La Gaceta Newspaper

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 9, 2020

This is an open seat that represents the Brandon/Riverview area. Republican Michael Owen is a lawyer who practices mostly consumer protection law. He is a Brandon native and has been involved in the Brandon Chamber, Center Place and the Tony Saladino Tournament, to name a few.
He knows the district very well. He sounded a lot more moderate in our interview than his online presence makes him appear. He promises to work across the aisle and seems to want to find middle ground. He says he strongly supports the right to peacefully protest and would not support bills that would restrict free speech.
Democrat Andrew Learned serves in the U.S. Navy for 11 years and is now a reservist. He owns Grade Power Learning Center. He is very concerned about school overcrowding in his district and wants to end the rollback rate that keeps reducing the millage rate for schools to free up more money for education. He wants to demilitarize the police, provide more training and use social workers where more appropriate than uniformed officers.
Learned also wants to work across the aisle.
While we identify more with Learned’s Democratic values, the reality is the Florida House is controlled by Republicans. Owens seems to want to work with Democrats to advance good ideas.
La Gaceta endorses Michael Owen for State House District 59.