Steven Ceracche says he's always felt the call to help his community. It's a feeling that goes back to his days in the Boy Scouts of America, where he earned the highest honor of Eagle Scout.
That's why Ceracche, 41, wants to represent District 76 in the Florida House of Representatives.
Ceracche says he's lived nine years in Southwest Florida and watched as the Florida Legislature "didn’t do enough to help our community" after Hurricane Ian .
"It’s time to pass meaningful legislation that will help everyday Floridians who are struggling right now," he said in an earlier interview.
The Florida House of Representatives District 76 race
The North Fort Myers resident is competing against fellow Republican Vanessa Oliver in Florida's Aug. 20 primary. The winner will battle Democrat Jim Blue in the general election Nov. 5.
District 76 stretches across parts of Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, including Arcadia, North Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Both Babcock Ranch and Herons Glen Golf and Country Club are part of the district. The Florida Supreme Court approved the new district March 3, 2022.
The House seat pays $18,000 per year for its two-year term, plus a per diem.
More about House District 76 candidate Steven Ceracche
Ceracche works as the food safety manager for Green Life Farms in Babcock Ranch, which he says supplies leafy greens and lettuce to 1,300 Publix grocery stores and many other Florida retailers.
He hopes to win the seat formerly occupied by Republican Spencer Roach , who dropped out of the 2024 race in April. Roach cited a feeling of "restlessness" and a need to trust his instincts.
As of July 18, Ceracche had raised $6,481 for his campaign, according to the Florida Department of State's Division of Elections.
Here are Ceracche's answers to our questions about why he's running for District 76, why he thinks he's the best person for the job and his thoughts on some of the biggest issues facing the district. His written responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Why do you want to be the next state representative for District 76?
Over the past few years, our state legislature hasn't done enough to help struggling Floridians. Enough is enough. We need to get Florida's insurance crisis under control.
Sky-high insurance and property-tax price increases are hurting our fixed-income and retired folks in our community. We need to protect all Floridians with meaningful legislation that will solve the problem.
What separates you from your opponent?
My platform is focused on legislation that helps all members of our community that are struggling with out-of-control inflation and perpetual health risks from water pollution and poor environmental policy management.
My (primary) competitor is a proponent of big business, special interest and the privatization of publicly-owned entities such as the Punta Gorda Airport.
What life or work experiences do you have that make you the best candidate?
I have 20 years of agricultural farming experience. Nine of those years have been spent in Florida helping connect local farmers to retail customers and support farmers markets.
At my current position, I'm responsible for compliance with all local, state and federal agencies' current laws. I'm very detail-oriented and dedicated to helping our community.
What are the biggest issues facing District 76, and how would you address them?
Cost of Insurance: We need to pass legislation that will cap the amount insurance companies can increase rates annually.
Water pollution continues to pose a public health threat and hurt tourism in our area every summer. We need to approach this problem in a way that makes sense financially and will create a meaningful improvement to the ongoing water crisis.
Agricultural support: Local farmers are struggling, and the legislature needs to help protect the vitality of this industry that is under threat from foreign competition, development pressure and skyrocketing labor prices.
What are your top priorities, if elected to District 76?
Insurance cost reductions, clean water legislation, agricultural support and healthcare reform.
Florida's insurance keeps rising. How do you think the state should address the issue?
When you go to my website, I have tons of information on what the causes and solutions should be. Here is a quick overview of the top three items we should focus on:
- Place a rate cap on the amount an insurance company can charge every year to prevent the doubling and tripling of prices over the past two years.
- Invest in risk-mitigation strategies, such as hardening our local infrastructure so that Florida is less susceptible to damages from storms. This includes actions such as burying utility lines, renovating/ improving power infrastructure, improving building codes and developing better floodplain and storm-water-management plans.
- Reduce excessive litigation by removing the use of AOB's (assignment of benefits agreements) and encouraging insurance companies to do direct payments to consumers and give them the ability to choose their own contractor, ensuring more free-market competition that will lead to lower prices overall.
Abortion will be on the Florida ballot this year with Amendment 4, which would protect women's right to abortion in Florida. What is your stance on abortion?
Currently in the State of Florida, there is no complete ban on abortion. I feel that the state should have stuck with the 15-week limit on abortion. The primary issue with Amendment 4 is that a lot of folks feel like the 25 weeks is a little bit too late. Fetal development at that point is a whole, viable baby.
The other big issue with this amendment is that it was funded (over $20 billion) by out-of-state organizations that are out of touch with the conservative supermajority in Florida. I don't see the people supporting this measure by the 60% required. However, I will support the will of the people if this amendment passes.
The environment is another huge issue for Florida. How do you think the state should address clean water and other problems?
The clean water crisis in Florida is only getting worse. We need to pass meaningful legislation that will protect our environment and waterways for future generations to enjoy. Increased developmental pressure and the increased loss of green space, wetlands, coastal mangroves and farmlands are exacerbating the problem.
We need to give local municipalities more control to regulate development from the county level and allow these folks to enact real policies and environmental protection plans that have a meaningful impact. We can hold developers accountable if they don't follow their environmental plans.
What are your thoughts on Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoing all of Florida’s planned arts and culture grants in the state’s 2024-25 budget?
I am a huge supporter of the arts! The Governor is out of touch.
The B & B Tax agencies compiled a lot of data on what Florida tourists want to experience when they visit the state. They found that a typical family that visits Florida for three days or more wants to go to one arts and cultural event, venue, etc. during their visit. Tourists are asking for these organizations to provide this entertainment.
Every dollar spent on the arts returns $9 in economic development. So that's a really great return on investment for the state.
It's time for elected officials to put aside partisan politics and have some common sense when it comes to approving a budget that was passed in the legislature with bipartisan approval for these organizations to continue to provide arts and cultural events which benefit our entire community.
What is your stance on allowing recreational marijuana in Florida and how would you regulate it?
This is another amendment that is primarily funded by the private sector, primarily the dispensary Trulieve. Only 4% of Floridians currently have a medical marijuana card. The process is very simple and easy for most Floridians to qualify.
This private company wants to increase marijuana sales. Trulieve has spent over $40 million so far to get this amendment on the ballot. There are many polls that say 60% of Floridians want this, but I doubt it will get the required 60% during the election to enact this legislation.
If it passes, I will recommend that we create an open market that prevents the 20 or so medical dispensaries from having a monopoly on the market share for this type of business. I would encourage more free-market competition by increasing the number of licenses available and reducing the million dollar price tag that current dispensaries pay minimum to get a license.
I would also move to allow residents to grow their own plants: Three mature plants per adult per a household, similar to the law in New York.
― Find out more about Steven Ceracche and his campaign at stevenceracche.com .
Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com .
Follow or message him on social media: Facebook ( facebook.com/charles.runnells.7 ), X (formerly Twitter) ( @charlesrunnells ), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram ( @crunnells1 ).
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Election 2024: Q&A with House District 76 candidate Steven Ceracche of North Fort Myers
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