The seat for Florida’s House District 74 is vacant after incumbent Republican Rep. James Buchanan was term-limited.

House District 74 covers eastern Sarasota County and parts of the City of North Port. Voters in November will choose between Nick Pachota, a Republican, and Ryan Neill, a Democrat.

Pachota, 42, is currently the Mayor of Venice. He was elected to the position in 2022, and served on the Venice City Council from 2019-2021. Before entering politics, Pachota worked 25 years in public safety as an EMT paramedic, firefighter. He graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota and attended Valencia College and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Neill, 48, has worked for Publix Supermarket for 32 years. He graduated from Sarasota High School in 1997 and the University of South Florida in 2005 with a bachelor’s in general business administration.

Interview responses have been condensed for clarity.

WGCU News asked each: Why run for Florida House District 74?

“It’s very nostalgic to be the mayor of your hometown. I get to do a lot of fun things,” Pachota said. “As I’m moving to the next seat (House 74), it was a bigger coverage for me, a greater district, more of an expanse of voters, so I felt like I could take it to the next level and do good for a larger number of people. That’s who I am, I just like to do as much as I can for the most number of people.”

“I am running because I am tired of Tallahassee not listening to the working class people of Florida and going off on these culture war tangents that do absolutely nothing to alleviate the housing crisis in the state of Florida and the insurance cut crisis that’s also going on in Florida at the same time,” Neill said.

WGCU News asked each: What are your top three priorities? If elected, how would you take action on them?

Pachota mentioned having a focus on taxes, insurance and affordable housing.

“And then when it comes to everything else, I’m really going to focus on all the traditional items,” he added.

“It’s hard to say that I have a specific priority,” Pachota said. “It’s just going to be watching all of these things and then using my background to help in any way I can.”

Neill says his priorities are to reinstate the Florida Growth Management Act, get insurance companies “under control,” and get funding for flood infrastructure and mitigation.

“The first [priority] is getting the growth under control in the state of Florida … so that our infrastructure can actually catch up and be effective for future floods like flood control, roads, water, all that.” Neill said about the Florida Growth Management Act.

WGCU News asked each: What is your stance on the proposed elimination of property taxes and please explain your position?

“My answer is ‘no’ on amendment three,” Pachota said. “The reason why is because it just doesn’t meet the mark of what we need for tax reform.”

“You can see in the past ten years that the way that we do property taxes isn’t the right way to do it. I just don’t think that [Amendment 3] gives us the assurances we need that the local governments are gonna have the ability to govern themselves. I think that government closeness to the people is very important.

“While I think comprehensive tax reform is necessary, I just don't think that this amendment does it,” Pachota added. “I don’t think we should be doing a constitutional amendment. I think we as legislators need to enact laws that do it better than this and can be tweaked if there’s unforeseen circumstances.”

Neill says he is against Amendment 3.

“I’m absolutely against Amendment 3,” Neill said. “It’s a financial time bomb that will basically hamper county development [and] county resources.”

“[If Amendment 3 passes], that means fewer workers, pay freezes, new equipment not being bought, new firehouses not being built, longer wait times for emergency responders to get to emergencies, and that also affects emergency management because then you don’t have the funding for recovery efforts after a storm, after hurricanes, all that. It’s going to be a financial disaster for the state of Florida,” Neil said.

WGCU News asked each: What is the single biggest issue the government should address when it comes to public education in Florida?

“I want to make sure that we’re not just looking at pass rates and making sure that somebody met a number on a test,” Pachota said. “I want to actually make sure we’re putting out a product that can actually be employed. I think [students] need to have all the tools to get employed and actually go work in the industry. So, I think that’s the important thing is you’ve got to make sure that their performance abilities are more than just a test.”

“[A] major issue is funding for our schools,” Neill said. “We need to also get the Florida school waivers under control. Instead of just giving out waivers to anybody, it should be [for] whoever’s at need.”

Campaign finances in the House District 74 race

Reports from the Florida Department of State show Pachota has $368,156.88 in contributions, including a $100,000 loan, and $295,582.56 in expenditures. Neill has raised $6,565.80, with no loans, and spent $5,352.24.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. Support provided by the Franklin R. Edwards Memorial Fellowship.