State Sen. Hukill seeks hospice care
TALLAHASSEE – State Sen. Dorothy Hukill, who battled cervical cancer one year ago, has had a recurrence of the disease and will seek hospice care. “Unfortunately, I have recently experienced an aggressive recurrence of this cancer,” Hukill, R-Port Orange, stated in a Facebook post Friday. “Along with my family, I have made the difficult decision to enter hospice care and no longer seek treatment for this disease.”
Hukill, 72, added that means she’s withdrawing from her reelection race for District 14, which covers southern Volusia County and northern Brevard County, including DeLand, Deltona, Titusville and Cocoa.
“I have so enjoyed serving you and the people of Florida,” Hukill wrote. “To all of my friends, supporters, constituents, colleagues, and my dedicated staff who have all done so much on behalf of the people we've served: thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Hukill grew up in New York and was a registered Democrat who taught at public schools. She moved to Ponce Inlet in 1988 and ran for town council four years later, pushing to get a park for families in the area. In 1994 she moved to Port Orange and served for two terms on the city council before serving a four-year term as mayor in 2000.
In 2004 she ran on the GOP ticket to replace Democrat Suzanne Kosmas in the Florida House, becoming the first Republican to represent the area in decades. She moved to the Senate in 2012.
As a lawmaker, Hukill concentrated on education issues but also on less highprofile bills involving tax cuts and insurance. Her son, Jonathan Hukill, said she prides herself on being honest, direct and open with opponents and allies, earning her accolades from across
the political spectrum.
“She was very pragmatic and solutions-oriented when it came to the business of legislating,” he said. “She was about how to get things done, how to help people.”
After missing the entire 2017 legislative session while receiving treatment, Hukill returned to the Capitol for this year’s session, when she chaired the Senate Education Committee.
“Senator Hukill is a tireless, passionate and selfless advocate for her constituents,”
Senate President Joe Negron wrote in a memo to senators Friday. “Even in her times of greatest medical challenge, she has remained steadfast in representing her community. On behalf of the Senate, I offer our thoughts and prayers to her and her family in this difficult time.”
In her race for re-election, Hukill faced Democrat Melissa Martin, a military veteran from Cocoa.
“I’m devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family and
her friends,” Martin said. “It’s hard to even think about the campaign today.”
After Hukill officially withdraws from the race, local Republican officials will meet to determine who will replace her. But because it is too late for ballots to be altered, her name will appear on the ballot and voters will be told that a vote for her will count for her replacement.
“I am deeply saddened by the news today from Senator Hukill’s family on her declining
health,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, slated to become Senate President after the November elections. “Dorothy is a long time, dear friend and my heart breaks at this news. I know my friend to be a fighter and she has battled this terrible disease with everything she has. Julie and I send our prayers to Dorothy and her family at his time.”