Broward County Commissioner Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who served two years as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency management director, announced Friday he will run for a congressional seat that will be open this year because U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch is not seeking re-election.
Moskowitz served as mayor of Parkland before he was elected to the state House in 2012. DeSantis, a Republican, tapped Moskowitz to serve as director of the state Division of Emergency Management shortly after the governor took office in 2019. Moskowitz stepped down last year after helping oversee the state’s response to crises ranging from hurricanes to the COVID-19 pandemic. A news release issued Friday by Moskowitz’s campaign said he resigned from his state position to spend more time with his ailing father, Michael, who was a major Democratic fundraiser before his death in January.
DeSantis appointed the younger Moskowitz to the Broward County Commission in January. Moskowitz will run in what is now Congressional District 22, a Democratic stronghold in Palm Beach and Broward counties, though districts will see changes this year because of the once-a-decade reapportionment process. The news release also highlighted Moskowitz’s accomplishments as Florida’s emergency management czar. “Under his leadership, FDEM (the Florida Division of Emergency Management) developed programs to prioritize vaccines for Holocaust survivors; partnered with over 250 African American churches to offer vaccines to their congregants; and worked closely with the Biden administration to open COVID-19 testing sites across Florida,” the release said.
Moskowitz also played an instrumental role in the Legislature’s response to the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which he attended. In the release, Moskowitz said he intends to “uphold the high bar set” by Deutch, who was elected to Congress in 2010 and is leaving to take a position as chief executive officer at the American Jewish Council. “In Congress, I will fight to guarantee access to the ballot box, protect Social Security and Medicare, work for real gun safety measures and fight for the safety and protection of the state of Israel,” Moskowitz said.
–News Service of Florida
