Dan Marquith wants to represent fellow and law enforcement and first responders in Tallahassee.
He doesn’t want to be part of the security for the State House and the lawmakers. He wants to be one of the lawmakers.
Marquith, one of the Democrats facing off in Tuesday’s primary in district 47, a newly-drawn district for 2022 that includes the St. Cloud city limits, Buenaventura Lakes and Meadow Woods, hopes to win the seat, and take the mental health and retirement concerns of those in uniform to the Capitol, and have them heard on the Legislative floor.
“Our first responders must be taken seriously … PTSD is real,” said Marquith, who spent over two decades as a deputy in his native southwest Florida, and with the Osceola and Seminole County Sheriff’s departments, and now works with the non-profit Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “We’re putting band-aids over gunshot wounds when it comes to their mental health. It’s time for this state to take that seriously.”
To do that, he said he’ll push for requiring law enforcement and firefighters to go through annual mental health screening. To help fund it, he said he wants to partner Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.
“With the support of their agencies, responders can live long, healthy lives after their service is done,” Marquith said.
He also wants to help sustain career-long teachers in their retirement as well.
“Teachers who work 35 years and retire aren’t retiring with a living wage,” he said. “The Florida Retirement System is great for the pension, but bad for benefits.”
Marquith noted transportation (“I’m excited for Brightline’s plan”), infrastructure and affordable housing (“I want to educate the public on how those funds are available”) as other important issues.
Marquith was raised by his grandparents, who emigrated to Florida from Cuba in 1961. His grandfather worked for over 50 years, and his grandmother started out as a cleaning lady in a church, and with a friend there opened a flower shop.
“That’s the American Dream right there,” he said. “I hope they are looking down on me, proud of what I’m doing.”
The winner of the Democratic primary in district 47 will meet the race’s lone Republican, St. Cloud Main Street chair Paula Stark, in the Nov. 8 primary.
