Laura Young
news@greenepublishing.com
Incumbent Florida House District Nine Representative Allison Tant is now presumed to retain her seat for another two years. This follows the recent withdrawal of the only other candidate in the 2022 District Nine race, Republican Ashley Guy.
“I am grateful that by being elected without opposition to represent District Nine in its new boundaries, which includes 90 percent of Jefferson County and all of Madison County along with half of Leon County, that I can immediately begin to focus on my work for the district and not campaigning,” said Rep. Tant during her regular meeting time with constituents at Cow Haus Coffee Co., in Monticello on Monday, July 11. “My goal is to be the best advocate I can be for this community in the state house.”
Guy's withdrawal from the race came after the revelation that she had not been a registered Republican long enough to be her party's candidate.
According to Florida's Division of Elections website, “Recent law... requires a person seeking nomination as a candidate of a political party to be a member of that political party for the 365 days before the beginning of the applicable qualifying period.” Guy, who owns Tallulah CBD + Juicebar in Tallahassee, signed a sworn statement on Thursday, June 16, asserting to having been a registered Republican for a year before the qualifying date, according to a photo of the form obtained by Florida Politics. As it turned out, however, Guy was registered as a Republican on Monday, April 4, only about two months before she qualified to seek office, according to records from the Leon County Supervisor of Elections. Before that, Guy was not registered with a specific party.
When this information came to light, the Democratic Party of Florida and two Democratic electors filed a lawsuit challenging Guy’s candidacy. Subsequently, Guy withdrew from the race.
Most Jefferson County residents, all Madison County residents and about half of Leon County residents are becoming part of Tant's district as a result of the regular 10-year reapportionment process. Tant has explained that reapportionment occurs to ensure that all districts statewide continue to include comparable numbers of people. District boundaries needed to be redrawn this year in light of more population growth in Central and South Florida, compared with less population growth in North Florida. Ten years ago, the map was drawn so that every House district in Florida served around 158,000 people. The new map, accounting for statewide growth over the past 10 years, has changed district boundaries so that each district contains around 180,000 people. The change is effective with the 2022 elections.
Tant has been holding weekly open meetings since mid April to get to know her new constituents in Madison and Monticello. The next opportunities for these informal sessions are Monday, July 18, from noon to 2 p.m. at Cow Haus Coffee Co. in Monticello; and Wednesday, July 20, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m., at Grumpy's Diner in Madison. It is suggested to email Rep. Tant's staff beforehand at Tobey@AllisonTant.com to verify the availability.
Tant is thankful for the warm welcome she has received from the residents of Jefferson and Madison counties and is hosting special thank-you events in each county. A reception in honor of Jefferson County will take place on Thursday, July 28, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Monticello Opera House (185 W. Washington St.). A thank you gathering in honor of Madison County will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 2, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at Four Freedoms Park (Hwy. 90 and North Range Street). To RSVP for either event, send a note to Tobey@AllisonTant.com.