House District 38: Insurance costs, abortion, environment among top issues [Orlando Sentinel]

The cost of homeowner’s insurance, abortion rights and protecting Florida’s environment are key issues among the two candidates vying for the House District 38 seat.

State Rep. David Smith, a Winter Springs Republican who was first elected to the state House in 2018, is now seeking his third term. He is a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and business consultant.

His opponent, Democrat Sarah Henry, is a project manager for the nonproft MED-Project USA and lives in Altamonte Springs. This is her first time running for office, and she is the former president of the Young Democrats of Seminole County.

District 38 covers most of the southern central portion of Seminole, and includes areas of Oviedo, Winter Springs, Casselberry, Longwood and Altamonte Springs.

Smith said the Legislature should have done more to address the rising cost of property insurance during this year’s regular session. He supported the three-day special session last May that ended with establishing a $2 billion reimbursement fund for insurance companies faced with huge hurricane losses. The bill also limits how much attorneys can charge for representing homeowners in claims disputes.

“Homeowners’ insurance premiums have gotten out of control,” Smith said. “And we went back to a special session and we were able to make some corrections. … We passed a good bill. It was not a great bill. I thought we could’ve done more.”

Smith said possible solutions include enacting tort reform and “reeling in the fraudulent claims” by roofing companies.

Henry called the skyrocketing costs of homeowner’s insurance “a crisis” that makes it increasingly difficult for residents to purchase a home or stay in their current homes.

She said the Legislature spent too much time during the last session focused on “ripping away our rights” to choose to have an abortion and other cultural issues “while letting our housing and insurance costs skyrocket out of control.”

But real reforms that reduce insurance costs to help homeowners won’t happen as long as the insurance industry keeps backing state legislators with large donations, she said.

“If you can afford to buy a home, you should be able to stay in it,” she said. “I don’t think David Smith is able to advocate for the homeowners because he’s taking in thousands of dollars from the insurance industry. ... The first step in solving the insurance crisis is making sure that our legislators aren’t bought by the insurance companies.”

According to public records, Smith’s campaign has received nearly $15,000 in contributions from donors tied to the insurance industry of the total $420,315 raised in cash donations.

Henry’s campaign has received $95,373 in monetary donations, and none from the insurance industry.

Henry opposes a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last April that bans most abortions after a woman’s 15th week of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. The law would grant an exception if the fetus is found to have a “fatal fetal abnormality.”

Henry said she would vote to restore a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion.

Smith said he’s knocked on “thousands of doors” and people are talking about the price of gasoline, rising food prices and their kids’ education.

Abortion “is maybe six or seven down the pecking order” of their priorities, he said.

Smith called himself pro-life and said the 15-week ban, which he voted for, “is a reasonable piece of legislation.”

“Every abortion stops a beating heart,” he said. “But I will never vote for an abortion restriction that criminalizes a mother.”

Smith said he’s a strong supporter of protecting the environment because it’s good for businesses and the state’s economy.

“Let’s face it: People don’t come to Florida because we have strip malls,” he said. “It’s our beaches. It’s our waterways. It’s our wildlife. … And protecting our aquifer is absolutely critical.”

Henry said the best way to protect the environment is to pass smart growth legislation to prevent developers from paving over wetlands, which help reduce flooding, and water recharge areas that feed the aquifer.

“People are continuing to move to Florida at massive rates,” she said. “But instead of having smart-growth laws, we’ve eliminated any oversight on developers and allowed them to pave over critical areas. I want to make sure that development is done in a sustainable way.”

Complete election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election.

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