Another Slosberg could continue the family political dynasty – starting with the campaign to unseat state legislator Kelly Skidmore – Sun Sentinel

The Slosberg political dynasty may not be over yet.

It seemed possible, even likely, earlier this year, when state Representative Emily Slosberg-King said she would not run for another term in the state House of Representatives.

In 2020, her father, former state representative Irv Slosberg, attempted a political comeback, but only got 31% of the vote in a Democratic primary for Florida’s Senate.

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Now a third family member, Wendy Slosberg, daughter of Irv and sister of Emily, has said she hopes to win a seat in the Florida House of Representatives.

One big complicating factor: To do that, she would have to defeat incumbent state Rep. Kelly Skidmore in a summer Democratic primary.

A third Democrat, Hasan Zahangir, is also running in Palm Beach County’s District 92.

The Slosbergs had a notable run in Palm Beach County politics (sometimes in districts that included a slice of North Broward).

Irv Slosberg, the former state representative, is the winner and loser of some of the most colorful and profitable campaigns of the past two decades.

A terrible accident propels him into politics.

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On February 23, 1996, seven college kids squeezed into the back seat of a Honda Civic, agreeing to leave a bowling alley with two older teenagers they had just met. The car, traveling at 90mph, hit a median and slammed into an oncoming car, and the young passengers were ejected from the rear window.

Four girls and one boy were killed. Among those killed was 14-year-old Dori Slosberg, the twin sister of Emily Slosberg, who survived with serious injuries. A seventh youngster is paralyzed.

“If my daughter hadn’t died in a car accident, I probably wouldn’t have raced,” Slosberg said. “I did everything in honor of my daughter Dori.”

After graduating from college, Slosberg drove a cab in Chicago and eventually became a millionaire by importing handbags. Once he entered the world of politics, he ran with enthusiasm, money (a lot), often failed to observe traditional political niceties – much to the chagrin of many others in the political world – and s is adept at political marketing.

The signing of his first successful run in 2000 at the State House was the wildly popular distribution of canvas “schlepper bags” to voters.

He never gave up on marketing.

In 2005, after Hurricane Wilma hit Palm Beach County, Slosberg was in the community and on television as if he was the only one who cared about his victims, leaving fellow elected officials with a mixture of fear. and disdain.

He named his effort SEMA, for Slosberg Emergency Management Agency, a play on the federal government’s FEMA, and performed an “ice patrol” to deliver the goods to condo residents.

He won notable political victories – and some major political defeats. He beat an incumbent to win his first term in 2000, serving a total of six years. In 2006, he ran for the Florida Senate, losing the Democratic primary to Ted Deutch. (Deutch eventually went to Congress.)

Slosberg spent $2.8 million of his own money ($196 per vote) on this campaign. Deutch spent $344,800 ($19 per vote).

In addition to filling the airwaves and mailboxes with his advertising — a series of TV ads touted his freebies of ice, water and food from the previous year — Slosberg also did things like buy corned sandwiches -beef and movie tickets for the elderly.

Also during the 2006 campaign, he had his own refrigerated hurricane relief trucks stocked with ice and other essentials.

After losing that Senate race, he staged a successful comeback, serving another six-year stint at Florida House, from 2010 to 2016.

In 2020, he ran again for the Florida Senate. Among the pandemic-era giveaways: cloth masks emblazoned with his “Let Irv Serve!” campaign slogan and mailed them to people who requested mail-in ballots. Financial reports showed Slosberg, who poured $1.1 million of his own money into the campaign midsummer, spent more than $35,000 on the masks.

[ RELATED: No more hand shaking, and lots of video calls, as COVID pandemic reshapes political campaigns. There are “Let Irv Serve!” face masks. ]

He lost that Senate primary to Tina Polsky.

Emily Slosberg-King is completing her third term at the Florida House – after winning the seat her father vacated in 2016 – and was eligible to run for a fourth before term limits went into effect. But earlier this year she said she would forego a re-election campaign. She is expecting a baby and plans to name her daughter Dori, after her deceased twin sister.

Wendy Slosberg, 44, could not be reached for comment on her plans.

But multiple people said that last month at the Kings Point Democratic Club west of Delray Beach, she announced she would run for the State House seat.

Her father confirmed that Wendy declared her intentions at the club meeting. “She said she was going to run,” he said.

The club was, for years, a key part of Slosberg’s base, and he said Wendy Slosberg was one of the group’s directors.

About her candidacy, Irv Slosberg said: “It’s up to her. It does not depend on me. I am the father.

