Protecting Seminole County’s rural area from high-density development, along with affordability and increasing teacher pay, are key issues among the two candidates vying for Florida House District 36 seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
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Republican Rachel Plakon — a Heathrow resident first elected in 2022, now seeking a third term — faces a challenge from Democrat Darryl Block, a lawyer from Sanford.
This is Block’s second run for a state House seat. In 2018, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Tracey Kagan. Republican Scott Plakon, Rachel Plakon’s husband, eventually won the seat in the general election that year.
Protecting Seminole’s “rural boundary is an incredibly important issue,” Block said this week.
By allowing high-density urban sprawl in the development-restricted area — which covers nearly one third of the county, mostly east of the Econlockhatchee River — it would create a detriment to the region’s overall environment, wildlife corridors and water resources, he said.
“This is not a partisan, Republican or Democrat, issue,” Block said. “These are issues that are important to all of us in Seminole County.”
Plakon did not return calls for comment. Her campaign website says her priorities include “protect the rural boundary.” But it doesn’t provide more details.
Protecting the county’s rural area is a topic that will likely emerge in next year’s state legislative session after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an opinion this year that stated rural boundaries established by local governments could be unconstitutional because they deprive developers from wanting to get the most of their land.
An amendment was then slipped into a land-use bill that would’ve allowed property owners within or adjacent to rural boundaries, including Seminole’s, to seek compensation if the county didn’t give them permission to remove the development restrictions. The amendment eventually failed in the state Senate.
Block added that increasing development in the urban areas through redevelopment of blighted parcels — rather than building high density developments in rural areas — can help increase the housing stock and thereby help with affordable housing.
Plakon’s website states she will fight for tax cuts and inflation relief to help seniors and families, create a business-friendly environment where good paying jobs can flourish and increase teacher pay.
Block, whose wife is a teacher at Sanford Middle School, also said increasing salaries for public school teachers is among his top priorities.
“The first thing we could do to help our public schools is pay our teachers more,” Block said. “We are paying them a minimum rate.”
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He also proposes having a social worker in every public school to help struggling children, and increasing funding for the arts education.
On her website, Plakon says she “has been a champion for lower taxes and strengthening taxpayer rights” by voting to reduce highway tolls and in favor of tax cuts for baby, school and hurricane supplies.
Block blasted Plakon for supporting bills that he said do little to help Seminole residents.
He pointed to a bill Plakon introduced this year that required a ballot referendum in Winter Springs asking voters if the city commission should be reduced from six members to five and giving the mayor power to vote. Winter Springs’ mayor currently does not vote on ordinances. The proposal eventually died in a House subcommittee
“I found that kind of strange,” said Block, adding that Winter Springs should decide whether to place the issue on the ballot, rather than the state. “Home rule is a big issue for me.”
Plakon later issued a statement saying that her goal was to force Winter Springs to look at its city charter.
“Now that the city has committed to reviewing its charter, I’m stepping back to allow that process to work,” she said in the statement.
Plakon, 47, reported a net worth of nearly $4.1 million, and annual income of $79,466 from her investment company and legislative salary, according to campaign filings with the state.
As of Sept. 18, her campaign has raised $196,285 — including $61,406 from various Republican groups, according to state records.
Block, 45, disclosed a net worth of $475,362, and an annual income of $150,000 from an Orlando law firm, according to financial forms filed with the state.
As of Sept. 18, Block’s campaign received $33,972 in contributions, mostly small donations and $15,025 of his own money, according to state documents.
House District 36 covers nearly all of north Seminole County and includes the communities of Lake Mary, Sanford, Geneva and portions of Winter Springs and Longwood.
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State House representatives are paid $29,697 a year and serve two-year terms.