Herald recommends: Republican with mixed record deserves second chance in House District 120 | Editorial

The race for Florida House District 120 pits a freshman incumbent who pulled off a squeaker of a victory in a contentious Republican primary against a Democratic lawyer.

The district covers all of Monroe County and the southern portion of Miami-Dade, including part of the Homestead area. Republican James “Jim” Mooney, first elected in 2020, came under fire in the primary for some anti-environment votes he took. He won by just 90 votes.

Mooney, 71, has often voted like a moderate, balking at his own party’s stance on the parental-rights bill known as “Don’t say gay.” The measure banned classroom instructions about sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3. That puts him in line with a district where Republicans have a less than 3,000 voter-registration advantage.

Mooney also opposed bad anti-home rule legislation that reversed the will of Key West voters who limited cruise ships at the city’s port. He voted against a bill to allow some businesses to sue cities and counties if they lost at least 15% of their profits because of a local ordinance. Senate Bill 620, later vetoed by the governor, would have encouraged frivolous lawsuits and hurt efforts to restrict the sale of products that harm the environment.

Mooney also sponsored legislation to allow coastal cities to create pilot programs to regulate single-use plastic products like shopping bags, something the state has prohibited communities from doing. The legislation, however, didn’t go anywhere.

Mooney has been criticized for supporting legislation that, had it not been vetoed, would have put agricultural interests ahead of Everglades restoration by taking away flexibility from the state’s water managers. The bill was a concession to the sugar industry and, although it was pared down from its original version, it was still unnecessary.

Mooney also voted for a 15-week abortion ban that made no exemptions for rape and incest. He told the Herald Editorial Board in July that, “I struggle with that bill,” but it’s still mystifying why he supported it.

It’s fair to say Mooney has had a mixed record. What sets him apart are his deep ties in the Florida Keys, where the former Islamorada mayor is well-known. That will be important as Monroe County prepares for a 2023 moratorium on new building permits put in place by the state to prevent overdevelopment in the environmentally sensitive island chain. Mooney has said he wants to extend that deadline. He’s faced criticism for not paying attention to the Miami-Dade portion of District 120, which he refutes.

His Democratic opponent Adam Gentle, a lawyer who’s worked on anti-corruption cases, said he’s making reproductive rights a focal point of his candidacy. At that same candidate forum, he said it’s “repugnant” that victims of rape and incest cannot get an abortion under Florida’s ban.

If elected, Gentle would be the eighth openly gay lawmaker to serve in the Florida Legislature, the Herald reported. He has said protecting LGBTQ+ rights is one of the reasons he’s running. That’s important given how Gov. Ron DeSantis stokes anti-LGBTQ sentiment with his culture wars.

Gentle, 41, said he wants to file a “tenants bill of rights” that would guarantee a right to legal representation to renters facing disputes. He wants to write legislation to protect local governments from interference from Tallahassee, as happened with the overturn of the Key West cruise vote.

Gentle comes off as smart and knowledgeable about the issues. But we have questions about his ties to District 120.

He said he lives in a one-bedroom condo he and his husband bought for $215,000 in Big Coppitt Key last year, just months before filing to run, property records show. However, he hasn’t claimed a homestead exemption — a property tax break homeowners get on their primary residence. That exemption is claimed at a three-bedroom home valued at $803,000 outside of the district, almost 160 miles away in Miami, where his husband lives.

Gentle said he’s simply complying with a Florida law that bans couples from claiming a homestead exemption for two properties. He said he spends 90% of his time in District 120 and has changed his driver’s license and car registration to his new address.

Gentle denied he moved in District 120 for the purpose of running. Still, we have seen some politicians play the residency game for political gain.

Gentle has done his homework about district issues, but he doesn’t give us a good reason to oust Mooney.

For his ability to tread the middle in times of hyper-partisanship, the Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends JAMES “JIM” MOONEY for House District 120.

This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 9:36 AM.