There has been relatively considerable local media coverage of Janet Cruz-Rifkin and Pat Kemp, two Democrats who have declared their candidacy to replace Mike Scionti in the Florida House District 58 election, taking place on January 26.
Less attention has been paid to a 3rd Democrat in the race, local attorney Gil Sanchez, a 33-year old just married attorney who currently lives in the Channelside area of Tampa, outside of District 58's boundaries (state law says a candidate can live outside the district, but must reside in it once elected).
Born and raised in West Virginia to Columbian parents, Sanchez attended high school in Sarasota before blossoming a the University of Florida, where he spent one year interning with then Senator Bob Graham. He then attended the UF Levin College of Law, where upon graduating he entered the Florida Hall of Fame, and was named a UF Undergraduate Leader (an honor he says is reserved for only a handful of graduating students.
He is perhaps best known in Tampa for helping to create HYPE (Hispanics Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs), as well as serving as president of the Hillsborough County Hispanic Democratic Caucus. He's also the co-founder of the Tampa Bay branch of the Democratic Professionals Council, and worked on Jim Davis's gubernatorial campaign in 2006.
Local Latina activist Evelyn Perez-Verdia, who form HYPE with Sanchez, is a big fan. She thinks that with the sizable Hispanic community that is part of District 58, Sanchez bilingual skills are a big plus. "We need a candidate that can identify to their area in every way possible," she says..
The breakneck pace of the campaign has been hectic for all of the candidates, but consider Sanchez's story. Scionti announced he was giving up his seat on December 7th. Sanchez thought long and hard about running for the seat, but there was one hitch: he was about to get married.
"And after that was my honeymoon," he said in a recent interview. That took place between December 20th and just ended this past Tuesday, January 5th.
"Obviously that put me at a significant disadvantage," he admits. But he says that while he was celebrating the beginning of his new life in Thailand and Japan, his campaign team and group of supporters grew, and have been "very effective in my absence."
When asked what he stands for politically, Sanchez said the term he uses is "triangle of prosperity," which for him is economic development, education, and safety and security.
Also realizing the arithmetic in Tallahassee, Sanchez says he wants to cross party lines and work with Republicans when that's possible. He says, "I'm not compromising my ideals, but I want to be effective."
Sanchez also says he wants to be an effective advocate for the people in District 58.
The Democratic and Republican Primary elections are on January 26th. The general election is on February February 23rd.
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.