Age
55
Education
Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management; Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and Marketing.
Hometown
Oakland Park
County
Broward
Instagram
abelflorida1
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/keith-a-abel/?skipRedirect=true
Florida’s two most urgent challenges are affordability and access to healthcare. In my first six months, I will support legislation that lowers property-insurance costs through stronger rate transparency, tougher oversight of insurer finances, expanded mitigation grants, and incentives that attract stable competition. I will also fight for full funding of affordable and workforce housing programs. On healthcare, I will support expanding Medicaid, protecting coverage for children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, strengthening provider networks, and reducing prescription-drug costs. I will work across party lines, meet with local governments and community organizations, and file or co-sponsor practical bills that deliver measurable relief to working families.
Only eligible U.S. citizens should vote, but proving citizenship should never become a financial or administrative barrier for lawful voters. If documentary proof is required, I would support state funding for free certified birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, and name-change records; mobile assistance clinics; and direct coordination among elections offices, vital-statistics agencies, clerks, and motor-vehicle offices. Voters whose names changed, especially women, should be allowed to present a clear chain of documents without repeated fees or unreasonable delays. I would also support provisional registration, adequate notice, and a fair opportunity to correct missing documentation before an eligible voter is removed or denied registration.
Florida must increase the supply of homes that working families, seniors, veterans, and young adults can actually afford. I support fully funding the Sadowski housing trust funds and preventing those dollars from being diverted. I would expand down-payment and closing-cost assistance, low-interest rehabilitation loans, and support for first-time buyers. For renters, I support incentives for mixed-income and workforce housing, preservation of existing affordable units, stronger protections against unsafe conditions and retaliation, and targeted rental assistance for families facing temporary hardship. The state should also help local governments convert suitable public or commercial property into housing while requiring long-term affordability and responsible development near jobs and transportation.
I support access to abortion before fetal viability, with decisions made by the patient in consultation with a qualified medical professional—not politicians. After viability, I support access when necessary to protect the life or serious health of the pregnant patient, in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, and when a pregnancy results from rape, incest, or human trafficking. Medical emergencies should never be delayed by vague laws or fear of prosecution. I also oppose criminalizing patients or healthcare professionals for providing lawful care. At the same time, I support policies that reduce unintended pregnancies and support families, including access to contraception, prenatal care, maternal healthcare, childcare, and accurate health education.
Florida has moved too far toward state preemption and away from meaningful home rule. State government should establish clear minimum standards on issues that are genuinely statewide, but cities and counties must retain authority to respond to local conditions involving housing, land use, transportation, resilience, public safety, and neighborhood quality of life. I would oppose broad or retroactive preemption that blocks reasonable local solutions without demonstrating a compelling statewide need. I would support requiring public notice, fiscal analysis, and consultation with affected local governments before new preemptions are enacted. The best balance is partnership: statewide protections where uniformity is necessary and local flexibility where communities understand their needs best.
Florida should respond by expanding Medicaid, maximizing available federal matching funds, and protecting coverage for children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and low-income working adults. I would support a state affordability program to help eligible residents with premiums and out-of-pocket costs when federal subsidies decline. We must also strengthen Medicaid provider networks, raise reimbursement where shortages limit access, expand community health centers and telehealth, and reduce prescription-drug costs through greater transparency and purchasing power. Any Medicaid savings should come from cutting administrative waste and excessive contractor profits—not reducing benefits or making it harder for eligible Floridians to enroll and remain covered.
I agree that property-insurance costs are the more immediate crisis for many Floridians. Property taxes are significant, but homestead protections and assessment limits provide many long-term homeowners with some predictability. Insurance premiums, deductibles, non-renewals, and coverage restrictions can rise sharply and threaten a family’s ability to keep a mortgage or remain in its home. Market improvements should be recognized, but families need to see relief in their actual bills. I support stronger rate transparency and regulatory oversight, requiring savings to reach policyholders, expanding home-hardening grants, protecting consumers from unfair cancellations, and encouraging responsible competition. Property-tax relief should remain targeted so it does not weaken schools, public safety, or essential local services.
Age
55
Education
PhD - University of Maryland, MSW - University of Maryland, MA - Syracuse University, BA - Salisbury State University
Hometown
Elkton, Maryland
County
Broward
Instagram
mitchrosenwald
Campaign Phone
9542535641
1) Cost of living in housing. In my first six months when I was first elected, I sponsored a bill to help low-income seniors with their housing. This past year, I sponsored a bill - and it was just signed by the Governor - to help veterans with rental housing via landlord incentives. Therefore, I will continue to sponsor a bill relating to cost of living of housing within my first six months.
2) Cost of property insurance - This past session, I cosponsored legislation that would allow Florida to opt into a national risk pool. What this does is allow Floridians to share the insurance risk with people from other states who face their own natural disasters. With more people sharing the risk, the premiums for property insurance should decrease.
Access to attaining documents was the reason I voted against this legislation. Attaining a new birth or marriage certificate takes time - and there is little time to get these documents if women move to Florida right before the election. Also, this applies to women (and men) who reside in Florida and may have had to flee their homes due to domestic violence and do not have access to these documents.
Here is one innovative idea.
Several weeks ago, the Governor signed my Housing for Veterans bill into law. What this does is provide a policy framework for landlords to receive financial incentives to hold apartments for veterans in need of housing as well as provide financial incentives for damages beyond what a security deposit will pay for in the event the veteran leaves and such damages accrue. This coming session, pending my re-election, I plan to file the companion bill to include Trust Funds as the funding mechanism for this law.
I mention this because I think this is an area - landlord incentives - which can grow to help an array of vulnerable populations as they stabilize in housing. This can apply to workforce housing, rentals for people leaving prison, etc. I think there is great policy opportunity to expand landlord incentives throughout the state.
I support access to abortion akin to Roe v Wade with the trimester model.
No. The state precludes local rule in too many areas. This extends from housing to the horrible anti-DEI law. Local governments are closest to the people and the balance has been tipped too much toward home rule exemptions.
The simple answer is for Florida to accept Medicaid Expansion. I support this though the current Governor has neglected to do so.
In addition, I have seen this issue firsthand as I sit on the Health Budget Subcommittee in the House of Representatives. Some of the problem is waste and mismanagement with the Agency on Healthcare Administration. The Subcommittee did investigative and important oversight work to reduce waste in the Medicaid space. There are actually more regular funds that can be drawn down but ACHA has not been managed appropriately.
These polls are consistent with my interaction with constituents. They cite property insurance much more than property taxes as an issue - probably because property insurance is increasing so exponentially compared to property taxes which have caps built in.
