Election 2018: Harrell, Levy battle for State Senate District 25
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As
Longtime Republican State Rep.
In Levy's view, the
What undercuts Harrell's professed environmental commitment, Levy said, is that in 16 years in the Legislature, she was never on an environmental committee and took contributions from the sugar industry.
On other issues, Levy would support a living wage for all Floridians, and "common-sense gun safety laws," such as banning bump stocks, barring gun sales to people under 21, and taking guns from people with a history of domestic abuse. He opposes arming teachers. "The answer is, there are too many guns. We need to ban weapons of war," he said.
Levy, 64, who sold one of the largest medical groups in
He wants to initiate a roundtable discussion on healthcare reform with small business owners, practicing physicians and insurance providers to find common ground, in a state whose leadership has worked to stifle the Affordable Care Act, he said.
Harrell, 75, served as a state representative from 2000 to 2008, ran unsuccessfully for
She is on the boards of
Harrell opposes expanding Medicaid. She says that would move it beyond being a traditional safety net for the disadvantaged and turn it into an entitlement program. "For able-bodied adults, the best way to provide quality health care is through quality employment, high-paying jobs and a great economy," she said.
On gun control, she says weapons should be taken from the mentally ill, but says people under 21 shouldn't be barred from owning guns. She supports arming teachers and opposes banning assault weapons.
The top issue confronting the district is how to control "the devastating releases from
In response to Levy's comments, she said committee selections are up to the Speaker of the House. At one point she requested to be on environment-related committees but was not named to them, Harrell said.
Nonetheless, she has been involved since 2000 in environmental issues, she said, including working with the St. Lucie Issues Team to identify and rank needed environmental projects and seek funding. The only sugar industry contributions she took were from companies such as citrus farmers or transportation firms, which she did not realize were owned by big sugar companies, she said.
"I have tried to be extremely careful not to take money from sugar," she said. "I have never taken it knowingly or directly."
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