Name: Christian Acosta
Campaign website: voteacosta.com
Date, place of birth: Bedford, England
Education:
B.S., M.S. Nuclear Engineering – Univ. Florida / M.S. Management – Univ. Florida
Occupation:
Adj. Professor – Palm Beach State College
Work history past 15 years. List in reverse chronological order.
Adj. Professor – Palm Beach State College ~2018 to present
Senior Project Engineer – Ansaldo STS ~2014-2018
Senior Engineer – Westinghouse Electric Company ~2006-2014
Have you been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime, had an adjudication withheld or had a matter sealed or expunged? If yes, please explain.
other than traffic citations, no
Have you been a plaintiff or defendant in a civil action, including bankruptcy or foreclosure or had a restraining order issued against you? If so, please explain.
never been a defendant, sued a contractor once for ~$4000 in damages
Why are you running for this office and what specifically makes you a better candidate than your opponent(s)?
I am running for State Representative because I loved growing up in Palm Beach County and want to give back. I especially want my 5-year-old daughter Violet, and everyone’s family, to have as great a time here as I have.
I have been learning from our current State Representative, Rick Roth, for the last two years and have earned his endorsement. I have committed all this time even before I was a candidate, and I will work even harder when voters send me to Tallahassee.
To my knowledge, my primary opponents have never been involved in Republican politics or local government until they decided to run for office. I believe this job is too important to be treated as a part time job or a shiny title. I am committed to being the full-time, hard working Representative that District 94 residents deserve.
What are the three most important issues currently facing your legislative district?
The three main issues facing my district are the need to lower home insurance costs, improving technical education options so people can get good-paying, local jobs, and defending our agricultural and rural land.
After the 2024 session, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all money for arts and cultural programs and projects, estimated at $32 million, to more than 600 organizations. Do you agree or disagree with this veto and why?
I’m not opposed to specific exceptions from the veto, based on merit. With that said, I generally believe we have to put our discretionary funds into lowering home insurance costs, helping residents (especially seniors) adjust to the changes in condo reserve requirements, addressing sea level resilience, exploring options for cleaning lake Okeechobee, and further infrastructure spending.
In the 2024 session, the Legislature passed a major change to Florida’s ethics law (SB 7014) requiring a complainant to have personal knowledge of the facts of a case. Would you have voted for or against this law and why?
I support this law as it sets term limits on members of the Commission on Ethics. Additionally, I do believe that responsibility for attorney’s fees should not be one sided, and I support that a malicious claimant should have to cover defense fees.
In the 2024 case, the Legislature passed a law (HB 1365) that prohibits homeless people from sleeping in public spaces. Would you have voted for or against this law and why?
I am unsure if I would have supported it. I would need to see data/evidence that municipalities were, for some reason, ignoring their homeless populations. My preference would be to allow local governments freedom in the tools they use.
Should state abortion laws include exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking, and why?
I support inclusion of the above exceptions. The abortion standards we select need to be as workable as reasonably achievable and the vast majority of voters support those exceptions.
Do you support or oppose a proposed “open carry” or “constitutional carry” law for Florida and why?
I support the current permitless concealed carry law. To support permitless open carry, I would first need to analyze the objections that were voiced by the Florida Sherriff’s Association.
What additional measures do you support to address Florida’s property insurance crisis?
I want to work together with industry groups to create a set of low-leakage and waterproofing standards. In the same way that wind mitigation studies help insurance companies lower risk estimates for houses that have them, I envision a low-leakage survey providing similar reassurance. If a builder follows the recommendations from our working group, we could certify that the roof is built with the best techniques available to reduce nuisance leakage and lower the likelihood of leak related claims. This would be a small part of our overall strategy to tackle home insurance costs, but the problem is too big for any one single solution. We have to approach it from many angles in order to convince insurers that we are serious about lowering risk exposure in Florida.
Describe in detail one demographic, economic or social factor about your legislative district that sets it apart from all others.
Palm Beach County is one of the largest agricultural districts (by production) outside of the State of California. My district is the heart of that agriculture and rural land. We produce the food and plants that are used for development, beautification, and nourishment for millions of people. I would be honored to represent the agricultural community and would work tirelessly to serve their unique needs.
