State House District 71: Will Robinson

Age: 42

Education: Graduate of Manatee High School.  Graduate of The University Notre Dame with a degree in finance and graduate of the Stetson College of Law.

Family:  Parents and two brothers and niece and nephew, all live in Bradenton.

Previous political experience:  This is my first time running for public office.

Why are you running for the Florida House?  I am running to keep Florida moving forward.  We have some important challenges ahead of us and need a leader that understands our community and seeks to enact and promote policies that will move us forward as a state. 

What’s an example of a bill you might file for the next session?  Workforce Development and job training.  Our state needs greater emphasis and funding for on workforce development and getting students the needed education and skills to immediately enter the workforce.  As a state, we have not done the best we can to focus on job training and apprenticeship programs.  We need enhanced focus on our trade schools and technical colleges, which are award-winning institutions in our area. 

What’s the state’s responsibility in dealing with toxic algae blooms and red tide outbreaks?  We need to work with the federal government to solve these problems.  With regard to the algae blooms, most of the discharge is coming from Central Florida and should be treated before it gets into Lake Okeechobee.  We need to work on options that treat the water.  Second, we need to continue to “fast track” the improvements to infrastructure around Lake Okeechobee, so that unclean water does not flow into the Caloosahatchee River, which then goes into Gulf of Mexico.  Finally, leaky septic tanks are a huge problem and work must be done to get these property owners hooked up to sewer lines or have tough penalties for leaky septic tanks that contaminate our water.  With regard to red tide, it being naturally occurring is not an excuse to me.  We need to continue to fund research on how to forecast and mitigate red tide, and also punish those who pollute our waters.  I also think that the state can step in and better educate all of us on what we can do individually to pollute our waterways and exasperate the red tide.  Finally, we need to punish and fine the polluters. 

What would you do to work with a governor of another party?  There could be a couple areas of agreement, like workforce development issues mentioned above, along with school security and mental illness awareness and funding.

Is it possible to increase taxes to improve state services or teacher wages without harming Florida’s economy?  I believe that government should operate within its means.  The focus should never be on raising taxes but on finding ways within the budget to better fund services and increase teacher wages.  The Florida economy did not improve over the last 8 years by economic accident but by investing in important areas and looking for ways to cut taxes.

Why are you better qualified to represent this district than your opponent?  We have some important challenges ahead of us and need a leader that understands our community.  I was born in Bradenton, like my father.  I went to Manatee High School, where I served as student body president.  I have lived in Bradenton my entire life and have been blessed to be involved in the most important issues that our area has faced.  To represent a community, you need to understand your community.  I have also been highly active in our community.  I am a member of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (former Chair of Manatee Young Professionals and the Legislative Affairs Committees), and the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center Board of Governors. I was the past chair of both Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee and the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority and am a graduate of Leadership Florida Class XXIX and Leadership Manatee in 2007.  I was honored in 2018 by Leadership Manatee with the Kent C. Schultz Distinguished Leadership Award.  Finally, my opponent’s approach is higher taxes and more spending.  This is not what we need in our state to continue to move Florida forward.