Herald recommends: For Florida House District 109, a political newcomer impresses | Editorial

In the Democratic primary for Florida House District 109, veteran legislator and incumbent Rep. James Bush III faces a political newcomer, lawyer and former teacher Ashley Gantt.

There are no Republicans, independents, write-ins or third-party candidates running for this seat, so the primary will decide who wins and is open to all qualified voters in the district, which includes parts of North Miami-Dade, Opa-locka, Miami Lakes and Liberty City.

Bush has been in the state House on and off since 1992, also running unsuccessfully for a number of other offices. This would be his third consecutive term in the House — his fourth overall — if he wins. He was reelected in 2020 without an opponent.

Gantt is a native Floridian with an impressive list of accomplishments. She grew up in the district and became a teacher — first for Teach for America and then as a Miami-Dade public school teacher — before going to law school and eventually founding her own law firm, Gantt Legacy Law. In 2020, she was president of the T.J. Redick Bar Association, the Black bar association in Broward County, and she’s a board member for the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association. She has the backing of Ruth’s List, which is dedicated to electing Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

She became interested in running for office because she doesn’t like the direction in which the state has been heading and, in particular, the votes Bush is casting.

Bush was the only Democrat to vote for the Florida parental rights law known as the “Don’t say gay” bill during the most recent legislative session. And he voted for the state’s 15-week abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking.

“I felt that that was a vote directly in opposition to my existence and me having bodily autonomy,” Gantt told the Editorial Board.

She said Black and Hispanic women make up the majority of her district’s population, and she felt they were not being fairly represented.

“I can be mad about it — and just be mad — or I can be mad and do something about it,” she said. That’s when she decided to run.

Bush, a retired teacher, did not accept the Editorial Board’s invitation to talk about his record and his reasons for seeking reelection. He has served in the House from 1992-2000, for one term starting in 2008 and then again starting in 2018. He lost elections for Florida Commissioner of Education in 2000, for Senate District 39 in 2012 and for Miami-Dade School Board in 2016.

Gantt identified her top priorities as the lack of affordable housing, the need for more educational resources and criminal-justice reform.

She began her legal career as an assistant public defender in Broward and said that, although she now has her own law firm, she still sees criminal justice through that lens.

“There are different ways where we can provide opportunities for reentering citizens and to provide opportunities for youth,” she said. “Kids make dumb decisions. I don’t believe that should impact their entire life. . . . And for adults, too, I still don’t think that you should be defined by the worst decision that you make in your life.”

If elected, she said she would also pursue legislation — in response to the 15-week ban — that would help provide education or financial resources for women and girls who could not obtain abortions.

On the issue of housing, she doesn’t think the Legislature made enough progress in its special session on homeowners’ insurance, especially in ways that might help elderly people on fixed incomes. She’s a proponent of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights that passed in Miami-Dade. She thinks should go statewide, noting that, “Wages are not being increased to accommodate the rising cost of housing.”

We are impressed with Gantt’s thoughtfulness, skilled reasoning and energy as well her credentials as a lawyer and a teacher. We think she can go to Tallahassee with a fresh focus for residents in her district. The Herald recommends ASHLEY GANTT for Florida House District 109.

This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 12:16 PM.