Wendy Slosberg did not file documents with the state declaring her intention to run for the position, a step Skidmore and Zahangir passed. Candidates have until June 17 to officially qualify for the August 23 primary.

Some in Palm Beach County Democratic circles have wondered if Irv Slosberg, 74, would run again, but he said that was absolutely not going to happen. “I don’t run. My racing days are over.

Irv Slosberg said he achieved what he wanted — to make the state seat belt law a primary offense, improve school bus safety and improve issues affecting seniors — when he entered politics. He focused on road safety, such as pushing for the installation of guardrails on Florida’s turnpike.

Skidmore, 59, currently a state representative, began her legislative work as an assistant to a state legislator in the 1990s and has had her own winning and losing campaigns.

Skidmore served as Ron Klein’s legislative aide from January 1996 to October 2006, when he was a state representative and state senator before serving two terms in Congress.

She was elected to the State House in 2006 and 2008, then lost a 2010 campaign for the state Senate.

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In 2016, she ran for State House again, losing the primary to Emily Slosberg, for the seat Irv Slosberg was vacating. Racing again in 2020, Skidmore won.

In a show of force in recent days, Skidmore rolled out a massive list of endorsements from 35 local, state and federal elected officials, including Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Palm Beach County State’s Attorney Dave Aronberg, Clerk of the Courts Joe Abruzzo — all former state lawmakers, three Palm Beach County commissioners and 24 current Democratic lawmakers.

“Not only does Kelly have the guts to rigorously police Florida’s dangerous GOP agenda, she has the experience to navigate the appropriations process effectively and ensure Palm Beach County gets its fair share of tax revenue directly reinvested in our community. “Frankel said in a written statement.

Skidmore said residents of the newly designed District 92 in southwest Palm Beach County would benefit from his experience and leadership. “Of course, I appreciate the legislative process. I’ve been at it for a long time,” she said.

In 2008, when Skidmore was running for re-election in her first stint in the House, Irv Slosberg indicated he planned to run against her, Skidmore said, but at the last minute decided not to. To do.

In 2016, when Irv Slosberg left the House, Skidmore competed with Emily Slosberg for the Democratic nomination to succeed him.

Skidmore and Irv Slosberg were adamant that there was no bad blood.

“When it was over, it was over. It was done. It was fine. I had no hard feelings. She had no hard feelings,” Skidmore said. Once they were all the two back in Tallahassee representing different districts, Skidmore said she and Emily Slosberg work together and are friendly.

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Zahangir has served as president of the Bangladeshi-American Democratic Club of Florida since 2019. The club has been around for over 20 years.

Zahangir, 59, said he has been in the trenches, working for Democratic candidates since 2000. He is currently a member of a Democratic constituency committee and has never run for office before.

He initially filed paperwork to be executed in 2021, before the current district boundaries are set.

“A lot of people have asked me [and said]’it’s time for you to run,'” he said.

[ RELATED: Emily Slosberg-King won’t seek re-election ]

He said he was not intimidated by the prospect of a campaign against two major players in Palm Beach County Democratic politics. “I welcome everyone. Voters are going to choose who they want to represent them,” he said.

He said the Bangladeshi community in Palm Beach County numbers more than 8,000 people and he hopes to gain support from the wider Asian American community.

He’s a businessman. Beginning in 1985, Zahangir said, he and his brother successfully built Brendy’s yogurt and ice cream shops in Palm Beach County. They have since been sold.

“I have lived in the heart of District 92 for 42 years. I raised my children here. People know me,” he said. “I know the people of this neighborhood very well.

District 92 is a new, unincumbent district due to legislative boundary reshuffling every 10 years, designed to ensure that each of Florida’s 120 representative districts has approximately the same number of residents.

It covers most of Palm Beach County, from Military Trail in the east to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the west and Hypoluxo Road in the north to the Broward-County line in the south. The district narrows at its southern end and does not include many communities west of Boca Raton that lie east of the Florida Turnpike and at the far south does not include many communities east of the United States 441.

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The winner of the August primary is almost certain to win the November general election. Analysis by Matthew Isbell of political data-mapping firm MCI Maps found that in the territory that makes up the new District 92, President Joe Biden won 60% of the vote in the 2020 election and the Democratic candidate for office Governor Andrew Gillum won 62% in 2018.

Terrie Rizzo, chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, lives in the district.

She said she would like to see campaigns “focus on comparing and contrasting the difference between Democrats and Republicans,” which is difficult in a party primary. “We expect a vigorous debate.”

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @brocade politics