LOCAL

For Flager-centric House seat, a repeat: Paul Renner vs. Adam Morley

Mark Harper
mark.harper@news-jrnl.com
Paul Renner and Adam Morley

His Republican Party colleagues think so highly of state Rep. Paul Renner, they've chosen him as their future House Speaker.

[PREVIOUSLY: GOP caucus chooses Renner as House Speaker designate]

But first he's got to get there by winning elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Renner, of Palm Coast, is on the ballot against a familiar foe for Florida House District 24, which covers all of Flagler, parts of northern Volusia — including Ormond-by-the-Sea, DeLeon Springs and Pierson — and southern St. Johns county.

Adam Morley of St. Augustine is the same Democrat who challenged Renner to fill a vacancy in 2015, then for the two-year term in 2016. Despite long odds in a district that leans Republican by 13 percentage points, Morley isn't giving up.

[ADAM MORLEY grew up on the grounds of Palm Coast's Princess Place Preserve]

His passion, both in profession and pastime, is Florida's outdoors. Morley owns a fish camp on the Matanzas River, where he had biked, fished and learned how to captain a boat. And the environment has been a key issue for him in each campaign.

"It's clear the state's environment is in decline," Morley said in a recent interview. "We've seen an 86 percent decrease in enforcement of environmental regulations. Those are the laws that protect us, impacting our state's lifeblood, our water."

Florida is the "fishing capital of the world," with $14 billion in revenue ... "And we're treating this resource like a toilet and flushing it away."

Renner speaks of the environment using less dramatic language, but acknowledges a need to ensure water quality and clean beaches "that people want to visit from a tourism and economic development standpoint."

Taxes and spending

Renner is an attorney whose background includes a 23-year career in the Navy, both on active duty and in the reserve. He's a veteran of both Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq in 1991, then Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2011.

"Issues about veterans are very important to me," he said in an interview, while also promising on his website to keep Florida "the most veteran-friendly state in the country."

Renner cites bills he's sponsored granting immediate in-state tuition for service members who end their duty in Florida and allowing military spouses and other family members the same professional licenses they hold in other states, cutting red tape when they pursue employment.

More broadly, Renner says Florida needs to stay on course with its low-taxes approach, as "people are leaving other states, businesses are leaving other states and coming to Florida because we are an attractive place to do business and to grow jobs and to increase wages."

Florida's growth has amped up enough revenue to allow lawmakers to "make historic investments in education, in infrastructure and really, what I would call getting the big things right," such as public safety, Renner said.

But Morley — who calls Florida's tax structure "relatively reasonable" — is critical of the Republican-controlled Legislature's choices on spending.

"It's more a matter of priorities," Morley said. "Where we are spending, the money could be better allocated."

Education funding

His vision includes more spending on education, paying teachers more and de-emphasizing the role of standardized tests. Morley said state policymakers "use all of these resources and efforts into prioritizing charter schools over the traditional public schools."

But Renner defends the current system, noting that charter schools are public schools, just with "greater flexibility in hiring and firing" to ensure opportunities for students, particularly in areas with failing public schools.

"Bottom line," Renner said, "is that we should look at public education from the lens ... 'How do we achieve a world-class education for each and every individual student and provide them with a customized education that allows them to reach their potential ... before they graduate from high school?' That’s the only question."

Renner said public schools can be improved by granting principals more authority in hiring and firing and by shifting more resources from administration to instruction.

Morley isn't impressed.

"Right now, we rank near the bottom as far as funding for education," he said. "A 43-cent per student increase is laughable. To be boasting or bragging about that is really an insult more than anything."

Morley misstated what Florida school superintendents dubbed a 47-cent per-pupil increase, while House Republicans have argued the figure is actually an average increase of $101-per-student.

Health care

Renner and Morley take predictably Republican and Democratic positions on whether health care is a right (Renner: no; Morley, yes) and about the approach the state should take as the Affordable Care Act appears to be melting under heat from federal lawmakers.

Morley said he supports an expansion of Medicaid in Florida, which he contends will generate coverage for some 800,000 Floridians who lack health insurance. Without expanding Medicaid, Morley said Floridians' federal taxes are instead going to other states.

"We should be asking for our money back," he said.

Medicaid expansion is a debate long settled by the Republican Legislature, where the promise of billions in federal funding is seen by GOP leaders as a short-term promise on what will be a major long-term cost.

Renner said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum's support for the so-called "Medicare for All" plan would put health care costs for "that middle-aged guy who has no children and is able to work but chooses not to" on the backs of all taxpayers.

"It's a great bumper sticker," he said, "but what it means is an astronomical costs and a massive tax increase."

He instead supports continued efforts to lower costs and improve access "without compromising quality, which I believe would happen if we turn health care over to the government."

Managing growth

Morley is alarmed at the pace of growth in Florida, now about 21 million. It was about half that when he was born.

"We're seeing a lot of overdevelopment issues in communities that were growing at a nice pace, a sustainable pace, and now they are ... having a hard time keeping up with that growth," he said.

It was a mistake in 2011 when Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers did away with the Department of Community Affairs, Morley said, calling that agency "essential" for ensuring smart growth. Morley advocates for increased funding in public transportation, which he calls one of his top three legislative priorities.

But Renner says population growth and the economy have helped make Florida "if not the best state in the country, certainly among the top five."

He said the Florida Department of Transportation's five-year work plan should serve as a model for other aspects of state government, such as education, public safety and environmental protection.

"I think it's important," Renner said, "for every elected member of the Legislature to be thinking ahead about 'How do I leave this state in good hands, so that it's built for the next 10 or 20 years?'"

[SEE ALSO: Flagler candidates square off at Woman's Club forum]

ADAM MORLEY

Age: 33

Residence: St. Augustine

Party: Democrat

Profession: Owner, Genungs's Fish Camp, an Old Florida-style bait-and-tackle shop with a small marina and event space featuring kayak rentals and guided fishing tours, in St. Augustine

Political experience: Has twice previously run for House District 24 seat, in 2015 and 2016.

Top three priorities: 1) Protecting our state’s lifeblood, the water. 2) Restoration and protection of home rule. 3) Funding elderly and disabled services.

PAUL RENNER

Age: 51

Residence: Palm Coast

Party: Republican

Profession: Lawmaker, attorney, retired Navy reservist who has served on active duty

Political experience: Elected to fill vacancy in Florida House in 2015, subsequently reelected in 2016. Previously ran for a Jacksonville-based seat in 2014

Top three priorities: Promote more jobs and wage growth through tax and regulatory reforms. Expand educational opportunity and remove barriers to work. Take care of our veterans and promote greater career opportunities for veterans and their families.

Meet the candidates