Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-West Palm Beach) faces Republican financial advisor Paul Spain and independent candidate Mike Trout in Florida’s newly drawn 21st Congressional District in the Nov. 8 election.
The former 22nd Congressional District now reaches farther west than the old district to include most of Wellington. It is considered as a fairly safe Democratic district.
“Currently, I represent most of the eastern part of the coast from Riviera Beach to Fort Lauderdale, so I’ve been basically pulled out of Broward County and now will be representing more of Palm Beach County,” Frankel said.
Frankel noted that she is very familiar with the new portions of her district, having represented Wellington when she served in the Florida House of Representatives.
“I’ve lived in Palm Beach County since 1974,” she said. “I know it very well. I was in the state legislature when Wellington incorporated. I have a long history with most of Palm Beach County, so it’s an easy transition for the constituents. I was mayor of West Palm Beach for eight years, and I think a lot of people got to know a lot about me.”
Frankel added that she has spent a great deal of time in Wellington over the past several months, and has met with Mayor Anne Gerwig and other council members, Village Manager Paul Schofield, hospital representatives and chamber of commerce leaders to talk about issues.
“I’ve been going through sort of a listening tour, a refresher course of the issues out in Wellington,” she said, explaining that many of the village issues are local water issues, dealing with the South Florida Water Management District. “We like to work as an advocate for whoever we’re representing, so the mayor spent quite a bit of time talking to me about water issues.”
Another issue with federal implications is the regulation of sober homes. “I think we’re going to have some help on the way to local governments, just to give them some guidance on how to balance the needs of the addicted while maintaining the character of the neighborhoods,” Frankel said.
Serving as a congresswoman since 2013 has been both exciting and challenging, she said.
“There needs to be a better effort so people can work together, and it’s very polarized, but with that said, there are still opportunities to really serve your community,” Frankel said. “We do a lot of good constituent work with veterans and seniors, helping people navigate these federal agencies.”
On the Transportation Committee, she has had opportunities to work with Republican members on major infrastructure bills that will bring millions of jobs across the country, including South Florida.
Asked whether there is a chance for a more cooperative Congress after the election, Frankel said she hoped there would be.
“The House of Representatives is so lopsided it’s only in rare instances that they need to be cooperative,” she said.
For more information, visit www.frankel.house.gov.
Spain, Frankel’s Republican challenger, is a Jupiter resident who said he is running because change is needed in Congress.
“There are too many people who have been in there too long,’” he said. “They’ve really lost contact with the interests of the business community and with the community at large. I think we’re at a level of corruption in the government right now that is really horrendous. We’re heading toward a socialist-type society where people are pitted against each other. All sorts of things are going on with the IRS, the way government is handling taxes all the way down to local school districts imposing Common Core on our children, even down to the level of taking over rivers and streams in local communities, and settling people in housing projects that are against the local ordinances and regulations.”
Spain feels that the federal government has taken too much control at the expense of local government.
“People have really lost their voice in Washington, D.C., and I want to go back as a businessman, experienced in the private sector, not a long-term government politician,” he said. “I want to make sure that we make a difference in the community. I also believe in term limits.”
Spain said that he would bring jobs to Palm Beach County, improve the utilization of the Port of Palm Beach, and promote the creation of a technical college in the county to teach more electricians, plumbers and roofers for the construction industry and other trades.
“I want to bring more of a focus on serving the local community instead of serving the people of Washington, D.C.,” he said.
As a financial advisor, Spain believes that he is skilled on issues involving the economy and healthcare.
“Healthcare is a very important issue today,” he said. “I feel that I have more experience really than any other candidate in Florida on that. I have been involved in that industry for more than 30 years. I have experience in ports and railroads and transportation and shipping, all of those things that are vital to the State of Florida.”
Spain has also worked with large technical and automotive industries.
“That gives me a level of experience, and a level of business experience and computer experience, to stand up for the United States, especially like what our government just went through where the government passed over control of the internet to an international body.”
For more information, visit www.paulspainforcongress.com.
Trout, a Boca Raton resident, said that he likes the newly drawn district.
“It’s a really diverse district, and it really makes more sense because it follows some geographic boundaries that make more sense,” he said. “It takes up most of Palm Beach County, including Wellington.”
Rather than a “no party affiliation” candidate, as he is listed on the ballot, Trout said that he would prefer the label of “progressive independent.”
Trout, who has run under the NPA label previously, is campaigning for term limits in the federal system.
“I think the way we have to discuss it is the presidential election that we all share,” he said. “Look at how disruptive. I was looking back at what I said in 2012 and 2014 about how disruptive this presidential election is. It’s because we don’t elect a president for four years. We elect him for two years and a two-year campaign. There’s nothing pleasant about it. Just think how much better the country could operate if we gave the president a six-year term one time, and he never has to worry about re-election.”
Trout said he would stop campaigning the day he is elected.
“Without exception, you cannot find another [member of Congress] who does that,” he said. “They spend some good portion of their time focused on their next election, and that happens the day after they are elected.”
Trout is also an advocate for police reform. He is opposed to what he calls the militarization of police.
“We have the situation, which is going on and on and on, most starkly brought into the public eye now, which is extrajudicial executions by police on the streets of the country,” he said. “In the 10 years of the Iraq War, more than 5,000 civilian citizens were executed on the streets of this country, while less than 5,000 soldiers died in the Iraq War. It just begs the question of where the real war is.”
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/miketroutforcongress.