ORLANDO | A push for stricter gun laws, among other prominent issues, has politically mobilized Florida’s youth; however, Central Florida candidates say they have conflicting experiences with the enthusiasm levels of young volunteers and voters.
Three Central Florida candidates — Eric Rollings, Susan Makowski and Anna Eskamani — discussed how national enthusiasm has translated at the local level during a June 27 Pride & Allies Meeting held at the Orange County Administration Building in downtown Orlando.
Rollings, who is openly gay, is running for Orange County commissioner in District 3. Makowski, who is openly lesbian, is running for Orange County commissioner in District 4. Anna Eskamani, a vocal LGBTQ ally, is running for the Florida House of Representatives in District 47.
Eskamani says the majority of her volunteers are young and the enthusiasm has been “palpable.”
After a year of campaigning, her volunteer network has amassed more than 1,000 people, 256 of those having served one full volunteer shift.
“We have people of every age who contribute,” Eskamani, 28, says. “The folks who do the grunt work every day — the folks who are making the hour-long phone calls, who are knocking on doors in the hot sun — they are young people.”
Eskamani thinks some young people can relate to her age and see themselves in her, which leads them to join her team. She also says she prioritizes youth outreach, having met with high school students even before the Feb. 14 shooting at a Parkland high school. She knocked on doors in June with two local high school students.
Even though many high school students are too young to vote, Eskamani energizes them with buttons that read “If I was 18, I’d vote for Anna.”
“You know, we did that as a way to talk to young people and make sure that they knew even if you can’t vote and you can’t donate, you’re still a part of this and you can still play a part in this,” she says.
Conversely, Rollings says he’d like to see more college-aged people turn out to volunteer.
“I would have expected that we would have been inundated [with young volunteers] with all the issues that are coming out right now and after [the Parkland shooting],” he says.
Rollings says that most of his volunteer network consists of “loyal” and “vigilant” people who stayed with him since his 2014 election as chair of the Soil and Water Conservation District.
But he says the age group of his volunteers is still diverse. Volunteers who canvass with him on the weekends range from teenagers to around 70 years old.
Though Rollings sees several newcomers on the weekends, he says he’s surprised there aren’t more new faces. “I would have thought that with as much going on at the local, state and federal level, that we would have a lot more new participation,” he says.
Rollings says voter turnout in the younger community is paramount because it can sway an election, though he adds that the voting process can be “so confusing” in regard to when voters have to register with a political party to vote and when they do not.
Rollings says his lack of new volunteers could be attributed to people focusing on specific issues instead of rallying behind candidates.
“Although I think the issues are good, the most important thing is to get people elected to those positions so they can make those changes that people really want that we’re seeing so much in the news,” Rollings says.
Makowski says she has been contacted by several young people who want to be politically active. Makowski has a 19-year-old supporter from Taft, Fla., as well as a recent UCF graduate who’s bringing his friend along to join her campaign.
While Makowski says she likes the energy the youth bring to her campaign, she thinks her own energy is what attracts them in the first place.“I have action,” Makowski says. “I show action. They know the passion; I think they can sense that. That’s bringing them to me.”
All three candidates mentioned equal rights, fixing the affordable housing crisis and helping the environment as main platform points.
Eskamani says the “patchwork” of pro-LGBTQ legislation across the states isn’t good enough. She says a Competitive Workforce Act (CWA) — which will ensure statewide LGBTQ non-discrimination protections — needs to keep being brought back to the Legislature until it’s passed. The lack of a CWA can impact Florida’s economy by keeping progressive, successful businesses away, Eskamani says.
Rollings says within his first 30 days in office he would work to ban conversion therapy in Orange County.
Makowski echoed Rollings’ call to ban conversion therapy and also prioritized a ban on discrimination in the workplace.
“I mean, I can’t believe that in today’s society that [conversion therapy] exists, and I cannot believe that it is not illegal here,” Makowski says. “It just makes me sick, it really does.”
Additional reporting by Colton Adkins.
