BRANDON, Fla. — As Election Day looms closer, ousted Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren and incumbent State Attorney Suzy Lopez debated over who is the better candidate at an event in Brandon.
The two candidates went back and forth, contradicting what the other person said for an hour about everything from crime rates to office culture during the conversation Wednesday morning.
Both candidates presented themselves as they always have: Lopez as a tough-minded prosecutor who sticks to the Florida statutes and Warren as a looser candidate who is tough on serious crime but stresses reform in the justice system.
Here is a breakdown of the main points of the forum:
Warren ousted by Gov. DeSantis
One of the biggest subjects of the debate was Warren being ousted from the seat in 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The twice-elected State Attorney was suspended based on alleged "neglect of duty" and "incompetence" after Warren signed a pledge not to prosecute alleged crimes arising from abortion or transgender care.
DeSantis suspended him over policies against prosecuting certain low-level, non-violent crimes. Then, he appointed Suzy Lopez.
Warren challenged the suspension in court and two courts ruled DeSantis violated Warren's freedom of speech.
RELATED: Court sends case of prosecutor suspended by DeSantis back to trial judge over First Amendment issues
Warren said this was an "egregious abuse of power" at the event. Lopez said when she came into office, DeSantis' claims rang true and she found Warren failed to prosecute certain cases such as resisting an officer without violence and trespassing, which Warren denied.
“We don’t get to pick and choose. We don't get to experiment. That is not the job of the state attorney," she said. "You wanna be a social worker, be a social worker. You wanna change the law, change policy, go to Tallahassee, go to Washington D.C."
The decision of whether to reinstate him is still in limbo as the lower court will decide that.
Both said they reduced crime
Lopez started off her introduction by saying crime was down 8% since last year and has been on a downward trend since 2022. She cited the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Meanwhile, Warren said crime was down 32% during his time in office but is now up. He cited the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's annual crime reports. About crime being up now, he told people to just turn on the TV or look at the newspaper for proof.
Technically, they are both correct, but it's complicated.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a February news release that crime was down 8% in 2023 compared to 2022. If you compare data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the crime rate from 2016, when he was elected, to 2020, which was when he was still in office, there is a 32% decrease.
Although, the data from the department shows crime has been on a downward trend for years before both of the candidates were in office.
Stance on youth crime
Both candidates emphasized youth crime as a priority in their campaigns.
As a father of two children, Warren said youth crime is a priority of his campaign. He said there needs to be a balance between aggressive prosecution and using discretion regarding lower-level offenses. He emphasized the need for policy and diversion programs for offenses such as trespassing.
"We need to reach the kids at the lower level crimes before it escalates," he said at the event.
Lopez agreed that juvenile crime was important to her, especially gun violence. She said while diversion programs can be appropriate for minor crimes, juveniles should know they will be tried as adults if they "make the adult decision to pick up a firearm."
She stressed that the role of the state attorney is to "put bad guys behind bars" and to "not be a social worker."
Backgrounds of each candidate
Warren was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 as state attorney and before that, he was a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice.
He is originally from Gainesville and studied at Brandeis University and Columbia University. His other goals include partnerships with law enforcement and community agencies, including victims' advocacy groups and other civil organizations, according to his website.
Lopez was appointed State Attorney by DeSantis in 2022, but before that, she was an attorney for the Second District Court of Appeal in Tampa, the assistant state attorney and was a judge in Hillsborough County.
She was born and raised in Hillsborough County and went to Middlebury College. She earned her law degree from Suffolk University. Lopez's other goals include maintaining strong relationships with local law enforcement and preventing gun violence with a focus on career offenders, according to her website.