Note: Our endorsements reflect the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s values and concerns for our community. The newsroom does not participate in editorial board decisions.

Democrat Rob Long is the best candidate to represent District 90 in the Florida House. But that’s not the only reason why voters should choose him in a special election on Dec. 9.

Republican Maria Zack emphasizes accountability, and independent Karen Yeh sounds well-intentioned, but neither is qualified. Electing either one would rob the district of level-headed representation, which is already in short supply in Tallahassee.

Long, Zack and Yeh are competing for the seat vacated by the death of Democratic state Rep. Joe Casello in July.

The coastal District 90 leans Democratic and runs east from South Military Trail through barrier island towns. A diverse area of wealthy island enclaves, it includes Delray Beach, Ocean Ridge (home of the late Rush Limbaugh’s $155 million mansion) and tiny Briny Breezes, a beachfront hamlet of 488 mobile homes.

Long, 40, a politically active Democrat and deputy vice mayor of Delray Beach, grew up in Punxsutawney, Pa. He graduated from Penn State with a civil engineering degree in 2008 and received an MBA. from UF in 2012. In addition to engineering work, he runs a political marketing firm, Door 2 Door Strategies.

In nine years at Delray Beach City Hall, Long has been deeply involved in issues from taxation to urban redevelopment to race relations. He served six years on the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District board and as a member of Delray’s Planning and Zoning Board.

This editorial board has strongly disagreed with Long on some issues, but he is, by far, the best candidate in this race. He would bring a valuable local government perspective to a Legislature that unfairly views cities with contempt. He has a keen understanding of the inner workings of government.

“I’ve seen what Florida’s policies are doing to families,” said Long, who believes Tallahassee’s focus on culture wars has taken resources from the bread and butter issues of housing, schools and safe neighborhoods.

Long forcefully challenged the state’s decision to pave over Delray Beach’s rainbow-colored intersection. He also opposes the state’s insistence on weakening local land use controls.

With the Legislature and governor poised to jettison or revamp property taxes that are the lifeblood of local government, Long is an effective spokesman to defend cities on the need for tax revenue. He favors targeted property tax relief but says no proposals address how cities stripped of taxes can maintain fire trucks, libraries and roads.

He has a long list of endorsements, from members of Congress (Reps. Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz) to Associated Industries of Florida, a lobbying powerhouse that generally endorses Republicans — a clear sign that big business sees only one viable choice here.

Long has raised $56,117 in contributions, and is the only candidate who’s not primarily self-funded. His separate political committee, Long Lasting Progress, has collected $59,000. The PC’s largest donor, Florida Sunshine PC, which gave $12,500, is a political committee with ties to the sugar industry.

Zack, 62, did not return our questionnaire. She declined to participate in an editorial board interview, but did meet with us in the Republican primary.

We endorsed Zack’s opponent, Bill Reicherter, in the GOP primary, in part because Zack has spread unfounded conspiracy theories. She believes in a “global shadow government” and circulated the fiction that the CIA and an Italy defense contractor used satellites to rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump.

Zack believes strict audits and accountability are required for effective governing, but she can’t keep her own campaign finances in order. According to state records, she has raised $48,525, including more than $30,000 she loaned to her campaign.

Florida Politics reported her campaign was spending more money that it had on hand. That is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Zack addressed the errors, but it undercuts her emphasis on financial accountability.

Yeh, 64, a Boynton Beach real estate investor, repeatedly struggled in a Sun Sentinel interview to articulate priorities beyond personal grievances with the legal system. She could not immediately recall whether she voted for Trump or Kamala Harris in 2024, something most voters would remember.

It’s also not clear whether Yeh could serve if she won. She was found guilty in circuit court in 2019 of exploitation of an elderly person after siphoning the assets of her incapacitated mother, and an organized scheme to defraud, according to state prison records. Both are felonies.

Court records show Yeh was sentenced to 366 days in jail and was on probation until 2024. She is registered to vote, but state law requires convicted felons to separately regain their civil rights to run for office, and Yeh could not say whether she has. The Florida Commission on Offender Review, the state agency that keeps those records, declined to comment.

For House District 90, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board recommends Democrat Rob Long.

All registered voters in House District 90 are eligible to vote in this election. House members serve two-year terms at a salary of $29,697 a year.

The winner will serve through the 2026 general election.

Early voting runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7. The deadline to return a vote-by-mail ballot is Election Day, Dec. 9.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/10/31/for-state-house-no-contest-democrat-rob-long-endorsement/