PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 In the heart of Tallahassee, 120 chairs line the floor of the Florida House of Representatives. But one of them \u2013 representing more than 114,000 Palm Beach County residents \u2013 has sat empty for months.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s House District 87, which stretches from Lantana to Juno Beach and includes parts of Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, North Palm Beach, and Lake Worth Beach, has gone unrepresented since August. That\u2019s when former Representative Mike Caruso resigned his seat after being appointed Palm Beach County\u2019s Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller.<\/p>\n
Under Florida Statute 100.101, vacancies in the Legislature shall be filled by a special election. But nearly two months later, Governor Ron DeSantis has yet to announce when \u2013 or if \u2013 he\u2019ll schedule one.<\/p>\n
Democratic candidate Emily Gregory, a Palm Beach Gardens small-business owner, filed a lawsuit <\/a>this month asking the governor to follow state law and call a special election.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t speak to motive, but the effect is the same \u2014 the people of District 87, coastal Palm Beach County, are being denied representation,\u201d Gregory told CBS12 News. \u201cAnd at a time when the affordability crisis is affecting all of us \u2014 with skyrocketing property insurance and rising grocery bills \u2014 we need a voice in Tallahassee.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory\u2019s petition for a writ of mandamus cites Florida\u2019s statutory language as clear and mandatory, not discretionary. <\/p>\n The filing notes that 114,648 registered voters in District 87 are \u201cpaying taxes to a government in which they currently have no elected representation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe just want the voters to be able to elect a representative,\u201d Gregory added. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason for the seat to go vacant and for the people of House District 87 to be denied a voice in the next session. There are really important issues that need to be figured out \u2014 property insurance, rising costs of goods \u2014 and voters in Palm Beach County are really feeling the squeeze.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican candidate Gretchen Miller Feng acknowledges that state law requires a special election but points out the governor\u2019s discretion in setting the timeline.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a requirement to have a special election when a seat is left vacant,\u201d Feng said. \u201cHowever, the governor does have executive discretion \u2014 if he feels there\u2019s not enough time to do a primary and then a special election, that\u2019s his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt could be cost-of-living adjustments,\u201d she added. \u201cAs of right now, if you join the firefighters after 2014, you don\u2019t get a cost-of-living adjustment \u2014 and that\u2019s a very hot-button issue for them. So that will not be represented in Tallahassee in January.\u201d<\/p>\n That timing could stretch into the 2026 session. <\/p>\n Lawmakers return to Tallahassee in January to debate a host of statewide issues \u2014 including proposals to cap property-insurance rate hikes at 15 percent (SB 30), expand the Live Local Act, allowing more affordable housing development statewide, overhaul school-funding formulas, and divide a $117 billion state budget.<\/p>\n Feng says the vacancy means those votes will move forward without any input from District 87.<\/p>\n See also: Candidate files lawsuit to force Gov. DeSantis to call special election in Palm Beach Co.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey won\u2019t have anyone advocating for them,\u201d Feng said. \u201cIt could be property taxes, education funding, cost-of-living adjustments \u2014 those issues won\u2019t be represented in Tallahassee.\u201d<\/p>\n For Laura Levites, another Democratic candidate in the race, the situation is personal.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is taxation without representation,\u201d Levites said. \u201cI learned that in middle school \u2014 and here I am, living it.\u201d<\/p>\n Levites said the district faces a unique mix of coastal and economic pressure, from rising flood-insurance costs to infrastructure delays. She points to recent FEMA flood-map updates, which added roughly 6,000 new flood zones statewide \u2014 including 2,000 within District 87.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople now have to buy flood insurance,\u201d she said. \u201cI just don\u2019t know how we\u2019re supposed to live.\u201d<\/p>\n Without a state representative to file local funding requests or advocate during committee weeks, Levites warns, District 87 could miss out on storm-resilience grants, school safety improvements, and beach-renourishment dollars that other areas secure through direct legislative advocacy.<\/p>\n Several Palm Beach County voters told CBS12 News they were unaware their district currently has no representative.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know about it,\u201d one man said. \u201cWhen something\u2019s left open that long, it just feels like there\u2019s no urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not fair for one county to not have representation,\u201d another resident said. \u201cWhy are you taxing us if you\u2019re not representing us?\u201d<\/p>\n Political observers note that Florida governors typically move quickly to fill legislative vacancies. In past years, special elections have been called within weeks of a resignation.<\/p>\n The delay in District 87 now stretches into the window when lawmakers begin committee meetings and bill filing ahead of the 2026 session, which convenes January 13.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s office did not respond to requests for comment on when a special election might be called or why the decision has been delayed.<\/p>\n Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter<\/a> to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a> for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. 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