Voters in portions of Lee and Collier Counties will chose a new representative for Florida’s Congressional District19th seat Tuesday/today. Current Congressman Curt Clawson is not seeking a second term. WGCU’s John Davis reports, voters will primarily be choosing between two candidates who have not previously held public office.
The Republican candidate is businessman Francis Rooney. Originally from Muskogee, Oklahoma, Rooney relocated to Naples in 2002 where his international investment company, Rooney Holdings, Inc., is now headquartered. Although Rooney has been a major donor to GOP campaigns and has been an active political fundraiser in the past, this is his first bid for elected office. He said his disappointment with the Obama administration’s policies from healthcare to foreign policy sparked his decision to run, as well as what he sees as a need for fewer career politicians in Congress.
“I think we need more people who have been out in the business world, who have actually created jobs and taken responsibility for people’s family livelihoods and careers as they make policy decisions in Washington D.C.” said Rooney.
Rooney also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2005 to 2008 under President George W. Bush. “My faith is very important to me and it’s been a cornerstone of how Kathleen and I have raised our family as strong, active practicing Catholics,” said Rooney.
“I think we all need to have a fundamental moral grounding that religion gives us in life and one of the threats to our democracy is the restriction on 1st Amendment freedoms that have happened in the last few years.”
On the Democratic ticket is self-employed tax preparer and Cape Coral resident Robert Neeld. He’s lived in the district since he was nine months old. Neeld has run for this same seat in 2004, 2006 and 2008 and before that, ran twice for Lee County Sheriff in 1996 and 2000. He’s a member of budget committees for both the City of Cape Coral and the Lee County School District, but has not held public office before.
Neeld says the desire for a lively debate of the issues is what first prompted him to run for congress.
Neeld and Rooney both express concern over the nearly $20 trillion national deficit with Rooney emphasizing the need for spending cuts. Neeld said his approach to reducing the national debt does not include blaming the wealthy
“Generally across the board, the tax rates are 30% less than they were in 1977. So if you want to know who’s responsible for the deficit, get up in the morning and go and look in the mirror because we all are responsible for the deficit,” said Neeld. “We have all enjoyed lower tax rates for many years and that’s what’s caused our deficit.”
Southwest Florida’s water woes, driven by nutrient-laden releases of water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River, are a primary concern for district voters this year. Both Rooney and Neeld have characterized the issue as a complex ecological and economic problem requiring South Florida’s public officials to approach the federal government with a unified voice. Neeld emphasizes the need to reduce the harmful effects of agricultural runoff and to elevate roadways like I-75 and U.S. 41 to allow more water to flow south into the Everglades. Rooney has aligned his position with that of Governor Rick Scott including a focus on completing projects set out through the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan before looking into purchasing land South of Lake Okeechobee.
Both candidates say they have been disappointed with the federal government’s rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Rooney said he’d like to see Obamacare repealed.
“If we would get the government out of it and provide the government maybe as the ultimate safety net, but let more free market competition for the providing of insurance policies and maybe organize where health savings accounts and maybe some tax equalization treatment where people in business who have the company pay their premium are on the same footing as people who do not have the ability to have a company pay their premium, we might be able to make a better system.”
Neeld said he likes the concept of Obamacare, but has been disappointed with its implementation.
“I believe in the concept because I believe the constitution says ‘provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare,’ and what better to promote the general welfare than to have everyone covered by an affordable healthcare policy?” said Neeld.
“My idea is to replace the affordable care act by an expansion of Medicare. I want to do it in increments. For instance, every four years we would change the age for Medicare for five years. So starting in January of 2017, we would reduce the age from 65 to 60 and increase the age from zero to five. Then four years hence, we reduce the age from 60 to 55 and increase the age from five to ten. And what happens then is Medicare collapses upon the middle who are the healthiest Americans. And that allows us to absorb the cost incrementally rather than having all the cost thrust upon us at once.”
Neeld and Rooney also differ on their approaches to addressing the country’s immigration system. Rooney’s focus is on changing the country’s visa system.
“Half the people in this country illegally now came legally on a visa, either a spousal visa, a student visa or a visa from a country for which visas are waived which is mostly European countries,” said Rooney.
“You can get into Bulgaria and go anywhere in Europe for free through the Schengen Treaty and now once you’re in there, you’ve got a chance of coming over here. And we definitely need to address those problems.”
Neeld said being born in the United States should not necessarily qualify someone for U.S. citizenship. “First, I would like to have that changed so that if you’re born in the United States, you take the nationality of either one of your parents,” said Neeld. “Of course, your parents are going to make that decision for you, but either one of your parents can decide whether you will be there nationality.”
Neeld also emphasizes the need to crack down on businesses that employ undocumented workers.
“Most people come here illegally for economic opportunity,” said Neeld.
“If it were not for the economic opportunity, I don’t believe they would come and if the economic opportunity was removed, I think they would leave. That self-deporting, I think, becomes valuable for the United States because then the people will make their way somewhere else on their own.”
Fundraising and campaign spending are another area where the candidates differ. Recent Federal Election Commission records show Rooney has raised about $800,000 and has contributed about $3.7 million of his own money to the campaign. Neeld said he’s shied away from fundraising because the congressional seat is “not for sale.” Records show he’s raised $1,300 in contributions and has loaned himself $12,500.
In addition to Republican Rooney and Democrat Neeld, write-in candidates David Byron and Timothy Rossano are also running for Florida’s congressional district 19 seat.
