Florida Senate District 11 | Democratic primary

Winner: Fred Taylor

After abandoning other bids for office in 2006, these two Democrats are running for Sen. Mike Fasano’s seat. Fred Taylor is a Vietnam veteran with lots of Florida Democratic Party support. Richard Skandera, a college student, promises not to take any campaign cash.

	Richard Skandera, 21	Fred Taylor, 60
Experience	A University of Central Florida senior studying anthropology and psychology, Skandera previously quit a 2006 race for Pinellas County Commission. He works part-time as a research specialist for Walt Disney. He was a volunteer at Brooker Creek Preserve. He said he ran because he saw inequalities in Florida’s education system that hurt students’ ability to get a good education.	Recipient of three Purple Hearts for wounds during the Vietnam War, Taylor previously led a national organization representing Purple Heart recipients. He also has led efforts to assist veterans. In 2006, he started and aborted a run for Congress. He has a business brokerage company, and he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at Indiana University.
How should the state address financial shortfalls?	“I think it’s necessary to both cut spending and increase state revenue to meet Florida’s future needs. There is plenty of pork in the Florida budget. ... It would be quite easy to cut $750-million in unnecessary road construction projects from the transportation budget.”	“I believe the Legislature should carefully examine closing certain tax loopholes as a means of increasing revenue. In addition, the Legislature should examine a one-year freeze on all nonessential member (spending) items.”
How should Florida address affordable property insurance?	“ I think Citizens (Property Insurance) would be at the breaking point if a major natural disaster were to hit. ... The state could compel insurers to offer (homeowners) policies if the insurance companies wanted to be able to offer any policies in the state. Perhaps, the state could even take on the entire burden of insuring all structures ... to build up a significant emergency fund.”	“I believe the state of Florida should sit down at the table and negotiate with private insurance companies. Private insurance companies are better equipped to offer comprehensive coverage for routine storm damage, while states are better equipped to prepare to handle the catastrophic coverage related with hurricanes by spreading the risk.”
How would you change student testing?	“The FCAT needs to be replaced with a more valid standardized test, while scores should be used to measure students’ progress along with many other factors (some students are not good at standardized tests).”	“I support adding new factors such as year-to-year student achievement, variety of curriculum, course difficulty, parental involvement, class sizes, graduation rates and AP scores to judge school performance.”
Assets	Investments, bank account.	Home, cars, investments, timeshare.
Liabilities	None.	Mortgage.
Net worth	$32,000	$126,000
Source of income	Part-time job, scholarships.	Military retirement benefits.
Personal	Palm Harbor resident is single.	New Port Richey resident is married to Patricia and has four grown kids.
Web site	Yes	Yes
E-mail	Yes	Yes

About the job: The senator for District 11 represents a Gulf Coast swath running from north Pinellas County through Pasco and Hernando counties and ending in Citrus County. A senator votes on changes to state law, budget and appointments. The job pays $30,300 a year.