That’s the message Republican Joe Negron and Democrat Bill Ramos are pitching to recession-battered voters as an Aug. 4 special election approaches for a Treasure Coast-Palm Beach County state Senate seat.

“This campaign is about making sure we have someone in the Florida Senate who understands how this community is hurting,” says Negron, a former state representative from Stuart. “Families are anxious right now and I think it’s important that government lives within its means. Government should tighten its belt the same way citizens are right now.”

Ramos, an independent mortgage broker and business consultant from Jensen Beach, says he can relate to voters because he’s seen the vicissitudes of the slumping economy firsthand.

“I know it. I get it. Being a mortgage broker, I saw it coming. I’ve had people come to me for help when there is no help,” Ramos says. “I am first and foremost a regular person.”

Ramos and Negron are vying to replace retiring state Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. Also running in the special election, but not appearing on the ballot, is write-in candidate Josue Larose, a 28-year-old Deerfield Beach resident who has also opened a 2010 campaign for governor.

The winner of the Senate District 28 election will serve the final 15 months of Pruitt’s term. The seat will be up for election again in November 2010.

District 28 includes all of Martin County and portions of Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. Republicans held a 41.7-to-34.9-percent registration edge there in November.

Negron says his goals are protecting the St. Lucie River, increasing education spending despite the overall shrinking of the state budget and “making our community a place where biotech and life sciences can flourish.”

Ramos says he wants to boost teacher pay and education spending, protect the environment and encourage a more diverse economy by promoting the “green industrial revolution” and businesses that promote solar and other alternative energy sources.

Negron, 47, has a long political history in the Treasure Coast.
After losing two state House races in the 1990s, Negron was elected to the first of three House terms in 2000 and ascended to House appropriations chairman in 2005. He left the House in 2006 to pursue a campaign for attorney general, but dropped out of the race to clear the Republican field for eventual winner Bill McCollum.

In October 2006, Negron gained national attention when the GOP tapped him to run for Congress after U.S. Rep. Mark Foley abruptly resigned in a sex scandal. Running with Foley’s name on the ballot, Negron narrowly lost to Democrat Tim Mahoney.

Ramos, 50, garnered a surprising 45.7 percent of the vote when he challenged former Republican state Rep. Gayle Harrell in 2006. In 2008, Ramos ran for the same seat but lost the Democratic primary to eventual state Rep. Adam Fetterman, D-Port St. Lucie.

With Pruitt facing term limits in 2010, both Negron and Ramos had already opened Senate campaigns when Pruitt announced in May that he would step down early because of family and economic concerns.

Through Thursday, Negron had raised $373,644 in campaign contributions and Ramos $25,828 for the special election. Larose reported putting $50,000 of his own money into the race.

Tags: Bill Ramos, Joe Negron, Josue Larose, special election

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 5:26 pm and is filed under George Bennett, Ken Pruitt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.