20th District candidate backgrounds
Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, 41, of Miramar, is a lawyer and CEO of home health care company Trinity Healthcare Services.
She unsuccessfully challenged then-U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings in the 2018 and 2020 primaries. She won the Nov. 2 special primary held to fill the vacancy created by Hastings’ death, by five votes.
Cherfilus-McCormick is a business executive with enough money to put seven figures into her own campaign, lending it more than $3 million during the primary race. She repaid much of the initial loan, then re-loaned additional amounts for weekly advertising buys. Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission leading up to the primary election suggested the total in loans could be around $2 million. Cherfilus-McCormick said the total of her self-funding would be less when final reports are filed next year.
Cherfilus-McCormick hasn’t filed a financial disclosure with the Clerk of the House, required once a candidate hits $5,000, but something many candidates don’t do.
Republican Jason Mariner, 36, who lives west of Boynton Beach, is the founder of an advertising business.
He served time in prison for drug and theft violations he said stemmed from an injury that led to an addition to prescription drugs.
“I’ve made mistakes. They were a long time ago. You can turn your life around,” Mariner said. “What you’ve done in the past doesn’t’ have to define the rest of your life.”
He’s talked about his past during the campaign and rejected suggestion by critics that he isn’t properly the party nominee because he didn’t go through a state process to restore his civil rights, something Florida law requires for holding political office. Mariner said, and some legal scholars agree, that the state can’t impose an additional requirement for Congress that isn’t part of the U.S. Constitution.
Mariner said his background shows that it’s possible for someone to turn their life around. He describes himself as “a regular person” who has “experienced life.”
Libertarian Mike ter Maat, 60, of Hollywood spent 11 years in a second career as a police officer on road patrol in Hallandale Beach. His previous career was teaching college and university economics. He served a stint as a White House staff economist.
No Party Affiliation candidate Jim Flynn of West Palm Beach works in real estate. He acknowledged receiving questions about his background and positions but did not respond. “I love Florida. I love the weather. I love the low taxes,” he said in a candidate forum.
No Party Affiliation candidate Leonard Serratore, 66, of West Palm Beach, is a supervisor at Palm Beach International Airport. He’s previously run for County Commission.