The midterm elections are around the corner, and two candidates are vying to represent the Wellington area in Tallahassee. Republican incumbent Anne Gerwig will face off against challenger August Mangeney, a Democrat, to represent House District 93 on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
District 93 includes all of Wellington, along with several areas farther east, including parts of Greenacres and suburban Lake Worth. Gerwig, previously a two-term mayor of Wellington, narrowly won the seat in 2024 and is wrapping up her first term in Tallahassee. Her challenger, Mangeney, is an attorney who lives in suburban Lake Worth.
Anne Gerwig — Gerwig believes her experience as an elected official makes her the right person to address problems that Floridians are facing. Gerwig hopes to apply this experience to keep the state one of the best places to live and work.
Among top issues for many Florida voters is affordability and cost of living. She explained that residents are seeing rising electricity, tax and insurance bills.
“The whole time I’ve done public service, my priorities have been making life better for my community,” Gerwig said. “Right now, that comes down to affordability.”
Property insurance is one of her main targets to address affordability in the state. Gerwig believes that the industry needs to be better regulated. While she supports private insurers being able to make a profit, she argues that there needs to be limits on how much these companies can make, similar to health and car insurers.
Gerwig pointed to her record of pushing for bills that help residents save money and improve their quality of life. Those bills included shifting the back-to-school sales tax holiday to give parents more time to shop before school starts, legislation to make it easier and less expensive for former certified teachers to return to the classroom and giving school districts the flexibility to change their school start times.
Before joining the legislature, Gerwig served as the mayor of Wellington and on several local boards. She considers this public service experience essential in understanding the community that she represents and how to work with other lawmakers to create legislation that supports residents’ best interests.
“Having worked so long in this county, on all those boards and committees, was honestly a big leg up,” Gerwig said. “When I got to Tallahassee, while I may not have understood the process as well as others… what I did know was my community really well. I knew what services were provided here, how we can continue to strengthen those and not replicate those services elsewhere.”
As a lifelong resident of South Florida, Gerwig experienced firsthand the rapid growth that the state has seen. She said that Florida has reached a point where development needs to slow down, and lawmakers need to consider first building infrastructure to support it. Growth needs to be strategic while also prioritizing some affordability through methods such as workforce housing, she said.
On Amendment 3, which could significantly reduce municipalities’ tax revenue by raising homestead exemption rates, she is concerned about what it could mean for municipalities. Gerwig argued that if those tax reforms are implemented, Palm Beach County will have to further help support poorer parts of the state who cannot make up for the lost revenue.
If re-elected, Gerwig is committed to serving everyone in the community. She also believes that many of her policy initiatives benefit Floridians outside of her district, and already has goals in mind for next session, like working on bills targeting mental health and substance abuse. The legislature is slated to experience some leadership changes, which Gerwig sees as an opportunity to find new ways to support the interests of her constituents.
“The more I get re-elected, the better committee assignments I get, the more effective I can be for this community,” she said.
Learn more about Gerwig at www.annegerwig.com.
August Mangeney — Centering his campaign around affordability and restoring the “American dream” in Florida, Mangeney wants to go to Tallahassee to help create a future that benefits all residents.
“I chose to run for the seat because I don’t believe I’m raising my children in the Florida that I grew up in,” he said. “Florida used to be a place where people came from all over the country, because it was the best place they thought to achieve the American dream.”
Mangeney argues that the cost of living is pushing many people out of the state, and officials are increasingly catering to wealthy people at the expense of the middle class. He believes this is unsustainable and not great for most of the community.
He identifies property insurance increases and unaffordable housing as two of the biggest factors creating this problem. If elected, Mangeney will support legislation that would require insurers to roll their reinsurance with other states and create tax incentives to encourage developers to build housing in more attainable price ranges.
On Amendment 3, Mangeney characterizes it as a distraction from the property-insurance crisis. He is critical of whether it will truly provide relief to residents because municipalities will have to find other ways to compensate for the lost tax revenue. This can be through increasing fees or cutting services. He also supports local control over development and supports communities who oppose projects like data centers.
Another major priority for Mangeney is public education. He explained that the Florida Legislature is continuing to find creative ways to take money out of the public school system. Mangeney supports funneling more money into public schools and teachers to ensure that students are given a proper education, which will promote better economic upward mobility.
“I can’t think of anything more important that the state can do for its residents than to educate the next generation of Floridians,” he said.
Mangeney believes that his unique background will give him an advantage on the floor in Tallahassee. He is a practicing attorney who specializes in insurance issues and has experience working as an aide in the Florida Legislature. But most importantly, he wants to approach being a lawmaker as a father, community member and resident who understands what is important to voters.
If elected, Mangeney emphasized that he is not looking to build a political career but instead is fully committed to serving his constituents. He said that many people have grown to be distrustful of lawmakers because of a focus and attention on issues not relevant to most voters. However, he wants to serve while being earnest and sincere, which Mangeney believes could encourage meaningful collaboration with other lawmakers.
“I am running for office because I think it’s in the best interest of my community and my kids,” he said. “I don’t want to go to Tallahassee to fight culture wars. I’m not interested in getting invited onto cable news and running for some other office later. I want to go there and do something to make my community better.”
Mangeney is a first-generation college graduate who attended Union College in Kentucky on a football scholarship. He later earned his law degree from the University of Miami. He and his wife Allison, a former schoolteacher, have two children.
Learn more about Mangeney at www.augustmangeney.com.
