As Floridians prepare to vote in the upcoming gubernatorial election, candidates are outlining their visions for the state's future and explaining how they plan to address some of the issues affecting residents.
From the rising cost of groceries and housing to healthcare and public safety, Florida continues to face a wide range of challenges. Candidates hoping to become the state's next governor have centered their campaigns on different approaches to those issues, offering proposals they say will improve the lives of Floridians.
State Rep. Dotie Joseph is among those seeking the governor's office. Running on a campaign focused on "Fighting for Florida's Families," Joseph said her priorities include making Florida more affordable for families while expanding access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Born in Haiti, Joseph was raised by parents who served their community as professors, pastors and a nurse. She later attended Yale University and Georgetown University Law Center before building a career in civil rights and government law. She has represented parts of South Florida in the Florida House of Representatives for the past eight years.
Joseph's platform includes expanding access to prekindergarten programs, protecting coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions, raising the state's minimum wage to what she describes as a “true living wage,” and increasing accountability and transparency in law enforcement.
"I'm running because Floridians are tired of working hard and still not making ends meet," Joseph said. "Floridians have spoken by trying to increase the minimum wage, and we have Republican leadership trying to roll those back or find exceptions to the $15 that we have."
During the interview, Joseph also responded to questions submitted by WUSF listeners on several issues affecting communities across the state. Among them were concerns about the environmental impact of data centers in Florida, the future of the state's personal injury protection insurance system for automobile accidents and how her administration would approach those policy areas if elected.
The interview below has been edited for clarity and brevity.
You entered the race for governor shortly after (Orlando) Mayor (Jerry) Demings withdrew. Can you walk us through the timing of that decision and why you chose to step into the primary?
I had a conversation with Mayor Demings the weekend before qualifying, which is when I learned that he was stepping out of the race.
He shared with me some information, and several other people shared with me some information about our current options, and I thought it was important to provide Floridians with an additional option.
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I'm running because Floridians are tired of working hard and still not making ends meet. We're tired of the culture wars at home and the foreign wars abroad, and it's time to focus on us right here. Floridians are struggling at a time when all prices are going up. We've had three decades of Republican rule, and everything has gotten more expensive. Whether you're talking about gas, groceries, healthcare, housing or insurance premiums, we trail in worker pay throughout the entire United States.
We have some of the worst-paid state employees. You know, Floridians have spoken by trying to increase the minimum wage, and we have Republican leadership trying to roll those back or find exceptions to the $15 that we have. Floridians, whether you're talking about Democrats, Republicans, or NPAs, we all support these policies that are good for us, and it's time that we have leadership that reflects that.
A leadership that recognizes that our seniors are a blessing and not a burden, that climate change is real, and that our democracy is worth fighting for. I believe I represent those options, and my record of not just eight years in the legislature, but my time before fighting for communities as a civil rights and government attorney provides me with a particular set of skills that make me more than well qualified for this position. For me, it's more than just a position; it's about the people. So I wanted to make sure the people had an option to vote for someone who has consistently reflected and fought for our values.
With the Republican supermajority in Tallahassee, how will you be able to work with the other side of the aisle?
I have been successful in working across the aisle already as a legislator, working in a Republican minority. The first couple of years I was in the legislature, I passed more bills than probably more Republicans, and the only way I was able to do that was with bipartisan support. So, to the extent that I need to work across the aisle to find things that we can agree on, in the legislature we're able to find more things that we could agree on rather than things that we disagreed on.
The first couple of years I was in the legislature, I passed more bills than probably more Republicans.Dotie Joseph
Unfortunately, that overlapped the current governor's multiple runs for president and higher office, which derailed and kind of amplified a lot of the culture wars that we had to deal with in the legislature.
In addition to my extraordinary mediation and conflict resolution problem-solving skills, I also recognize that as governor, I will serve as an important check and balance to what is otherwise a Republican trifecta in the state of Florida.
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In terms of advancing my agenda, I know the budget, so there are a lot of things that I propose in terms of making housing more affordable — creating more access to healthcare, and really focusing on the needs of Floridians, whether we're talking about raising the pay for our workers or providing for our essential services. There are ways that we can do it in the budget. Other states have already started to deploy some of these things.
How does your background shape your approach to leading Florida if you were to win this nomination?
I want to transition us from this politics of hate and division to love and unity, because I do believe that there is more that unites us than what divides us. Instead of terrorizing our immigrant communities, I want to do what the Bible calls us to do, which is to love our neighbor, and that's not unique to the Judeo-Christian philosophy. That's across the board. The golden rule applies everywhere, and that's something I want to be implemented in government. I want government to work for — rather than against — the people, and I want it to work for everybody, not just the one percent.
I'm somebody who fortunately has been able to interact with people throughout socio-economic spectrums, throughout cultural spectrums, and that puts me in a position to be able to empathize in a way that's frowned upon by some politicians.
How does this national debate around TPS impact your local constituents, and how does it fit into your broader vision for Florida's workforce?
Florida has one of the largest populations of immigrant communities. Whether you're talking about Cubans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans, Nicaraguans, like a whole lot of immigrant communities that are part and parcel to who we are as Floridians, and when you see immigrants as the other, you completely miss the mark of who Florida is and what Florida is.
I want people to understand how interconnected our economy is. Haitian TPS holders, for example, bring $1.8 billion into our state economy. There were studies that were done that show that once Haitian TPS holders are taken out of the equation, then our grocery prices will rise by 14% plus, and I need people to understand how these things are connected. I know there's a trying to scapegoat the immigrant community as the enemy, and I'm here to tell you that immigrants are not our enemy; they are our friends.
What is your policy on data centers?
I filed legislation this past session to make sure that before any data center could be approved, we have full transparency regarding not just how they're going to use our resources, specifically water and electricity. Because what we're seeing is that these data centers are coming in and raising the prices and diminishing our already dwindling water supply.
What I want to do, in addition to making sure that there's transparency, is to force the United States to take a more aggressive approach to regulating what data centers are and how they operate in other countries. You have examples of data centers who actually do well, and they support the community, and they lower costs, and they add to providing resources as opposed to taking away, which is the exact opposite of what we see here in the United States.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Cathy Carter for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full interview with State Rep. Dotie Joseph here.
