A lawyer and a community and political activist, Darryl Rouson first served Florida House District 55 after winning a 2008 special election and then won a full term later that year in the general election.
His Democratic primary opponent is April Sheffield, the owner of a Sarasota managed care facility and a board member of several civic organizations.
We favor Rouson for his political savvy and experience, understanding of the legislative process, and knowledge of issues and public policy.
This gerrymandered district includes St. Petersburg, a portion of Hillsborough County and a narrow strip of Manatee County through downtown Palmetto and Bradenton into north Sarasota.
To his credit, Rouson, a St. Petersburg resident and past president of the St. Petersburg NAACP, is a regular visitor here and maintains a district office in Bradenton.
His priorities are broadening the tax base, fighting illegal drugs and encouraging job creation.
During his service on the Tax & Budget Reform Commission, he advocated the enforcement and collection of Florida’s sales tax on Internet purchases and the elimination of some sales tax exemptions — both of which rob the state of sorely needed revenue.
During the Legislature’s spring session, Rouson steered his bill restricting the retail sales of drug paraphernalia to passage — this after his so-called “bong bill” had previously failed.
He also secured $1 million in state Department of Juvenile Justice funds for a pilot program creating summer jobs program for at-risk youth in the Tampa Bay area. Workforce Florida then matched that amount.
Rouson’s other legislative victories include a bill promoting faith- and character-based prison programs and a strong stand on funding for substance abuse treatment that resulted in the Senate acquiescing to the House’s higher spending level.
He’s rightfully proud of his success during the session, and says he now knows how to maneuver legislation through the process. If he’s correct about gaining political capital with powerful legislators, we can look forward to additional victories during a new term.
He cast the lone Democratic vote in favor of the state budget, crafted largely at the hands of the majority Republicans, but he favors a bipartisan approach to governance and dislikes partisan politics.
A former member of the Republican Party, Rouson maintains some laudable conservative values — smaller, less intrusive government and tax incentives to spur job creation among those. He maintains close ties to Gov. Charlie Crist as well, having served on his transition team and vowing support for Crist’s independent U.S. Senate campaign.
This year, Rouson sponsored trips to Tallahassee for groups of local youth and faith leaders so they could shadow his legislative work for a day, observe the Legislature in session and meet with Crist and other state officials.
Kudos to that and his vow to continue the trips in the future.
Rouson has earned a return to Tallahassee. We recommend Darryl Rouson in the Democratic Party primary for state House District 55.
