FAU student Alberto Hernandez campaigns for Florida House of Representatives – UNIVERSITY PRESS

Alberto Hernandez, 29, is running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives in the 2024 general election, but he’s not a politician — he’s a student at Florida Atlantic University.

Hernandez, a senior at FAU’s Wilkes Honors College on the Jupiter campus, is majoring in international studies with a minor in Spanish literature. He decided to run for a Democratic seat in Florida House District 86 primarily because of his passion for addressing climate change.

In particular, he is angry that the current administration under Governor Ron DeSantis has used the scientifically based term “climate change” from the legislation. For Hernandez, taking away the term “means cutting off limbs of our scientists and their ability to actually do practical work.” He says it is an “incredible crisis” to see scientists trying to work with the limited resources the state gives them.

“It was like a hummingbird bringing drops of water to a forest fire,” Hernandez said.

Despite climate change being his main motivation for running, the housing affordability crisis is his top priority. The Florida Housing Coalition found by 2022, more than 2.1 million low-income households in Florida will spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

“It’s a crisis. It is a real crisis,” Hernandez said. “I know engineers who have been working as engineers for 10 years, lawyers, military professionals and PhD students who can’t afford to live, who can’t afford a house in the state anymore.”

Hernandez also hopes that by campaigning he will encourage more young people to not only vote, but also take a more active role in the legislative process, whether that is by volunteering for campaigns, attending town hall meetings or even run for local, state or political elections. federal office.

Most people who hold office are older, in a higher tax bracket and are running solely to protect their financial assets, Hernandez said.

“They don’t care about the future. They vote in a way that protects their assets. We need to bring young people along. We need people who need young people to protect our assets,” Hernandez said.

Celia Roberts, a recent graduate of the FAU Wilkes Honors College and campaign manager for Hernandez, has been involved in endorsements and fundraising. Roberts has known Hernandez since 2021, when they both received their associate degrees from Palm Beach State College and transferred to FAU. She has also participated in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) with Hernandez.

Because of how long they have known each other, Roberts said they fell into a natural partnership when he decided to run for office.

“He’s incredibly enthusiastic, and I think that enthusiasm is really good for this campaign,” Roberts said.

Roberts believes that it is very important for young people to get involved in politics this year, with this historic presidential election and the various issues on the agenda, such as access to abortion and the legalization of marijuana.

“That’s absolutely a key goal of our campaign, making sure that all voices are heard and that younger voters do more than just cast their ballots in the presidential election,” said Celia Roberts, Hernandez’s campaign manager.

The UP contacted his Republican opponent and current representative for District 86 in the Florida House, John Snyder. The UP also reached out to multiple professors who taught Hernandez for comment, but did not receive a response at time of publication.

Hernandez has no previous experience in politics. He credits his involvement with the NMUN for his success.

“Model UN was in many ways the perfect foundation,” he said. “You study problems throughout the course and see how policymakers try to tackle those problems.”

Emma Leonardo Solórzano, a friend of Hernandez, met him during some political science classes and worked closely with him in the NMUN. She is communications director for his campaign, responsible for social media, community outreach, email communications and photography.

She emphasized how hardworking Hernandez is and how much he values ​​education.

“We had similar backgrounds, you know, working class. He knows what it’s like to wrestle and he works extremely hard,” said Solórzano. “…He is someone who, if you need help, he will be there for you and do everything he can to help you, and he is very dedicated to whatever he sets his mind to.”

Although this is Hernandez’s first time running for office, it is not the first time he has been involved in a campaign. He handled social media, campaign messages and made promotional videos for Thomas Witkop’s Democratic campaign for the United States House of Representatives. Witkop is currently the youngest congressional candidate, only 25 years old.

Witkop met Hernandez while he was working El Sola non-profit resource center in Jupiter that aims to provide education, employment, healthcare, food and youth services to the community. Hernandez came to the center as an intern and took over social media from Witkop.

After working with Hernandez for a year, Witkop told him he planned to run for U.S. Congress.

“I remember when I told Alberto that he was an intern of mine at the time, and he said, ‘That’s fantastic. I’m so impressed.’ And he was extremely encouraging at the time, especially when a lot of people thought I was crazy to do something like that,” Witkop said.

He shared the same sentiments about Hernandez as he also runs for Congress, albeit at the state level.

“I’m just always impressed with Alberto. He is like the common man’s man; For example, he is pursuing a college degree, he is a contractor,” Witkop said. “He’s the son of two Cuban immigrants, like he’s the ideal American in my opinion, and now he’s becoming the ideal American politician. So I think there’s a great story behind that.

Hernandez and Witkop attended a forum of the League of Women Voters at Indian River State College on Oct. 16, where moderators asked Republican and Democratic attendees a series of questions.

“…Just the way he expressed himself, and not only his content was fantastic, but the style in which he presented it was extremely convincing,” Witkop said, also noting that he was impressed by Hernandez’s openness.

Hernandez is transparent about the costs associated with his candidacy. He says he spent about $1,500 to file and that he believes campaigning is actually a fundraising game. Despite this, he believes that everyone has the power to solve problems at the political level, including university students.

“I am convinced that everyone is an intellectual. Anyone can look at these problems and figure out a way to solve them,” he said.

Elisabeth Gaffney is editor-in-chief of University Press. For more information about this article or other articles, please contact Elisabeth at (email protected) or DM her on Instagram @elisabethgaff.