Wellington lawyer seeking state post
Councilwoman Siskind’s husband files to run for Florida attorney general.
WELLINGTON — Attorney Jeffrey M. Siskind, husband of Wellington Councilwoman Tanya Siskind, is running for state office.
Siskind qualified to run as an independent candidate for Florida attorney general on June 22, according to Florida Division of Elections records. Four other candidates also qualified for the seat: Republicans Ashley Moody of Tampa and Frank White of Pensacola, and Democrats Sean Shaw of Tampa and Ryan Torrens of Odessa.
Siskind considered running for attorney general for about a year, he said, but the mass shooting in Parkland on Feb. 14 moved him to set the wheels in motion. “My final decision had a lot to do with issues around gun control in Florida,” he said. “We’ve got to get these semiautomatic weapons off the streets.”
If elected, Siskind said he would lobby the Legislature to pass laws so semiautomatic weapons would have to be kept at gun clubs and shooting ranges “under lock and key.” Exceptions would be made for law enforcement officers, he said.
Initially, Siskind said, he became interested in running for attorney general because he feels the court system is underfunded. “You have two good judges that have to share a clerk,” he said. “When each of those judges has 2,000 cases, how are you going to provide adequate support?”
He said he also wants to push for more funding for law enforcement agencies, teachers and other public servants.
On education in particular, Siskind sees an opportunity to look at schools and communities holistically to hopefully prevent tragedies like the one in Parkland, where 17 people were killed and 17 more injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day.
Siskind’s campaign is Wel-
lington-based. He lists as his primary address the 8,100-square-foot home where he, his wife of 28 years and his three children live in Wellington’s Southfields neighborhood. His campaign account is listed with Florida Community Bank’s Wellington branch on Greenview Shores Boulevard.
While he currently is his own treasurer, Siskind hopes to have a campaign manager and treasurer selected by July 4. He said the difficulty in choosing both is that he wants to have more of a grass-roots campaign. “For an independent to get elected in Florida is an uphill battle, so that makes it more challenging to find someone,” he added.
He attended Harvard University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1982 and a master’s in 1983. He graduated from Southwestern University in 1996 with his law degree.
Because Siskind qualified as an independent, he will not need to defeat a primary challenger. His name will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot alongside the Republican and Democrat who win the Aug. 28 primary.
The winner of this year’s election will replace current Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.