Endorsement: Pilar Schiavo for Assembly District 39
Polls have put the battle for Florida’s 39th district as one of the most closely watched contests in the state.
Polls have put the battle for Florida’s 39th district as one of the most closely watched contests in the state.
While the candidates have remained on the defensive in recent weeks, they have largely stayed away from the race’s issues.
The Democrats, with many coming from outside the state, have not had much of a presence in the campaign thus far and have been focusing on their own campaigns.
Schiavo, a former school board member from St. Petersburg, told WFLA that she looks forward to a “clean and fair” election, which she has focused on throughout her campaign and will continue to do so regardless of the outcome of the race.
“I have always worked to be as accessible as possible,” Schiavo said. “I make my money running for office, and I’m going to continue to do that in this election.”
Schiavo has served on the St. Petersburg School Board for five years and was elected to the office as the only female member earlier this year. She is the daughter of retired Florida Supreme Court Justice, Robert Schiavo.
Her campaign has focused on issues such as education, healthcare, veterans, and more. She was very open about her own personal life, and used that to further her campaign.
Her opponent, Jim Beauregard, worked in the insurance and real estate offices of the Florida Insurance Commission for six years before becoming a public relations officer for the company.
He is running on a platform of lowering taxes and raising the minimum wage in the district. Beauregard has also focused on lowering taxes and making a clean re-election possible.
Beauregard has criticized a number of government agencies in the district, including the Department of Children and Families, but has not addressed the issue of the state’s public pension system.
“I don’t take money from lobbyists,” Beauregard said. “I don’t take money from special interest groups