After a heated battle over who possesses the right amount of experience — as well as an appearance from a “scratch-and-sniff” direct mailer — former Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs has won her bid for the Democratic primary in Florida House District 96.
Jacobs bested former state Rep. Steve Perman, the man behind the odoriferous attack piece, by 76 to 24 percent. She will now continue on to the general election for the district covering parts of Broward County and the cities of Coconut Creek and Margate.
On November 4, Jacobs will face candidate Ron Bray for the open seat currently held by term-limited Democratic State Rep. James W. “Jim” Waldman. Since Bray is on the ballot as a write-in, chances are very good that Jacobs will go the Florida House.
Jacobs refined her political skills via nearly two decades serving on a primarily Democratic county commission. As such, she earned recognition on the national level environmental work, with an appointment by President Obama to become the only Floridian on the 26-member White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Her interest in sea level change could help her secure a position on committees overseeing water issues, a significant issue for incoming Republican House Speaker Steve Crisafulli.
What also distinguished this primary was (probably) the first-ever scratch-and-sniff flyer in the history of Florida politics, coming from Perman, a Coral Springs chiropractor who failed Tuesday in his attempt to return to Tallahassee after two years.
The issue of the mail piece was Jacob’s vote as Broward County mayor to extend by 37 acres a landfill known as “Mt. Trashmore.”
