The Times Editorial Board selection for state Senate District 23

State senator

In addition to serving during Florida's annual two-month legislative session, state legislators also meet in Tallahassee throughout the year to shape proposed legislation. The 40 members of the Florida Senate are elected to four-year terms and paid $29,697 annually.

District 23: Danny Burgess

We disagree with the incumbent, Republican Danny Burgess, on key issues, and he's part of the status quo in Tallahassee that isn't doing enough to address housing, education and the state's affordability crisis. But Burgess is a seasoned legislator who understands government and the district, and he would be this community's strongest voice in the capital.

Burgess, a 38-year old attorney, was first elected to the senate in 2020. A lifelong resident of the district, which includes northeastern Hillsborough and east Pasco counties, Burgess previously served as a Zephyrhills city council member (2005-2008) and mayor (2013-2014) before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2014. Before entering the Senate, Burgess served as executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs from 2019 to 2020. This long experience as a local lawmaker, state legislator and agency administrator serving a major Florida constituency gives Burgess a solid grip of Florida's challenges.

Burgess supports Florida's new law that bans most abortions after six weeks and he opposes Amendment 3, a proposed state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 5 general election ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. We disagree with those positions, but Burgess has shown himself to be a serious legislator on various other issues. He is interested, for example, in cracking down on uninsured motorists to temper rising auto insurance costs. His expertise on veterans issues is a plus in a region with a large retired military population. Burgess is also good at communicating with his constituents back home.

Democrat Ben Braver, 22, is a teacher and first-time candidate. He offers a decidedly progressive agenda of investing more in schools and teacher salaries and of attacking corporate price-gouging, which Braver sees as the root of rising prices. Braver has some good ideas, but he's less clear about the details and about how he'd get a conservative legislature behind them. Perennial candidate John Houman, 77, is also on the ballot as an independent.

Burgess is the only solid choice in this race. The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends Danny Burgess for state senator, District 23.