News
House District 35 race features familiar faces in politics
TBO.com
Published: October 27, 2012
The House race has familiar faces in politics running this election.Published: October 27, 2012
Those vying for the Florida House of Representatives District 35 seat are incumbent Republican Robert Schenck and former county commissioner Rose Rocco, a Democrat.
Schenck has been the state representative since 2006, beating out Democrat Glenn Claytor.
He won re-election in 2008 and 2010, defeating Democrats Jason Melton and Diane Rowden, respectively.
Because of term limits, Schenck, if re-elected, will only be able to serve two more years.
He has said that he remains a fiscal conservative and cited his record in shutting down pill mills, protecting Medicare benefits and cutting government spending.
He said if re-elected, he would shift focus on Internet cafes and look to rewriting all gambling laws.
Schenck also touts having helped cut $5 billion from the state budget and would look to cut more by eliminating state agencies that duplicate services. He would also look to reform federal healthcare benefits and seek more accountability from water management districts, which he said is the only regulation agency authority with no voter representation.
Rocco, who lost her bid for a second term on the Hernando County commission in 2010 to Republican Wayne Dukes, has since remained a civic activist.
She said, if elected, she would seek better communication across party lines and between local and state government.
She added she would seek a review of all unfunded mandates and wants to research creating more incentives to draw businesses to the state, along with creating a fairer and equitable tax structure.
She has said she would not seek to ban Internet cafes or regulate them. However, she would seek better clarification of the laws governing them.
Rocco was instrumental in events leading up to the termination of former County Administrator David Hamilton.
When Hamilton recommended then-Director of Transportation Services Susan Goebel take over the vacant job of environmental services director, it was Rocco who alerted county commissioners that the administrator had not gotten a sign-off on the hiring move from Director of Administrative Services Cheryl Marsden.
Marsden later acknowledged that she was asked to lower the qualifications for the position to enable Goebel to qualify.
Rocco was also an outspoken critic of former clerk of the court consultant Lisa Hammond — saying she lacked the necessary educational background to handle sensitive contracts for the county.
Hammond eventually left her position, saying she had enough of being in the eye of controversy.