissioner, and interned for former Miami-Dade District 11 Commissioner Juan C. Zapata.

“A lot of people seem to think that Generation Z — just because we’re younger — we’re not qualified, that we’re not experienced and that our voices don’t matter,” Gonzalez said. “Generation Z is really rising up in a way that we haven’t seen before. We are a generation that’s grown up on the Internet, we’ve grown up on social media, we’re a lot more well-informed and a lot more educated on issues that are going on around us, and we recognize that our future is being taken from us.”

Primary numbers

During the August primary, Porras received over 48% of the vote — beating out four other candidates. Gonzalez won against attorney James Cueva with almost 56% of the vote.

Porras called District 119 a Republican “stronghold.” He has raised almost 20 times more money than his opponent, with over $260,000 in contributions, according to campaign finance records. Gonzalez’s campaign account shows about $13,100 in contributions, including a $2,000 loan to himself.

“It’s a freedom-seeking Hispanic community that fled communism from other countries and doesn’t want the same issues that they fled from coming here,” Porras said. “So that’s why you see this district vote Republican, and that’s why the party has been so gracious in helping out financially.”

He expressed support for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ program to send migrant flights to northern cities, saying he is in favor of “legal migration to Florida.”

“We are not a sanctuary state,” Porras said “What would benefit those people more would be to send them to an area that does have the resources and the capabilities to accept them. And if that means shipping them and providing transportation in a humane way, as we have done in Florida, to places such as Martha’s Vineyard, I think the majority of residents here in Florida will and have agreed with the governor on that.”

Gonzalez disagreed.

“They were lured there under false pretenses using taxpayer money. From where I stand, the issue does seem to be one of human trafficking, and that is not something that I support in any circumstance,” he said. “That’s something that’s very cruel and very heartbreaking. The nation is built on immigrants, and especially South Florida is built on immigrants from Latin America and Central America.”

The candidates also differ on the issue of abortion. Gonzalez described himself as “a pro-choice champion,” while Porras said he is “completely against abortion.”

Porras said he supports the state’s 15-week abortion ban. If a bill banning abortion completely, including in cases of rape or incest, was introduced to the Florida House, Porras said he would support it.

“I do believe that, in this new day and age, with the technology and the different methods of contraception that we have,” he said, “I don’t think abortion should be a viable method of contraception.”

If elected, the first issue Porras would tackle is Home Owners Association reform. He and Gonzalez both pointed to ongoing issues with the Hammocks HOA, which has sought 300% to 400% fee increases.

Housing and climate are key issues for Gonzalez, who advocates for investing in transit and increasing density around transit hubs. One solution, he said, to reduce flooding, decrease surface temperatures and increase home values: planting more trees.

“Even simple things like that,” Gonzalez said, “that you wouldn’t really imagine to have such far-reaching effects, could really go a long way to solving a lot of the problems that we have here.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 10:46 AM.

Tess Riski

Miami Herald

Tess Riski covers Miami City Hall. She joined the Miami Herald in 2022 and has covered local politics throughout Miami-Dade County. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School’s Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.