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Credit: Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings\/Facebook<\/p>\nCredit: Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings\/Facebook<\/p>\n
One thing Orange County Mayor and Democratic candidate for governor Jerry Demings intends to change if elected next year is the Florida Legislature\u2019s proclivity for preempting local governments from making their own laws and regulations.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0latest such move<\/a>\u00a0by the Legislature is a law passed earlier this year that restricts local governments from regulating development. Two separate lawsuits have been filed to block enforcement of\u00a0Senate Bill 180<\/a>. Twenty-five cities and counties\u00a0call<\/a>\u00a0the law the \u201clargest incursion into local home rule authority\u201d since adoption of the Florida Constitution in 1968.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Tallahassee preempts local governments from being able to make decisions for themselves, you\u2019re at that point adversely impacting the will of the people, and that is something that has to change,\u201d Demings told a Phoenix reporter while speaking on\u00a0WMNF-88.5 radio<\/a>\u00a0in Tampa on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cAs governor, I will certainly look to work closely with our local governments to give appropriate authority, but also at the same time make certain that we have fair standards across the state of Florida with the understanding that those standards can be applied to allow the people closest to government and local residents to be able to make decisions in the best interests of those that they serve,\u201d said Demings, entering his eighth and final year as Orange County mayor, following a decade (2008-2018) as sheriff.<\/p>\n Demings announced his candidacy earlier this month, joining former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly as the highest-ranking Democrats so far to enter the race to succeed Ron DeSantis. Southwest U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner are the top Republicans in the race, with Donalds \u2014 already endorsed by Donald Trump \u2014\u00a0leading<\/a>\u00a0in early polls.<\/p>\n Demings says his decision to enter the race was not sudden. \u201cMany people,\u201d he said, have urged him over several years to enter the gubernatorial sweepstakes, in which the eventual Democratic nominee becomes the decided underdog in a state now with 1.4 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, according to the state\u2019s Division of Elections.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need change in Florida,\u201d Demings said. \u201cWe are seeing some of the most divisive politics that I\u2019ve seen in my lifetime and, as a result of that, I\u2019m in the race looking for change to bring about some common sense, some normalcy, some diplomacy in government.\u201d He added that housing affordability, education, and the high costs of health care are at the top of his agenda.<\/p>\n Demings said he\u2019d like to work with the private sector \u201cto create partnerships to figure out how we can bring down and reduce the cost of childcare for individuals within this state.\u201d<\/p>\n On the topic of education, Florida this week became the first state to adopt\u00a0The Phoenix Declaration<\/a>, authored by The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that formulated the Project 2025 plan for Donald Trump\u2019s second administration.<\/p>\n The Phoenix Declaration outlines\u00a0six core principles<\/a>\u00a0for Florida\u2019s education system, including one labeled \u201ccitizenship,\u201d which states, \u201cStudents should learn the whole truth about America \u2014 its merits and its failings \u2014 without obscuring that America is a great source of good in the world and that we have a tradition that is worth passing on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen progress, but progress still needs to be made to make certain that we have equitable access to quality education within our state,\u201d Demings responded when asked about the policy.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe that we should whitewash the history of our nation, and some people, what they\u2019re trying to do is whitewash the history of our nation. Tell the truth, the good and the bad about what happened to us as a country as part of the strength of our nation.<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe that we remain the United States of America, \u2018one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice\u2019 for everyone. But every day that\u2019s a struggle. That\u2019s a struggle when we see the politics of the day trying to further divide us, rather than unite us, and that\u2019s not right. Where we have countless book bans, where we\u2019re trying to somehow really make the history for some people in this country more palatable. Well, that\u2019s not right. Tell the whole story, because that is a foundational purpose of our country is to bring people from all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The DeSantis administration has\u00a0strongly pushed back<\/a>\u00a0on the book ban allegation, insisting that never happend. However, PEN America, a nonprofit advocating for freedom of expression,\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0last month that Florida removed more than 2,000 books from classrooms and libraries last year. The Florida Department of Education\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that 444 books were removed or discontinued by one of Florida\u2019s school boards during the 2024-25 school year.<\/p>\n Immigration<\/p>\n Demings was involved in a dispute with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier this summer regarding an addendum to modify the county\u2019s 287(g) Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Memorandum of Agreement that allows county jail officials to transport immigration detainees to ICE facilities. Demings ultimately signed the agreement after Uthmeier\u00a0threatened<\/a>\u00a0to remove him and all six county commissioners from office if he did not.<\/p>\n If Florida enforces federal immigration laws, it should do so \u201chumanely with dignity and respect for the people who are trying to come here,\u201d Demings said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe America can be as great as it can be without allowing immigrant populations who bring something to the table, who are able to work on our farms and agriculture, who are able to work in our higher education institutions to bring the types of science and research to help us as Americans better live and better cooperate across the world, the globe, in terms of world and global peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Demings says he\u2019s poised to get on the campaign trail and engage in a \u201clistening tour,\u201d which will include an appearance at the Florida Association of Counties in Tampa later this week.<\/p>\n Florida Phoenix<\/a>\u00a0is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions:\u00a0info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>. Follow Florida Phoenix on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tA pro-marijuana group sued the DeSantis administration for allegedly slow-walking the process to put an amendment on the ballot\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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