Herald recommends: In House District 114, incumbent has earned another term | Editorial
.png "In the race for Florida House District 114, Republican State Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera (left) faces Democrat Adam Benna.")
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Editorial Board November 2022 Election Recommendations
In advance of local and state elections, the Editorial Board interviews political candidates to better understand their views on various issues and how their policies will affect their constituents. The goal is to give voters a better idea of who’s the best candidate for each race. Read our November 2022 recommendations below:
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The Florida House race to represent some of Miami-Dade’s most affluent neighborhoods — Coral Gables, South Miami, Cutler Bay and West Miami — pits a political newcomer against a first-term incumbent.
Republican State Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, a nonprofit development director, was elected in 2020. Her foray into politics began as chief of staff to former Republican state Sen. Anitere Flores, who rose to lead the Miami-Dade delegation. Busatta Cabrera currently is the vice chair of the Legislature’s Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.
Her challenger, Democrat Adam Benna, is an attorney and an executive with his family’s Orlando-based construction company. Benna got his first taste of politics as a 2008 intern with the Obama campaign and also interned with the mayor of his hometown, Daytona Beach. This is his first run for public office.
Benna is well-versed in state issues and said he rejects the idea that voters are truly vested in the current culture wars spilling out of Tallahassee. “I’ve knocked on plenty of doors in the district, and that is not what voters are concerned about,” he told the Editorial Board.
Benna said that, if elected, he’ll address voters’ real concerns and focus on helping address the state’s property insurance crisis. “Yes, they met for three days during a special session, but the Legislature has done nothing to create a robust competitive hurricane insurance market,” said Benna, adding that affordable-housing and climate-change concerns around the county’s existing septic tanks would be among his other priorities.
Incumbent Busatta Cabrera points to the handful of bills she has championed in her first two years as a legislator, and she says she has “brought home the bacon,” one of the benefits of being part of the majority party in Tallahassee.
She says she helped secure $15 million for septic-to-sewer conversion in Coral Gables, and stormwater and water projects in West Miami. She sponsored a bill creating the state’s first sea-level rise plan and resilience office directly under the governor. Her bill requires an action plan for public facilities, airports, medical centers and utilities. Benna has said her bill did not go far enough, but it is a step forward.
Busatta Cabrera has brought money home to finance mental-health facilities that deal with low-income mothers, championed the Firefighters’ Bill of Rights and passed another bill requiring all high school students in Florida take a financial-literacy course. “I think that no matter where our students go after high school, whether college [is] in their pathway or not, whether they choose a career in the military or the arts, we want them to succeed financially,” she told the Board.
Keeping in step with other Republicans, Busatta Cabrera voted in favor of the ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that the Legislature passed this year. Benna said he is pro-choice and opposes the recent abortion ban, as does this Editorial Board.
The Board found Benna to be an intelligent, well-versed candidate. However, Busatta Cabrera has earned a second term in office.
The Miami Herald recommends DEMI BUSATTA CABRERA in House District 114.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWho decides the political endorsements?
In advance of local and state elections, Miami Herald Editorial Board members interview political candidates, as well as advocates and opponents of ballot measures. The Editorial Board is composed of experienced opinion journalists and is independent of the Herald’s newsroom. Members of the Miami Herald Editorial Board are: Amy Driscoll, editorial page editor; and editorial writers Isadora Rangel and Mary Anna Mancuso. Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
What does the endorsement process look like?
The Miami Herald Editorial Board interviews political candidates to better understand their views on public policy and how their policies will affect their constituents. Board members do additional reporting and research to learn as much as possible about the candidates before making an endorsement. The Editorial Board then convenes to discuss the candidates in each race. Board members seek to reach a consensus on the endorsements, but not every decision is unanimous. Candidates who decline to be interviewed will not receive an endorsement.
Is the Editorial Board partisan?
No. In making endorsements, members of the Editorial Board consider which candidates are better prepared to represent their constituents — not whether they agree with our editorial stances or belong to a particular political party. We evaluate candidates’ relevant experience, readiness for office, depth of knowledge of key issues and understanding of public policy. We’re seeking candidates who are thoughtful and who offer more than just party-line talking points.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 8:35 AM.
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