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Simpson seeks reelection as agriculture commissioner
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is filing to run for a second term. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.
DADE CITY, Fla. - With political season ramping up, Florida's agriculture commissioner is going for another term in office.
What we know:
After considering a run for governor, Wilton Simpson is hoping for another four years leading the department that oversees Florida's fight against wildfires and for a robust farm industry.
As a lifelong farmer, Simpson took a farmer's eye to his job as agriculture commissioner, and he says as he files to run for reelection that perspective has paid dividends.
Dig deeper:
The most pressing issue for him has been wildfires. Three dozen are active in the state right now.
He says the Florida Forest Service has prepared for years for such a busy season, eighty new bulldozers being purchased in three years, which are all in use right now.
He says another of his achievements is the protection of 200,000 acres in Florida's wildlife corridor, four times as many acres as in the last twenty years.
He also says a $100 million program to help citrus farmers replant is expected to pay dividends over the next three years.
What they're saying:
"Working on an egg farm nearly every day of my life for the last 40 years, working in a construction business and the asbestos removal business, all of those experiences (was valuable)," he said, "because if you're a farmer, you are an electrician, you're an engineer, you're plumber, you a roofer, you're whatever it takes to get that job done. And having that common-sense mindset, I believe has helped us really untangle a lot of the challenges that we had at the department."
If he wins a second term, Simpson says one of his goals will be to manage the state's zero percent interest loan to help farmers recover from the two storms that impacted the Bay Area and caused $3.1B in damage statewide.
According to Simpson, the state is going to keep up its efforts to stamp out THC products that are marketed to children.
Simpson also says the department has refined its computer network to be on one system, instead of more than a dozen when he got into office.
What's next:
There are no other public officials running against Simpson on either the Republican or Democratic sides, but the Democrats do expect to field a candidate.
The Source: This article was written with an interview conducted by FOX 13's Evan Axelbank with Wilton Simpson and the Florida Division of Elections.