State House candidate Elizabeth Fetterhoff: ‘Always had a strong moral code’

Aug. 13--Elizabeth Fetterhoff is a Republican running for Florida House of Representatives in District 26, which includes much of mainland Daytona Beach stretching into DeLand and Orange City. She was born in DeLand, served in the U.S. Army Reserve and worked as a legislative assistant under Sen. Dorothy Hukill for five years. She's on the Aug. 28 primary ballot with Michael Cantu, who's run for the seat twice before, losing both times, including in 2016 to the incumbent Rep. Patrick Henry, D-Daytona Beach. Henry is also being challenged in the Democratic primary by Percy Williamson.

Q: Elizabeth, you live in DeLand and it sounds like that's where you were from?

Fetterhoff: I was born in DeLand, West Volusia Hospital. I stayed there until I was about 8, then moved around the state a little bit, but then I came back in high school. So, a DeLandite all the way.

Q: Your mother has a connection to The News-Journal, used to be a reporter here. Why don't you tell me her name and a little about your early days growing up with your mom and family?

Fetterhoff: Senta Goudy is her name. And Roy Schleicher (a former Volusia County councilman) is my dad. Both politically involved, both heavily involved with the community here.

Q: What year were you born?

Fetterhoff: 1981.

Q: Does that make you a millennial, then?

Fetterhoff: I think it does. They keep changing it, but I think it does. I'm very proud, I'm very patriotic. I was born on the 40th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. ... When I joined the Army, I was very proud to serve my country after having that as my background for my life.

Q: It says here you were valedictorian of your class, is that right?

Fetterhoff: Yeah, instead of going to DeLand High, I went to Daytona Beach Community College at the time, now Daytona State College. I went through their high school program to get my degree.

Q: How did you end up going to the community college for high school?

Fetterhoff: I had been out of school for a few years, had been homeschooled, and it was a really easy transition to just test out. ... It was a self-paced program, so if you're really good at history or English, you could take classes a little bit faster than the math class.

Q: You got some community college courses and went to Florida State University. Tell me about how you selected a major?

Fetterhoff: I actually ... got involved in campaigns at age 16. Actually worked on Pat Patterson's first House race, which was for District 26, the district that I'm running for now and ... got the bug, just always wanted to be involved in politics. I never changed my major. It was political science. So I went up to Tallahassee to both work and get experience in the process as well was get my degree.

Q: So you also served in the Florida National Guard. Were you ever called up to active duty or was that the guard duty?

Fetterhoff: Yeah, guard duty, weekend warrior. I served up in Camp Blanding the three years I was in.

Q: What were some of your earliest experiences in politics like?

Fetterhoff: I moved up to Tallahassee. I started working for various lobbying firms there. I also interned in the governor's office of policy and budget. Then I came back to this area and started working for Sen. Dorothy Hukill. I worked for her for five years. ... Now I'm the government affairs director for the New Smyrna Board of Realtors, so I've really gotten a taste of lobbying work, association work, working in the governor's office and in public service.

Q: Have you always been a Republican?

Fetterhoff: Oh, yeah, I was registered Republican in '99 before I could even vote, so I've always been a staunch Republican.

Q: Is that something you inherited from parents or ... how did that come to be?

Fetterhoff: I've always had a strong moral code, I guess, always wanting to fight for the little guy, strong business ethics. I watched my parents always be true to their customers. ... They were actually Democrats back in the day, but we always talked politics at the dining room table and it just came naturally to be a Republican for me.

Q: Were there any figures you looked at as political heroes?

Fetterhoff: Sure. Reagan was my first president, so I really admired him. The Bushes -- Jeb, George and George -- were always wonderful to follow. Barbara Bush was one I always appreciated. Actually got to meet her in Tallahassee many years ago, and she was just wonderful.

Q: How has it been being a woman entering into the world of politics?

Fetterhoff: I like to think of it as we're all equals, but there's always times where you're not part of the 'good-ol' boy' crowd, especially on the local level. They've got their chosen ones they want to see succeed. You're often looked at as as the outsider, 'You're young, you're female.'

[REMEMBER: Check out our photo gallery of Barbara Bush's life.]

[FOR MORE: Click her to see what her opponent, Michael Cantu, says.]

Q: Tell me more about your work with Sen. Hukill.

Fetterhoff: I got to work on some really interesting issues, and some of them I want to continue working on as an elected official. Specifically, her financial literacy issue that she's been trying to get into high schools for a number of years, the requirement that kids need to have before they graduate. Kids don't have the knowledge, even if they're not going to college, if they're going to get a job. Paying taxes, getting a mortgage, buying a car, those type of things, they're not being taught in high school, and they need to be. I got the opportunity to work on the manufacturing equipment sales tax exemption issue with her, and I have seen firsthand how that helps manufacturers ... as well as the assignment of benefits issue, which is affecting us with our insurance locally and all throughout the state.

Q: As a first-time candidate, what are you finding is the most challenging part of it?

Fetterhoff: I think just getting your name out there, just getting name recognition.

Q: There is probably not a better campaign slogan than Elizabeth's. If you could, just tell us what it is and ... were you born thinking that would be a good campaign slogan someday?

Fetterhoff: Not quite. When I was in sixth grade, we had a really great program ... the first half of the year you were a constitutional government, the second half of the year you were a parliamentary government and what was great was that we had a president, a vice president and all that. And so I ran for attorney general of the class and so my campaign slogan in sixth grade was: "Better Off With Fetterhoff." It just kind of stuck. ... When I made the decision to run, it was just kind of an obvious choice to move forward with, so that's my hashtag, it's my slogan and we're just gonna run with it.

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