By james art 
Florida Amendment 3 Recreational Marijuana Candidate Forum
Dr. Jessica Spencer, Director of Advocacy, No on 3, and Steve Vancor, Smart & Safe Florida, participated in a candidate forum on Florida’s Amendment 3
Tallahassee Democrat
Republican Danny Nix and Democrat Tony Dunbar are vying for a seat in Florida’s 75th District and will be the first new representative sent from the district to Tallahassee since 2016.
District 75 covers southern Sarasota County and northeastern Charlotte County, including Englewood, Manasota Key and Port Charlotte. The seat is currently held by Congressman Michael Grant, a former term-limited majority leader of the state House of Representatives.
Republican Danny Nix emphasized the experience in Tallahassee
A native of the Peach State, Danny Nix grew up in Danielsville, Georgia, a farming community about 15 minutes outside of Athens.
As president of Realtors of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and DeSoto, Inc., former chairman and member of the Florida Southwest State College Board of Trustees and former trustee of Florida Realtors, Nix pointed to his experience when he went to Tallahassee for weeks , to advocate on legislative matters.
Nix eventually gained enough attention and goodwill from the local Republican Party to be appointed to the seat.
In a modern political environment that can sometimes resemble Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, the first-time candidate said he’s trying to focus on practical campaign issues: property insurance, water quality and infrastructure.
“You have people who are extremely aggressive in wanting to talk about national policy, which — I love the passion,” Nix said. “But as we sit down, I say, ‘Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about now. Let’s talk about what we’re facing.’
Nix’s campaign has raised more than $319,000. His political committee — Friends of Danny Nix — has raised more than $170,000 and has received some top dollars from developers Pat Neal and Carlos Beruff. It is chaired by local conservative activist and former Sarasota County School Board member Eric Robinson.
Despite his professional ties to real estate and development and his numerous campaign contributions from local developers, Nix said that doesn’t mean he’ll vote their way.
“I’ve been very clear about that to anyone who has donated to me,” Nix said. “I’m going to go through the data and then we’ll find out what’s really going on.”
Former lawyer and writer Tony Dunbar is on the run after volunteering with local Democrats
Anthony Dunbar practiced commercial law in New Orleans before moving to Englewood with his wife to retire. He has written more than a dozen mystery novels set in The Big Easy and Florida.
“A lot more people know me as writing mystery novels than they know me as a lawyer,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar echoed Nix’s view from the campaign trail — a fear that the national political stories that get the partisan blood flowing are more resonant in his district than the practical nuts and bolts of local government.
“I’m afraid people pay less attention to local issues than to national issues,” Dunbar said. “I see about as many thumbs up as thumbs down when I go out and paint or wave a sign. I think people are quite divided.”
Despite being a Democrat in a historically Republican district, Dunbar believes he is on the side of the majority of his constituents. He focused on property insurance, development and environmental protection as the main principles of his campaign.
“I don’t find that much disagreement that we should work hard to preserve our water and work hard to preserve our environment for sport fishing and enjoying the great outdoors,” Dunbar said.
The author and first-time candidate said he would like to strengthen Florida’s state insurance corporation, Citizens, to equalize and spread liability risks and lower insurance costs. He also wants to add a consumer representative to the citizens’ board.
Issues like water quality and insurance plague Dunbar — his house was flooded twice by Hurricanes Helena and Milton. In New Orleans, it was displaced by Hurricane Katrina for months.
Dunbar said he liked the Knicks but was puzzled by the contributions his opponent earned.
“They raised more than $400,000, and believe me, you don’t need $400,000 to fight Anthony Dunbar,” he said.
An earlier version of this story said both candidates were running for public office for the first time. Dunbar is running for the Sarasota County Charter Review Board in 2020.
Christian Casale covers local government for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Email him at [email protected] or [email protected]