Five questions with State House candidate Alex Andrade

Early voting is underway in Santa Rosa County and will continue until Nov. 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Below are Alex Andrade’s answers to our questionnaire:

NP: Tell us about your campaign platform, and your top focuses if elected.

As a Republican and the only conservative in the race, my platform consists of supporting the Second Amendment, protecting life, securing the greatest amount of funding for our region, and protecting the freedoms of all Floridians. If re-elected, I will have a senior role in the Legislature and will guarantee that our region has a say in Florida’s future.

NP: What needs to be done to maintain Florida’s resiliency in the coming years?

We have taken dramatic steps to improve our property insurance market, and the reforms we implemented are beginning to show results. Insurance premiums are stabilizing and going down, and I intend to refile a bill I filed last session, HB 1293, which was the only policy proposed to reduce your premiums. As I’ve done since I’ve been in office, I’ll also continue funding our stormwater infrastructure and storm hardening our critical assets.

NP: Affordable housing has been a hot topic statewide as the cost to purchase a new home continues to climb. What would you do to help solve this problem?

As a free market conservative, I do not believe that price controls are ever successful. As the Chair of the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, I funded hundreds of millions in programs to reduce housing costs for Floridians, but the only way to reliably drive down costs is to increase supply. The only way to increase supply without jeopardizing our natural resources and quality of life is to implement a cohesive land development system.

NP: What measures would you like to see taken to improve education and make our schools safer?

I’m the only candidate saying parents, not the liberal, Florida Education Association (the union), are the decisionmakers in their child’s education. I support money following the child and empowering parents. We’ve implemented guardian programs and funded school resource officers to protect our children, and we’ve increased funding for every district to harden their schools. Mental health will be a focus in my last two years in office, and adolescent mental health especially will take precedence.

NP: Voters will soon go to the polls to vote on Amendment 4. What is your opinion on this amendment and what abortion law should look like in Florida?

I believe life begins at conception. I was proud to play a role in Florida’s work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Amendment 4 would unwind the work we’ve done to protect life and would allow for the murder of innocent human beings. Amendment 4’s language is misleading and would allow for abortion at any time and for almost any reason. I do not believe most Floridians support the idea of abortion in the third trimester.