Mike Alvarez is running for the District 62 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.

TAMPA – The Florida Education Association and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association have endorsed Mike Alvarez in the State House District 62 primary.

“Teachers, families, and students are under attack in Tallahassee and locally. Republicans have public education in their cross hairs, but we won’t sit back and let them destroy our schools,” Alvarez said. “I’m proud to stand with the Florida Education Association and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association and I’m honored to have their support.”

Alvarez has made education the cornerstone of his campaign platform. Last week, he pledged to support public education and reject money from out of area for-profit education corporations.

“Charter schools have bought Tallahassee Republicans, now they’ve even started buying so-called Democrats who will do and say anything to stay in power,” Alvarez added. “My priority is educating our children, not fattening the wallets of charter school executives.”

Rob Kriete, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, said, “Hillsborough teachers stand with Mike. We’ve seen what happens when dysfunction, threats, and corruption infect our local government. Mike is an ethical leader who puts people first. The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, standing with our Central Labor Council, is proud to endorse his candidacy because a vote for Mike is a vote for better schools.”

The HCTA represents about 16,000 teachers and 4,500 support personnel serving nearly 200,000 students in Hillsborough. The FEA is the statewide advocate for more than 140,000 teachers and education professionals across Florida.

The endorsement from teachers comes just days after Alvarez’s opponent, Susan Valdes, told a local Democratic caucus that gutting public schools in favor of for-profit out of area education corporations is “good government” – earning an audible groan from the Democratic audience. She went on to say of those same corporations bankrolling her campaign “that’s what they’re buying”.

After the video was posted, the Valdes campaign threatened to have a constituent fired if they didn’t remove the video, according to the Alvarez campaign. That threat continues a track record of threats, bullying, and ethics issues that has defined her time on the School Board. Valdes has refused to comment on the threatening of a constituent.

Video of the comments has gone viral, especially among Democratic and pro-education social media just weeks before the Democratic primary, the Alvarez campaign said.

HD 62 covers a portion of Hillsborough County that includes Town ‘n’ Country, Citrus Park and Egypt Lake-Leto. HD 62 is currently held by Democrat Janet Cruz, who is running for the state Senate. In addition to Alvarez and Valdes, fellow Democrat Christopher Carlos Cano and write-in candidate Jose Vazquez are also in the race.

The primary is Aug. 28. The general election is Nov. 6. The last day to register to vote (or change party affiliation) in the primary is July 30.

For information about Alvarez, go to mikealvarezforfl.com.

Mike Alvarez | Florida House | Politics | Elections | Tampabay News

#MikeAlvarez #FloridaHouse #Politics #Elections #TampabayNews