Photos courtesy campaign Facebooks: James Buchanan, Michelle Pozzie.

State Rep. James Buchanan, R-Osprey, hopes voters in state House District 74 send him to the Florida Legislature for one more term. But Republican primary opponent Michelle Pozzie believes they need a change, both in individual representative and to business in Tallahassee.

Both Republicans spoke Saturday at the Republican Party of Sarasota Candidates Rally at Robarts Arena.

Buchanan first won election to the state House in 2018, and believes he’s positioned this term to achieve more. If elected, he will be among a senior class of House representatives serving a fourth and final term before term limits prohibit another run.

“There's a lot of opportunities, not only for our area but for the state to move the needle forward and do some great things and bring home some money for some of the projects that are important to our community,” Buchanan told SRQ. “I've brought home more than any other delegate in our local delegation as it relates to infrastructure.”

That includes $21.5 million in funding to expand the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Strides were also made in the effort on River Road, and while he acknowledged construction isn’t moving as fast as many voters would like, he pushed transportation officials to put the project on a five-year horizon for completion.

Pozzie became politically active in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her father died in an Illinois hospital isolated from family — “I had to say goodbye to him through FaceTime” — and she left angry at government ability to rapidly take control of people’s medical decisions with their loved ones.

That concern extends to the increasing drive in state government for the Legislature to make policy calls instead of local government officials, including areas like local zoning law.

“You look at something like the Live Local Act—that is tied up in such a pretty bow. You think that's really cheery,” she said. “But when you pre-empt a local government, you take an area like I like in North Port, the second-fastest growing city in the nation, we care about whether you are changing our zoning or you are changing our density. Tallahassee needs to keep their hands off that.”

The Live Local Act, focused on affordable housing, includes requirements local governments allow developers the ability to create residential housing that addresses under certain conditions if it addresses that need. Pozzie said local governments should have retained the control they had of such planning decisions before the new law went into effect.

“Let people go to their City Commission and their County Commission for that. As state lawmakers, that’s not our job,” she said. “We’re not supposed to pre-empt. But I’ve seen them get drunk off of it.”

But Buchanan feels the Republican-controlled Legislatures has done plenty of good, including in addressing explosive growth and the rising cost of living. He helped craft the language for Amendment 5, which if passed in November will tie the value of homestead exemptions to inflation. He also noted historic investments by the Florida Legislature in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

“It was a tremendous session when you think about leaving a legacy for the future of conservation for our kids and future generations, when you think about planning for the future of the state to 2070 what we want the state to look like,” Buchanan said. “And by the way, it's also a form of growth management.”

Buchanan has raised more than $154,000 to Pozzie’s under $16,000. The two face off in an Aug. 20 Republican Primary in House District 74, which spans east Sarasota County. The winner will face Democrat Nancy Simpson in November. 

Photos courtesy campaign Facebooks: James Buchanan, Michelle Pozzie.