Climate, abortion and education funding among hot topics in Florida House 114 race

Attorney and construction executive Adam Benna is challenging incumbent state Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, R-Coral Gables, to represent a swath of central and south Miami-Dade County in the Florida Legislature.

Busatta Cabrera, 32, is a Republican and nonprofit executive who was first elected to the District 114 seat in November 2020. Benna, 34, is a former Miami-Dade assistant state attorney who is running as a Democrat. The district includes parts of Coral Gables, South Miami, West Miami and Cutler Bay.

First-time candidate Benna, vice president of veterinary clinic builder Riken Construction, told the Miami Herald he wants to boost funding for public education, reform property insurance and support policies that expand women’s access to abortion.

Benna said he wants to prioritize legislation to address the causes of climate change, such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting renewable energy.

“If climate change is really that important, then let’s go actually resolve these issues,” he said. “And we’re not doing that.”

Busatta Cabrera is director of development for nonprofit ADE Miami, which works with adults with disabilities. She was chief of staff for former state Sen. Anitere Flores. She is married to Kevin Marino Cabrera, a lobbyist and Trump-endorsed candidate for the District 6 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.

Busatta Cabrera pointed to her record during her first term, including securing state funding for septic-to-sewer conversion in Coral Gables, stormwater plans and water projects in West Miami. She sponsored a bill that created a new resilience office directly under the governor, and the same bill requires the development of an action plan for the state highway system and the creation of a list of projects to protect public facilities from sea-level rise, such as airports, medical centers and utilities.

Democrats, including Benna, have said the bill did not go far enough because it does nothing to address the root cause of climate change and sea-level rise, including emissions.

In an interview with the Herald’s Editorial Board, Busatta Cabrera also highlighted the creation of a grant program for cities to research resilience projects and a bill she sponsored that requires high school students to take a personal financial literacy course.

“I think that no matter where our students go after high school, whether that has college in their pathway or not, whether they choose a career in the military or the arts, we want them to succeed financially,” she said. “We want them to know how to manage their money, what it means to get into debt, what it is to file your taxes, how to apply for a loan, how to dispute a credit card bill.”

Benna said financial literacy was important, but he criticized Busatta Cabrera and Republicans for voting to reduce public school funding and increase funding for private school vouchers.

“Why are we not funding public schools?” he said. “Why are we not trying to give public school teachers more resources, more tools? Why are we not giving them more money?”

Benna said voters frequently ask him about his stance on abortion. He said he is pro-choice and totally disagrees with the recently enacted ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Busatta Cabrera voted in favor of the ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that the Legislature passed this year. When asked if she would support a ban of less than 15 weeks, she said would not support a complete ban on abortion but would have to consider what legislation might be on the table that creates more restrictions.

“I would have to look at what that exact legislation is,” she said. “So to say, you know, just a blanketed, all-out ban? No, I wouldn’t. But I am comfortable with what we passed this past session, and we have a legal hurdle that we need to get through on this piece of legislation before we can look at doing anything else.”

Benna has raised about $150,000 between his campaign account and his political committee, Sunshine Priorities. Busatta Cabrera has mounted a well-funded reelection campaign with more than $600,000 in political contributions to her campaign and a political committee supporting her, People Above Politics.