Democrat Joy Goff-Marcil wins race for Florida House District 30

Florida House District 30 has a new state representative.

Democrat Joy Goff-Marcil defeated Republican state Rep. Bob Cortes in Tuesday’s election. 

Goff-Marcil won the election with 12,308 votes (54.62%) in Orange County and 23,098 votes (52.06%) in Seminole County, according to unofficial results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website and the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections website. Florida House District 30 covers parts of both Orange County and Seminole County. 

“I am excited to fully fund public education, that was my big issue (in the campaign),” she said. “Along with the environment. While I was on (Maitland) City Council, I was looking out for the wetlands and clean water. That’s what I want to do at the state (level).”

The newly-elected state representative said she looks forward to tackling issues such as sensible gun legislation and affordable health care. She said she will continue to defend local governments’ right to home rule over preemptive state legislation. 

“(Home Rule) was one of the main reasons I ran,” Goff-Marcil said. “On (Maitland) City Council, we were continuously fighting the legislature about their efforts to assault home rule. I’m going to fight for that.”    

Goff-Marcil served for over five years on the Maitland City Council and opposed a number of proposed state-level bills including tree-trimming regulations and short-term rental regulations.