TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — There are two vacant house seats in Florida and candidates are already stepping up to throw their hats in the ring.
But there’s one problem -- a special election hasn’t been called yet.
The District 118 house seat became vacant last month when Republican Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin was appointed as Miami Dade Clerk of Court and Comptroller.
District 35’s house seat became vacant when Republican Rep. Fred Hawkins resigned in June to take over as president at South Florida State College.
House Democrats say time is of the essence.
“If they don’t call these elections soon, the next legislative session will start and the residents of those two districts won’t have any representation in Tallahassee,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the Democratic House Leader.
Driskell sent a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to call a special election for two vacant seats.
“I think that the governor is distracted by his own ambitions in terms of running for president of the United States, and he’s not paying good attention to what’s happening here at home,” she said.
Political expert Jeff Swartz from WMU-Cooley Law thinks DeSantis may be dragging his feet since District 35 has been in the mix of the Disney and Reedy Creek drama.
“In this particular instance, he is afraid this seat will flip because people who are angry at Republicans over what has happened at Reedy Creek are the people who are going to turn out,” Swartz said.
But as far as stalling goes, Swartz says the rules are pretty cut and dry.
“Based upon the statute, he is required,” Swartz said. “The statute says 'shall fix the dates for a special primary election.'”
Swartz also said that candidates interested in running can take the issue to court if the delay continues.
“Candidate or candidates who want to run for this office have the ability to show a court that they are being harmed by this delay, that the people within that district are being harmed by being unrepresented,” Swartz said. “The court should issue a ‘writ of mandamus’ requiring the governor to set a date.”
Driskell’s letter says that, even after the governor sets a date, it could take up to 162 days before results are certified.
She says we are -- at the time of this publication -- 176 days away from the next legislative session, and that’s why she wants the governor to take swift action.
We’ve reached out to the governor’s office for comment and are waiting to hear back.