To the editor:

Cape Coral resident and local attorney Joshua Lopez is running to serve our area in the Florida House of Representatives. I am a non-party voter, and I wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy. I believe he will bring mainstream ideas and a willingness to work on issues across the partisan divide. He would also represent a much-needed change from representatives in Tallahassee that have not done enough to safeguard our state waters from nutrient pollution.

Mr. Lopez does want to bring a dose of common sense to Tallahassee, streamlining some burdensome professional licensing requirements that make it difficult for people to go into business for themselves. However, regulation has its place. Joshua will be a voice for Southwest Florida and stand up to the anti-regulatory cult that has eroded the state’s protections on water quality and other environmental matters.

He will also be a welcome home-rule advocate. Recent years have seen the Florida legislature enact laws that preempt local regulations on a broad range of subjects. As a worker with more than 12 years of public- and private-sector experience in planning and land use, I know that government is most responsive to citizens at the local level. Joshua believes in local solutions to local problems. Where the State of Florida has failed to lead on issues, it should not prevent local citizens from protecting their own interests.

Please join me in supporting Joshua Lopez for Florida House District 77. You can visit his website, https://joshualopez.vote/ to learn more about him and where he stands on the issues, and you can interact with him through his Facebook candidate page, https://www.facebook.com/votelopezfor77 .

Benjamin Price Pople

Cape Coral