Newcomer to challenge Plakon in ’20 GOP primary

TALLAHASSEE — Rep. Scott Plakon was prepared for a general election challenge, having narrowly won his race against Democrat Tracey Kagan for the House District 29 seat in Seminole County in 2018. But this year he must get through a GOP primary challenge first in the Aug. 18 primary.

Luke Dowe, a real estate professional and Longwood resident, is a first-time candidate trying to unseat Plakon, a legislative veteran looking to serve two more years before running into term limits.

Dowe has loaned $20,000 to his campaign but is up against Plakon, who is backed by traditional big business lobbies, such as the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, Disney, health insurer Centene and the GEO Group, a private prison company. He has $152,000 cash on hand.

The district covers the western portion of Seminole County, and includes Lake Mary, Longwood and Wekiwa Springs.

The winner will face Kagan, the only Democrat to qualify for the race, in the Nov. 3 general election. Plakon defeated her by 1,503 votes out of 74,053 ballots cast in 2018.

Who they are

Plakon, 61, is a Longwood resident who has served in the Legislature for a total of 10 years, from 2008 to 2012, and then from 2014 to now. Originally from New York state, Plakon owned a printing business, which he sold last year.

Dowe, 42, is also from New York state and owned a movie theater and a nightclub before moving to Seminole County in 2013. He said he fell in love with the area after visiting every year since 2006. He and his wife have adopted three children.

Where they stand

Plakon is a rank-and-file Republican who boasts of the party’s control of the Legislature the past 20 years, citing good credit ratings, tax cuts and large reserves, which have allowed the state, at least so far, to weather the impact of the coronavirus on the budget.

He voted for the 2011 law that imposed work search requirements on those seeking unemployment benefits and tied the length of the benefits to the jobless

rate. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel editorial board, he stood by that vote but acknowledged the system needs to be fixed, as hundreds of thousands of residents have faced lengthy delays in getting payments since the coronavirus pandemic spurred massive layoffs in mid-March.

Plakon called the system a “train wreck” and named fixing it one of his priorities if he returns to the Legislature. He said the $275 maximum weekly benefit could be increased but doesn’t see the need to change the work search requirements or extend the total weeks of benefits, which is capped at 23 when the unemployment rate is more than 10.5%.

Rejuvenating the economy after the pandemic is another one of his goals for the next legislative session, and with his experience and relationships with legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, Plakon argued he’s better placed to do that as a senior lawmaker. “There’s going to be some real challenges ahead, and with my experience to be there for my last two years I believe would benefit the residents of this district,” Plakon said.

Dowe said he’s running against Plakon this year and not waiting until 2022 when he’ll be termed out because he believes in term limits and noted Plakon has served more than eight years in the House, albeit his eight-year hourglass was reset in 2014.

“After so long of a politician being in office, sometimes it’s good to have a change,” Dowe said during a Sentinel editorial board interview. “An election should always have options, and I just feel we should have an option.”

Dowe stressed health care as one of his top priorities, along with protecting small businesses affected by the pandemic.

“I want to ensure Floridians have access to health care, not free health care necessarily, but health care without pre-exemptions and other limitations,” Dowe said. “I talk to so many people, and their doctor may order something and they’re just not able to get a test or get medication for something.”

How they differ

When asked where he disagrees with Plakon and bills passed by Republican leaders, Dowe said he opposes the gun control measures passed after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The measures — banning bump stocks, increasing the age to buy a firearm to 21 and requiring a three-day waiting period before buying any gun — were part of a larger bill that included provisions aimed at beefing up school security.

Dowe said he might have voted in favor of the overall bill, as Plakon did, but said the gun control provisions would have to be revisited and possibly rolled back.